Camino Portugues - Pros and Cons of starting from Lisbon

[jack_everett26]

Hey everyone,

I am planning to do Camino Du Portugues in June of 2019.

My rough plan at the moment is to do the interior route from Lisbon to Porto and then once in Porto take the coastal route to Santiago. Is this a good idea?

I have been researching a bunch of stuff and I've seen a lot of blogs and other pilgrims have different opinions on where to start. I would like to start in Lisbon but I see that a lot start in Porto. What are the pros and cons of starting in Lisbon, from what I understand the main cons are lodging and speedy drivers, is that all?

Hope to hear from some of you!

If you have any other tips/ideas/ suggestions please feel free to share!

Best,
Jack

 

[Kiwi-family]

The only reason I started in Porto was lack of time - so please don’t read into my experience any reluctance to start from Lisbon - I’d have loved to!

 

[peregrina2000]

There are lots of opinions on this topic. Here’s one thread from years ago when there were just a couple of albergues and many fewer people. https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/why-start-in-lisbon.29651/

 

[jack_everett26]

There are lots of opinions on this topic. Here’s one thread from years ago when there were just a couple of albergues and many fewer people. https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/why-start-in-lisbon.29651/

Wow thank you so much. I'm gonna dive into this right now!

Also have you personally done this Camino and if so how long did it take you? I'm trying to be in Spain for the St. Fermin Festival in early July. I am thinking to start walking around May 27th to June 1st?

Best,
Jack

 

[Tincatinker]

San Fermin runs 6 - 14 July, in Pamplona which is a long, long walk from Lisbon. If you want to walk to San Fermin consider the Catalan / Aragones / Frances combination from Barcelona, or maybe a chunk of the Le Puy and the Frances. Otherwise start in Porto and figure out your public transport options from Santiago to Pamplona for when you're done. This site: https://www.gronze.com/#todos may help with your planning.

 

[jack_everett26]

San Fermin runs 6 - 14 July, in Pamplona which is a long, long walk from Lisbon. If you want to walk to San Fermin consider the Catalan / Aragones / Frances combination from Barcelona, or maybe a chunk of the Le Puy and the Frances. Otherwise start in Porto and figure out your public transport options from Santiago to Pamplona for when you're done. This site: https://www.gronze.com/#todos may help with your planning.

Ok great, is there an option to change the site to English? I can't seem to find it.

 

[Tincatinker]

If you use Google Chrome as a browser it will provide an auto-translation. Not great but good enough. But Gronze is pretty basic, the information is basic - town to town, village to village routings and the facilities available. You will only need a very limited Spanish vocabulary to understand what it is telling you.

Reading your original post I guessed that you were maybe fancying a month or so of walking and a bit of San Fermin partying to round it off. I therefore suggest that you might reconsider walking one of the Portuguese routes before making your way to Pamplona as there are so many other possibilities. The other site you might find useful is www.Rome2rio.com which will provide you information on public transport links between anywhere & anywhere. For instance the train route here: https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Santiago-de-Compostela/Pamplona might make your original plan deliverable.

 

[jack_everett26]

If you use Google Chrome as a browser it will provide an auto-translation. Not great but good enough. But Gronze is pretty basic, the information is basic - town to town, village to village routings and the facilities available. You will only need a very limited Spanish vocabulary to understand what it is telling you.

Reading your original post I guessed that you were maybe fancying a month or so of walking and a bit of San Fermin partying to round it off. I therefore suggest that you might reconsider walking one of the Portuguese routes before making your way to Pamplona as there are so many other possibilities. The other site you might find useful is www.Rome2rio.com which will provide you information on public transport links between anywhere & anywhere. For instance the train route here: https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Santiago-de-Compostela/Pamplona might make your original plan deliverable.

Yeah, that's exactly my thinking!

I was planning to take all of June to complete the entire Camino Portuguese and then taking the train from Santiago to Pamplona, to be there for the beginning weekend of the festival.

Have you done this entire Camino, if so how long did it take you?

Once again thanks for all the help and links.

This is great stuff!

J.

 

[Tincatinker]

I've only ever walked Lisbon to Coimbra and that not as a 'camino' but as an exploration of fado and the coast and the claims that Cabo de Roca is the most westerly point of mainland Europe and not Finis Terre. Most guides I've seen suggest 20-28 days from Lisbon to Santiago depending on the variants you take (there seem to be many variants ).

And as a footnote: beware of 'entire' caminos. Camino starts from your own front door. The routes that the guidebooks offer, even that the blessed Gronze offers, are only guides from points of convenience. No Spaniard is going to travel to St Jean pied de Porte to start walking the Frances, no Coimbranese will travel to Lisbon to start walking to Santiago. Hiking routes have starting points, Camino doesn't.

 

[Helen1]

The pros and cons really depend on whatever floats your boat and how much time you have.

If you like a quiet route, cheap food, friendly locals, flat terrain, towns with a lot of history and don’t mind the heat you’ll have no issues walking from Lisbon. If you want grand vistas, lots of people around you, coffee every 3 miles, pilgrim mass every night and communal meals then the CP probably won't meet your expectations.

Personally, I enjoyed the Lisbon to Porto walk but it was a headphones on kind of walk and I got through a number of audiobooks. I did feel thoroughly cooked in the 40c+ heatwave and needed a day off in Tomar because I couldn’t face walking in the heat. Tomar has an amazing history, as does Coimbra with the Roman ruins and the university/university library. I followed the Brierley guide which takes you off the main roads (lots of dusty gravel roads alongside the railway line) so I think the traffic is less of an issue than it was.

Accomodation isn’t all that hard to manage, my preference was to book a hotel near the Estação do Oriente and for the first couple of days walk long days with a daypack and get the regular commuter train back to my hotel. After that I camped and booked a couple of places like the Santarem Hostel (lovely). I wouldn’t bother with the camping, I think Tomar campsite has closed and some of the other campsites are miles out of town. With some of the local hotels offering rooms for 15 euro it wasn’t worth the effort to camp.

I am assuming you’re a guy so doubt this won't be an issue for you, I felt really safe walking alone on this camino, expect for the area around Sacavem. If I were to go again I would try to hook up with someone in this area.

 

[jungleboy]

I followed the Brierley guide which takes you off the main roads (lots of dusty gravel roads alongside the railway line) so I think the traffic is less of an issue than it was.

Do you mean that the Brierley guide takes you on a different route from the arrows?

 

[jungleboy]

And as a footnote: beware of 'entire' caminos. Camino starts from your own front door. The routes that the guidebooks offer, even that the blessed Gronze offers, are only guides from points of convenience. No Spaniard is going to travel to St Jean pied de Porte to start walking the Frances, no Coimbranese will travel to Lisbon to start walking to Santiago. Hiking routes have starting points, Camino doesn't.

I have the same conundrum as the OP. However, Lisbon is my front door. Does that change things?

 

[Helen1]

Do you mean that the Brierley guide takes you on a different route from the arrows?

Put it this way, there were 3 of us walking the early stages and when we caught up with each other in the evening I was intrigued that we usually walked slightly different routes. I would need to dig out my book, but seem to remember Brierley taking you down roads parallel to the main road when you went through a town for example. I walked the dirt road by the railway line you can see in this blog post: http://www.outdoorfirmo.com/adventure/camino-portugues/ but the other two didn't. I wouldn't worry about this, all routes had arrows, I think some are just older routes and much work has been done to take pilgrims off the main road.

 

[jsalt]

I'm trying to be in Spain for the St. Fermin Festival in early July. I am thinking to start walking around May 27th

Hi, Le Puy to Pamplona is about 800kms, so if you start walking from Le Puy on 27 May, and average 21kms per day, you will arrive in Pamplona about 4 July.
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/forums/the-le-puy-route.50/
Jill

 

[jack_everett26]

The pros and cons really depend on whatever floats your boat and how much time you have.

If you like a quiet route, cheap food, friendly locals, flat terrain, towns with a lot of history and don’t mind the heat you’ll have no issues walking from Lisbon. If you want grand vistas, lots of people around you, coffee every 3 miles, pilgrim mass every night and communal meals then the CP probably won't meet your expectations.

Personally, I enjoyed the Lisbon to Porto walk but it was a headphones on kind of walk and I got through a number of audiobooks. I did feel thoroughly cooked in the 40c+ heatwave and needed a day off in Tomar because I couldn’t face walking in the heat. Tomar has an amazing history, as does Coimbra with the Roman ruins and the university/university library. I followed the Brierley guide which takes you off the main roads (lots of dusty gravel roads alongside the railway line) so I think the traffic is less of an issue than it was.

Accomodation isn’t all that hard to manage, my preference was to book a hotel near the Estação do Oriente and for the first couple of days walk long days with a daypack and get the regular commuter train back to my hotel. After that I camped and booked a couple of places like the Santarem Hostel (lovely). I wouldn’t bother with the camping, I think Tomar campsite has closed and some of the other campsites are miles out of town. With some of the local hotels offering rooms for 15 euro it wasn’t worth the effort to camp.

I am assuming you’re a guy so doubt this won't be an issue for you, I felt really safe walking alone on this camino, expect for the area around Sacavem. If I were to go again I would try to hook up with someone in this area.

Yeah the more and more I research I think the CP is for me. I'm looking for a more secluded walk. I'm not really up for camping and will probably pay to spend the night where I can. I found a massive list of all the hostels and albergues on the camino. http://www.vialusitana.org/caminho-portugues/albergues/

A while back I purchased the Brierley guide and I have been looking through it since I decided on taking this trip next year. It seems fantastic but its the 8th edition that was published in 2016. Should I get the new edition or just use this edition and gronze.com to help me navigate?

 

[frida1]

I walked the CP from Santarem just outside Lisbon in 2016. So I skipped 3 days from Lisbon-Santsarem. I was then a 62 year old female, and it took me 24 days plus 2 rest days; presumably would have been 27 days if I started in Lisbon. I walked to Vila do Conde from Porto, then inland to Barcelos. I thought it was a wonderful camino, with great food, friendly locals and enough pilgrims that I made some friends, although walked alone quite a bit. There are (or were then) some long stages, but always doable. A couple times I knocked those 30 k days in Brierly into two short stages. I would get the newest Brierly book if you like him. The path does seem to change slightly quite regularly, but I was never off-route for long, and always found my way.

 

[jack_everett26]

I walked the CP from Santarem just outside Lisbon in 2016. So I skipped 3 days from Lisbon-Santsarem. I was then a 62 year old female, and it took me 24 days plus 2 rest days; presumably would have been 27 days if I started in Lisbon. I walked to Vila do Conde from Porto, then inland to Barcelos. I thought it was a wonderful camino, with great food, friendly locals and enough pilgrims that I made some friends, although walked alone quite a bit. There are (or were then) some long stages, but always doable. A couple times I knocked those 30 k days in Brierly into two short stages. I would get the newest Brierly book if you like him. The path does seem to change slightly quite regularly, but I was never off-route for long, and always found my way.

Awesome thanks Frida!

I'll look into getting the new edition!

How did you get to Santarem by bus or train? If so do you remember how much it was?

 

[frida1]

I went by train. It was a short trip and didn't cost much. Use Rome2Rio website; it should tell you and it's easy to use.

 

[jack_everett26]

I went by train. It was a short trip and didn't cost much. Use Rome2Rio website; it should tell you and it's easy to use.

Will do!

Also I'm starting to do rough budgeting, how much would you say you spent (in euros) during your time on the Camino? If you're not comfortable answering this question I totally understand.

 

[Walking Lover]

Hey everyone,

I am planning to do Camino Du Portugues in June of 2019.

My rough plan at the moment is to do the interior route from Lisbon to Porto and then once in Porto take the coastal route to Santiago. Is this a good idea?

I have been researching a bunch of stuff and I've seen a lot of blogs and other pilgrims have different opinions on where to start. I would like to start in Lisbon but I see that a lot start in Porto. What are the pros and cons of starting in Lisbon, from what I understand the main cons are lodging and speedy drivers, is that all?

Hope to hear from some of you!

If you have any other tips/ideas/ suggestions please feel free to share!

Best,
Jack

Start in Lisbon. Although you walk for a while before getting out of the city, it is worth it. We did what you are planning in '17.

 

[frida1]

I can't really say what I spent. More than some because I like a private room. Many pilgrim accommodations were not dorms, but your own basic room and cost 8-15 Euros, as I recall. Accommodation was probably slightly more than Spain, while food was slightly cheaper.

 

[Helen1]

I think I was paying around E15-20 for private rooms. Big towns are much more expensive. From Tui onwards it was busy and cost more.

In Albergaria-a-Velha I stayed at Pensão Casa da Alameda and I scared myself witless. The owners don't sleep in the house and I was the only person staying there that night. It's a really old fashioned place with lots of dark wooden furniture and creaky floorboards. Dozing I opened my eyes and saw a green light moving across the room. I was totally convinced it was a ghost, I think I squealed and my heart missed a couple of beats. After a while the 'ghost' came back and I realised it was car headlights making a weird pattern through the shutters but blimey for a few minutes I was absolutely terrified! Happy times

In Mealhada I stayed at Residencial Hilário in the hotel part. In the morning rooms were around E60, in the evening when I arrived around 7pm the price on booking.com had dropped to something like 11E. I had a fantastic meal there and the air conditioning in my room was heaven!

 

[Anamya]

I do not have individual prices, as we walked as a couple and usually stayed in small inns (as it would cost more or less the same as what we would donate for 2 people in an albergue).

It was usually E35-E50 per day for private acommodation for two (or we would donate E20-e40 to the albergues), plus E25-e40 per day in food for 2. We did enjoy good sleep and good food

@Helen1 is right about booking.com, we would check it every now and then and could find cheap rooms in very nice casas rurales many times

 

[mcopeland]

Last fall we walked all the way out of Lisbon. It was a delightful walk after you passed the Lisbon suburbs. Yes, there is lots of road walking from Lisbon to Porto, but it was manageable. Same with walking out of Porto - a lovely walk along the river, then up the coast.

 

[Gail Dickson]

I did the CP from Lisbon in April/May, 3 females in our late 60's. Did not really notice a lot of road walking just cobble stones after Porto. There are a few days from Lisbon 30km but manageable. We did the coastal after Porto to Caminha then over to central then the Espiritual Variante with the ferry tp Pontescures. Loved every minute. We had Brierly but rarely opened it. Our best friend was definitely the Wise Pilgrim app. GPS works offline if you download tomorrows map the nite before. Prevented us being lost in the forest a couple of times. I am sure you would love the CP.

 

[jack_everett26]

I did the CP from Lisbon in April/May, 3 females in our late 60's. Did not really notice a lot of road walking just cobble stones after Porto. There are a few days from Lisbon 30km but manageable. We did the coastal after Porto to Caminha then over to central then the Espiritual Variante with the ferry tp Pontescures. Loved every minute. We had Brierly but rarely opened it. Our best friend was definitely the Wise Pilgrim app. GPS works offline if you download tomorrows map the nite before. Prevented us being lost in the forest a couple of times. I am sure you would love the CP.

Thats great I will look into the Wise Pilgrim App as well. Probably might be the best option for the first days leaving Lisbon so I get away from those "industrial areas."

 

[jack_everett26]

Start in Lisbon. Although you walk for a while before getting out of the city, it is worth it. We did what you are planning in '17.

Did you do the St. Fermin Festival as well?

 

[Jeep500]

Hey everyone,

I am planning to do Camino Du Portugues in June of 2019.

My rough plan at the moment is to do the interior route from Lisbon to Porto and then once in Porto take the coastal route to Santiago. Is this a good idea?

I have been researching a bunch of stuff and I've seen a lot of blogs and other pilgrims have different opinions on where to start. I would like to start in Lisbon but I see that a lot start in Porto. What are the pros and cons of starting in Lisbon, from what I understand the main cons are lodging and speedy drivers, is that all?

Hope to hear from some of you!

If you have any other tips/ideas/ suggestions please feel free to share!

Best,
Jack

Allo!
We walk from Lisbon to Finisterre last fall, our previous and only other Camino was the Puy to SJPP. Nothing to compare, lets start we pros not sure if I need to put an "s" at the end of Pro from Lisbon to Porto.
Pros; not much Pilgrim on the Camino ( could be a pro or Con)
Transportation system is good if you need to use it
Restaurants and lodging usualy clean
Cons; Not much to see from Lisbon to Santarem
Many kilometers to walk on paved road and highways difficult on hot days
Few villages have one or two places to sleep same for restaurants
The Camino often pass behind the villages
Most of the Church is closed on week days
in some area we had to walk over 20 kilometers to find water
Food expensive
Directions are not always clear, usualy the shells indicate the directions but the yellow shows another direction.
I suggest that you watch on Youtube 'Adventuresfromgregandhelen' they walked from Lisbon to Santiago in 2016 this will asnwer many questions.
Bon Chemin.

 

[Elle Bieling]

I also would encourage you to walk out of Lisbon. I did not find anything industrial about the walk along the river. My info is loaded with many photos to see for yourself! Yes, there is lots of paved roads, lots of cobblestone or "hobblestone" to shake your legs, and long walks through fields in the heat. Even the updated Brierly guide is wrong on the stage from Santarém to Golegã. There is a train that you can use to shuttle yourself if needed. The historic cities are fantastic! If you can stand another interesting story, here is mine. https://www.pilgrimagetraveler.com/camino-portugues.html. I also sell an inexpensive guide, but all my info can be accessed for free on the web - each and every day! If you read no other page of mine, make sure you read day four. It will save you a lot of heartache.

 

[Elle Bieling]

I also felt the food was incredibly cheap!

 

[jack_everett26]

I also would encourage you to walk out of Lisbon. I did not find anything industrial about the walk along the river. My info is loaded with many photos to see for yourself! Yes, there is lots of paved roads, lots of cobblestone or "hobblestone" to shake your legs, and long walks through fields in the heat. Even the updated Brierly guide is wrong on the stage from Santarém to Golegã. There is a train that you can use to shuttle yourself if needed. The historic cities are fantastic! If you can stand another interesting story, here is mine. https://www.pilgrimagetraveler.com/camino-portugues.html. I also sell an inexpensive guide, but all my info can be accessed for free on the web - each and every day! If you read no other page of mine, make sure you read day four. It will save you a lot of heartache.

Hey Elle I actually found your website before I joined the the Camino. Its a great site!

 

[krazylegs]

Yea and tasty. People should stop depending on the brieley guide for everything! The arrows are great, the accommodations are plenty, you don’t need it! and it really annoys me that the Portuguese route keeps being compared to the CF. Totally separate experience

There's a big difference in saying don't rely on the Brierley guide for everything (I agree) and saying you don't need it (I 100% disagree).

Spend the $25. Take the book with you. Refer to it often.

I don't think anyone would say use it exclusively as your wayfinding tool. That's certainly overkill.

But reading it before each stage and at rest stops? Absolutely!

Case in point: The Brierley book alerted us to an awesome cappella with incredible vistas just 1km off the camino leaving Balugaes. It was the Cappella de Aparecida, and we never would've known about it without the Brierley book. We were lucky enough to experience it on a Sunday morning with hymns playing majestically on the loudspeakers outside the chapel as churchgoers circled the sanctuary praying the rosary.

It was unlike anything I've ever seen.

So absolutely, 100% get the Brierley book and look for those off-the-beaten-path detours that will make your Camino unforgettable. You're not just walking the Camino, you're experiencing the journey.

 

[krazylegs]

As for the OP, I can't speak to walking from Lisbon, as my daughter and I started in Porto. However, we talked to maybe close to a dozen people who started their Camino in Lisbon and almost all of them said the same thing about the Camino from Lisbon to Porto. Way more solitude, way less fellow Camino'ers, not as scenic and not as bucolic.

A few told me they walked multiple stages without seeing another Peregrino. So take that as you will.

I remember starting in Porto and walking the first 12 miles without seeing another pilgrim. We were wondering if we were on the right Camino...LOL!

 

[surya8]

My rough plan at the moment is to do the interior route from Lisbon to Porto and then once in Porto take the coastal route to Santiago.
What are the pros and cons of starting in Lisbon?

I walked from Porto to Santiago on the Central way Apr-May last year, loved Portugal so much that I came back to walk Santarem to Porto in late Oct. These two ways are quite different but buth were a delight to walk. Both routes have plenty of cobblesones to walk on but other then that they are both easy as no mountains to climb, so no need for walking poles or heavy trekking boots, train runners would do there just fine. Lisbon - Porto: could be more physically challenging if you decide to walk the stages according to the Brierley guidebook, there are many of 30+km, almost all the way untill Coimbra. I did walk them and find them ok. The route is well marked, the local are generous and friendy, but the dogs are not always on the leash and some are agressive. There were pilgrims walking from Lisbon even in late Oct, we had from 2 to 7 at one day on the stage, so could be possible to find company and walk with smn else. Cafes and water fonts are not always frequent, make sure you have enough water on you for at least 2hr walking. The towns I liked most on the way: Santarm, Golega, Tomar, Coimbra, Agueda. From Porto onwards the infrastructure is great and the way is easy, more pilgrims there. It took me 9 days from Santarem to Porto, if you walk from Lisbon then add 3 days more. I would advice to stay in Porto at least a day or two to see the sights and recover. Porto to Lisbon I did in 9 days as well. My spendings: Santarem to Porto - 210 euros, Porto to Santiago - 160-170 euros. Hope that helps! Bom Caminho!
Oh, I loved walking in Portugal so much that this June I came back to walk the CPI - Camino Portugues Interior from Viseu. That turned the best of it all in the end!

 

[jack_everett26]

I walked from Porto to Santiago on the Central way Apr-May last year, loved Portugal so much that I came back to walk Santarem to Porto in late Oct. These two ways are quite different but buth were a delight to walk. Both routes have plenty of cobblesones to walk on but other then that they are both easy as no mountains to climb, so no need for walking poles or heavy trekking boots, train runners would do there just fine. Lisbon - Porto: could be more physically challenging if you decide to walk the stages according to the Brierley guidebook, there are many of 30+km, almost all the way untill Coimbra. I did walk them and find them ok. The route is well marked, the local are generous and friendy, but the dogs are not always on the leash and some are agressive. There were pilgrims walking from Lisbon even in late Oct, we had from 2 to 7 at one day on the stage, so could be possible to find company and walk with smn else. Cafes and water fonts are not always frequent, make sure you have enough water on you for at least 2hr walking. The towns I liked most on the way: Santarm, Golega, Tomar, Coimbra, Agueda. From Porto onwards the infrastructure is great and the way is easy, more pilgrims there. It took me 9 days from Santarem to Porto, if you walk from Lisbon then add 3 days more. I would advice to stay in Porto at least a day or two to see the sights and recover. Porto to Lisbon I did in 9 days as well. My spendings: Santarem to Porto - 210 euros, Porto to Santiago - 160-170 euros. Hope that helps! Bom Caminho!
Oh, I loved walking in Portugal so much that this June I came back to walk the CPI - Camino Portugues Interior from Viseu. That turned the best of it all in the end!

Wow thank you so much for this!