Albergues from Lisboa to Porto

[LSab]

I am beginning to plan my second Camino this spring (March/April), from Lisbon to Santiago along the inland route of the Camino Portuguese. I am using both the Wise Pilgrim App and Gronze (I used both when I walked from SJPdP last fall). Am I correct in thinking, as I look in both apps, that this part of the Camino (from Lisbon to Porto) has fewer albergues? I do not see many albergues off stage and even on the stage itself, many towns have only one albergue (there are many hotels/guesthouses)? I do not see any municiple albergues at all. Also, some of the stages are a bit longer than I would like to do. When walking the Frances, I pushed a bit too hard and ended with two minor but painful injures. I have learned my lesson so I would rather shorten a long stage but this may not be an option if there are no albergues. Can anyone advise me on albergues or perhaps there is a better app for the Camino Portuguese? Also.... why do both of these apps begin the Camino at the Lisbon cathedral when the official start is at the Igreja de Santiago? Thanks to all who help me plan!

 

[alexwalker]

I tried to walk from Lisbon ca. 10 years back, but gave up after 5 days in April. The amount of (dangerous) highway walking (and not least seeing truck drivers sitting in petrol stations having their beer(s) break), lack of albergues and other facilities, lack of fellow pilgrims (I met noone in those 5 days) etc. was giving me a feeling of not fitting into that Camino, so I skipped forward to Porto and walked from there. A much better experience, although I hated walking on all those cobblestones/stone setts: Hard on my feet.

IMHO, the Portuguese from Lisbon to Porto is/was not well developed for pilgrims. It may have improved lately, for all I know, though.

Buen Camino!

 

[Melcro1218]

I tried to walk from Lisbon ca. 10 years back, but gave up after 5 days in April. The amount of (dangerous) highway walking (and not least seeing truck drivers sitting in petrol stations having their beer(s) break), lack of albergues and other facilities, lack of fellow pilgrims (I met noone in those 5 days) etc. was giving me a feeling of not fitting into that Camino, so I skipped forward to Porto and walked from there. A much better experience, although I hated walking on all those cobblestones/stone setts: Hard on my feet.

IMHO, the Portuguese from Lisbon to Porto is/was not well developed for pilgrims. It may have improved lately, for all I know, though.

Buen Camino!

Thank you for sharing this. We might consider Vigo to Santiago instead of starting in Lisbon

 

[peregrina2000]

Can anyone advise me on albergues

Take a look at post 16 on this thread. It is a list of towns with indications of albergue, hotel, etc.

I was in Lisbon this fall for work and was able to walk from Lisbon to Tomar on days off.

Day 1 - Lisbon to Vila Franca de Xira
Day 2 - Vila Franca to Valada
Day 3 - Valada to Santarém
Day 4 - Santarém to Golegã
Day 5 - Golegã to Tomar

I know there are many who don’t like Lisbon to Porto, but I have walked from Lisbon to Santiago (2008?) and was happy to be able to go back to the early stages this year. I think in part it depends on what you are looking for.

The Caminho out of Lisbon has been totally re-routed and is now on a riverside boardwalk for nearly all of the 35 kms between Lisbon and Vila Franca, at least once you get through Lisbon (which is, imho, a very nice walk through the old parts of town, and then along the river). I believe that is the stretch @alexwalker is describing, though there is one more short road stretch going into, I think, Azambuja. But there have been a lot of changes, and an increase in pilgrims, in the last 10 years.

It is true that the countryside from Lisbon to Porto is not “spectacular” in the common sense of the word, but I enjoyed every step. People working in the fields who were happy to talk to me with my very bad Portuguese, good food, and a few pilgrims to talk to along the way. I even got to meet @Friend from Barquinha, who lives about 50 m from the Caminho.

The towns of Santarém, Golegã, and Tomar are all very nice places with interesting churches, praças, and in the case of Tomar, a spectacular monastery/castle. Coimbra, a few stages after Tomar, deserves a full rest day. It has the oldest university in Portugal, an ancient cathedral, lovely river walk, etc.

I walked in October and met at least two or three every day. I went out and back to Lisbon most days, though, so I didn’t stay in the towns at night. But unike when I walked in 2008, the caminho is well known locally, and there are always options for spending the night. This is a relatively untraveled route, so if you are expecting to have three or four albergues in a town, you are going to be disappointed. But I am pretty confident you can find places to stay that will not break the bank and that will not require you to walk 35 kms. The infrastructure is increasing as the numbers do, but Lisbon to Porto is not anywhere near as traveled as from Porto north. For me, that’s a benefit!

why do both of these apps begin the Camino at the Lisbon cathedral when the official start is at the Igreja de Santiago?

The Igreja de Santiago had nothing to do with promoting the resurgence of interest and marking of the Caminho from Lisbon. I have never been by when it’s open, and I don’t think they have credentials. The Cathedral has had credentials available for years now, and the arrows start at the Cathedral, so it just makes sense. The Igreja de Santiago is about a 3 minute walk from the Cathedral though, so you can easily start there.

 

[LSab]

Take a look at post 16 on this thread. It is a list of towns with indications of albergue, hotel, etc.

I was in Lisbon this fall for work and was able to walk from Lisbon to Tomar on days off.

Day 1 - Lisbon to Vila Franca de Xira
Day 2 - Vila Franca to Valada
Day 3 - Valada to Santarém
Day 4 - Santarém to Golegã
Day 5 - Golegã to Tomar

I know there are many who don’t like Lisbon to Porto, but I have walked from Lisbon to Santiago (2008?) and was happy to be able to go back to the early stages this year. I think in part it depends on what you are looking for.

The Caminho out of Lisbon has been totally re-routed and is now on a riverside boardwalk for nearly all of the 35 kms between Lisbon and Vila Franca, at least once you get through Lisbon (which is, imho, a very nice walk through the old parts of town, and then along the river). I believe that is the stretch @alexwalker is describing, though there is one more short road stretch going into, I think, Azambuja. But there have been a lot of changes, and an increase in pilgrims, in the last 10 years.

It is true that the countryside from Lisbon to Porto is not “spectacular” in the common sense of the word, but I enjoyed every step. People working in the fields who were happy to talk to me with my very bad Portuguese, good food, and a few pilgrims to talk to along the way. I even got to meet @Friend from Barquinha, who lives about 50 m from the Caminho.

The towns of Santarém, Golegã, and Tomar are all very nice places with interesting churches, praças, and in the case of Tomar, a spectacular monastery/castle. Coimbra, a few stages after Tomar, deserves a full rest day. It has the oldest university in Portugal, an ancient cathedral, lovely river walk, etc.

I walked in October and met at least two or three every day. I went out and back to Lisbon most days, though, so I didn’t stay in the towns at night. But unike when I walked in 2008, the caminho is well known locally, and there are always options for spending the night. This is a relatively untraveled route, so if you are expecting to have three or four albergues in a town, you are going to be disappointed. But I am pretty confident you can find places to stay that will not break the bank and that will not require you to walk 35 kms. The infrastructure is increasing as the numbers do, but Lisbon to Porto is not anywhere near as traveled as from Porto north. For me, that’s a benefit!


The Igreja de Santiago had nothing to do with promoting the resurgence of interest and marking of the Caminho from Lisbon. I have never been by when it’s open, and I don’t think they have credentials. The Cathedral has had credentials available for years now, and the arrows start at the Cathedral, so it just makes sense. The Igreja de Santiago is about a 3 minute walk from the Cathedral though, so you can easily start there.

Thank you so much for your detailed response! Your help is greatly appreciated and you have given me much to think about as I continue planning. Thanks for sharing your experiences!

 

[LSab]

I tried to walk from Lisbon ca. 10 years back, but gave up after 5 days in April. The amount of (dangerous) highway walking (and not least seeing truck drivers sitting in petrol stations having their beer(s) break), lack of albergues and other facilities, lack of fellow pilgrims (I met noone in those 5 days) etc. was giving me a feeling of not fitting into that Camino, so I skipped forward to Porto and walked from there. A much better experience, although I hated walking on all those cobblestones/stone setts: Hard on my feet.

IMHO, the Portuguese from Lisbon to Porto is/was not well developed for pilgrims. It may have improved lately, for all I know, though.

Buen Camino!

Thank you for this information!

 

[wisepilgrim]

The differences in the camino from Lisbon to Porto between 10 years ago, and now, cannot be overstated.
Between major route changes, and the arrival and disappearance of several albergues, the two share little in common.

The net change though has been for the better, and I find it a bit of a pity that so few of the Camino Portugués pilgrims walk it. I imagine that number to be around 5%, though more devoted number crunchers are welcome to challenge that claim.

I think this is in large part to the reputation it has, as well as the fact that pilgrims prefer a shorter trail.

For me beauty lies in those special transition points where after days or weeks of walking the landscape around you suddenly shifts: it flattens out, or it climbs, or it goes green, or the food changes, or all of the sudden I find myself alone on the trail or surrounded by pilgrims I have never met, or for any number of exclamation points. This is why, on the Camino Frances, I would never consider to skip the meseta. And this is why, on the Camino Portugués, I would always start in Lisbon... and would later spend at least a few days walking the coast.

Lastly I agree 100% with @peregrina2000 about the accommodation. To which I will only add that there are a number of owners that really take responsibility for what they do for us.

In the end it is a personal choice of course, but I do hope that more people get the chance to walk it as their voices are needed to tip the scales in favor of a route that deserves more attention.

 

[dougfitz]

I walked from Lisbon to Fatima and then Tomar to SDC in 2023, before the recent changes to the route leaving Lisbon. I found it more convenient to break up the longer stages by using public transport, and staying for an extra night in Lisbon and then Santarem. I did this by:

• walking from the Igreja de Santiago to the railway station at Povoa, catching the train back to Santa Apolonia then returning the next day.
• walking from Azambuja to Porto de Muje, catching the bus and train to Santarem, then returning to Muje the next day and walking back to Santarem from there. My original plan had been to walk from Porto de Muje to Muje, but the bus option presented itself, and I was happy to take that instead. NB Muje is not on the CP, but one of the other Fatima routes, and the section from there to Santarem was well way-marked and easy to follow.

I stayed in albergues on the stretch from Lisbon to Porto, but perhaps not as many as I was able to in Spain when I have walked there in the past. There were many more nights in hotels and B&Bs of various types. One would have some more flexibility here if walking longer distances were an option, but I have been trying to limit myself to about 20 km/day, and that made it a little more difficult.