El Camino Portugues, Lissbon - Porto

[kodo]

Fellow pilgrims,

I made the Camino Frances in 2009 and have been longing to go back since then, and I'm planning on going the Lissbon - Porto route this august/september. The Camino Frances is very easy to do in terms of albuerges but I get a feeling that the Camino Portugues is not up to the "same standard". I have a couple of questions that I hope you'll be able to answer:

- albuerges on the route, typical cost for accomodation
- where to get the credencial/passport in Lissbon
- "scenery", I'd like to get a feeling of what kind of scenery to experience on this route

Many, many thanks in advance!

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Kodo,

Welcome to the forum! I'm happy to see a question on the Caminho Portugues from Lisbon, because most people walk only from Porto. The segment south of Porto is changing very rapidly -- when I walked it three years ago, there were no albergues and the marking was bad in some spots. But thanks to the Lisbon' Friends of the Camino group, http://www.vialusitana.org,that situation is changing. There are now two private albergues on this part, and a lot more awareness of the potential the Caminho has for central Portugal. And the group has a regular "arrow painting" schedule, so the waymarking is really great, I've been told.

You should search the posts listed under the Camino Portugues, here are a couple that talk about the part south of Porto.

el-camino-portugues/topic11285.html
el-camino-portugues/topic11133.html
el-camino-portugues/topic10706.html
el-camino-portugues/topic9418.html
el-camino-portugues/topic9319.html

Well, you get the idea, there are more if you just search through the titles listed. And I'm pretty sure one of those posts lists a link to the on-line guide published by the British Confraternity of St. James, but just in case: http://www.csj.org.uk/guides-online.htm There is one short guide dedicated exclusively to the Lisbon-Porto segment. I wrote it, and it is getting out of date, but I'm expecting to receive updates from several people who are walking it this summer.

When I walked I saw not one other peregrino, but there seems to be more interest so maybe you will meet some others. Or, maybe you like solitary caminos, in which case this is a great choice. The only drawback I see to Lisbon-Porto are that it is almost entirely on asphalt (even though you are not often on busy roads), but it goes through some very nice places -- Tomar, Coimbra, Conimbriga, Rabacal, etc. Let us know if you go, or if you have any questions after you've had a chance to digest all the information that's already here. Bom caminho, Laurie

 

[kodo]

Dear Laurie!

Many thanks for the excellent information provided! It does confirm my initial impression that this is somewhat, "unexplored territory" I'll look into the links you provided and gather some more information before the trip. Just one more thing: do you know where to pick up the "pilgrims passport" in Lissbon?

Again, many, many thanks - hopefully I'll be able to give some information back when I'm back in Sweden...

Buen/Bom Camino
/Peter

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Peter,
The credencial is available at the Igreja dos Martires, which is very close to the Baixa/Chiado metro stop. There is an office on the left side of the main aisle, which seems to be generally open during regular daytime hours, but closes during mass and at other random times. There is detailed info on this in the online CSJ guide.

There is another church near the edge of town that has credenciales as well, but I can't put my finger on that information right now. I think the church may be on or very close to the walking route from the center of Lisbon out to the river at Parque Nacoes.

Bom caminho, Laurie

 

[Anniesantiago]

Hi Peter,

It's been six years since I walked the Portuguese route, but I recall what felt like a lot of VERY narrow road walking. We're talking just enough room for two very small cars to pass each other and NO safe place for you to walk because there was NO shoulder. What made it more dangerous was the tight curves so cars couldn't see us until they were literally upon us.

We carried bright orange hankerchiefs and tied them to our sticks and held them high around those curves so as not to be hit!

Otherwise, there was sidewalk walking and eucalyptus forest walking, and it was quite lovely. As someone else states, the albergues were not regularly spaced, but we only had a problem once when we arrived at an albergue that was closed. The cleaning lady took pity on our condition and gave us a ride to a local hotel, which I remember paying only 35 Euro for - it was out of our budget, but clean and we were thankful to have lodging.

Lisbon is awesome and please don't pass up a trip to Sintra while there. There is more information on other Portuguese Route threads that I and others posted.

Buen Camino!

 

[peregrina2000]

I found a bit more information on where to get the credential in Lisbon. Here is another possible source:.

Associação Espaços Jacobeus: 931 602 448

Based on the email address given below, I assume that Goncalo is connected with the Associação Espaços Jacobeus. If you use this option, I believe you will pick up the Credential at St. Eugenio church in the Bairro do Encarnaçao, which is between the airport and Oriente Station. You must contact the person in charge, Gonçalo, at the following mail address: aej.lisboa@gmail.com

If you're not spending any time in Lisbon, this might be easier (because the Oriente Station is right next to the river and on the Caminho, so you will pass the church on your way there from the airport), but the Igreja dos Martires is centrally located in a part of Lisbon you would want to visit anyway, so I'd recommend that option over this one.

Hope this helps, Laurie

 

[kodo]

Dear Fellow Pilgrims!

Many, many thanks to all of you for your excellent information. This forum is a gem in terms of information and personal reflections on the Caminho. I hope I'll be able to give something back when I'm back from my Lissbon-Porto walk

/Peter

 

[kodo]

Hmmmm, just one (?) more question:
again, given the relatively low number of accomodations, what do you expect the daily spending to be on this route? I've heard somewhere around EURO 30. Is that a "correct" figure?

Cheers
/Peter

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, kodo,

The cost is going to depend on whether you sleep in the bombeiros voluntarios or whether you go to private accommodations, at least in the Lisbon-Porto segment. I stayed in pensiones and hoteles and found the cost was about 20-30 euros a night for sleeping. But if you sleep in the bombeiros buildings, an average donativo would probably be in the 5E range, which would cut costs quite a bit.

From Porto northward, given the supply of albergues, 30E a day sounds right to me.

I think you will find that Portugal is a fair bit cheaper than Spain, but the lack of albergues might offset that cost savings.

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[kodo]

Hmmm, isn't it strange that "one more question" often means "ahhh, yet one more" It's getting close to "lift off" now and I will leave on the 23:rd. Will there be a possibility to withdraw cash from ATM:s on the route between Lissbon and Porto? If soo, in which cities? Of course I'm not looking for a complete list - one or two cities would be nice...

Again, many thanks in advance
/Peter

 

[Via Lusitana]

Hello Peter,

As far as ATM´s don´t worry as you will find one in almost all towns, sometimes even in the very small ones, but so that you have some reference here is a list of places that have ATM´s, you might also find some in other places, but these have for sure.

Parque das Nações
Sacavem
Póvoa de Santa Iria
Alhandra
Villa Franca de Xira
Azambuja
Santarém
Golegã
Vila Nova da Barquinha
Tomar
Alvaiázere
Ansião
Alvorge
Rabaçal
Cernache
Coimbra
Mealhada
Anadia
Águeda
Albergaria-A-Velha
Oliveira de Azeméis
São João da Madeira
Vila Nova de Gaia
Porto

BOM CAMINHO!
Helena

 

[kodo]

Hi Helena and many thanks for the info

/Peter