appropriate donativo in France

[Kiwi-family]

It looks like we'll be trying to stay with Guy and Marie-Helene near Ustaritz. They live way out and pick you up in the village. What do you think would be an appropriate amount to give them? With donativos in Spain we count on 10E for bed and the same for dinner per person if it is provided. Is that too little for France? Of course we'd throw in extra for petrol too, but I want to make sure we don't "underpay". Reading some Le Puy blogs, I have noticed the B&B prices are considerably more than albergues in Spain.

 

[wawpdx]

Kiwi Mama,
I walked in France summer before last and usually paid 34-37 Euros because I choose to have the meals. The fee included a bed/shower, supper (with wine) and lots of coffee/bread/jam in the morning. Even when simple, the evening meals were far more interesting and varied than the Pilgrim menu in Spain. Some places that appear to be a village in the MMDD book (i.e. they have a name) are just a couple of houses and some trees so there may not be any alternative food options. The price, although far more than Spain, never seemed unreasonable.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

From 32E to 35E for demipension. That is 15E for the bed, 14E for the dinner, and 3E for the breakfast. There are few donativos in France, so your hosts may have a named price.

 

[grayland]

From 32E to 35E for demipension. That is 15E for the bed, 14E for the dinner, and 3E for the breakfast. There are few donativos in France, so your hosts may have a named price.

From my experience on the Le Puy route, they would have a set price
Did you check in the MMDD? How did you find them?

I did not see a donativo in France.

 

[Kiwi-family]

Copied and pasted from http://www.xacobeo.fr/ZE1.11.Aqu.Nive_srv.htm

USTARITZ (km 14,5)

- tous commerces, mais il n’y a plus d’office de tourisme

- Hébergement chez l’habitant : Guy et Marie-Hélène (pèlerins eux-mêmes) accueillent les pèlerins dans leur maison (donativo). Ils habitent hors chemin et peuvent venir vous chercher dans le village. Tel : 05 59 93 15 54 ou 06 33 97 28 46

 

[grayland]

Copied and pasted from http://www.xacobeo.fr/ZE1.11.Aqu.Nive_srv.htm

USTARITZ (km 14,5)

- tous commerces, mais il n’y a plus d’office de tourisme

- Hébergement chez l’habitant : Guy et Marie-Hélène (pèlerins eux-mêmes) accueillent les pèlerins dans leur maison (donativo). Ils habitent hors chemin et peuvent venir vous chercher dans le village. Tel : 05 59 93 15 54 ou 06 33 97 28 46

It looks like we were wrong...it does say donativo. I am not familiar with where Ustaritz is located.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

This one is donation; two pilgrims who met on the Camino and married:

http://www.chemindecompostelle.com/emmaus/index.html

 

[Kiwi-family]

Grayland this could be my mistake - I may have confused the issue by mentioning the Le Puy route. Ustaritz is actually on the Voie de la Nive not far from Bayonne. Quite coincidentally I was reading some Le Puy blogs and the prices people were paying seemed higher than in Spain so I wondered if French expectations would be higher. I would hate to offend a host.

 

[jl]

When I walked the Vezelay path in 2009 (so these figures are old) many of the refuges I stayed in were donativo. Interestingly though, they had a minimum price - generally 5 Euros at that time, though a few said 7 or 8. I always gave more than the minimum requested. These were simple refuges and no meals were provided, though food was often available with an honesty system for payment. There are donativo refuges in France, and a couple that I stayed in before reaching Vezealy were also donativo. Janet