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Norte or Le Puy in June?

caminokatie42

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Last: Camino Frances, Portuguese
Next: Le Puy
I'm so happy & excited to finally start planning another Camino in June after 3 years out due to travel restrictions in HK. I am reading amazing things about both Norte and Le Puy. I'm doing it solo, did the Frances solo and the Portuguese with a friend a few years ago and both were fantastic experiences. Appreciate thoughts on those that have done both on ease of navigation, finding albergues, and if you need to book ahead, cost differences btw France & Spain, food (assume the wine will be amazing on both routes!) and general numbers of pilgrims on the way. Many thanks in advance. Katie
 
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I have done them both. Norte in May with crappy wet weather and Le Puy in July when it was sizzling hot. Accomodations on the Le Puy need careful consideration and reservations are highly recommended, get a copy of Miam Miam Dodo to do your planning, the route is definitely more expensive than the Norte. On the Norte the distances each day are longer than the days on the CF and CP and there is less lodging. Depending on how you handle your budget I think you will find yourself spending slightly more than you did on the CF and CP.
 
Both routes are very beautifull, a few factors you might take in consideration:
In July and august many , mainly Spanish, tourists will stay at the coast and stay in hotels and private hostels
On the Le Puy you probably would stay more in private accommodations. If you want to participate in the communal dinner you must make reservation at least a day before. The food is better and there are less bunk beds. This extra quality will cost you a few euros more. ( I don't know how busy it will be in June, but it might be wise to make reservations beforehand fo the first 2 weeks up to Conques.)
The Le puyroute is not a specific Caminoroute, but a GR route. This means that the great majority of fellow walkers will be french. If you don't speak french, communal dinners can be quite awkward. The Norte will be probably much more "international" and the "lingua franca" will be english.
The le Puy route is very well marked (red and white markings) this goes also for the Norte. On both routes there are alternatives : the main one on the Le Puy is the route r
Through the valley of the Celeriver (after Figeac), which has some terrific highpoints.
On the Norte there are many variations, this is a consequence of the fact that the Norte is more a Caminoroute, it goes more or less in a straight line to Santiago. There are many variations that follow the coast much closer. There is a thread in this forum which has many alternative routes (search for coastal alternatives on the norte and you will find it.) I particular liked the stretch after Santander, the "official" route seems to be one of least beautifull stages. If you follow the coast, it will take you probably take you a day extra, but the reward will be big.
Buen camino
 
Very light, comfortable and compressible poncho. Specially designed for protection against water for any activity.

Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
The Miam Miam dodo has a reputation as being "the bible of the Le Puyroute". If you want to use a paper guide, that would be the way to go. If you want to use a smartphone there would be better options I think. 2 weeks ago I received a notification that the Miam Miam Dodo is again available as an ebook. This makes it to me much more userfriendly ( better search options, possibility to e large maps and so on)
I carried the two volumes of the paper Miam Miam dodo and did not use them at all, after two weeks I gave them away. The route is very well marked, the few times that somethings were not 100% clear, I had to open my backpack, take out the books and then it was not very easy to locate your location on the many maps. (Each stage ison sometimes 5 maps)
I found Gronze.com much more easier to use, It is in Spanje, but if you have "chrome" on your smartphone you can translate. It had everything I needed, a global map with distances, profile of the route, names of albergues, "clickable" contactinformation, routedescriptions and mentioning of possible problematic situations, customer reviews of albergues and so on.
 
I have done them both. Norte in May with crappy wet weather and Le Puy in July when it was sizzling hot. Accomodations on the Le Puy need careful consideration and reservations are highly recommended, get a copy of Miam Miam Dodo to do your planning, the route is definitely more expensive than the Norte. On the Norte the distances each day are longer than the days on the CF and CP and there is less lodging. Depending on how you handle your budget I think you will find yourself spending slightly more than you did on the CF and CP.
I think this is a very good description. Walked the Norte in October so different time of the year. Walked Le Puy started in mid September and it was pretty darn toasty for the first 2 weeks. I can handle rain better than heat so I would opt for the Norte. Very different scenery. Both very pretty but I would give the scenery edge to Le Puy based on the diversity of scenery. It is more expensive in France for sure. You need to book ahead for sure. But the food. Forget about it. The food on the Norte is not even close to being in the same universe as the magnificence of French cuisine in the GItes.
 
I think this is a very good description. Walked the Norte in October so different time of the year. Walked Le Puy started in mid September and it was pretty darn toasty for the first 2 weeks. I can handle rain better than heat so I would opt for the Norte. Very different scenery. Both very pretty but I would give the scenery edge to Le Puy based on the diversity of scenery. It is more expensive in France for sure. You need to book ahead for sure. But the food. Forget about it. The food on the Norte is not even close to being in the same universe as the magnificence of French cuisine in the GItes.
I totally agree with you with one major exception, that being if you can actually afford to spend the night in San Sebastian; it is the tapas and a gastronomic capitol of the entire world IMHO! Hands down no exceptions.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
I totally agree with you with one major exception, that being if you can actually afford to spend the night in San Sebastian; it is the tapas and a gastronomic capitol of the entire world IMHO! Hands down no exceptions.
I can't argue with your food preferences and I can't argue with your argument about San Sebastian. I can only add that after you indulge in those delicious tapas you scoot over to Gelateria Boulevard for about the best ice cream on earth!
 

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