Camino Portugues Coastal-with seniors

[Safoco]

Dear friends,
We have only 14 days total next summer. We are a family with children as young as 10 years old and two 75 years old. Also some 40's and 50 year olds. There are 10 persons total. We can only walk 15 km per day.
We want to start walking from Porto Cathedral Se. It's the last 100km we are not sure how to break this up at 15km per day. We have family at home who feel that we must share our exact itinerary with them regarding hostels so we would like to map out the last 100km at 15km per day perhaps with suggestions for public auberges that can accommodate 10 people? I have never done this so any information is most welcome.
Mil gracias!
Sarah

 

[dougfitz]

You raise several interesting questions here. Let me address two.

First, if you are trying to create some level of certainty for your family at home, staying in public albergues is generally not going to create that. In general, they cannot be booked, and you won't know in advance that you are able to stay. Your friends might need to be convinced that a 15 km/day pattern can be achieved, but accept that there might still be some uncertainty about where exactly you might be staying.

Second, have you considered that it might be necessary to split your walking group some nights if you cannot find 10 beds in one establishment? You might want to have worked out different patterns depending on how the party has to be split, and how you will coordinate dispersing and assembling for dinner, breakfast and the next morning's departure.

 

[JohnMcM]

dougfitz offers good suggestions to you.

My offer is that those folks at home who need your itenary are very likely really interested in what you are doing. However in asking for that itenary they may not truly understand the 'burden' they are putting upon you. It's difficult on any Camino to know exactly how you will get on and where you will be with any certantity at the end of the each day without minute planning, at the expense of 'letting it happen' so to speak.

Maybe an agreement to call/text/message each evening with an update is a middle-ground agreement. You're going to have enough lovely memory making problems with the group you are travelling with to worry about catering for the needs of folks at home, as important as they may be.

Buen (keeping all satisfied) Camino

 

[trecile]

Are you going to skip some sections? You will have to if you are only going to walk 15 km per day.
Are you planning to do the Coastal or Central route?

 

[jsalt]

I have never done this so any information is most welcome.

Many hostels on the Portuguese are quite small.

A group of 10 should pre-book all the accommodation in advance if they want to stay at the same places together.

A group needs security – they want to know how far they have to walk each day, where they will have lunch, where to go when they get into town, what time to get up in the morning . . .

People can get grumpy if they don’t know what’s going on . . . “nobody told ME”.

Decide on an itinerary that will fit the SLOWEST walker. Then book accommodation in those towns for your group. You can’t pre-book municipal hostels, but there are many private ones that will take bookings.

You can give the itinerary to the folks at home, so they know where you all are each day.

OK, it’s not “spontaneous”, but you can’t do that with a group. A group needs organization – the more controlled the better.

Be prepared to walk at the back with the slowest walker, NOT at the front, where you don’t know what’s going on behind you. There will be somebody in the group who is happy to be at the front, finding the lunch spots, the hostels . . .

Bom caminho!

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

I walked the internal route in 2011 when I was 71. Details are on my web site. Daily distances were:

		Kms	Miles	Destination
1​	April 1st	15	9	Gemunde
2​	April 2nd	15	9	Arcos
3​	April 3rd	21	13	Barcelos
4​	April 4th	21	13
5​	April 5th	15	9	Ponte de Lima
6​	April 6th	22	14	Rubiaies & mountain pass
8​	April 8th	19	12	Vanenca
9​	April 9th	7	4	Tui
10​	April 10th	24	15	Mos
11​	April 11th	18	11	Arcade
12​	April 12th	12	8	Pontevedra
		11	7	San Amaro
13​	April 13th	10	6	Calda de Reis
14​	April 14th	21	13	Padron
15​	April 15th	17	11	Teo
16​	April 16th	17	11	SANTIAGO

 

[Lexicos]

Wow! Good response, great info. You keep good records Stephen.

 

[Safoco]

Are you going to skip some sections? You will have to if you are only going to walk 15 km per day.
Are you planning to do the Coastal or Central route?

Yes we definitely have to skip some sections but not sure which ones yet. We are basically working backwards, since we know it's going to be 15km per day and we wish to walk the last 100km. I am just not sure how to backtrack 15km per day from Santiago because I don't have a proper map of all the little towns along the way.

 

[Safoco]

I walked the internal route in 2011 when I was 71. Details are on my web site. Daily distances were:

		Kms	Miles	Destination
1​	April 1st	15	9	Gemunde
2​	April 2nd	15	9	Arcos
3​	April 3rd	21	13	Barcelos
4​	April 4th	21	13
5​	April 5th	15	9	Ponte de Lima
6​	April 6th	22	14	Rubiaies & mountain pass
8​	April 8th	19	12	Vanenca
9​	April 9th	7	4	Tui
10​	April 10th	24	15	Mos
11​	April 11th	18	11	Arcade
12​	April 12th	12	8	Pontevedra
		11	7	San Amaro
13​	April 13th	10	6	Calda de Reis
14​	April 14th	21	13	Padron
15​	April 15th	17	11	Teo
16​	April 16th	17	11	SANTIAGO

Thank you

 

[Safoco]

Many hostels on the Portuguese are quite small.

A group of 10 should pre-book all the accommodation in advance if they want to stay at the same places together.

A group needs security – they want to know how far they have to walk each day, where they will have lunch, where to go when they get into town, what time to get up in the morning . . .

People can get grumpy if they don’t know what’s going on . . . “nobody told ME”.

Decide on an itinerary that will fit the SLOWEST walker. Then book accommodation in those towns for your group. You can’t pre-book municipal hostels, but there are many private ones that will take bookings.

You can give the itinerary to the folks at home, so they know where you all are each day.

OK, it’s not “spontaneous”, but you can’t do that with a group. A group needs organization – the more controlled the better.

Be prepared to walk at the back with the slowest walker, NOT at the front, where you don’t know what’s going on behind you. There will be somebody in the group who is happy to be at the front, finding the lunch spots, the hostels . . .

Bom caminho!

 

[Safoco]

Thank you for understanding. Do you know how to backtrack 15km per day from Santiago and how I can obtain a list of the private hostels?

 

[Safoco]

dougfitz offers good suggestions to you.

My offer is that those folks at home who need your itenary are very likely really interested in what you are doing. However in asking for that itenary they may not truly understand the 'burden' they are putting upon you. It's difficult on any Camino to know exactly how you will get on and where you will be with any certantity at the end of the each day without minute planning, at the expense of 'letting it happen' so to speak.

Maybe an agreement to call/text/message each evening with an update is a middle-ground agreement. You're going to have enough lovely memory making problems with the group you are travelling with to worry about catering for the needs of folks at home, as important as they may be.

Buen (keeping all satisfied) Camino

 

[Safoco]

This makes sense but I don't think it will work for us. I appreciate the response. We have a woman with us whose health is not in great condition so her family at home are rightly concerned. It's all out of love so we will forego our own spontaneous adventure in order that she may join in. Also, I think it best if we all stay in the same hostels. It sounds like our group is down to 9 people now so hopefully we can obtain a list of private hostels that we can book. My main query is how to back track 15km per day from Santiago in order to walk the last 100km.

 

[Safoco]

Is there a guidebook with all the little villages along the coastal Portugues route?

 

[Kanga]

Yes, quite a few. Here is a link to the guides you can buy from Ivar, who owns this forum. In addition there are numerous apps guides available, I like the Wise Pilgrim series. Many of us also rely on this website for information about accommodation along the way.

 

[Tincatinker]

You may find https://www.gronze.com/camino-portugues useful. If you open the individual "etapa/stages" you will see all potential accommodation and refreshment points

 

[Kanga]

Yes, I agree with @Tincatinker - my link was to the same site. It is usually up to date for open accommodation.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

My main query is how to back track 15km per day from Santiago in order to walk the last 100km.

If you go to the website gronze.com and choose the Portuguese route then you will see the town and places to stay but in the direction towards Santiago de Compostela.

You can write those down then use the information to backtrack.

Gronze.com is in Spanish. If you don't understand Spanish then a browser like Chrome will automatically translate it into (good enough) English for you.

You will have to do the work of backtracking because most other people don't work that way.

 

[wjohnk]

Because you all wish to stay together in the same place each night, do consider using taxis to take you to and from your hotel at the end and start of each days walking. Then your hotel does not have to be directly on the Camino.

 

[Safoco]

You may find https://www.gronze.com/camino-portugues useful. If you open the individual "etapa/stages" you will see all potential accommodation and refreshment points

 

[Safoco]

Ahhhh! Thank you so very much!

 

[Tincatinker]

@Safoco I've had a quick look, your stages will look something like: Tui, O Porrino, Rua, Arcade, Pontevedra, San Amoro, Caldas de Reis, Pontesecures, Rua de Frances/O Farmello, Santiago. There are a couple of those stages where accommodation is limited or even non-existent where you will need to use taxis or other public transport to access accommodations. For instance walk Pontevedra to San Amoro, taxi back to Pontevedra, taxi to San Amoro to continue to Caldas de Reis.

Good luck & happy planning

 

[Safoco]

Thank you. Do you happen to know how many km’s between towns?

 

[trecile]

You can use this site to plan your stages

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www.rutasasantiago.com

 

[Tincatinker]

Thank you. Do you happen to know how many km’s between towns?

Yes, because I’ve bothered to look at the Gronze website, cross-check using “google earth” (other global mapping sites may be available) and had assumed that you were looking for a little help, not a travel agent. If you are not up to sorting your basic route out from the information and help you have been given already you should stay at home. The Camino is not for you

 

[Lexicos]

I agree with Tinca’s comment above.
I know we are meant to encourage and be positive, however, forgive me for saying so but I think you are trying to do way too much.
From what you describe in your replies, I wouldn’t even think about it, especially if you have with you someone who’s health is poor, as you say.
Sorry but that’s as open and honest response as I can give you.
Yes, the Camino is rewarding but it’s a long, sometimes arduous and very often a tough slog, as you would know if you've done the Portuguese.
I'd do it as a group of 3-4 first and then plan your group of 10 according to what you think may be possible.
To my mind, what you are trying to do is near to impossible and at this time, given covid and closures etc. not the wisest thing to attempt.

 

[trecile]

I would shorten up your distance and start much closer to Santiago so that you can enjoy a continuous walk, which I think is much more rewarding than a disjointed Camino.

 

[jsalt]

We have only 14 days total next summer.

Hi Sarah, don’t listen to some of them above . I know it’s difficult to work out what to do and how to go about it for the first trip. Some of my senior friends in my hiking club have asked me to help them with a plan for Sep next year. They so much want to go (some are over 80), but cannot afford to book with a travel agent, and have no confidence whatsoever to put a group together themselves, as most of them are internet illiterate.

Anyway, try tweaking the following for an itinerary.

Distances are best estimates rounded up or down. Total of 125kms.

Day 1 Leave Home

Day 2 Arrive Porto

Day 3 Bus or train to Valenca

Day 4 Walk across bridge to Tui, 3kms

Day 5 Porrino (fairly level walk, take your time, go slowly, have your accommodation booked AND prepaid so it is totally secure), 18kms

Day 6 Redondela (one large hill, ditto all the rest for the day before), 16kms

Day 7 Arcade, 7kms

Day 8 Pontevedra, 13kms

Day 9 Barros (or nearby, eg Pension Meli), 15kms

Day 10 Carracedo (eg Pension Antonio), 12kms

Day 11 Padron, 14kms

Day 12 Teo, 11kms

Day 13 Santiago, 15kms

Day 14 Full day in Santiago

Day 15 Arrive Home

You are welcome to message me privately. To do that, hover over my name, and then click “Start Conversation”.

Jill

 

[wjohnk]

We did the Coastal Camino last year with very similar stages after joining the main Portuguese route.
Day one arrive Porto - night at airport hotel as we landed late.
Day two - bus to Vigo from the Airport - then local bus to Baiona -afternoon enjoying Baiona
Day 3, 4 &5 to Redondela - use a taxi to even out stages.
Do ensure at least a full day in Santiago. this should enable you time to collect your Compostela.

 

[Lacroix]

Dear friends,
We have only 14 days total next summer. We are a family with children as young as 10 years old and two 75 years old. Also some 40's and 50 year olds. There are 10 persons total. We can only walk 15 km per day.
We want to start walking from Porto Cathedral Se. It's the last 100km we are not sure how to break this up at 15km per day. We have family at home who feel that we must share our exact itinerary with them regarding hostels so we would like to map out the last 100km at 15km per day perhaps with suggestions for public auberges that can accommodate 10 people? I have never done this so any information is most welcome.
Mil gracias!
Sarah

Offer to “share your location” with them on Google Maps. They will be able to see exactly where you are at any given time when they check the map. It’s very interactive so they can click on local sites to see photos others have posted of that spot, too.

 

[LifeatNo22]

We have a woman with us whose health is not in great condition

I am not quite sure how someone whose health is poorly can walk 15km a day for days on end??? With the current state, the world is in, I am hoping you have good health insurance. Perhaps, enquire to see if all her needs would be included in the health insurance cover. Good luck.

 

[Jodean]

What Jsalt posted is your best plan.
We started in Porto 2 years ago and wanted to walk the coastal, but just were not thrilled with it after a couple of days, so took a train to Valenca, walked across the bridge into Spain and Tui, stayed the night and started walking again from there. At age 63, shorter distances were better for me.

 

[Paul Michetti]

Safoco, I think it is great that the forum is here to help people with questions like this. However, when planning the same walk in 2019 we did a lot of research on our own and besides the Internet we bought John Brierley's book Camino Portugués and found the answer to many of these questions. With his listing of towns and distances between each (including facilities in each town) I think that will help you. We had specific health issues that needed answers like you. Maybe you won't find all the answers but it is a good resource. Because of your specific circumstances you need to make some decisions on your own now that you have been given many valid suggestions. Also, somewhat in poor health is more susceptible to contracting Covid-19 and probably should not be on this walk even next summer as no one really knows when vaccines will be available.