Last minute questions - Camino Portugues

[LauraK]

I will be walking the Caminho Portugues from Porto to Santiago October 25 - November 11. I have walked several Caminos so I am ready and excited to start but have a few questions.
1) What is the best source to find which albergues and hotels will be open after Oct. 31? I am planning to walk shorter distances so need to plan my stops (leaving time to be flexible).
2) I am planning to use a bag transport service for the first time (actually still debating this). Are services still available after October 31? I am planning on doing the Espiritual route - is bag transport available on this route? Do transport services pick up from all albergues/hotels/pensions listed in Gronze or Wise Pilgrim. If not, how do you identify which places will accommodate transport services?
3) I have a 33 liter pack which I would like to transport. What do you recommend to carry items such as rain jacket, water and other essentials during the day.
4) Any other advice or recommendations for walking at this time of year on the Portuguese.
Thanks so much for your help.

 

[ShoshTrvls]

I walked the last part of the Portugues this past winter. Because it was winter I prebooked accommodations through booking.com. The people who I met on the Camino who hadn’t done that said that they weren’t finding anything other than municipal albergues open.

Correos will transport from Tui in the off season. I don’t know if anyone transports on the Portugal side. Correos does not transport on the espiritual variant. Also, you may not be able to get a boat on the espiritual variant; they do not regularly run the route in the off-season.

I think a good 20L with a hip belt will be fine to walk with, although what I have done is bring a very light folding duffel for my “send ahead” stuff on the days that I use a transport service, and walk with my regular pack (32L) just with less “stuff.”

Between stages, the Portugues can be pretty desolate as far as infrastructure goes. Very few bars or cafes open along the way so I would plan on packing lunch and snacks. You may come across an open place now and again, but it is nothing like the availability of services the rest of the year.

 

[trecile]

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