Coastal or Central route from Porto?

[Happyinharrogate]

I have a route planned from Porto starting along the Litoral then the Coastal, and will cross over to the Central route at Caminha. I wanted to experience some coastal walking, but wondering now if I will miss anything that I would regret from the Central Route by not crossing over earlier. I realise this is very subjective, but if anyone has done both routes ( Litoral/Coastal and Central), would be interested to hear which they preferred and whether there are must see places between Porto and Tui.

 

[Enzed]

Have walked some literol, coastal, all central from Tomar, and the espiritual.

Between Porto to tui?
Barcelos (big Thursday markets, interesting town), casa fernadas (famous pilgrim communal meal), Ponte lima (with its old bridge), the forest walk over the labruge hill and many simple pleasures to be discovered on the path (colourful tiled houses, friendly locals, wildlife and flowers, changing landscapes...all that good stuff)

But all paths have their highlights to be enjoyed. Whatever you choose, you will have a special experience. And it's not just about how pretty the scenery is, nor what the path terrain is like, but also the meditative act of walking.
Just enjoy going for a long walk, wherever you choose.

 

[kenwilltravel]

I have a route planned from Porto starting along the Litoral then the Coastal, and will cross over to the Central route at Caminha. I wanted to experience some coastal walking, but wondering now if I will miss anything that I would regret from the Central Route by not crossing over earlier. I realise this is very subjective, but if anyone has done both routes ( Litoral/Coastal and Central), would be interested to hear which they preferred and whether there are must see places between Porto and Tui.

This is tricky. The most scenic part of the coastal is, roughly, Viana do Costello all the way to Redondela (except for the urban mess in Vigo). For the central, it's more or less from São Miguel de Arcos to Valença/Tui. Is it worth mixing and matching to get the best of both or just stick with one? Hard to say; depends on the time you have available and personal interests. But switching over to the central at Caminha doesn't seem the best choice because Tui to Redondela is so-so.

 

[Grousedoctor]

Having walked both routes, I honestly don’t think you can go wrong either path you choose. For me, the Central Route had more of a Camino feel, but that’s a very subjective evaluation. I very much enjoyed the walk from Vila do Conde up to Tui for some of the same reasons mentioned above by @Enzed. I’d suggest leaving Porto by the river to the coast and then at Vila do Conde cut inland towards Rates. Once in Spain, I, too, would recommend including the Variante Espiritual in your itinerary. We found this section to be a highlight of our last Camino. If there is a downside to the Central Route, for some, it is walking so many miles on the uneven cobblestones. But, all the positives, like Casa da Fernanda and the bridge in Ponte de Lima, far outweigh the stones. In any case, I’m confident you’ll enjoy either or a mix of the two.

 

[auburnfive]

Another option…coastal to Vila do Conde, cut over to central to Valença, then take the Ecovia along the Minho River to Aguarda ( you can stop in Vilanova de Cerveira). Then take the Coastal through Vigo to Redondela, and onto the spiritual variante. I saw this suggested on the forum some years ago.

 

[r utter]

This is tricky. The most scenic part of the coastal is, roughly, Viana do Costello all the way to Redondela (except for the urban mess in Vigo). For the central, it's more or less from São Miguel de Arcos to Valença/Tui. Is it worth mixing and matching to get the best of both or just stick with one? Hard to say; depends on the time you have available and personal interests. But switching over to the central at Caminha doesn't seem the best choice because Tui to Redondela is so-so.

The urban mess in Vigo. What I remember was a grind to get to the center of Vigo. The downtown revived us from the almost grim walk. The next day we were chatting with a pilgrim we met who mentioned they opted to take a taxi to get to Vigo because they didn't like that part of the walk. I'm more the "all of the path is part of the Camino" so that approach hadn't occurred to me. But I confess I could see their point and it worked for them. For some reason the walk up and out of Vigo we enjoyed, not a repeat of the previous day at all.