Camino Portuques

[Didee]

Hello, I am planning my first Camino this late summer/early fall for my 70th birthday celebration. I plan to go solo and walk from Lisbon, along the Coastal Route to Santiago. I am in good health and have done other long distance walks: the GR in France, Nepal, West Coast Trail in BC...but this will be my first solo. My husband can't do it anymore, and I want to do it before I can't. I would love to hear any thoughts, ideas, concerns - especially about the Lisbon to Porto section. If it seems too sketchy, then I would go from Porto and add in the Variante Espiritual and the section to Finisterre.

 

[trecile]

Just so you know, the Coastal Camino doesn't start until Porto. Until then you will be walking inland.

I walked solo from Lisbon in 2022 and did not find it sketchy. There were enough albergues and other accommodations, but very few pilgrims until Porto.

But there are some wonderful towns and cities along the way, such as Tomar and Coimbra.

There is quite a bit of road walking, so it will be much different than your other treks.

 

[Didee]

Just so you know, the Coastal Camino doesn't start until Porto. Until then you will be walking inland.

I walked solo from Lisbon in 2022 and did not find it sketchy. There were enough albergues and other accommodations, but very few pilgrims until Porto.

But there are some wonderful towns and cities along the way, such as Tomar and Coimbra.

There is quite a bit of road walking, so it will be much different than your other treks.

thanks that's good to know about the road walking...I'll look into that a bit more

 

[trecile]

thanks that's good to know about the road walking...I'll look into that a bit more

If you aren't familiar with it yet Gronze.com is a good source for descriptions of each stage of the Camino.

Camino Portugués Central | Gronze.com

www.gronze.com

 

[dougfitz]

Just so you know, the Coastal Camino doesn't start until Porto. Until then you will be walking inland.

True, but there are coastal alternatives from Lisbon that seem to link up to Fatima and then Tomar. IIRC, @AJGuillaume and his wife walked out of Lisbon in such a route recently, which he describes here. He and his beloved are very experienced pilgrims, and will have a view on whether that would be suitable for a first time pilgrim.

On the question of the CP route, I walked the Caminho do Tejo or Tagus Route from Lisbon to Fatima before crossing (by bus) to Tomar and walking the CP to Santiago. I'm not sure what is meant by 'sketchy' here, but that's not an adjective I would have used.

I broke up a couple of long stages early on by going back and forth on public transport. There were still some places that hadn't reopened after COVID, and perhaps never will. But there were alternatives. Some might have been a bit more expensive than I would have liked, but I never went without a bed. Much of what is written about things like high daytime temperatures, traffic on busy roads and the like is true, but I never found it the difficulty some people make it seem to be.

For the OP, if you have done other long routes, and you are mentally and emotionally prepared to walk alone occasionally if there is no-one else to walk with on some day, I think this route is well worth the effort. If you do start it, and find that you aren't coping well with it, towns along the route are generally well connected by train and bus, and getting up to Porto and walking from there is always going to be an option.

 

[AJGuillaume]

True, but there are coastal alternatives from Lisbon that seem to link up to Fatima and then Tomar. IIRC, @AJGuillaume and his wife walked out of Lisbon in such a route recently, which he describes here. He and his beloved are very experienced pilgrims, and will have a view on whether that would be suitable for a first time pilgrim.

Hello @Didee

There is a coastal alternative from Lisbon to Porto, but it's not an official Camino, despite all efforts to have it recognised as such.

It's called the Trilho das Areias, and you can find information on this website: https://trilho-das-areias.webnode.page/

It does require some preparation, as there are no yellow arrows. Along the coast, you'll find lodging similar to albergues in surf houses. Otherwise there is private accommodation.

We walked the official Caminho Português from Tomar to Pinheiro da Bemposta (Moinho Garcia). We then went back to the coast.

I documented every day with Wikiloc tracks. Look for AJGuillaume. We also chose alternatives to the alternative, and had some fantastic experiences. A couple of our stages will need to be reviewed, as we encountered unexpected conditions.

I see that you have had much experience on other caminos, so I believe that with due preparation, you would enjoy this alternative.

There is also an alternative which is called Caminho do Mar, which @jungleboy and Wendy walked in 2023: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/caminho-do-mar-lisbon-fatima-may-2023.80401/

You could consider this Caminho to avoid the road walking out of Lisbon.

What ever you choose, I wish you Bom Caminho and Buen Camino