Le Puy Route - budget

[Matt_Tolan]

Hi all,

I am considering walking the Le Puy Route to St Jean Peid-de-Port in September/October 2010. I have a number of questions and would be very grateful for anyone's assistance.

What would you suggest as an average budget per day? Also, is it worth carrying a tent, in case other accommodation is ever unavailable? What is the cost of camping?

I speak limited French. Is this likely to be a significant problem?

Thanks and kind regards,

Matt Tolan

 

[ranthr]

Hello!
I walked the Le Puy route in August/September 2009. If you stay at the gites I guess the cost for a bed and media pension ( light breakfast and dinner) will be from 25- 38 euros. If you stay in some CH or hotels the price will raise to 40-70 euros. Add some euros for more food and drinks during the days.
I did not see so many camping grounds along the route. A young French boy slept in a tent every night because he could not afford the gites. He put up his tent in a park or another suitable place.

I do not think you need to carry a tent to have a place to sleep. But in France it is best to book at the gites at least a couple of days ahead. In towns with a tourist office, people there will help you.
I do not speak French so I had mailed to book from home using mailadresses from http://www.chemindecompostelle.com.
Some of the people I met said it was a bit difficult to get a place to sleep and started prebooking. Be aware that in small places the gite can be the only place to a get an eveningmeal. So ask for media pension or ask for cookingpossibilities.
About the language. For me it was ok to manage the daily life, shopping and so on. Most of the people I met spoke French, but tried to communicate. There were Canadians, some Germans and also some Englishspeaking people. I started 15.08 and there were several French groups walking for a week or two. Compared to the camino in Spain the roads were not crowded. I could walk a whole day without seeing anybody.
Before you decide about carriing a tent or not ,have in mind that the Le Puy route is up and down, up and down most of the road. You will also have to carry more food and drink than in Spain, because there are not so many palces to buy food.
Good luck With your chemin! Randi

 

[gittiharre]

Hi, I agree with Ranthr, I walked Le Puy route in Septemmber 2009. Have a look at my blog on this forum if you like. I averaged 37 Euro per day staying in Gites d' Etapes. They were great and the meals were great and I usually had an aperitif at a bar before dinner and self catered for lunch picnic style.
Compared to the Camino which I did on 30 Euros per day, this was a luxury walk at not much more cost really. Regards, Gitti

 

[McAleerSherry]

We agree also, having walked in France April-May 2008. For the relative privacy and solitude that you get on the Chemin St. Jacques, this is indeed a bargain for the cost.

We tended to get petite dejuener where we were staying, although often overpriced perhaps. Unlike in Spain, it was rare that there was a convenient open bar/cafe five kilometers down the road for a convenient breakfast. We also tried to buy fruit the night before, so as to have somthing for lunch. Since one of our objectives for the two months was to lose wight (which also helped hiking) this was a bonus.

As most gites d'etape also had refrigerators, we often bought yogurt at a convenient store for breakfast the next morning, if one decided to forgo petite dejeuner.

The evening meal at the gite was a real treat if offered. We still carry warm memories of the cameraderie offered. The host/hostess usually took real pride in preparing a family meal, which was almost invariably superb. The pilgrim's menu offred by the bars in Spain never quite offered the same opportunity to build cohesion among a diversity of pilgrims from different nationalities and backgrounds, but all propelled forward by a similar mometum.

As mentioned above, it you make reservations at a rural gite, there are usually few other options for meals. Miam Miam Dodo is perhaps the best guide for approximating the size of amy village or hamlet where the gite is situated. The larger towns obviously offer more options for meals or buying food. Nonetheless, as margaret and others have mentions, don't be surprised if anlmost everything in town is closed on dimanche or national holidays, such as VE Day and Pentacost.

Finally, we noticed that even gites where the host went out of his way to put on a memorable repast of local cuisine (e.g Fermne du Barry, he also had a kitchen and tables available for those who brought and prepared their own food. There was not sign of any disapproval of their not paying for meals at the gite. Randonners/pelereins came in a types/ages/states of conditioning. One delightful co-walker was a social worker who had been laid off and was making her pilgrimage on compensation that she was getting from the state. She appeared to stay in any places on the Chemin that requested a donation more than charged a fixed price per nights, and prepared her own meals.

We envy you your pilgimage