Planning the route

[Footloose_Dan]

Hi Everyone,

I have allowed 33 days for my walk from Le Puy to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, including a diversion through the Cele Valley. If this proves to be too tight because of unanticipated situations, which section of the route might I best catch a bus or train to make up time and not miss out on too much of the total experience?

Footloose_Dan

 

[whariwharangi]

If you try to cram too much into the day the day is wasted. You've given yourself a gift of time from your busy life and you want to fritter it away as fast as possible then you've squandered your gift. There is the ditty: you gotta stop and smell the roses along the way.

In my opinion breaking the walk into pieces with a bus or other transport breaks up the walk in ways that interfere with the cognitive and spiritual experience.

Si yo fuera tu ... walk from Le Puy and when you are out of time go home. If you haven't made SJPdP then so what? It'll still be there for another trip.

 

[kwmetz88]

Hi Everyone,

I have allowed 33 days for my walk from Le Puy to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, including a diversion through the Cele Valley. If this proves to be too tight because of unanticipated situations, which section of the route might I best catch a bus or train to make up time and not miss out on too much of the total experience?

Footloose_Dan

Like Dan, I am also planning hiking from Le Puy all the way to Santiago (hopefully a finisterre trip too). This will be my first camino. I'm trying to plan out how much to hike each day, and plan on camping most of it (bringing a one person tent). Any and all advice would be great. I want to be sure not to rush the camino, and if you all think I could do some section of france, that would be great. I have a friend in Oloron I was planning on visiting for a few days in between, since it seemed like a natural halfway pt (oloron is on the camino arles, but I was planning on grabbing a bus/TER train down...lots of experience doing this in france).

I haven't booked anything in terms of flights but there are ones I can afford from NY to Paris. Need to account for time getting back to Paris to fly out, but I was originally thinking June 23 - September 1. Is this enough time? That's roughly 70 days, not including detours/breaks.

Thanks all, and sorry if I'm stealing your thunder, Dan.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Le Puy to Santiago in 70 days will be a tight schedule considering any side trip to Oloron. You can plan the route here, and see the accommodations available at each town:

http://www.godesalco.com/plan/podense
http://www.godesalco.com/plan/frances

 

[Kitsambler]

Hi Everyone,

I have allowed 33 days for my walk from Le Puy to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, including a diversion through the Cele Valley. If this proves to be too tight because of unanticipated situations, which section of the route might I best catch a bus or train to make up time and not miss out on too much of the total experience?

Footloose_Dan

33 Days for the Le Puy route should be fine. You can take train from Cahors to Moissac to gain four days, if you find you are pressed.

 

[karenhypes]

Yes, I agree that you should have no problem with allowing for 33 days. We walked it in 29 days with no problems at all. And if you do find yourself tight on time you can always find a bus or taxi, but wait until you really need to. It's a great route and you'll enjoy it. Bon Chemin

Dayton and Karen

 

[Footloose_Dan]

Thanks for all the encouragement and good advice. I take your point too, whariwharangi, what you say makes a lot of sense.
Dan

 

[KiwiNomad06]

There's not a lot of bus transport between places along the Le Puy route- when I reached Spain first time around I was really surprised at how readily people found and used buses to skip sections. If you find you are short of time, you might need to take a taxi- though the services that take luggage might also offer an alternative for a passenger. If you find you are short of time, for whatever reason, the locals, eg tourist office or gite owners, will often be able to offer suggestions.
Margaret

 

[billmclaughlin]

There's not a lot of bus transport between places along the Le Puy route- when I reached Spain first time around I was really surprised at how readily people found and used buses to skip sections. If you find you are short of time, you might need to take a taxi- though the services that take luggage might also offer an alternative for a passenger. If you find you are short of time, for whatever reason, the locals, eg tourist office or gite owners, will often be able to offer suggestions.
Margaret

 

[irishgurrrl]

Just found this list of accommodation for the Le Puy Route - not sure how complete it is yet (just spotted it) but I recognise some of the names... http://chemin-compostelle.pagesperso-orange.fr/pratique/Herbergement GR65 Le Puy.rtf

 

[Deleted member 3000]

It is as good a list as any (except Miam Miam Dodo). My favorite place in St. Privat d'Allier is not on it, though, so I suspect there are omissions.

 

[KiwiNomad06]

It is quite a good list, but it isn't complete- eg, I stayed at the gite run by the Amis of St Jacques in Le Puy and I don't see that listed. I wonder too if it isn't all that recent, eg in Montbonnet there is a lovely gite now next to the bar- but it isn't listed. Quite a lot of new gites opened on the Le Puy route between my two walks in 2008 and 2012- so it pays to get up-to-date information.
Margaret

 

[Hannah Marino]

Like Dan, I am also planning hiking from Le Puy all the way to Santiago (hopefully a finisterre trip too). This will be my first camino. I'm trying to plan out how much to hike each day, and plan on camping most of it (bringing a one person tent). Any and all advice would be great. I want to be sure not to rush the camino, and if you all think I could do some section of france, that would be great. I have a friend in Oloron I was planning on visiting for a few days in between, since it seemed like a natural halfway pt (oloron is on the camino arles, but I was planning on grabbing a bus/TER train down...lots of experience doing this in france).

I haven't booked anything in terms of flights but there are ones I can afford from NY to Paris. Need to account for time getting back to Paris to fly out, but I was originally thinking June 23 - September 1. Is this enough time? That's roughly 70 days, not including detours/breaks.

Thanks all, and sorry if I'm stealing your thunder, Dan.

Hi Dan, are you on the walk?

 

[xin loi]

Shared a room in SJPDP albergue with 3 old guys and a young girl who had walked from Le Puy to SJPDP in 23 days. Their Time was meaningless to me as I know nothing about the route, but they seemed very proud of their time.