Just come back from 2 weeks walking between Le Puy and Conques. Lovely walk.
Baggage transport: as well as La Malle Poste, there is also Transbagage (
www.transbagages.com). We did not use them but saw plenty of people who did. One lady organised Transbagage for a transfer for the next day. I think the cost was 8 euros per stage.
These two companies also operate a shuttle bus which starts early in the morning in Le Puy and arrives at Conques midday, stopping at lots of places on the way, then returns in the afternoon. Very useful if you need to get back to Le Puy for a train, or need a rest one day. Again we did not use them, but saw plenty of people who did.
If you do use bag transport, you need to be aware that there is a risk of acquiring bedbugs that way. The bags are all thrown in the back of a van and left in a pile at the other end. At several places we saw people wrapping their bags in black plastic to minimise this risk.
Accommodation: if you stay in the towns along the route, there will be restaurants available. If you stay in the 'in between' stages, then demi pension is a must. Some of our best evenings were in such gîtes, eating a lovely communal meal with great company. These must be booked at least a day in advance to allow the host to be able to know how many to cook for. They are great value places - 38 or 39 euros for bed breakfast and evening meal.
If you stay in a town, there are hotels and chambre d'hotes. We found chambres to cost about 40 to 45 euros for bed and breakfast for 2 whilst hotels were 60 to 70 euros. Then add meals if you are not cooking - anything from around 10 euros to 20 euros for a main course.
Guides: we like maps so I bought the Topoguide, which has lovely maps. For a profile of the walk, there is one on the godesalco website, below the map. Click on the profile to download and enlarge as needed!
https://godesalco.com/camino/podense
Planning: it's a lovely walk but quite tough - tougher than the
Camino Frances in that it has more ups and downs, apart from the SJPP to Roncesvalles section. But they are unevenly spread and so judging how far you can walk a day is difficult. We had intended to only walk to Nasbinals one day, a 17km walk, but got there are midday and easily walked the 9km to Aubrac. Contrast with another day when we walked L'Estrade to Espalion (18km) and the hill up to the Virgin in the afternoon heat was torture. Having to book is a complication that does not exist on the CF.
If you want to stay at Le Sauvage, you need to book in good time. Similarly at Montbonnet.
Planning: as well as the godesalco site, I also used gronze. (
https://www.gronze.com/camino-santiago-le-puy). I've used it a lot for walking in Spain and I trust it.
Bedbugs: the owner of the gite in Le Puy where we stayed told us that bedbugs were bad on the route. We encountered them in Saugues and apparently this town has something of a reputation. Check your room carefully - do not be fooled by the clean white sheet on the bed. There is also a culture of secrecy/shame surrounding the critters; some people do not like to talk about them openly. Fortunately others are not like that and operate a bedbug regime, where packs are kept well away from the sleeping area. If I walk the Le Puy route again, I will be taking a large light weight dry bag which I will use to put my entire pack in overnight, and also use more bags in my pack to compartmentalise my belongings. No one wants to be forced to wash their merino and silk items at 60 degrees, and tumble driers are not always available.
Timing: others will be better informed than me, but is there a risk of snow on the Aubrac plateau then?