Primitivo vs Le Puy

[acrah]

Hey folks, I've been looking for a thread the compares people's Le Puy (especially the first two weeks) and Primitivo experiences but can't seem to find one. My impression from browsing around is that non-french speakers found the Le Puy culturally isolating but that some people walking the Primitivo literally didn't meet anyone along the way. Both seemed on the difficult side and the food was way better in France. Recommended budgets for Le Puy seem to be 45-55 euros per day (not sure about the Primitivo). What else is there of mighty import? For those who've done both, which did you prefer? If you've only done one of the two, how do you classify that experience in your mind?

Thanks.

 

[David Tallan]

When are you planning to walk? When I walked the Primitivo in July last year, there were plenty of pilgrims. It is one of the top 5 routes in terms of number of pilgrims, if you go by the cathedral statistics, after all. With the number of pilgrims I saw on the Primitivo, it is hard for me to imagine someone walking it and not seeing another pilgrim except, perhaps, in the depths of winter.

 

[Antonius Vaessen]

I walked both. Regarding difficulty there is not much difference as far as I remember. The Le Puy route at least the first weeks, consists for a big part of walking in and out of valleys.
Most walkers on the Le Puy are indeed french so the common language will be french. Most of the times you will probably stay in pensionlike accomodations with communal means. If you dont speak any french this can be a little challenge. I speak enough french to manage a face to face conversation with one or two frenchspeaking persons, at the dinnertable it was much more difficult( tip : try to get early at the table so you can choose a place on a corner, otherwise you might get lost in between conversations) Because of the fact that most of the time you will have dinner it is wise and expected that you make reservations, the host will want to know how many people will come. There are less alberguelike accomodations. You will need a larger budget on the Le Puyroute. Regarding the number of people I found the Primitivo not lonely there were enough pilgrims, in most albergues there were about ten people. Both routes were very beautifull. If you choose the Le Puy route be sure to visit the early pilgrimsmass, it is the best start of any camino I did and you will remember it. If you have the time you should consider the variant through the Celevalley, it branches off a few kilometers after Figeac. On the primitivo I would advise you to go the hospitalesroute ( if weather permits)

 

[trecile]

some people walking the Primitivo literally didn't meet anyone along the way

Where have you read this? As @David Tallan said, it is one of the more popular routes. There were plenty of other pilgrims when I walked it last June. Obviously not as many as the Francés, but way more than the Salvador or Invierno.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I walked the Primitivo in 2016. We did see a few walkers during the day, and we did get to interact with a few of the same pilgrims at the albergues end of some of the days. I get the impression the Primitivo has grown quite a bit in recent years.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

@acrah, welcome to the forum.
I walked the Primitivo in July last year, I absolutely loved it. So much so that I hope to walk it again. The trail has a little more tarmac (certainly at the beginning) than I prefer, but that's pretty common on camino. I believe it has significantly less than other caminos.
Whilst I started off injured I didn't find it overly challenging.
Three of us - @David Tallan, myself and @dbier all walked it in quick succession and we all posted about it daily - if you look under our names you'll find our individual threads.
Quite a number of people on the trail (50+), but more than enough space that you could walk alone whenever you wished. ( I didn't see that many people on a daily basis, it was an accumulative total from different Albergues etc). My budget was €50 per day, including hotels in Oviedo and Santiago, and apartments on two other occasions. Food was everything from supermarket salad to really nice (€35?) meals.

I have yet to walk the VP - that's planned for next year. @caminka just walked the VG, & posted the relevant costs daily. I would imagine that they would be directly relatable to the VP.
Thread 'Caminka on Via Gebenennsis' https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/caminka-on-via-gebenennsis.87620/

Personally, assuming similar accommodation styles I'd probably budget €55-60 per day, and hope to come in under. I guess it really depends on how many bars/cafes you stop at, how many cheaper gite de etapes you find, and home made meals you get to make ! It certainly appears that you could do it for less by making smart choices.

I'm taking my tent so hope to come in somewhat less.

 

[dbier]

Peter definitely summarized it well.

I have not walked LePuy. The Primitivo has grown quite a bit in recent years, so that in late September you will still see pilgrims along the way (although you can have absolutely as much alone time as you want; just slow down).

At that time of year, you'll definitely see pilgrims at the end of the day, regardless of what meal/ accommodation options you prefer.

Cant answer for the food. Can say that not speaking French (or even much Spanish) is not isolating in the slightest. You can always ask ( politely) a hospitalero to help you with phone calls.

Budget varies. When I walked last September, private albergues were running about 15 euro, sometimes with an extra 2-3 for towel and/ or blanket. Private rooms were anywhere from 30-60 euro. Never stayed in a municipal.

Meals were dependent. I never paid more than 3-7 euro for breakfast until I got to Melide ( with one notable exception in Grandas de Salime). Pilgrim menus for lunch and/or dinner at 10-12 euro were fine for me.

Hope this helps. Buen Camino.

 

[vleadbe]

I've walked both in 2022. I don't speak French and did not find myself isolated at all. Many fellow Pilgrims spoke English and the French were very friendly even if they couldn't speak English. I saw Pilgrims daily on both Le Puy and Primitivo. In terms of difficulty I would say they were about the same. The Le Puy route is more expensive due to the gite style accommodation, especially including dinner. I had my tent so could camp at the many lovely french campsites which brought my costs down significantly.

I really enjoyed both routes, but for me Le Puy is still the best I've done, followed by Primitivo, Ingles, Norte and Portuguese in that order.

Honestly whichever of the two you pick, you are picking a good one.

 

[Guateboston]

Have walked both. Also the Frances and the Norte (full route) and you can not really compare one with the other. Each has its own magic. The Le Puy route and Primitivo are similar as difficulty goes. Food in Le Puy is fabulous. System is different you do Demi pension in most. You will find English speakers in both. Community you build depends on you, time of the year and number of people. It depends on what you are looking for .

 

[emmanuel]

Have walked both. Also the Frances and the Norte (full route) and you can not really compare one with the other. Each has its own magic. The Le Puy route and Primitivo are similar as difficulty goes. Food in Le Puy is fabulous. System is different you do Demi pension in most. You will find English speakers in both. Community you build depends on you, time of the year and number of people. It depends on what you are looking for .

Le Puy's high-season is May-June. Primitivo's is July-August. English is more common off-season in both.

 

[backpack45]

Hey folks, I've been looking for a thread the compares people's Le Puy (especially the first two weeks) and Primitivo experiences but can't seem to find one. My impression from browsing around is that non-french speakers found the Le Puy culturally isolating but that some people walking the Primitivo literally didn't meet anyone along the way. Both seemed on the difficult side and the food was way better in France. Recommended budgets for Le Puy seem to be 45-55 euros per day (not sure about the Primitivo). What else is there of mighty import? For those who've done both, which did you prefer? If you've only done one of the two, how do you classify that experience in your mind?

Thanks.

I have hiked both--but you have others who have more current numbers of pilgrims, on the route. The LePuy is much longer for one thing and it offers a greater diversity in terms of landscapes. You'll find beautiful market towns--especially in the early and med sections, and coming over the Somport Pass into Spain is terrific. I speak little French, but everyone I did talk to at my accommodations on the LePuy was super welcoming and helpful. We generally looked at the Miam Miam Dodo guide and chose places (gites/back bedrooms/dorms/and more). where someone in the household did speak English (though sometimes it seemed like only a small child did, ha ha!). And the food has kept me coming back to France and the Chemins time and again! I guess I would say the LePuy was my favorite of the two, but then the Primitivo has some real high spots, too-- Oviedo, the first of the pilgrim routes, the walled city of Lugo (be sure to walk atop it), trying the sidreria (hard cider) in one of the bars, and much more. You can't go wrong with either choice!

​

 

[David Tallan]

The LePuy is much longer for one thing and it offers a greater diversity in terms of landscapes. You'll find beautiful market towns--especially in the early and med sections, and coming over the Somport Pass into Spain is terrific.

Just curious here, I always thought that the Le Puy route (like the routes from Paris and Vezelay) led directly to the Cize Pass (between SJPP and Roncesvalles) and it was only the route from Arles that crosses at the Somport Pass to the east. Was I in error?

 

[John Holland]

I have walked both, the Le Puy twice. I do not speak a word of French and only a very little bit of Spanish. Both are excellent routes. I think the Le Puy has more small to mid-size interesting towns. Food on both was very good with a slight favouritism to the Le Puy route. The Miam Miam Dodo guide is superb. I found both the French and Spanish people very friendly and helpful. The Primitivo has the excellent Hospitales section. Going along the top route is brilliant. It is very hard to choose one over the other. Whichever you do, you will enjoy it.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I have walked both routes and they do have many differences, some which are already mentioned above. I don't think both routes are really comparable, except possibly in the level of difficulty, although I thought the Le Puy was harder for me. The architecture, the terrain, the food, the lodging (I stayed exclusively in gites with demi-pension), and even the people all seem different imo.
I decided to turn onto the Cele Valley variant eventually on the Le Puy and it was absolutely unique and incredible...a "be sure not to miss" experience if you choose this route.

 

[mrosenlof]

I have walked only the LePuy route. I speak French poorly at best, but I *did* try. I did not feel isolated at a gite unless I was the only guest (which didn't happen until after Conques). Sometimes the dinner table divided naturally into French speakers and everyone else. I found people everywhere to be very nice, and enjoyed myself. My French did improve (mostly listening) in the six weeks I spent walking last year. I'm going back later this year to walk from Nasbinals to Rocamadour.