Help changing paths in Portugal

[Warge]

I am going from Porto to Santiago. I know there are certain paths, but am I able to do half ocean path, then head into the central line and continue through there?

I am thinkin of cutting from Viana do castelo to pontr de lima because i want to view different parta of this journey.

Is that allowed?

 

[mspath]

Anything is allowed. However you must follow one standard path to Santiago for at least the last 100km if you wish a Compostela upon arrival.

 

[trecile]

Check out the Stingy Nomad's website. They have some good information about the different routes in Portugal.

The Portuguese Camino de Santiago - a 2024 guide

Portuguese Camino de Santiago - a detailed guide & walking stages from Porto to Santiago. Maps, distances, free downloadable PDFs

stingynomads.com

Look for the graphic "Routes of the Portuguese Camino and how to switch between them" on their site.

 

[Grousedoctor]

Not sure about cutting across to the Central at Viana do Castelo. Check out Windy Maps. You can easily see camino routes on this app. From what I can see, it would be better to cut over at Caminha and walk to Valença. At that point, you’ll be on the central route heading to SdC. Good luck.

 

[Warge]

Not sure about cutting across to the Central at Viana do Castelo. Check out Windy Maps. You can easily see camino routes on this app. From what I can see, it would be better to cut over at Caminha and walk to Valença. At that point, you’ll be on the central route heading to SdC. Good luck.

We wanted to cut across because we heard ponte delima is more veautiful, sonce pur whole hike might be in the rain, the coastal seens more exposed

 

[Grousedoctor]

Ponte de Lima is a lovely town. We have fond memories of our overnight there as our hotel room overlooked the medieval bridge.

The only point that I was trying to make in my post was that from maps that I’ve looked at as well as the Stingy Nomads site, I don’t see a camino walking route running from Viana do Castelo to the Camino Central. For walking, Caminha might be a better choice for cutting across from the coast.

 

[Corned Beef]

Check Open Street Maps. There appears to be a route from Viana to Ponte de Lima called "Ecovia das Veigas do Rio Minho". Looks well marked and there is some information on the internet about it.

Just a day's walk at 15 miles so if you do it, takes pics so we can see how good it is. Brown lines are the CP

Passeio Verde: à descoberta da nova Ecovia das Veigas do Rio Minho

Bem agasalhado, nesta época já tão fria do ano, não deixe de visitar as Veigas do Minho, o novo troço complementar à conhecida Ecopista do Rio Minho

boacamaboamesa.expresso.pt

 

[Magwood]

We did this hop in reverse, having arrived at Ponte de Lima on the Camino Torres. We jumped on a bus to Viana do Castelo. Having walked from Almería we didn’t feel too guilty about taking transport to get to the coast. Walk it or bus it - you’ll still qualify for your compostela.

 

[debigetsout]

I am going from Porto to Santiago. I know there are certain paths, but am I able to do half ocean path, then head into the central line and continue through there?

I am thinkin of cutting from Viana do castelo to pontr de lima because i want to view different parta of this journey.

Is that allowed?

My partner has made a GPS route that is part coast and part inland. He made it to increase the time that we walked on natural surfaces. It only goes from Porto to the border with Spain, which gets pretty industrial. Shall we send it you?

 

[Duayne Meyer]

My partner has made a GPS route that is part coast and part inland. He made it to increase the time that we walked on natural surfaces. It only goes from Porto to the border with Spain, which gets pretty industrial. Shall we send it you?

Debi,
I would love to see your route as I am hoping to walk next Spring with a few friends. Getting a bit of time on the coast, and also walking less tarmac (just walked the first half of the Norte in September, LOTS of hard surfaces) sounds great. Thank you in advance!

 

[naplesdon]

We wanted to cut across because we heard ponte delima is more veautiful, sonce pur whole hike might be in the rain, the coastal seens more exposed

Viana is worth thinking about as a rest day, some fascinating sites. Ponte de Lima is wonderful too, depending on the time of year it gets busy with tourist. I wouldn’t make my decision based on the coastal exposure/rain, Ponte de Lima is less than 20k to the east, it would have the same weather as the coast.

 

[FLEUR]

Not sure about cutting across to the Central at Viana do Castelo. Check out Windy Maps. You can easily see camino routes on this app. From what I can see, it would be better to cut over at Caminha and walk to Valença. At that point, you’ll be on the central route heading to SdC. Good luck.

We did that and it worked well.

 

[BigT]

My partner has made a GPS route that is part coast and part inland. He made it to increase the time that we walked on natural surfaces. It only goes from Porto to the border with Spain, which gets pretty industrial. Shall we send it you?

Please, any possibility that you could post the map for others to be able to view it?
Thank you.

 

[uncletim]

The TrailSmart app added Viana Do Castelo to Ponte de Lima recently. I recommend this route.

I am tempted to try around November 9th from Porto, see how things go.

 

[Maple Leaf Walker]

Walk the ocean route out of Porto to Villa do Conde. Then take the interior to Rates > Barcelos and > Ponte. That will also take you past Casa Fernanda, which is one of the best Albergue experiences I had in all three Caminos.

 

[Airdog]

I just did a combination of coastal/littoral up to Vigo - at that point many joined the regular Portuguese route to Santiago. It was fun taking the fisherman’s boat from Mougas, walking the beautiful beaches up to Baiona/ forest views to Vigo.
From Pontevedra I took the variant - which was so worth it! Definitely I would recommend a combination of routes and Vigo is an easy spot to change.

 

[HaveringRob]

My partner has made a GPS route that is part coast and part inland. He made it to increase the time that we walked on natural surfaces. It only goes from Porto to the border with Spain, which gets pretty industrial. Shall we send it you?

I most definately would! We leave this week (eek)!

 

[walkinglover]

I am going from Porto to Santiago. I know there are certain paths, but am I able to do half ocean path, then head into the central line and continue through there?

I am thinkin of cutting from Viana do castelo to pontr de lima because i want to view different parta of this journey.

Is that allowed?

We walked from Lisbon to Porto, then entered the Coastal route. We walked the Coastal to Esposende ten took a cab to Barcelos. We stayed in an albergue there. I think its name was Tamel S Pedro Fins, but not sure.

 

[jalluisi]

My partner has made a GPS route that is part coast and part inland. He made it to increase the time that we walked on natural surfaces. It only goes from Porto to the border with Spain, which gets pretty industrial. Shall we send it you?

If you can share the map that would be great. We are just starting to plan for next October to go from Porto to Santiago. Any towns or places to see, please share.

Tks

 

[jalluisi]

I just did a combination of coastal/littoral up to Vigo - at that point many joined the regular Portuguese route to Santiago. It was fun taking the fisherman’s boat from Mougas, walking the beautiful beaches up to Baiona/ forest views to Vigo.
From Pontevedra I took the variant - which was so worth it! Definitely I would recommend a combination of routes and Vigo is an easy spot to change.

Hey, Was the variant the spiritual one? Where did u meet the main route at? We are in our planning stage for next October. Is the coastal route road walking or scenic? Tks

 

[Airdog]

Hey, Was the variant the spiritual one? Where did u meet the main route at? We are in our planning stage for next October. Is the coastal route road walking or scenic? Tks

Yes it was the spiritual variant - and it was beautiful! Day one is a steep incline from Meis til the last 1k which is a rough descent. Armenteiro - in the evening the singing nuns at the monastery offer a vespers service for pilgrims. Day 2 is a beautiful walk, the way of stones and water, then down into Vila de Arosa (mostly fields and forest til the city).Then the boat ride from there up to Padron was terrific, although our boat was delayed til 1230p due to the tide. The variant was my favorite part of the whole Camino! From Padron we were on the main route, walked about halfway to Santiago then stayed the night- early arrival into Santiago which was nice.
I did a combination of littoral & coastal and I will post my itinerary tomorrow for you- unfortunately I have to go to work!

 

[Warge]

Quick update!

Thanks for everyones input and help, i am actually startin my walk in a day or 2 from Porto and we will see where the walk takes us!

 

[Former member 22438]

I would recommend you to walk to Viana do Castelo,stay and look around there Than take the bus to Barroselos and from there pick up the yellow waymarkers.
After 4 kilometers you will find casa da Fernanda (Fernanda celebrated her birthday by the way yesterday) it is a great experience to stay there. You weren’t on the Portuguese caminho if you weren’t at Fernanda’s
From Fernanda it is a relaxed walk to Ponte de Lima the next day.

 

[Grousedoctor]

Casa de Fernanda. My favorite part of the Camiho Portugues!

 

[jalluisi]

Yes it was the spiritual variant - and it was beautiful! Day one is a steep incline from Meis til the last 1k which is a rough descent. Armenteiro - in the evening the singing nuns at the monastery offer a vespers service for pilgrims. Day 2 is a beautiful walk, the way of stones and water, then down into Vila de Arosa (mostly fields and forest til the city).Then the boat ride from there up to Padron was terrific, although our boat was delayed til 1230p due to the tide. The variant was my favorite part of the whole Camino! From Padron we were on the main route, walked about halfway to Santiago then stayed the night- early arrival into Santiago which was nice.
I did a combination of littoral & coastal and I will post my itinerary tomorrow for you- unfortunately I have to go to work!

Thank you.

 

[jalluisi]

Thank you.

Any particular places u stayed that u liked?

 

[Susan Moeckel]

Not sure about cutting across to the Central at Viana do Castelo. Check out Windy Maps. You can easily see camino routes on this app. From what I can see, it would be better to cut over at Caminha and walk to Valença. At that point, you’ll be on the central route heading to SdC. Good luck.

That is a great way to go--we did and were not disappointed! Valenca and Tui are not to be missed.

 

[craiger1511]

Casa de Fernanda. My favorite part of the Camiho Portugues!

I'll second that! Me encanta Fernanda y su casa mucho. Our Camino family came together here and I will be forever grateful for introducing all of us ...

 

[jalluisi]

Thanks for the recommendations. We are trying to figure out how many miles to do in a day. I am thinking 15 to 17 is my comfort zone. How many days did you walk the Coastal in?

 

[Ellann]

Check out the Stingy Nomad's website. They have some good information about the different routes in Portugal.

The Portuguese Camino de Santiago - a 2024 guide

Portuguese Camino de Santiago - a detailed guide & walking stages from Porto to Santiago. Maps, distances, free downloadable PDFs

stingynomads.com

Look for the graphic "Routes of the Portuguese Camino and how to switch between them" on their site.

Stingy Nomads is such an excellent resource for so many adventures.
I would like to leave the coast at Baiona or Saians and head to the Central Camino, for a change of scenery and experience, and would like some advice on routes to get to Pontevedra. Considerations are from Saians to Valadares (Albergue de Peregrinos O Freixo) to Porrina to Rua Mos (Albergue de Peregrinos Santa Baia de Mos), and follow up to Pontevedra.
Or maybe cut out Porrina (should I?) and head to Rua Mos on a different route. Are these options way marked and can anyone offer advice?
I know I would like to see Baiona but do I need to keep going up to Saians, and then cut across, or is Saians a bit same, same. I do have six weeks to walk the Camino, so am not in a hurry and can walk up to 20 km a day, but enjoy the thought of less km per day.
Thanks for any advice and tips.

 

[David Tallan]

I am going from Porto to Santiago. I know there are certain paths, but am I able to do half ocean path, then head into the central line and continue through there?

I am thinkin of cutting from Viana do castelo to pontr de lima because i want to view different parta of this journey.

Is that allowed?

It's allowed. You just need to walk the last 100 km on a recognized route and so long as you cut over before entering Spain and walk the last 100 km in Spain on a recognized route (which would include the Coastal or the Central, with our without the Spiritual Variant) you are good for a Compostela. If you aren't worried about obtaining a Compostela, everything is allowed!

I walked the senda litoral out of Porto along the river and up to Vila do Conde before heading over to the Central route. That gave me a nice walk out of Porto and a taste of the coast, as well as Barcelos and Casa da Fernanda and the other good stuff on the Central. Another option that I've heard of that I might try on a future Camino would be to start as I did: senda litoral out of Porto and then over to the Central from Vila do Conde, but then when I got to Valença heading back to the coast at Caminha and walking the Coastal in Spain where there are some nice dramatic coastlines. That gives you more like half and half between the Central and Coastal. I would miss out on Tui (unless I crossed the bridge for a visit and then crossed back again) and O Porriño, but I would get to see Caminha, A Guardia, Mougas, Baiona, and Vigo.

 

[jalluisi]

It's allowed. You just need to walk the last 100 km on a recognized route and so long as you cut over before entering Spain and walk the last 100 km in Spain on a recognized route (which would include the Coastal or the Central, with our without the Spiritual Variant) you are good for a Compostela. If you aren't worried about obtaining a Compostela, everything is allowed!

I walked the senda litoral out of Porto along the river and up to Vila do Conde before heading over to the Central route. That gave me a nice walk out of Porto and a taste of the coast, as well as Barcelos and Casa da Fernanda and the other good stuff on the Central. Another option that I've heard of that I might try on a future Camino would be to start as I did: senda litoral out of Porto and then over to the Central from Vila do Conde, but then when I got to Valença heading back to the coast at Caminha and walking the Coastal in Spain where there are some nice dramatic coastlines. That gives you more like half and half between the Central and Coastal. I would miss out on Tui (unless I crossed the bridge for a visit and then crossed back again) and O Porriño, but I would get to see Caminha, A Guardia, Mougas, Baiona, and Vigo.

Hey David,

Thanks for the information. Do have any recommendations on Albergues?

 

[David Tallan]

Casa da Fernanda was the standout albergue from my 2018 Camino. Albergue Ideas Peregrinas in Tui has also been frequently recommended. Some also have been very happy with the detour off the Camino just before Padron to stay at the Convento de Herbón.

 

[jalluisi]

Casa da Fernanda was the standout albergue from my 2018 Camino. Albergue Ideas Peregrinas in Tui has also been frequently recommended. Some also have been very happy with the detour off the Camino just before Padron to stay at the Convento de Herbón.

Thank you!!