A Broken-Foot/Transportation Problem

[JohnCilladi]

Hi All,
My wife and I are planning on starting in Caminah, Portugal in mid-June. Unfortunately, she broke her foot this week and won't have the cast removed until just before we fly to Portugal. She is very fit, but we think that she won't be able to do much walking when we start our Camino journey.
We both want to continue to plan for this trip: We already have tickets to Porto and much of our lodging is already booked. After our time on the trails, we are meeting up with family from Italy who are flying to Madrid for a few days.
An alternative plan is for me to walk each day, and for her to get transportation from town-to-town, but I am open to other suggestions.
Questions:
How would I best handle transportation for my wife? Are there taxis or other private (or public) transportation possibilities?
What other suggestions would you have to make our trip a success?

All the best,
John

 

[natefaith]

So sorry to hear about your wife's broken foot! Hope it heals well.

It's a good idea to have her get transportation and meet you, until she feels ready again to walk the long distances every day. There will be taxis in the towns for sure, although sometimes in the smaller villages the taxis will need to come from a larger town nearby. Uber is much less common in Portugal but does exist near some of the cities (https://beportugal.com/uber-in-portugal/). Note that Uber is virtually non-existent in Galicia, so once you hit Spain on the Camino Portugués you'll need to just get taxis.

You could also try bla bla car: https://www.blablacar.co.uk/ but that depends on driver availability.

And of course buses are available, but I don't know much about schedules and such - best to check with hotel proprietors or tourist offices as you go to get that information.

Another course of action could be that your wife stays in one town for a couple of days/ a few days (if it's a town that has more amenities) while you walk during that time. Then she can take a bus or a train to meet you. It would be like a personal retreat for her!

Hope it all works out and is a great trip for both of you, even with these unforeseen circumstances! Buen Camino.

 

[ChristelMarcAntwerp22]

So sorry to hear about your wife's broken foot! Hope it heals well.

It's a good idea to have her get transportation and meet you, until she feels ready again to walk the long distances every day. There will be taxis in the towns for sure, although sometimes in the smaller villages the taxis will need to come from a larger town nearby. Uber is much less common in Portugal but does exist near some of the cities (https://beportugal.com/uber-in-portugal/). Note that Uber is virtually non-existent in Galicia, so once you hit Spain on the Camino Portugués you'll need to just get taxis.

You could also try bla bla car: https://www.blablacar.co.uk/ but that depends on driver availability.

And of course buses are available, but I don't know much about schedules and such - best to check with hotel proprietors or tourist offices as you go to get that information.

Another course of action could be that your wife stays in one town for a couple of days/ a few days (if it's a town that has more amenities) while you walk during that time. Then she can take a bus or a train to meet you. It would be like a personal retreat for her!

Hope it all works out and is a great trip for both of you, even with these unforeseen circumstances! Buen Camino.

Hi, my wife and i are starting our camino from Porto on 16th of May and are using Caminofacil for 1 suitcase with extra stuff, they also have a taxi service, this might also be interesting, best of luck

 

[dfox]

A member of our group could walk 10~12 km/day while the rest of us walking 20+ km. When reaching her planned stage, she went in one of the nearby cafes for snack and taxi. Folks in the cafes helped her contact a "taxi". The member employed this approach for the whole CP trip.

 

[MichelleElynHogan]

One concern. With accommodation pre-booked, what if an unexpected delay occurs? A delay could happen with the flight to Porto...etc.

 

[Montana Girl]

I broke my foot on the Camino last fall. Walked for almost 3 weeks before headed home and put in a boot. Good healing, luckily and no surgery. I'm a runner, considerably fit, exercise every day. Right now I'm on the Camino as a volunteer. I can tell I still would not be ready for days and days in a row with a full load. I'm waiting til next fall to set out on my next Camino. Just my input. I wouldn't push it and damage for years to come

 

[LavanyaLea]

If your wife feels up for it, she can rent a car and meet you at the destination? She will then tell you all about the marvellous towns, churches, azulejos, etc will be cheaper than getting taxi from town to town I would think?

Pre-pandemic my cousin and I did a road trip up and down Portugal, we didn’t know it was almost following the route of Camino Portuguese, and everyone we met along the way asked if we were doing the Camino after we told them where we had stopped before etc!

 

[Scott Sweeney]

Hi All,
My wife and I are planning on starting in Caminah, Portugal in mid-June. Unfortunately, she broke her foot this week and won't have the cast removed until just before we fly to Portugal. She is very fit, but we think that she won't be able to do much walking when we start our Camino journey.
We both want to continue to plan for this trip: We already have tickets to Porto and much of our lodging is already booked. After our time on the trails, we are meeting up with family from Italy who are flying to Madrid for a few days.
An alternative plan is for me to walk each day, and for her to get transportation from town-to-town, but I am open to other suggestions.
Questions:
How would I best handle transportation for my wife? Are there taxis or other private (or public) transportation possibilities?
What other suggestions would you have to make our trip a success?

All the best,
John

I hope you make the right decision, I hope she makes the right decision.

 

[Richard Smith]

If your wife feels up for it, she can rent a car and meet you at the destination? She will then tell you all about the marvellous towns, churches, azulejos, etc will be cheaper than getting taxi from town to town I would think?

Pre-pandemic my cousin and I did a road trip up and down Portugal, we didn’t know it was almost following the route of Camino Portuguese, and everyone we met along the way asked if we were doing the Camino after we told them where we had stopped before etc!

Yes, if right foot is ok this would be a great idea IMO.
Country roads and villages were easy but collecting the car in Lisbon was a shock with the traffic, after coming of the CF.
edit: we were unable to arrange to rent a car in Portugal and return it in Spain, so factor in your post camino plans

 

[Kathy F.]

What does her doctor think?