Review of Wise Pilgrim Guide

[William Marques]

I was given a copy of the Wise Pilgrim Guide to the Camino Frances.

I am reviewing this from a desk not the on Camino so cannot tell if there are any mapping mistakes etc.

It is the right size small and compact and will easily fit in a pocket or pack outer compartment.

It is light not too many pages.

It is just a guide with route maps and elevations at the front and local maps and accommodation following.

There is none of the general advice that takes up so much space on normal guide books and which you come to this forum for anyway.

The accommodation information seems detailed and accurate, as far as I can tell, and up to date.

I am not sure why the elevations and maps do not start and finish at the same point on those pages but it is a design quibble rather than a fault.

Were I going to tackle the CF this year I would take this and also make sure I had access to a different sort of guide which covered the history and architecture/art along the way in more detail, others may care more about the wildlife or botany etc.

 

[Stacey Wittig]

I bought the Camino Primitivo WisePilgrim app for my phone. I may use it while walking the CP next week...if it transfers to my phone after I change SIM card. It has a few more places to stay than does the Confraternity of St James CP guide which I will be updating and editing as I walk.

 

[Rick M]

Looking at the website, a note caught my eye about the maps in this guide:

Oh, and North is always at the top.

This is one of those things that you either care about or you don't. For me that was my only serious quibble with the other guide, and reason enough for me to check this one out. If you are a "map rotator" by nature, you won't like it. If north is always present in your mind, this is how you want the maps printed.

 

[trecile]

I bought the Camino Primitivo WisePilgrim app for my phone. I may use it while walking the CP next week...if it transfers to my phone after I change SIM card. It has a few more places to stay than does the Confraternity of St James CP guide which I will be updating and editing as I walk.

Once you buy an app it's yours, whether you change phones or sim cards, though you may have to download it again.

 

[KiwiBrownz]

I was given a copy of the Wise Pilgrim Guide to the Camino Frances.

I am reviewing this from a desk not the on Camino so cannot tell if there are any mapping mistakes etc.

It is the right size small and compact and will easily fit in a pocket of pack outer compartment.

It is light not too many pages.

It is just a guide with route maps and elevations at the front and local maps and accommodation following.

There is none of the general advice that takes up so much space on normal guide books and which you come to this forum for anyway.

The accommodation information seems detailed and accurate, as far as I can tell, and up to date.

I am not sure why the elevations and maps do not start and finish at the same point on those pages but it is a design quibble rather than a fault.

Were I going to tackle the CF this year I would take this and also make sure I had access to a different sort of guide which covered the history and architecture/art along the way in more detail, others may care more about the wildlife or botany etc.

This sounds great, can you buy this guide in France? or SJPP? Living at the bottom of the world (New Zealand) any guides apart from Brieley are hard to come by.

 

[natefaith]

Hola @KiwiBrownz you can purchase it from the Forum shop here: https://www.santiagodecompostela.me/products/wise-pilgrim-guides-the-camino-frances.

For shipping info check out this link: https://www.santiagodecompostela.me/pages/frontpage

 

[grayland]

Ivar has it available...along with the new Wise Pilgrim Portuguese printed guide,
As Faith points out above ^.

https://www.santiagodecompostela.me...oducts/wise-pilgrim-guides-the-camino-frances

 

[ivar]

Yes, I have two Wise Pilgrim Guides available for sale now, the French route and the Portuguese camino.
https://www.santiagodecompostela.me/collections/wise-pilgrim-guides

Looking at sales they have been selling much better than other guides that I have available.

 

[wayfarer]

Like William I read through this guide at home, not on Camino and I would agree with him in his assessment. Good size to fit in a cargo pocket or in the pack and good practical information. The only con I would have is the North Up maps, as I am a track up person I would prefer the maps Track Up but that's just me. A very good guide IMO.

 

[Fletchonides]

I have just returned from walking Burgos to Leon, using the Wise Pilgrim guide. We had photocopied the pages from the Brierly guide which we used in previous years, but rarely looked at them.

We used the Wise Pilgrim guide all the time and found it brilliant. Some key points:
1. They deliberately don't show 'stages' to discourage the Brierly factor.
2. The maps at the front show the overall route, with distances between each town, so you have to add up the distances of what you are going to do. The price of not showing 'stages'.
3. The number 1 thing that we used all the time is that they show a small map of each town /village you pass through, so you can see the route, where the albergues are etc. Immensely useful.
4. The options for routes are shown clearly, and the turnoffs and consequences described well. Even on the overall map at the start it shows "17.5km with no water or services".
5. The albergues and Casa Rurals are clearly shown and contact details
6. Its a little sparse on extra details, and as the review above suggested, there is a limited amount of architectural information. We found that a benefit, as it cut down the weight.

Next time we will definitely bring this, and probably not the relevant Brierly pages.