The best, stripped-down guidebooks (Le Puy and Frances)

[ziggzagg]

Hello everybody,

I'm in the last planning stages before leaving to walk the Camino (Le Puy to Santiago/Finisterre/Muxia), and I'd like advice on guidebooks to take.

I had considered walking without, but I imagined the situation, and especially in France I think I would appreciate knowing what the next town is, and how far I would need to walk to get there, or whether or not I should stock up on food before carrying on. Whether I get that information in the form of a map or chart doesn't matter to me too much, though I do have a soft spot for maps. In general though, I would like to keep things compact and light, as I'm already brushing up against my weight ceiling.

I was also curious about some of the cultural information that one might find in more comprehensive guides. How useful or interesting is this stuff? I'm not religious, but I'm very interested in the history and cultural specifics of Iberia, and I'd prefer not to miss out on anything major just so that I can avoid a few dozen pages' worth of weight.

Superficially, I like the approach of the Confraternity of St. James stuff, though I've only ever browsed through their website, and I've never had the opportunity to see the actual guides.

 

[NavyBlue]

Hello,

The Miam Miam Dodo guides are close to your wishes : maps, distances, detailed information about accommodation and retails (opening days and hours).
Sample page : http://www.levieuxcrayon.com/MMDDGR65/MMDDGR65.html

In French only (although the vocabulary is rather limited). No cultural information, apart from flashcodes leading to other sources.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I'm very interested in the history and cultural specifics of Iberia,

Alison Raju guides for Chemin du Puy and Camino Frances give good historical information. Some Raju guides are projects of the Confraternity.

 

[uniQ]

John Brierley does a couple of stripped down Map guides that contain only the essentials. I used it last year and was quite happy as the full guide is considerably larger with lot's of interesting but unnecessary (imo) details. You'll also meet people all a long the way with interesting information of places to go/see/stay so I wouldn't worry about missing out by not having a full guide with you.

 

[ziggzagg]

Thanks for all of the advice! I also asked around on the Camino de Santiago subreddit, and got some good information.

For the Le Puy route, the Miam Miam Dodo seems like a good guide, though a little bit thick for my liking. I like the way the maps and information are laid out though, and it'll force me to learn a little bit of French, which is a goal for me.

For the Frances route, somebody on the subreddit advised me to check out http://www.caminoguide.net/. They make a stripped-down Frances guide that has the minimal amount of information necessary. For a little bit of money they also provide one with more cultural information. I'll be putting it on my e-reader and hoping I don't lose/break it before I start the Camino, and put a PDF copy on my other electronics as well.

 

[p.saffrie]

I have both books from John Brierley, the compleet pocktetbook "the way of St. James and the one with only maps. I will use the book in the evenings for preparation and nice to know and from the mapbook I will tear a page a day for in my pocket to guide me.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Frances guide that has the minimal amount of information necessary

There is a Michelin booklet with the basics. You will find it in many shops in SJPdP.

http://www.amazon.fr/dp/2067148052/

Unfortunately, they do not update the accommodations yearly.

 

[Magnara]

Not a guidebook, just the story of our adventure from Le Puy to St Jean is now out on Amazon as an e-book. "My Camino in France" by Maggie Ramsay. It might help you to get the atmosphere of this fantastic pilgrim walk, which is very different to the Camino Frances in Spain.

 

[Jo Jo]

For the Frances, look at the Kelly electronic guide (if you are taking some device anyway). Good, has the distances and accommodations with cultural stuff in a separate file that you can hyperlink to. And all of those electrons weigh surprisingly little.