Please sign in to post.

Which Camino de Santiago Book?

Posted by (Lawrence, KS) on

Hello all,
I've decided to walk the Camino this summer, and I'm new to hiking. I have Rick's Spain guidebook (thanks Rick!), and I have the Brierley guidebook to help me plan my walk every day. But neither of them talks much about the things you need to take on the Camino. I visited the REI website and felt completely lost (why do the socks cost $10 a pair?!). And the Brierley doesn't say much about how to get to the Camino unless you're coming from the UK.

Can anyone recommend a book or resource to help me pick out gear and provide some Camino-specific travel info? I found, but haven't purchased, these two: Walking to Santiago and Practical Preparation.

I'm a student, so this whole trip is a major expenditure. I don't want to waste travel money on the wrong book. The reviews of Practical Preparation say it spends a bunch of pages on the history of Spain, which doesn't seem like a good use of money for a girl on a budget. It's the gear that I'm concerned about because I'm afraid I'm going to walk into an outdoors store and get sold a bunch of really expensive stuff I don't need, so I want to understand all my choices first. Walking to Santiago seems better for that, but it doesn't have any reviews.

And if anyone has any other tips, I would really appreciation them. I'm going alone, so some reassuring things I can tell my parents would be awesome.

Thanks,
Girl on a budget

Posted by
9363 posts

I am using Practical Preparation for my Camino this fall. It seems very clear and well-written, and it is compact enough to easily carry along if I choose to. I do have to ask, though: if you don't care to learn about the history of where you are going, why go all the way to Spain to hike? The history of the Camino is fascinating and important. Learning something about it will help you to feel more a part of it. It isn't like the history takes up half of the book, anyway. There are also a number of good, practical phone apps that you can get.

Posted by
5 posts

@Nancy,
I guess what I mean is that I can learn the history in a lot of places for free (and I already know quite a bit, and will learn more), but that's not why I want to buy a Camino advice book.

Posted by
638 posts

Hi, I walked the Camino in 2010, you're in for the adventure of your life. I have a list of items I carried on my Camino I'll send it to you in a PM. But to give you an idea you don't need much, just clothing, personal items (toiletries) and raingear, you do not need any camping gear such as a tent, stove, pans. For the most part you want to limit how much you carry to about 10% of your body weight, one thing you'll see in the alburgues are items dumped by previous people, every ounce adds up.

Your question about socks, yes they can be expensive but it is the most important clothing item you will have. The feet take a beating on the Camino, you have to take very good care of them, the biggest medical problem you will see on the Camino it blisters and other foot ailments. For me what worked best was wearing liner socks under my hiking socks, they're thin socks that minimize the rubbing of the socks against your skin which in turn causes blisters. I met on man from Brazil that had to completely stop walking for almost a week to let his feet heal, other times I saw people limping and in pain, this is the one thing that will end a Camino. Also be sure the shoes you wear are broken in, you don't want to do it on the Camino.

As far as getting there it depends on where you are coming from and arriving in Europe, if you're arriving in Madrid you can take the train to Pamplona and make arrangements to get to St Jean from there. When I went there was a service that picked up people in Pamplona and drove them to St Jean, I'm not sure if they're still in business, I know they did have some permit problems with the Spanish government, I'll see if I can find their website. What many do is arrange a taxi and share the cost, you will meet others on the train or when you arrive in Pamplona. If you're arriving via Paris the train to Biarritz, from there you can take a taxi and maybe a bus to St Jean.

You already have a great guidebook so you won't need any others. For now I hope this helps, I'll PM some messages with the packing list and some links to good websites.

Posted by
5 posts

So I opted for "Walking to Santiago," and I'm really happy with my choice. I feel like I know everything there is to know about all my gear choices and the logistics of the Camino. I also liked the author's personal perspective on the Camino. I can relate.

I definitely recommend this book.

Posted by
1 posts

Hello,

I am also new to long-distance hiking. I am a 60 y/o woman striking out on my own to hike the Camino this coming fall. I have been researching info to help me prepare for this adventure & found this forum with some info I hope proves beneficial in my preparations. I just bought "Walking to Santiago" and the Brierly guidebook based on recommendations on this forum. I see that a couple of other people are also starting their hike in the fall. I also appreciated the "travel to" info that Barry posted on traveling to the start of the hike as I am leaving my home in Tualatin, Oregon & have never been to Europe. I am very nervous & excited to start this journey & I look forward to seeing more helpful info on this forum & others.

Happily planning,
Susan

This topic has been automatically closed due to a period of inactivity.