Last minute questions - Camino Portugues

[LauraK]

I will be walking the Caminho Portugues from Porto to Santiago October 25 - November 11. I have walked several Caminos so I am ready and excited to start but have a few questions.
1) What is the best source to find which albergues and hotels will be open after Oct. 31? I am planning to walk shorter distances so need to plan my stops (leaving time to be flexible).
2) I am planning to use a bag transport service for the first time (actually still debating this). Are services still available after October 31? I am planning on doing the Espiritual route - is bag transport available on this route? Do transport services pick up from all albergues/hotels/pensions listed in Gronze or Wise Pilgrim. If not, how do you identify which places will accommodate transport services?
3) I have a 33 liter pack which I would like to transport. What do you recommend to carry items such as rain jacket, water and other essentials during the day.
4) Any other advice or recommendations for walking at this time of year on the Portuguese.
Thanks so much for your help.

 

[ShoshTrvls]

I walked the last part of the Portugues this past winter. Because it was winter I prebooked accommodations through booking.com. The people who I met on the Camino who hadn’t done that said that they weren’t finding anything other than municipal albergues open.

Correos will transport from Tui in the off season. I don’t know if anyone transports on the Portugal side. Correos does not transport on the espiritual variant. Also, you may not be able to get a boat on the espiritual variant; they do not regularly run the route in the off-season.

I think a good 20L with a hip belt will be fine to walk with, although what I have done is bring a very light folding duffel for my “send ahead” stuff on the days that I use a transport service, and walk with my regular pack (32L) just with less “stuff.”

Between stages in the winter, the Portugues can be pretty desolate as far as infrastructure goes. Very few bars or cafes open along the way so I would plan on packing lunch and snacks. You may come across an open place now and again, but it is nothing like the availability of services the rest of the year.

 

[trecile]

Try Top Santiago or Tuitrans for luggage transport between Porto and Santiago.

Support for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago | Carrying Backpacks on the Camino de Santiago | Luggage transfer for the Camino de Santiago | Transport your backpack on the Camino de Santiago from stage to stage, from accommodation to accommodation,

Support for pilgrims | Backpack transport | Luggage transfer | We transport your backpack on the Camino de Santiago from stage to stage, from accommodation to accommodation. Store your luggage for as long as you need during your pilgrimage. | TopSantiago, Walk with us, walk weightlessly. Book...

www.topsantiago.com

Transporte de mochilas Camino de Santiago Portugués

Transporte de mochilas Camino de Santiago Portugués. Tuitrans transporta tus mochilas o tu equipaje en todas las etapas (OPORTO - SANTIAGO) del Camino de Santiago portugués.

tuitrans.com

 

[FLEUR]

I will be walking the Caminho Portugues from Porto to Santiago October 25 - November 11. I have walked several Caminos so I am ready and excited to start but have a few questions.
1) What is the best source to find which albergues and hotels will be open after Oct. 31? I am planning to walk shorter distances so need to plan my stops (leaving time to be flexible).
2) I am planning to use a bag transport service for the first time (actually still debating this). Are services still available after October 31? I am planning on doing the Espiritual route - is bag transport available on this route? Do transport services pick up from all albergues/hotels/pensions listed in Gronze or Wise Pilgrim. If not, how do you identify which places will accommodate transport services?
3) I have a 33 liter pack which I would like to transport. What do you recommend to carry items such as rain jacket, water and other essentials during the day.
4) Any other advice or recommendations for walking at this time of year on the Portuguese.
Thanks so much for your help.

Buy a packable holdall. Pack all your heavy items plus clothes etc that you dont need during the day's walking. Pack your comfortable rucksack with essential items, spare shies or walking sandals, sandwiches, water, poncho, first aid kit. Then have the holdall forwarded each day.

There was bag transfer on the Espiritual when we walked , 2 yrs ago. Not sure about later in the year.

 

[trecile]

Buy a packable holdall. Pack all your heavy items plus clothes etc that you dont need during the day's walking. Pack your comfortable rucksack with essential items, spare shies or walking sandals, sandwiches, water, poncho, first aid kit. Then have the holdall forwarded each day.

I agree that this is a very good idea. @J Willhaus recommended this folding duffel, and I have purchased one. It's sturdy and weighs about 4 ounces.

 

[FLEUR]

I agree that this is a very good idea. @J Willhaus recommended this folding duffel, and I have purchased one. It's sturdy and weighs about 4 ounces.

Use the holdall if you're flying. We discovered that 2 of us could fit 2 x7kg rucksacks and our poles inside one packable bag., saving one charge for holdall baggage.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

I'm with everybody else here: I would recommend carrying your current backpack, and forwarding a holdall or similar. (You've probably already got something suitable at home, if not, any of the half decent Asian stores will have something)
At this time of year the weather is so unpredictable, you may start off wearing all of your layers and strip to just a T-shirt after a couple of hours. Useful to have sufficient room inside the pack, helps avoid losing anything En route.
It also gives you plenty of room to carry lunch and snacks in comfort.

 

[LauraK]

I walked the last part of the Portugues this past winter. Because it was winter I prebooked accommodations through booking.com. The people who I met on the Camino who hadn’t done that said that they weren’t finding anything other than municipal albergues open.

Correos will transport from Tui in the off season. I don’t know if anyone transports on the Portugal side. Correos does not transport on the espiritual variant. Also, you may not be able to get a boat on the espiritual variant; they do not regularly run the route in the off-season.

I think a good 20L with a hip belt will be fine to walk with, although what I have done is bring a very light folding duffel for my “send ahead” stuff on the days that I use a transport service, and walk with my regular pack (32L) just with less “stuff.”

Between stages in the winter, the Portugues can be pretty desolate as far as infrastructure goes. Very few bars or cafes open along the way so I would plan on packing lunch and snacks. You may come across an open place now and again, but it is nothing like the availability of services the rest of the year.

Thank you for your suggestions and excellent information! I didn’t think about wearing my pack and forwarding items in a duffel bag. I was thinking of buying a day pack but it didn’t make sense and would have added more weight. I actually carry a very lightweight foldable nylon duffel in the bottom of my pack. I use it to check my poles and knife on my flight. I just tried it out and packed 3.5 kg into the duffel and have room to add a few more items. Problem solved!
Your other information is really helpful. I will take your suggestions on booking ahead and carrying more food/water. Thanks.

 

[LauraK]

Try Top Santiago or Tuitrans for luggage transport between Porto and Santiago.

Support for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago | Carrying Backpacks on the Camino de Santiago | Luggage transfer for the Camino de Santiago | Transport your backpack on the Camino de Santiago from stage to stage, from accommodation to accommodation,

Support for pilgrims | Backpack transport | Luggage transfer | We transport your backpack on the Camino de Santiago from stage to stage, from accommodation to accommodation. Store your luggage for as long as you need during your pilgrimage. | TopSantiago, Walk with us, walk weightlessly. Book...

www.topsantiago.com

Transporte de mochilas Camino de Santiago Portugués

Transporte de mochilas Camino de Santiago Portugués. Tuitrans transporta tus mochilas o tu equipaje en todas las etapas (OPORTO - SANTIAGO) del Camino de Santiago portugués.

tuitrans.com

Thank you! I have emailed both companies to see if they transport in November.

 

[LauraK]

I'm with everybody else here: I would recommend carrying your current backpack, and forwarding a holdall or similar. (You've probably already got something suitable at home, if not, any of the half decent Asian stores will have something)
At this time of year the weather is so unpredictable, you may start off wearing all of your layers and strip to just a T-shirt after a couple of hours. Useful to have sufficient room inside the pack, helps avoid losing anything En route.
It also gives you plenty of room to carry lunch and snacks in comfort.

Excellent points. It makes sense and I do feel much better having my pack with me. On all of my past Caminos I loved how my pack became part of me. I was worried a bit about leaving it behind.

 

[trecile]

Excellent points. It makes sense and I do feel much better having my pack with me. On all of my past Caminos I loved how my pack became part of me. I was worried a bit about leaving it behind.

This year, for the first time in 8 Caminos I used luggage transport for one day. It was my last day in Santiago, and I decided to walk two stages in one day so that I could meet up with some friends that I had met earlier before they had to fly home. But, I had already walked around 900 km from France with my backpack, and it didn't seem right not to carry it on my final stage, so I bought a really cheap (about 3 Euros) zippered grocery bag and loaded that up. I was on the Camino Invierno/Sanabrés and had no idea what companies did luggage transport, so I asked the owner at the pensión where I was staying to arrange it for me. While it was nice to walk without as much weight, all day I was thinking about whether or not my extra bag would arrive in Santiago. Of course, it was waiting at my pensión in Santiago when I got there.