This is an update in advance of an update to the entire site. It results from new info and perspectives gained from the Camino trip I completed with my grandson on 25 June 2011.
Cost Estimates
Albergue costs range from donations to 5 to 12 euros per person per night. The higher fees were for private albergues but were also for smaller, and thus less crowded, dormitories. Small hotels with private rooms ran from 30 to 60 euros and up.
Pilgrim menus (three courses, bread, water and wine) ranged from 8 to 10 euros. There are often fancier menus available for more. Breakfasts, consisting of coffee and toast or sweet breads ran from 3 to 6 euros.
Water, cokes, and beer are the same - running from 1.20 to 1.50 euros.
Fresh squeezed orange juice was 1.50 to 2 euros.
Prices for food and albergues increased closer to Santiago, particularly those within the last 100 kilometers.
Maps/Guidebooks
I had but did not take the book Camino de Santiago Maps by John Brierley. I should have. It had everything we needed and would have been lighter than the Spanish guide I had. Maps, and listings of places to sleep and eat. It was available at Amazon.com.
Gear/Clothing
I had two pair of trousers and two shirts. They were different. I should have had both the same but in different colors. The problem is each have multiple pockets but they were different and I never got organized and had to search for things. Had they been the same, I could have saved myself trouble by deciding where to store what and that would be the same no matter what I was wearing.
I should have bought the max size microfiber towel.
An ultra light bathrobe would have made life much easier. Shed your clothes under the bathrobe outside, enter the shower area wearing your bathrobe with shampoo/bath gel in a pocket and you only need one hook. After drying off, exist in your bathrobe and dress into clean clothes outside instead of the small wet area of the shower enclosure. I saw two people using them. One was made of a microfiber similar to my towel.
I had a pair of Vibram FiveFingers KomodoSport shoes. They worked well in general but... you cannot wear them if you have applied blister bandages or 2nd skin because of a hot spot. At the last minute when I was packing, I tossed in a pair of Argentine alpagatas. I wore them a lot. But we were lucky and did not encounter rain.
Planning your return from Santiago
I screwed up. I knew what I wanted to do to return to Madrid but did not act on it in advance. The day I arrived in Santiago, I crashed. I felt I should make reservations to return but decided to wait until the next day. Bad decision. When I reach the RENFE station, I was told there were no seats on a train until the following afternoon. At the bus station, there were no seats until the bus leaving at 9:30 PM that would arrive at 6:30 AM. The price for the uncomfortable non-express bus was 42 euros. The tickets for first class on an express, air conditioned train would have been 68 euros. A travel agency in Arco de Pino the day before we arrived could have reserved the tickets. I had the time and energy but didn't do it.