Which One Would You Choose?

[LesBrass]

So I'm home and life has settled back to normal... which is very lovely and I'm glad to be home! But I also know that I'd like to walk again but I'm not sure what to do next. This is long distance planning as I'm considering Sep/Oct 2016... but what are your thoughts on where to walk next?

I could walk the CF again. I'm sure that if I choose different end points each day I would see a different camino but I am also wondering about either Le Puy or the Via de la Plata? I drove along the coast of Norther Spain on holiday so I dont think that route is for me... but do you have any other suggestions?

I liked the cameraderie that you found in the Albergues and I liked the towns and villages that we walked through along the CF so I would be looking to walk a route that had some similar services, although I appreciate that the CF has the best infrastructure?

I dont mind walking a 25km days but would prefer not to have to do 30+? I read that on the Via de la Plata you have to do the longer days?

So... if you've walked Le Puy or one of the other routes, how does it compare to the camino francis and what are your preferences and recomendations?

Many thanks in advance!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The Chemin du Puy is my favorite, and fits the criteria you have stated.

 

[evanlow]

Via de la plata would be perfect. There are just a few 37 km days but it is mostly flat until Galicia.

 

[Kitsambler]

Another vote for Le Puy. Mind you, I haven't walked the CF in Spain. The Le Puy has about one-tenth the number of walkers, and correspondingly less infrastructure. But it does still have walkers in numbers (several dozen daily), whereas the sections "upstream" of Le Puy do not. Wonderful scenery, guilt-free French cooking ... need I say more?

 

[LesBrass]

Many thanks for the comments. I live in France and speak French so Le Puy would certianly be easier for me... Someone else today threw the Portuguese route into the hat too? So I think that maybe I have the choice of three... but maybe Le Puy is edging ahead? The other advantage maybe for me is that I started the CF from Roncesvalles so maybe if I walked Le Puy I could finish at Roncesvalles?

Still open to other thoughts though... I have plenty of time to consider the options!

 

[gapowell]

The Le Puy route is wonderful. BUT... it is much more strenuous a 'walk' than the CF. Much more up and down. Also, things are more expensive in France - about 50% more expensive on the Camino in France than in Spain. But you also pass through some lovely towns and places. Speaking French, as you do, will be a great help too! My last thought, is something I once read by someone comparing the Camino routes in France and Spain... 'if you want to walk with the French, walk in France. If you want to walk with the world, walk in Spain'!

Have you considered the Vezeley route? Or from Paris/Arles?

Whatever you choose, enjoy it!!

 

[freescot]

Via de la plata would be perfect. There are just a few 37 km days but it is mostly flat until Galicia.

I think that the Via de La Plata is now very well resourced and there are no longer any 37 km days. Each year it is seeing more pilgrims and new albergues have opened in places like Monesterio and Carcaboso. The day via Capara in the north of Extremadura is still long but can be broken by using the off-camino albergue in Olivia de Pasencia.
It was my first Camino and I loved it.
Buen Camino

 

[Diane55]

I plan to walk my second Camino on the Portuguese route from Lisbon. It is the second most traveled walk, and through a very different country. The Portuguese people are fantastic, warm inviting, and many speak English. The Camino guides are filled with accommodation options all about 20-25 k apart. I hope to walk when the weather allows me to tale the coastal route out of Porto. All the best regardless of your choice!

 

[LesBrass]

Hi Folks... just a little update in that I think I am swayed towards the Portuguese route (today at least!)... so end of September 2016 looks likely! Thanks for all the ideas and suggestions.

 

[tyrrek]

If you walk the CF again you might enjoy doing it at a different time of year (if possible). I did both of mine in spring, but even the difference between early and late spring made it feel quite different. Otherwise Le Puy sounds great, although I haven't done it. Buen Camino!

 

[Magnara]

Le Puy is fantastic, we walked the Frances in winter so I don't know about the crowds, but they sound very daunting to me. Le Puy, as others have said had so much less traffic (although we walked it in April May and there are lots of French recreational walkers then, because of several long weekends in May). It is beautiful, and we absolutely loved it, but if you do it I suggest you go on to Santiago by public transport - just a thought - because SJPP as an end point somehow lacks the final chord of the music.
Maggie Ramsay
(The Italian Camino- Amazon)

 

[Anemone del Camino]

So I'm home and life has settled back to normal... which is very lovely and I'm glad to be home! But I also know that I'd like to walk again but I'm not sure what to do next. This is long distance planning as I'm considering Sep/Oct 2016... but what are your thoughts on where to walk next?

I could walk the CF again. I'm sure that if I choose different end points each day I would see a different camino but I am also wondering about either Le Puy or the Via de la Plata? I drove along the coast of Norther Spain on holiday so I dont think that route is for me... but do you have any other suggestions?

I liked the cameraderie that you found in the Albergues and I liked the towns and villages that we walked through along the CF so I would be looking to walk a route that had some similar services, although I appreciate that the CF has the best infrastructure?

I dont mind walking a 25km days but would prefer not to have to do 30+? I read that on the Via de la Plata you have to do the longer days?

So... if you've walked Le Puy or one of the other routes, how does it compare to the camino francis and what are your preferences and recomendations?

Many thanks in advance!

Norte! I used to read you had to walk super long distances. Not the case, at least not these days in September. A mix of country side, mountains and wonderful cities. No pilgrim menu!!!! Real food when you end your day at 2 or 3 pm, then a light snack for dinner. Feet in the ocean, eyes on the mountains.

I have walked parts of the Frances twice and it was a letdown. El alto del perdon which seemed like a true achievement was a tiny hill, the long walk from Pamplona to Puente la Reina a stroll while I used to think it was a trek. Never mind the fact that there are now albergues in betweens sections I had to walk, making my "exploit" relatively meaningless.

And you will find the camaradery you had in the Frances, even if perhaps less "spirituality" or people finding "messages" and "magic". It's less mystical for most, more of a physical journey and one of history and geography - many more Spaniards and long distance walkers. Enjoy!