UKH

Idle pub chat with a mate about doing the Camino de Santiago sometime in the next couple of years. 

Just after some general advice really: which route? Ideal months to do it? Any recommended guide books?

Cheers

Check this website out, it’s a travel company, the owner Roland used to give talks about the Camino at the Irish outdoor shop I worked at. His website has a good descriptions of each of the routes which might help you make up your mind. I think one of the northern routes might go near the Picos de Europa

Website?

The most standard route, starting in st jean pied de port and ending in Santiago de Compostela via Pamplona, burgos, and leon is a very sociable affair with lots of pilgrim infrastructure along the way (wine, comfortable places to stay, cheap eats, English speakers, shops, waymarking). However there are stretches of flat drab walking in there for sure, and if you go in the best time it'll be pretty busy with other walkers.

The book by John Brierly was fine for me, but if there is a Cicerone book for the route I would expect it's superior.

Any time early or late summer is probably best (april-may or September-october) as walking in Spain in mid summer would probably be brutal.

Cicerone is worth checking out, their guidebook is pretty good. If you're quick, you can get it for 25% off this week too (use code WINTER25 at checkout), not sure if the offer ends this weekend though.

I was vaguely planning on doing one of the routes a couple of years ago and borrowed the cicerone guide ... but then covid hit and that put paid to that...

Whoops sorry 

https://caminoways.com/

Also this is the route passing through the picos 

https://viajecaminodesantiago.com/en/jacobean-routes/vadinian-way/

Cheers 😁