Please tolerate me revisiting the topic on Camino Guides...

[NJoisygirl]

I know I have read about the Camino Guides on this forum before... I came away from what I read here with the impression that the additional weight of carrying a guide was not worth the information we would glean once actively on our pilgrimage.
HOWEVER... now that our pilgrimage is only two months away, my husband and I are nervously rethinking my decision and I can’t re-find the forum threads I remember reading.
Begging this forum's patience... To those who have gone before us; can we please revisit your thoughts on bringing a Camino Guide?
I remember reading about two main guides:
1) A Pilgrim's Guide to the Camino de Santiago by John Brierley and
2) The Michelin Guide to Camino de Santiago.
I have heard mixed reviews regarding the Brierley guide and yet I can't seem to find the Michelin Guide anywhere... is it out of print?
Experienced pilgrims, what is your thoughts regarding Camino Guides? Do you prefer a different guide that what I have listed above, if so… why do you prefer your suggested guide?
I look forward to your insights!

 

[AML]

Hey, I think this may be the thread you were looking for....was looking at it earlier myself.


pilgrim-books/
pilgrim-books/topic1724.html

 

[burritobear9]

I walked solo and had the Brierly map book

http://www.amazon.ca/Camino-Santiago-Ma ... n+brierley

it is much smaller than the full guide (which I also had, but both tore in half and left both halves behind)

The map book was great and I think the added weight was worth it
it had some details for the bigger towns
and it was easy to follow when I was confused

good luck with your decision

Buen Camino

cheryl

 

[Seymoursmum]

On my Camino Frances I photocopied ( 2 to a page and 2 sided) brierley map book. I then threw out the pages as I went. There was no danger of getting lost without a map, however it was useful to plan each night. All the Germans seem to have the Michelin guide, which looked really good, but I was unable to find a copy at the time.

 

[nidarosa]

I started my Camino in SJPdP with a friend who had the latest Brierley guide book. I had decided on the Rother guide, which is smaller and lighter but still has lots of info. We didn't need two; I never looked in mine because I'm that kind of person - I am happy to follow the arrows and take things as they come - so I left my guide for someone else in Puente la Reina and picked up a thin and light Pili Pala spiral bound map book (not the full guide book!) that was left behind. It came in handy when my friend had to go home from Leon due to injury and I walked the rest of the Way on my own*. It is a few years old now and some of the bars and cafés weren't where they should have been, but the maps were good - I used to rip one of the maps out every two or three days and carry them in my pocket just to confirm that I was where I thought I was. That is all you need, really. Or just get the one double sided A4 height and distance maps from an albergue. The Camino is very well marked and getting lost once or twice in a month is par for the course and might turn out to be a great memory. Don't drag the extra weight along because you think you NEED it. You don't. If you WANT to bring it, then do.

*but never alone!
Buen camino!
Linda

 

[wes]

I walked the Camino in 2006 using Brierley. Experience revealed numerous shortcomings,but it was better than nothing. I'm heading off again from St Jean later this year and have just bought Dintaman and Landis, Hiking the Camino de Santiago from Amazon, published in May 2013. Based on my knowledge of the trail it's a very good guide. At 400 gms it's heavier than I'd prefer, and depending on my final pack weight I might end up pulling the book apart and taking only the essential pages such as maps and accommodation information.
Buen camino, wes

 

[nidarosa]

Dismantling a guide book is a very good idea - it's lighter, easier to fit into your walking routine (one map page a day, rest in pack) and let's face it, by the time you have arrived, it will be outdated and you can buy a new one for next time and read up on the changes!

 

[lynettefoo]

I tore up my guide book and threw the pages I had walked away at the end of every day. At the end of the Camino, I bought a new guide book. It is much lighter and there is also a sense of achievement. Weird I know but it felt good to tear the pages away!

 

[Helen Burns]

It felt sacrilegious tearing up my guidebook but I did it anyway and have no regrets. Divide it into three or four sections and poste restante them ahead to key stops eg. Burgos, Leon. (you can add a few little luxuries to the package also which can come in handy). I carried a double sided photocopy of key pages of another guide. It was good to have two versions ... but then I lost my reading glasses so couldn't read anything. And you know what? I got to Santiago without any guidebook at all. You will be taken care of, don't worry.

Buen camino

 

[wayfarer]

The michelin guide is all you should need and is available at the links below depending on where you live.

http://www.amazon.com/Michelin-Guide-Ca ... 2067148052

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_nos ... +Santiago+

 

[David]

I stock the latest print of the Michelin guide "Camino de Santiago" 160

Best thing about it - apart from it only weighing less than three ounces! is that the route is laid over real maps so you can see where you are in the landscape

you can see photos of it here - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200943825058&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

 

[Stellere]

I keep waffling back and forth on whether or not I should bring a guidebook. Fact: it's really HARD to keep your bag under 6 kg when you have the 300+ gram Brierley! I really don't understand why a book written by someone who advocates travelling ultralight uses such heavy paper. Ha!

Right now, I'm leaning towards leaving it at home. No, cutting it into sections and discarding as I go. No, leaving it at home.

Ah, decision-making. Not my strongest skill.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Brierley went to a lighter paper a few years ago and shaved nearly 4 ounces! An e-book would weigh nothing for those with an iPhone!

 

[David]

Sure, but still ridiculously heavy.
Just weighed mine (I keep it on my sturdy coffee table) - it is 10.5 ounces - 298 gms
Over a quarter of a kilo!!!! :| :| :|

 

[jim456]

you will get the Michelin guide in SJPDP.

 

[Rambler]

Dismantling a guide book is a very good idea - it's lighter, easier to fit into your walking routine (one map page a day, rest in pack) and let's face it, by the time you have arrived, it will be outdated and you can buy a new one for next time and read up on the changes!

I did this with the Brierley book by going to the local Kinko's and having them cut off the binding. I then chose the pages I wanted included and had them rebind it with a spiral binder. I loved it because the book would now lay flat, could be turned and left open to a page while you were walking, and was lighter that with the original binder.

It fit well in the cargo pocket of my pants, so it was easily accessible.

I plan to do it again on our 2014 Camino.

Rambler

 

[NJoisygirl]

I sincerely THANK all of you who took the time to help me!
I confess I am a bit relieved that so many people seem to find themselves in the same quandary I am in.
I like the idea of shedding the pages of the guide (or photocopied pages of the guide) as I progress along ‘my camino’. I am also very interested in the Michelin guide… I am going to look into purchasing the guide here in the United States.

 

[StuartM]

If you go to the Galicia Guide website there is a complete guide to the Frances stage by stage. I just converted the relevant stages to PDF and kept these on my phone for viewing. That and a list of towns/albergues from

 

[Kathy F.]

My two cents . . .
Just finished walking the Frances. Wouldn't think of tearing up my Brierley.
1. I saw that English-speakers carry Brierley, French carry Michelin, Germans carry Miam-Miam Dodo. Spanish just walk. 8)
2. Maps in Brierley often better than the other two books - those carrying the others often used my maps for clarification. I bought the map book but decided to take the full Brierley so I would have information on sights along the way.
3. When I ran out of space for my sellos in my credencia, I began to get the stamps of "non-essential establishments" i.e. restaurants, certain sights, in my Brierley on the appropriate page. Also, wrote notes, phone numbers, prices, etc. in the book.
4. Carried the book in a zip loc baggie in my cargo pants pocket.
5. Although the Frances is clearly marked and I never got lost, I attribute some of that to my use of the maps and information (including photos) in the guidebook, especially for detours
6. As I'm going over my trip in my journal, I use the guidebook to get placenames I missed, sights I saw but didn't write down, etc. It is an added resource (along with my photos), that I am glad I have. I also noted which albergue i had chosen to stay in each night so if, in this forum, someone asks for information, I'll know whether I stayed there or not.
Kathy

 

[obinjatoo]

If it's the Michelin guide I think your talking about, I found one in a shop in SJPP. You should be able to find one as you get closer to your starting point. It was all I needed. It shows distances and elevations along with the section of road atlas. It's very light weight. I found it very useful. Brierly's book just had too much information and weighed more than I would want to carry.
I try to imagine pilgrims a few hundred years ago who navigated by the sun and stars. Thousands have managed to find their way to Santiago. I also did not have a smart phone or any other technology and I didn't have to worry about it. My best piece of advice is, "Less is more".
Buen Camino
R-

 

[mralisn]

Hello all,

This small pamphlet of a book is what I've used on 3 of my walks (2-CF/1-CN) in 2005, 2010, 2012. I'll use again when I return to the Camino Norte next summer.

Small, simple (no "map"), updated, 7BP, ships incredibly fast, can be supplemented with other papers/advice picked up along the Way. This has worked out perfectly for me, and supports the Confraternity of St. James.

Buen Camino to all who are planning, walking, or have returned home.
Simeon

http://www.csj.org.uk/acatalog/The_CSJ_ ... in_23.html

 

[waveprof]

Not, AT ALL, a fan of Brierly or his maps. And it seemed a lot of other people on the Camino had similar thoughts.

If you can read Spanish (or some other languages it is printed in), I think that the best guide, far and away, are the Anaya guides.

If you are limited to English, I'd consider options other than the Brierly. Just my .02

 

[nidarosa]

Waveprof, I am so glad you mention them, because I asked about opinions on it a while back and got no answers. I saw quite a few Spanish using them - little, black Moleskine type books with stage maps and four pages of lined papers between each etapa. A bit small, but all the better for putting in a pocket or bum bag - and doubles as a diary! I bought one in Santiago after having grappled with several guides along the way, and it is now in my Camino stash drawer just waiting to go. The only place an Anaya user was about to miss the route was after Sahagun, when you choose between the Camino Real? and getting out on the senda? and an elderly man doubted my instructions from this forum ... and I was right. But it's a difficult one with the new roads. Other than that I got the impression they were pretty much spot on.