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Best day of the week to begin in Porto, September

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bprohs

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Time of past OR future Camino
September 2024
We are planning our first Camino in September of 2024. There will be 3 generations walking. My wife and I, our 50 year old son, and his 30 year old daughter (our granddaughter) and her husband will be walking. I’ll be 77 when we start on the Portuguese Coastal route. All this being said, my question is is there a better day if the week to start to avoid a big rush to hit the trail? My thought is at my age I won’t be walking as fast as probably most pilgrims and I don’t want to take a chance of not getting a bed at the end of the day. Am I just being paranoid or is this a legitimate concern? Thanks in advance for any insights!
 
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I have not walked it yet, but will be starting from Porto a week from Saturday.
 
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I walked from Porto in 2015, so maybe it is different now. We booked a room in Matosinhos for the first night out and then just saw where we got to each day after that. We had planned to take it slowly and enjoy the roses….but we’d be sitting in a bar just after noon and be desperate to walk on! Even arriving late afternoon there was no concern about beds.
 
That’s good to know. I’m hoping to do about 15 miles a day if everything holds up (me). What time of year did you walk?
 
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Any day of the week is just fine to start from Porto. You are not going to experience a crowded trail. We did this Camino this past April/May and enjoyed it immensely following the coast all the way to Vigo and then walking to Redondela and onto Santiago.
 
I'm on it now, first leg Porto to Vila do Conde done today. It doesn't seem too busy to be honest. I booked all my accommodation bar two nights in advance, but l'm on quite a punishing schedule, so you have that option if you want peace of mind. The weather is still currently pretty warm, around 26 degs C, so end of September seems like a good time to do it.
 
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We left this past Sept 5, a Tuesday, and it wasn't very crowded. We went to Labruge via the Senda Litoral, which was a great walk, but longer than we thought it would be. As first day, it could be a bit far if you're worried about stamina starting out.
 
We spent the 1st night in Matoshinos and 2nd night in Labruge and that was a perfect pace to start. Then gradually increased the distance each day from there. Highly advisable.
 
Mid-week is generally better on the Português in the cities and larger towns.
 
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Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
I seen a couple of reports of pilgrims not finding albergue beds this September. I don’t recall if it was on the coastal or central Portuguese routes.

If you have planned out your stages, I would suggest working a timeline backwards from Tui/Valença to avoid passing through them on the weekend. Tui has become second only to Sarria as a starting point for a Camino.
 
As long as it ends in a "y" you will be fine.
 
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What great advice…Thanks!
 
That’s the route I was thinking about taking. I’m glad to hear you liked it. We’ve got just shy of a year to work up to 10-15 miles a day.
 
We cycled out the first time - and did it on a sunday - very quiet , very little fumes - recommended!! This summer we cycled out again and went along the river to the sea and along the Litoral route - really interesting and beautiful (especially as a tall ship arrived!) but quite busy...... being a saturday...
 
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We are interested in biking this route in May of 24'. Did you post anything about your ride? If you did, please direct me to your post. Thanks in advance.
 
I started on a Wednesday in July this yeaar and it was super quiet!
Met only a few other pilgrims down on the riverbanks.

A really lonely walk up to Matosinhos, lifting bridge was open, so a small pilgrim's traffic jam happened on the bridge. After that I followed the arrows and had a real nice quiet morning. Between Labruge and Vila do Conde it was a bit more "crowded", but never really like on my CF.
 
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