I want to walk the camino at a slower pace than Brierley suggests.

[Normita Menchon]

I will start my walk on July 4th. I don't need to rush since I will be in Spain for most of the summer. Will I be able to find albergues along the route other than the town where Brierley suggests?

 

[mspath]

Welcome to the Forum!
For a handy on line list of camino albergues and regular tourist accommodation see the Gronze site. You might compare Brierley with the Gronze suggestions.

Happy planning and Buen camino!

 

[dougfitz]

Of course. Brierley lists albergues in towns and villages other than at the end points of his stages if you wish to take his guide for other reasons. His book is, after all, a guide, not a manual!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Will I be able to find albergues along the route other than the town where Brierley suggests?

He has end stage points, but he lists all the albergues along the way. Stop at any of them.

 

[HalfDomeOrBust]

The short answer is yes. There are some wonderful Albergues and pensiones and Hoteles all along the Camino. Buen Camino and dont worry....

 

[amorfati1]

I will start my walk on July 4th. I don't need to rush since I will be in Spain for most of the summer. Will I be able to find albergues along the route other than the town where Brierley suggests?

welcome!
you have posted this question under the PORTUGUESE sub-forum, so i presume that you are asking about the caminho portuguese, vero?
yes - certainly you can walk at a slower pace - brierely is not the alpha&omega on guides. can be useful - up to a point.
peregrina2000 on this forum has also compiled a good guide for shorter stages from Lisbon (if you were to start there)
My daily stages of the pilgrimage were almost always shorter than stages mentioned in books. i'd rather listen to my body than to written guidance.

it appears that more and more hostels, pensao's and albergues are being added on the camino portuguese - i have never been "stranded". overnighted in pensao's, hostels, albergue's, quinta's and hotels.

Bom Caminho!

 

[Cejanus]

Welcome Normita,
You can certainly walk at any pace that you choose. Listen to your body and walk as far as you want to each day. You will never be far from accommodation of some sort. It pays to have some idea of where accommodation might be though. I am a meanderer and get easily distracted in a good way by what is observable, by interesting people I meet and by the solitude I seek (AND the pain in my hips) and of course my plan has to be really really flexible. The wonderful thing about the Camino is that things just go right most of the time. Faith, trust and love have always been there for me. Travel well.

 

[don88]

I walked an average of 9 km per day. Never had a problem finding an albergue. I only stayed one in a hostel. Really enjoyed the private room. Whenever I came across a place to stay I would do a "body check". Did my body want to stop? I learned to listen and ended up staying in some great places.
Buen Camino. Don

 

[Normita Menchon]

welcome!
you have posted this question under the PORTUGUESE sub-forum, so i presume that you are asking about the caminho portuguese, vero?
yes - certainly you can walk at a slower pace - brierely is not the alpha&omega on guides. can be useful - up to a point.
peregrina2000 on this forum has also compiled a good guide for shorter stages from Lisbon (if you were to start there)
My daily stages of the pilgrimage were almost always shorter than stages mentioned in books. i'd rather listen to my body than to written guidance.

it appears that more and more hostels, pensao's and albergues are being added on the camino portuguese - i have never been "stranded". overnighted in pensao's, hostels, albergue's, quinta's and hotels.

Bom Caminho!

Thank you so much! I love the "listen to your body" phrase. That is what I have been saying all along, but I was worried that there may not be a pension or albergue other than the points mentioned in his book.


I will walk from Porto to Santiago. Thanks for the encouragement.

 

[Normita Menchon]

I walked an average of 9 km per day. Never had a problem finding an albergue. I only stayed one in a hostel. Really enjoyed the private room. Whenever I came across a place to stay I would do a "body check". Did my body want to stop? I learned to listen and ended up staying in some great places.
Buen Camino. Don

Wow! "Body check" Love it!

 

[Normita Menchon]

Of course. Brierley lists albergues in towns and villages other than at the end points of his stages if you wish to take his guide for other reasons. His book is, after all, a guide, not a manual!

Thanks! I noticed that you walked the camino Finisterre and Muxia. If I choose to continue after Santiago to Muxia, will I need a different guide?

 

[mspath]

Brierleywrote a separate guidebook for
the Finisterre and Muxia routes. However yoy can pick up a free list of all accommodation and services for these routes in Santiago at the Galicia tourist office on rua do Vilar near the cathedral.

Buen camino!

 

[robertt]

I walked an average of 9 km per day. Never had a problem finding an albergue. I only stayed one in a hostel. Really enjoyed the private room. Whenever I came across a place to stay I would do a "body check". Did my body want to stop? I learned to listen and ended up staying in some great places.
Buen Camino. Don

Don88, I am very impressed. Your average might be lower than mine! But can you do triple rest days? Sorry to sound competitive, but I can do triples. Double rest days are a breeze, of course.

Love your work

Rob

 

[naplesdon]

If it is the CP, you may find some distances between albergues slightly more than 5 km in some place between Porto and Santiago but there are enough towns nearby which you could bail out to.

 

[dougfitz]

Thanks! I noticed that you walked the camino Finisterre and Muxia. If I choose to continue after Santiago to Muxia, will I need a different guide?

There are any number of good resources, including another Brierley guide for the route. I bought the Brierley. It was useful, but I didn't get as much value from it as I did his guide for the CF. I think a guide is useful, but I would look at other options than Brierley were I to do this route again.

 

[naplesdon]

There are any number of good resources, including another Brierley guide for the route. I bought the Brierley. It was useful, but I didn't get as much value from it as I did his guide for the CF. I think a guide is useful, but I would look at other options than Brierley were I to do this route again.

I agree the Brierley is not that helpful on this route. Before I posted my comment I looked on line to see if there was a Michelin Guide or something similar and came up with nothing. Maybe Albertinho will chime in.

 

[dougfitz]

Before I posted my comment I looked on line to see if there was a Michelin Guide or something similar and came up with nothing. Maybe Albertinho will chime in.

The Alison Raju (2009) guide on the CSJ site seems okay and covers both the route options, ie Muxia then Finisterre or vice versa. It is available for a donation. There are also resources at the tourist office, although one might want some more detail about the route itself.

 

[Former member 22438]

Don88, I am very impressed. Your average might be lower than mine! But can you do triple rest days? Sorry to sound competitive, but I can do triples. Double rest days are a breeze, of course.

Love your work

Rob

Concerning th caminho Português from Porto
Not on all tracks you find albergues or hostals in between the bigger places.
I advice for the Porto to Santiago leg to use Brierleys guide though
All places you can stay are mentioned .some places need to be reserved in advance f.o Casa Fernanda. By using Brierley's guide you have all tel.numbers and can call ahead the day before or the morning of the day itself

The caminho Portugues is getting more and more popular so the number of walking is increasing now .
We wanted a more expensive hostal just before Santiago to have an easy day arriving there next morning..jacuzzi, swimmingpoole etc. Was fully booked for days.so the alternative was another one twice a expensive.. What we did. It was great but initially was not the meaning..
What we noticed too was that more and more people using the Airbnb app to book places in f.ex.Porto and Santiago only the more expensive ones are available.

 

[csm mac]

I walked an average of 9 km per day. Never had a problem finding an albergue. I only stayed one in a hostel. Really enjoyed the private room. Whenever I came across a place to stay I would do a "body check". Did my body want to stop? I learned to listen and ended up staying in some great places.
Buen Camino. Don

Don: Did you walk the French? I to would like to take my time. Did you mean 9km or 9 miles? I'm looking at 60 days as I'm 0ld and slow. My I be rude and ask you your age. I'm looking at the fall of 2017 or 2018 (September - October) and I'll be 80-81. I to like meander, stop and chat, coffee and to anyone over 65, the inevitable need to pee. Please take a moment to thank God for our chance to enjoy life in the fast lane lol.

Buen Camino

Mac

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I to like meander, stop and chat, coffee and to anyone over 65, the inevitable need to pee.

Your chances to stop and chat will be limited to that coffee (and the evening) as other pilgrims blow past you! That should not be a deterrent, though. Coffee opportunities abound. Join an occupied table, and find out if English is spoken. Don't worry about rejection; even if English is not spoken, it is almost 100% likely that you will be welcome to use a chair. The nearest 40-acre forest is probably a giant latrine, and you can meander all you want, though mostly in a forward direction. The 9km stage grows in appeal as I grow in age! Go slowly, and you won't regret it. Buen camino.

 

[ricitosdeplata]

I agree that you should take your own pace. I, too, am facing the issue of some physical restrictions. I'm 68 and I've been having trouble recently with slight vertigo. I can do 15 km now but slowly. With 3 months to go I'm expecting to be able to do more by the time I leave. I was worried about doing the near 30 km of an early stage but I've decided to do stages of no more than 20 for the first week on the Vdlp, even if it means taking a bus. I was panicking that I couldn't do the camino, but I'm not giving up, just making adjustments. I had been planning to go the Sanabres route but I'm rethinking this too.

 

[santaremhostel]

Laurie (Peregrina2000) wrote a document "Short stages from Lisbon to Porto"
You can download it here:
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/resources/short-stages-from-lisbon-to-porto.133/

Hope it helps
Bom Caminho
Mario

 

[happymarkos]

I will start my walk on July 4th. I don't need to rush since I will be in Spain for most of the summer. Will I be able to find albergues along the route other than the town where Brierley suggests?

My first comment is that the "stages" in Brierley's book are not realistic for many walkers as they are too far apart. Many suffer blisters and knee problems in the first week or so by waling too far and not having rest days.
Having said that some people do them with ease and a friend has recently done the whole walk in 22 days; I took twice that time. Some experienced French sisters I met in 2013 said the Camino is to be "experienced" not just "done" and bemoaned the way many people were doing it.
My second comment is that there are many great places between the stage and I was one who tended to look for places in between and try and find private albergues run by people who had done the Camino.
Take your time and enjoy
Mark

 

[1959 Grace]

Welcome to the Forum!
For a handy on line list of camino albergues and regular tourist accommodation see the Gronze site. You might compare Brierley with the Gronze suggestions.

Happy planning and Buen camino!

Hello. Thank you for the name of the Gronze site..My Portugese is nil, so I could read the place names but not find any albergues listed, or more importantly for me, regular tourist accmodation> Can you direct me to an English site with these listed please? Kind regards.

 

[mspath]

1959 Grace,

Sorry but I am only familar with the Gronze site. On it pilgrim accommodations are listed in brown type and regular tourist accommodation listed in black type. Links to Booking.com are also given as well as prices. The Gronze list begins at Porto going north.

MM

 

[Former member 22438]

It is not that difficult

Esay to find a place in Porto. Many pilgrimhostals , hotels etc.
In Matosinhos if you walk the coastal detour to Vila do Conde. Hostal Central (booking.com) very good
In Vila Châ -see Brierleys guide is someone who rents rooms
Vila do Conde hostal Bellamar

If you choose the original route out of Porto (not advisable. Very busy with traffic) but if you take the metro to Maia you have had the worst part and can walk to Vairão. Very nice albergue in a monastry. Nice hospitaleiros too.
In Vilarinho is casa de Lara. Nice place I heard. Never been



São Pedro de Rates. Albergue
Pedra Furada. Rents rooms
Barcelinos. Albergue
Barcelos albergue and several hostals and hotels

In Tamel is a nice albergue

Casa Fernanda the must on the caminho Português Don't miss it

Ponte de Lima albergue and several hostals

Nearby is also a quinta run by Canadians. Anybody add info on this list ? Must be nice as well


Rubiaês. New albergue. Haven't been there and two hostals


Mos. Albergue (is it open again ? Haven't been there for a while

Valença do Minho. Albergue and several hostals. Hotels

Tuí. Albergue

O Porriño. Albergue and hotels

Redondela. Albergue municipal. Very big
Several hostals

Cessantes 3 kms from Redondela. Direction Pontevedra Refúxio de Jerézana
Albergue far better than the one in Redondela Worth to walk the extea kms to stay there instead.

Arcade several places to lodge haven't been there to stay but saw some posts here on the forum

Pontevedra. Albergue. Many hostals hotels

Caldas de Reis. Hotels hostals. Privat albergue o Cruceiro. Great place

Teo a Casalonga /Miladioria. Albergue and two excellent casas rurales. Kind of hostals. One is called o Cruceiro. Great place. About 45€
The other one -have to find the name -superb but 85€ I have to find in my written notes


Santiago. Great offer of places. We found an economic one at Airbnb. Could you also do in Porto as we did.

I suggest take the Portugese and Galicean map and find all the places and you'll see that all is within your pace. We did the same twice

Bom caminho

 

[Introibo]

Albertinho, many thanks again. You're spoiling us !

 

[Normita Menchon]

My first comment is that the "stages" in Brierley's book are not realistic for many walkers as they are too far apart. Many suffer blisters and knee problems in the first week or so by waling too far and not having rest days.
Having said that some people do them with ease and a friend has recently done the whole walk in 22 days; I took twice that time. Some experienced French sisters I met in 2013 said the Camino is to be "experienced" not just "done" and bemoaned the way many people were doing it.
My second comment is that there are many great places between the stage and I was one who tended to look for places in between and try and find private albergues run by people who had done the Camino.
Take your time and enjoy
Mark

There are any number of good resources, including another Brierley guide for the route. I bought the Brierley. It was useful, but I didn't get as much value from it as I did his guide for the CF. I think a guide is useful, but I would look at other options than Brierley were I to do this route again.

It is not that difficult

Esay to find a place in Porto. Many pilgrimhostals , hotels etc.
In Matosinhos if you walk the coastal detour to Vila do Conde. Hostal Central (booking.com) very good
In Vila Châ -see Brierleys guide is someone who rents rooms
Vila do Conde hostal Bellamar



If you choose the original route out of Porto (not advisable. Very busy with traffic) but if you take the metro to Maia you have had the worst part and can walk to Vairão. Very nice albergue in a monastry. Nice hospitaleiros too.
In Vilarinho is casa de Lara. Nice place I heard. Never been



São Pedro de Rates. Albergue
Pedra Furada. Rents rooms
Barcelinos. Albergue
Barcelos albergue and several hostals and hotels

In Tamel is a nice albergue

Casa Fernanda the must on the caminho Português Don't miss it

Ponte de Lima albergue and several hostals

Nearby is also a quinta run by Canadians. Anybody add info on this list ? Must be nice as well


Rubiaês. New albergue. Haven't been there and two hostals


Mos. Albergue (is it open again ? Haven't been there for a while

Valença do Minho. Albergue and several hostals. Hotels

Tuí. Albergue

O Porriño. Albergue and hotels

Redondela. Albergue municipal. Very big
Several hostals

Cessantes 3 kms from Redondela. Direction Pontevedra Refúxio de Jerézana
Albergue far better than the one in Redondela Worth to walk the extea kms to stay there instead.

Arcade several places to lodge haven't been there to stay but saw some posts here on the forum

Pontevedra. Albergue. Many hostals hotels

Caldas de Reis. Hotels hostals. Privat albergue o Cruceiro. Great place

Teo a Casalonga /Miladioria. Albergue and two excellent casas rurales. Kind of hostals. One is called o Cruceiro. Great place. About 45€
The other one -have to find the name -superb but 85€ I have to find in my written notes


Santiago. Great offer of places. We found an economic one at Airbnb. Could you also do in Porto as we did.

I suggest take the Portugese and Galicean map and find all the places and you'll see that all is within your pace. We did the same twice

Bom caminho

If it is the CP, you may find some distances between albergues slightly more than 5 km in some place between Porto and Santiago but there are enough towns nearby which you could bail out to.