Description
47The 2023 edition is currently sold out. I should have the 2024 edition ready to ship about early October.
It includes the following:
- Updated and improved maps - Notes on the towns and villages you'll pass through
- Route descriptions and distances
- Altitude profiles
- Pilgrim accommodation
- Services: shops, restaurants, banks, etc.
- Notes on some of the important historical sites you can visit
It also covers the Caminos de Finisterre and Muxía, west of Santiago.
The Vía de la Plata was originally a Roman Road linking Asturias in the north of Spain with the port of Cadiz in the south. Its name, which means The Silver Route, dates from Roman times when it was used to transport silver from the mines of Asturias to the Mediterranean port of Cadiz and onward by ship to Rome. Beginning in the 9th century, as Santiago de Compostela was becoming known as a Christian pilgrimage site, it also began to be used by pilgrims travelling to and from the tomb of St James the Apostle.
In the 1980s the revival of the Camino Francés as a walking route renewed interested in the Vía de la Plata. Numbers of pilgrims increased slowly over the years peaking at 14,197 in Holy Year 2010, and since then constant at about 9,000 a year. In contrast to the Camino Francés, the busiest times on the Vía de la Plata are spring and autumn. The extreme summer heat in southern Spain makes June, July and August the preserve of a small number of hardy souls.
Today the Vía de la Plata has become a popular alternative to the Camino Francés for people looking for solitude and a more authentic Camino experience (with its accompanying difficulties). This guide covers the Vía de la Plata from Seville to Astorga, and the Camino Sanabrés, which branches from the Vía de la Plata and arrives in Santiago through southern Galicia. People often use the term Vía de la Plata to refer to the combination of these two routes.
I started writing this guide after I came back from walking the Vía de la Plata from Seville to Santiago via Astorga in the winter of 2009, and finished the first edition after returning to walk the Camino Sanabrés in 2012. Preparing for my walk I had been unable to find any reliable information in English about the routes and accommodation along them. This didn't deter me and I managed fine with a print out of accommodation from a Spanish website and some Google maps of the towns with the route sketched on them. However, if I hadn't known Spanish I would have been lost and I probably wouldn't have even attempted this walk.
Based on my experience I decided to try to make information more widely available in English. I started by making the guide available as a free download from my website. Thanks to the positive feedback and encouragement I received from other pilgrims who used it, I decided to try publishing it on Amazon (with the addition of maps). This has enabled me to bring the information to a far wider audience - not free, but for a fair price. From the beginning I appealed to pilgrims to send me updates and corrections to help me keep the information up-to-date. Many people responded, and this, together with online resources, allowed me to keep track of new hostels and route changes.
I set out to create a source of the essential information someone will need to walk the Vía de la Plata, and this book is still that, the essential information: distances, pilgrim hostels, places to buy food, places to eat, and notes about those few places where the yellow arrows may not be sufficient for you to find your way.
My talk with Gerald Kelly here:
even with covid!
It took a while but even the Covid crisis couldn’t stop delivery Thank you very much, hopefully 2022 will be possible to visit and walk again Take care and keep well
Australia
Don’t try the Via de la Plata without this
This is absolutely the companion you need. Clear, informative and concise.
United Kingdom
Via de la Plata
This guide is very good for research prior to going on Camino...plenty of information re the route, services available in villages, albergues etc.
IrelandI think it IS the best vdlp guide I could have.
PortugalGreat service
Still in the planning stages but this guide is very helpful
United KingdomPlanning my VdlP 2023
Helpfull planning my walk on the VdlP, but focuses almost entirely on the least expensive, often communal, accommodation. This would have been acceptable pre-Covid, but I am now looking for safer, private accommodation.
CanadaVia La Plata
So far good but need to be on the camino to better evaluate it
CanadaI'm so happy it's here!
So far all we've been able to do with the guidebook, and its elder brothers in the house, is plan and dream. God willing, we will walk the Plata this time after all.
United StatesViadelaPlata
Lotsofimportantandveryusefulinformation.
AustraliaGreat resource for planning
Great book which is enabling my friend and I to plan our 2023 VDLP.
AustraliaPerfect via de la plata companion.
Really great using now. Combined with online updates. Booked ahead and planed just with book.
United KingdomGuide for VDLP
I am using it now. Enjoying the layout. Maps ., information ., accommodation. Good job Gerald Kelly.
AustraliaVery good all round
I had an earlier version of Gerald Kelly's guide, and whilst I didn't really need this hard copy, I wanted to have and hold it, and also support his and Ivar's work. I'd oped to walk the Via in 2022, but it now seems that I'll push that out till 2023, all being well. I was particularly impressed that it arrived in my PO box in Australia only 3 weeks or so after I ordered it from Europe. Great service.
AustraliaCamino essentials
A guidebook is essential if you want to walk a camino, and it's best to have the most up to date version. The layout is different from previous editions but all the info you need is there. Top marks to Casa Ivor for a speedy delivery too!
United KingdomA perfect guidebook
The book has been a great help, when I have planned my VdLP Camino.
SwedenExcellent guide
Had been hoping to undertake the Via de la Plata when Covid put paid to my plans. The opportunity might soon be there so the planning begins again. I already had the 2016 edition and I have now bought bought the updated guide (2022). Gerald Kelly’s guides are excellent and I certainly would feel more comfortable to have this guide on the Via de la Plata. The service from Ivar Rekve’s store is excellent; a good selection of books and no problems with delivery. Better (I would say) to support dedicated small local rather than a certain mega international outfit.
United KingdomLost in Transit!
The book never arrived, no notifications that it was coming, nothing. Sack the courier company and let me know when you'll resend it?
AustraliaExcellent guidebook for the VDLP and Camino Sanabres
Gerald Kelly’s guidebook for the VDLP and Camino Sanabres has given me all the information I’ll need to undertake these Caminos next year. The guidebook is thorough and is slim and lightweight - it’s the perfect Camino companion.
AustraliaVDLP 2020
Pleased to have the 2020 version, even though I still won't be able to walk for a while. Thanks Ivar for getting it to me even though you were working through lockdown restrictions.
AustraliaGerald Kelly guide to Via de la Plata
haven’t walked the route yet. In my opinion, the maps could be improved. Otherwise, it seems to have great info on lodging and eating options. Looking forward to putting it to the test!!
CanadaCustomer Reviews
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even with covid!
It took a while but even the Covid crisis couldn’t stop delivery Thank you very much, hopefully 2022 will be possible to visit and walk again Take care and keep well
AustraliaDon’t try the Via de la Plata without this
This is absolutely the companion you need. Clear, informative and concise.
United KingdomVia de la Plata
This guide is very good for research prior to going on Camino...plenty of information re the route, services available in villages, albergues etc.
IrelandI think it IS the best vdlp guide I could have.
PortugalGreat service
Still in the planning stages but this guide is very helpful
United KingdomPlanning my VdlP 2023
Helpfull planning my walk on the VdlP, but focuses almost entirely on the least expensive, often communal, accommodation. This would have been acceptable pre-Covid, but I am now looking for safer, private accommodation.
CanadaVia La Plata
So far good but need to be on the camino to better evaluate it
CanadaI'm so happy it's here!
So far all we've been able to do with the guidebook, and its elder brothers in the house, is plan and dream. God willing, we will walk the Plata this time after all.
United StatesViadelaPlata
Lotsofimportantandveryusefulinformation.
AustraliaGreat resource for planning
Great book which is enabling my friend and I to plan our 2023 VDLP.
AustraliaPerfect via de la plata companion.
Really great using now. Combined with online updates. Booked ahead and planed just with book.
United KingdomGuide for VDLP
I am using it now. Enjoying the layout. Maps ., information ., accommodation. Good job Gerald Kelly.
AustraliaVery good all round
I had an earlier version of Gerald Kelly's guide, and whilst I didn't really need this hard copy, I wanted to have and hold it, and also support his and Ivar's work. I'd oped to walk the Via in 2022, but it now seems that I'll push that out till 2023, all being well. I was particularly impressed that it arrived in my PO box in Australia only 3 weeks or so after I ordered it from Europe. Great service.
AustraliaCamino essentials
A guidebook is essential if you want to walk a camino, and it's best to have the most up to date version. The layout is different from previous editions but all the info you need is there. Top marks to Casa Ivor for a speedy delivery too!
United KingdomA perfect guidebook
The book has been a great help, when I have planned my VdLP Camino.
SwedenExcellent guide
Had been hoping to undertake the Via de la Plata when Covid put paid to my plans. The opportunity might soon be there so the planning begins again. I already had the 2016 edition and I have now bought bought the updated guide (2022). Gerald Kelly’s guides are excellent and I certainly would feel more comfortable to have this guide on the Via de la Plata. The service from Ivar Rekve’s store is excellent; a good selection of books and no problems with delivery. Better (I would say) to support dedicated small local rather than a certain mega international outfit.
United KingdomLost in Transit!
The book never arrived, no notifications that it was coming, nothing. Sack the courier company and let me know when you'll resend it?
AustraliaExcellent guidebook for the VDLP and Camino Sanabres
Gerald Kelly’s guidebook for the VDLP and Camino Sanabres has given me all the information I’ll need to undertake these Caminos next year. The guidebook is thorough and is slim and lightweight - it’s the perfect Camino companion.
AustraliaVDLP 2020
Pleased to have the 2020 version, even though I still won't be able to walk for a while. Thanks Ivar for getting it to me even though you were working through lockdown restrictions.
AustraliaGerald Kelly guide to Via de la Plata
haven’t walked the route yet. In my opinion, the maps could be improved. Otherwise, it seems to have great info on lodging and eating options. Looking forward to putting it to the test!!
Canada