Le Puy ... August 2014.

[Boreal]

Camino Frances veteran ... Looking to walk Le Puy to SJPP 31 days in August... I notice few signed on the calendar for that time period. Is it far too hot? Crowded?
Any other considerations? Suggestions welcome.
Thank you for advise/comments.

 

[zammy]

Camino Frances veteran ... Looking to walk Le Puy to SJPP 31 days in August... I notice few signed on the calendar for that time period. Is it far too hot? Crowded?
Any other considerations? Suggestions welcome.
Thank you for advise/comments.

Yes it will be hot, depends where you come from.
Yes, it'll be crowded and you need to reserve ahead NOW.

 

[Boreal]

Thank you .... I have never participated in forums before ... This one is great.
In the past, I just traveled, walked and trusted.
After Camino Frances and it's simplicity I have a hard time thinking about reserving
That seems to take away possibilities of staying with people you meet along the way and changing plans ... Spontaneity !

I don't mind heat .... Leave very early. Same on crowds, but reserving ahead seems so .... Well, planned! I would love to see that countryside, but now thinking the route may not allow me the freedom I enjoyed on SJPP to Santiago ...
Input?

 

[birnbaumclara]

I have also walked the Frances (just loved it deeply) and will be walking the route from Le Puy in mid-summer, starting end July. Although I walked the Frances in mid-summer, I never had to book a place to stay despite the many warnings (on this forum) that it would be necessary. Is it really so different on the Le Puy route in that regard? That really would be disappointing since I walk for the walk and love to be able to meander, get lost, walk 10 k or 30 k on whim, and am not driven at all by the thought of arriving at my "goal" since I don`t particularly care about that. I guess I`ll have to adjust to the real world, if that`s how it is.

 

[Boreal]

I am planning on starting July 28 -31 . . . and will await others opinions about reserving ahead .... I do not care to take that on ...

I agree with you, I much prefer the joy of doing what comes up - IF possible

 

[Magnara]

I am planning on starting July 28 -31 . . . and will await others opinions about reserving ahead .... I do not care to take that on ...

I agree with you, I much prefer the joy of doing what comes up - IF possible

We are in Cahors today, so don't know about August. But we have been surprised to find we need to book - but we are walking with three friends for the first time, if you are solo it might be possible. Also if you are willing to walk to gites or chambe d'hôtes a bit off the main path a few km at the end of the day. The tourist offices are very helpful in hunting down places. Carry a small tent just in case? Or do what one young pilgrim did, just knock on a door and ask where she could stay in the village and ended up staying with that family. How much of a risk- taker are you? It's our third camino ( Frances and Via previously) but for the first time we have now booked ahead.
Maggie Ramsay
(The Italian Camino - Amazon)

 

[gittiharre]

Borea, hello, the Le Puy route is wonderful, walked it twice, once end of August/September, wonderful weather, only disadvantage is the fact that the hunting season starts in September, wear something bright. Second time was in June, also lovely, not so hot, more rain. The first part from Le Puy to Conques can be rather busy, I was in Le Puy heading off onto the Robert Louis Stevenson trail, when I met a couple from Australia. They had not pre booked and had a hell of a time for at least the first 2 weeks as there were a greater number of pilgrims setting off from Le Puy on the same day than there were beds available 15 to 40 km beyond and all the beds were fully booked for several days. The couple ended up taking taxis off route and staying in expensive chambre d'hotes which made the start of the route stressful and spoilt the rhythm of walking.
I have done quite a few long trails now and kind of know my daily capacity, did lots of research and did pre book. On the Camino Frances I was really spontaneous, but on the Le Puy route it was lovely to have pre booked the accommodation, no hassle, I knew how far I had to go each day and just did it. I felt free of the pre occupation over whether and where I might find a place to stay.
I had a great time on the Frances, but would not walk it again now, too crowded and too many big cities.
All the best with whatever you decide to do.

 

[Kanga]

We also book but usually only the night before. It is normal to book. France does not have the tradition and history of "walk up" accommodation that exists on the Spanish caminos.
Another reason for booking is the evening meal provided with demi-pension. Not only is it good value but often there is little alternative. If you are having an evening meal the owners of the gite need to know in advance so they can ensure they have adequate food.

 

[Boreal]

We are in Cahors today, so don't know about August. But we have been surprised to find we need to book - but we are walking with three friends for the first time, if you are solo it might be possible. Also if you are willing to walk to gites or chambe d'hôtes a bit off the main path a few km at the end of the day. The tourist offices are very helpful in hunting down places. Carry a small tent just in case? Or do what one young pilgrim did, just knock on a door and ask where she could stay in the village and ended up staying with that family. How much of a risk- taker are you? It's our third camino ( Frances and Via previously) but for the first time we have now booked ahead.
Maggie Ramsay
(The Italian Camino - Amazon)

Thank you so much for your input ... enjoy

 

[Farmer John]

Thank you .... I have never participated in forums before ... This one is great.
In the past, I just traveled, walked and trusted.
After Camino Frances and it's simplicity I have a hard time thinking about reserving
That seems to take away possibilities of staying with people you meet along the way and changing plans ... Spontaneity !

I don't mind heat .... Leave very early. Same on crowds, but reserving ahead seems so .... Well, planned! I would love to see that countryside, but now thinking the route may not allow me the freedom I enjoyed on SJPP to Santiago ...
Input?

Bon Jour, Boreal!

A year ago today was "day one" of my Camino from LePuy to SdC. I was also "advised" to book far in advance. The only place I did that was for my first night's stay in LePuy. If, as you say, you're amenable to any flexible schedule, the "booking" thing wasn't a big deal for me. As much as anything, the booking was good for the Gite d'etap proprietors as it gave them time to prepare meals and count heads. I did make my reservation each day, but it almost always wasn't until mid morning or even noon of the day I intended to stay and I had decided how far I wanted to walk. After a couple of weeks, I found that the best solution was getting recommendations from the current night's host as to what, who, was best to aim for the following day, or days. They would often make the call for me, thus circumventing my minimal language skills. I loved it. My blog site is on the listing Ivar has on this great forum. You'll find it under pilgrimfarmerjohn if you care to see some of the places I stayed.

Bon chemin!
PFJ

 

[birnbaumclara]

Bon Jour, Boreal!

A year ago today was "day one" of my Camino from LePuy to SdC. I was also "advised" to book far in advance. The only place I did that was for my first night's stay in LePuy. If, as you say, you're amenable to any flexible schedule, the "booking" thing wasn't a big deal for me. As much as anything, the booking was good for the Gite d'etap proprietors as it gave them time to prepare meals and count heads. I did make my reservation each day, but it almost always wasn't until mid morning or even noon of the day I intended to stay and I had decided how far I wanted to walk. After a couple of weeks, I found that the best solution was getting recommendations from the current night's host as to what, who, was best to aim for the following day, or days. They would often make the call for me, thus circumventing my minimal language skills. I loved it. My blog site is on the listing Ivar has on this great forum. You'll find it under pilgrimfarmerjohn if you care to see some of the places I stayed.

Bon chemin!
PFJ

I`m finding the responses on this topic very helpful. I had written earlier that I never had to reserve ahead on the Frances route in summer, 2012, and was hoping the situation would be similar on the Le Puy route this summer because I loved being able to zig and zag and walk 7K or 30K depending on the circumstances. However, I am beginning now to feel that I can adjust to a new way of operating, and that calling ahead (preferably on the evening before or the morning itself, not earlier than that (?)) might be something I can handle afterall. I do have one specific Q though. I hope to stay mainly at the most inexpensive gites. I`m getting the impression they are generally more off the main road. Is that so? If so, that suits me fine. And if so, are they less sought-after?? Any thoughts on that?

 

[Farmer John]

I`m finding the responses on this topic very helpful. I had written earlier that I never had to reserve ahead on the Frances route in summer, 2012, and was hoping the situation would be similar on the Le Puy route this summer because I loved being able to zig and zag and walk 7K or 30K depending on the circumstances. However, I am beginning now to feel that I can adjust to a new way of operating, and that calling ahead (preferably on the evening before or the morning itself, not earlier than that (?)) might be something I can handle afterall. I do have one specific Q though. I hope to stay mainly at the most inexpensive gites. I`m getting the impression they are generally more off the main road. Is that so? If so, that suits me fine. And if so, are they less sought-after?? Any thoughts on that?

Bon Jour b-b-c,

Guidebooks are a complete genre in themselves, both here on this forum and in the Camino world in general, so I don't want to open that Pandora's box. Having said that, I "minimized" two of the guidebooks I had left home with and relied entirely on the LePuy to San Jean Michelin guide for planning my daily route. Gites both directly on the Way and those "nearby" are listed, with phone numbers and other pertinent info. Making a few phone calls to the "most likely" gites quickly gets the cost info as well and allows your decision making to be as informed as possible. Keep in mind I am only one of thousands of pilgrims making this portion of the Way and my individual experience was that in the time period I walked (16 May depart LePuy) I had no problems finding lodging/meals by booking on the same day. Most of the time, there were only two people, and quite often just myself, so that obviously can make a difference. As Kanga pointed out in her response, the demi pension option is the most often used and the meals were fabulous.

BTW, a lot of the "zig-zagging" I did was unintentional. There are many GR's along the Chemin and ogling the terrific scenery as I was prone to do more than once got me in places I hadn't intended to go. But, it's all good!

Bon Chemin,
PFJ

 

[Kitsambler]

I hope to stay mainly at the most inexpensive gites. I`m getting the impression they are generally more off the main road. Is that so? If so, that suits me fine. And if so, are they less sought-after?? Any thoughts on that?

The less-expensive gites are either off the marked route, or the municipally-operated ones in town center. So yes, off the marked route involves less traffic and less popularity (hence the lower price to make them more attractive). These tend to be visited by preponderantly French-speakers, and have a higher ratio of non-walkers. Also they are away from towns and services. The temperatures in August, especially west of Cahors, can be downright brutal. One other consideration is that August tends to be the month when people take vacation in France - this includes gite owners too. So calling ahead to see if they are even open would be a good thing.