A Pilgrim's Guide to the Camino Portugués Lisbon - Porto - Santiago: including Camino Central, Variente Espiritual, Camino da Costa, & Senda Litoral

I have at least 20 books, guide books and travel books about the Camino de Santiago. What I have learned about myself is that the guide books by John Brierley are consistently the best for my purposes. He prepares you so that you will get the most out of your Camino. I carried his book with me and then I would read ahead to the next stage so that I was prepared and did not overlook something that I might find interesting or worth visiting. Again, I have many guide books but John Brierley's are the most helpful for me. The problem is that I keep giving them away to others and then I have to purchase another copy for myself. I actually saved the actually copy that I wrote all over during the Camino Frances and then purchased a "clean" copy once I returned home, so that my Camino copy became my favorite physical item that I returned with from my Camino. Obviously what you return with inside or spiritually is up to the individual. Buen Camino!

My friend Teri, invited me to join her on the Camino de Santiago . I had no idea what is was but I said yes. How do I prepare for such a journey? We planned. We set goals, bought stuff like backpacks, hiking pants, sunscreen, and the book, A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Camino Portugues. The book showed me the path with beautiful photos. It prepared me mentally, physically, and spiritually. The book was essential for our journey.

At first glance, the maps were confusing

Overall this is a great book for planning and walking the Portuguese Camino. Great maps, good descriptions of route sections and lots of helpful tips. While I appreciate many people may be religious pilgrims, I found the many included "sermons" and "mystical paths" grating and tiresome; for me they are quite unnecessary and without them I would have given the book 5 stars. That beef aside, I recommend the book for its fundamental content.

Five stars for an exceptionally useful guide to the camino, minus two stars for the spiritual and mystical paths.