wise pilgrim guides - since 2008

Independent publisher of trusted camino guidebooks and mobile apps. Search for Wise Pilgrim in your app or book store.

Online Guides

Use the boxes below to navigate your way to the online version of the guides.  If you find it helpful please consider supporting the site by upgrading to one of the printed books. They are available in the SHOP.

8 Up-to-date CAMINO guidebooks

now in their second edition (2019)

plus a handful of mobile apps to guide you to Santiago de Compostela with a smile

The Big Map of the Caminos de Santiago in Spain and Portugal

I write guidebooks for the camino. It wasn't my plan but it became my fate.  I've been walking and writing for a good while now and was looking for something to help me plan the next route to publish. Something to hang in the office and be inspired by.

Not finding anything suitable I determined to make my own, and this is it!  There are close to 50 routes across Spain and Portugal, and 4 that enter the Iberian Peninsula from France.  The map came out much better than I could have expected, and the master printer that produces the books here in Santiago took it to the next level by offset printing it on a soft textured and heavy duty (250g) paper stock.  It is poster size large and measures 50x70cm, or 19.5x27.5in. It does not contain any branding with the Wise Pilgrim name.

Hang it to plan and be motivated by, hang it as a celebration, hang it for the bragging rights that come from being able to say "I walked that!"

A big thank you to everyone that makes a purchase, your support keeps the office light on late into the evening.

Shipping Details

The poster ships rolled up and snug in a tube and safe from folding or crushing. 

The Camino Francés - A Wise Pilgrim Guide to the Camino de Santiago

2020 Edition

The guides have been rewritten and now contain more practical information than they ever have; for the first time including more specific information for pilgrims who are looking for albergues that offer group dinners and vegetarian options. 

The guidebooks will include:

• The same comprehensive accommodation directory.  Over 900 properties, including all albergues. Hotels, paradors, casa rurales, pensions, and camp sites. For albergues you will know: how many beds (including private rooms) the albergue has and how much they cost, phone number, months (and hours) open,  and whether the albergue accepts non-pilgrims or reservations.  You will also know whether they have a bar/restaurant, a kitchen for your use, whether they serve a group dinner, have vegetarian options, wifi, laundry facilities, or bicycle storage.
• City by city information. Navigation tips and cautions, historical references, a list of available service (pharmacies, restaurants, atms, that kind of stuff) and dates for local fiestas.
• Large Scale Maps:  Large Scale Maps with no pre-determined stages. These maps are at the start of the book and are the best reference for anyone wanting to plan ahead without having to flip through the book.
• Elevation Profile:  The elevation profile sits alongside the large scale maps, giving you a better overview of the terrain ahead.
• City Maps: Lots and lots of city maps.  From the small villages to the regional capitals, if there is more than one option for accommodation a map is included to help you find it.  These maps are inline with the guide and also show the nearest grocery, albergue, pharmacy, atm, and other bits.  
• Detours and alternative routes: The camino splits in a few places, and when it does an overview is provided to help you visualize the option ahead.

The Camino del Norte - A Wise Pilgrim guide to the Northern Camino from Irun to Santiago

2020 Edition

Written for the 2020 Walking Year: Includes Coastal and Alternative Routes.

The guides have been rewritten and now contain more practical information than they ever have; for the first time including more specific information for pilgrims who are looking for albergues that offer group dinners and vegetarian options. 

The guidebooks will include:

• The same comprehensive accommodation directory.  Hundreds of properties, including all albergues. Hotels, paradors, casa rurales, pensions, and camp sites. For albergues you will know: how many beds (including private rooms) the albergue has and how much they cost, phone number, months (and hours) open,  and whether the albergue accepts non-pilgrims or reservations.  You will also know whether they have a bar/restaurant, a kitchen for your use, whether they serve a group dinner, have vegetarian options, wifi, laundry facilities, or bicycle storage.
• City by city information. Navigation tips and cautions, historical references, a list of available service (pharmacies, restaurants, atms, that kind of stuff) and dates for local fiestas.
• Large Scale Maps:  Large Scale Maps with no pre-determined stages. These maps are at the start of the book and are the best reference for anyone wanting to plan ahead without having to flip through the book.
• Elevation Profile:  The elevation profile sits alongside the large scale maps, giving you a better overview of the terrain ahead.
• City Maps: Lots and lots of city maps.  From the small villages to the regional capitals, if there is more than one option for accommodation a map is included to help you find it.  These maps are inline with the guide and also show the nearest grocery, albergue, pharmacy, atm, and other bits.  
• Detours and alternative routes: The camino splits in a few places, and when it does an overview is provided to help you visualize the option ahead.

The Camino Portugués - A Guide to the Camino Portugués along the Central and Coastal Routes

2020 Edition

Includes the Coastal, the Central, and the Variante Espiritual Routes

Built from the same great information that powers the Wise Pilgrim series of mobile apps, and updated for the 2020 season. The guide now contains more practical information than they ever; for the first time including more specific information for pilgrims who are looking for albergues that offer group dinners and vegetarian options.

Comprehensive accommodation directory: Hundreds of properties, including all albergues, hotels, paradors, casa rurales, pensions, and camp sites.
For albergues you will know: how many beds (including private rooms) the albergue has and how much they cost, phone number, months (and hours) open, and whether the albergue accepts non-pilgrims or reservations.
You will also know whether they have a bar/restaurant, a kitchen for your use, whether they serve a group dinner, have vegetarian options, wifi, laundry facilities, or bicycle storage.

City by city information: Navigation tips and cautions, historical references, a list of available service (pharmacies, restaurants, atms, that kind of stuff) and dates for local fiestas.

Large Scale Planning Maps: Large Scale Maps with no pre-determined stages. These maps are at the start of the book and are the best reference for anyone wanting to plan ahead without having to flip through the book.

Elevation Profile: The elevation profile sits alongside the large scale maps, giving you a better overview of the terrain ahead.

City Maps: Lots and lots of city maps. From the small villages to the regional capitals, if there is more than one option for accommodation a map is included to help you find it. These maps are inline with the guide and also show the nearest grocery, albergue, pharmacy, atm, and other bits.

The Camino Primitivo - A Wise Pilgrim Guide to the Camino Primitivo from Villaviciosa, through Oviedo, to Santiago de Compostela

2019 Edition

This book begins in Villaviciosa, which is on the Camino del Norte, for those pilgrims who want to combine the two routes.  Pilgrims starting in Oviedo can therefore skip the first few pages.

The guidebooks include:

• The same comprehensive accommodation directory.  Including all albergues. Hotels, paradors, casa rurales, pensions, and camp sites. For albergues you will know: how many beds (including private rooms) the albergue has and how much they cost, phone number, months (and hours) open,  and whether the albergue accepts non-pilgrims or reservations.  You will also know whether they have a bar/restaurant, a kitchen for your use, whether they serve a group dinner, have vegetarian options, wifi, laundry facilities, or bicycle storage.
• City by city information. Navigation tips and cautions, historical references, a list of available service (pharmacies, restaurants, atms, that kind of stuff) and dates for local fiestas.
• Large Scale Maps:  Large Scale Maps with no pre-determined stages. These maps are at the start of the book and are the best reference for anyone wanting to plan ahead without having to flip through the book.
• Elevation Profile:  The elevation profile sits alongside the large scale maps, giving you a better overview of the terrain ahead.
• City Maps: Lots and lots of city maps.  From the small villages to the regional capitals, if there is more than one option for accommodation a map is included to help you find it.  These maps are inline with the guide and also show the nearest grocery, albergue, pharmacy, atm, and other bits.  
• Detours and alternative routes: The camino splits in a few places, and when it does an overview is provided to help you visualize the option ahead.