My partner and I completed the Camino Portugues in April 2019. Some observations:
We started out from Porto with two short days along the coast, then crossed over to the central at Vila do Conde.
General:
* The Portuguese in April had far fewer pilgrims than the Camino Frances at peak (my other experience). This was good and bad, in my opinion: The 'bad' was that there were fewer of the pilgrim-to-pilgrim interchanges that are the best part of the Camino (IMO). The 'good' was that it was less like a Pilgrim Highway and there seemed to be more opportunities for authentic interchanges with local people not in the Camino service industry.
* The coastal portion from Porto to Vila do Conde was gorgeous, but not at all Camino-like. We live on the ocean in the US, so it was a pretty easy choice to go inland. The route across to São Pedro de Rates was picturesque, but on narrow roadways and the Portuguese drivers there won the award for least likely to be concerned about the centimeters between their cars and waddling pilgrims.
Specific:
Great places to stay:
* Albergue De Peregrinos Casa Da Fernanda in Vitorino dos Piães, Portugal. What the Camino is all about. Very fortunate that Fernanda made room for us that night.
* Albergue Quinta do Caminho in Pedreira, Portugal. We stayed in a private room, but the bunkhouse looked great, too. Inexpensively luxurious ($40 USD or so).
Fine places to stay:
* Casa Velha in Aldeia Nova, Portugal. Unassuming! Clean, quiet, great hospitality.
* Santa Clara Municipal, Vila do Conde. A beautiful muni. There was a great market in the adjoining square on the Friday we were there, so we cooked in the kitchen.
* Albergue de Peregrinos São Pedro de Rates, Portugal. Clean, well-run by an association (Free Masons, I think), older facility. A couple of nearby restaurants are good.
* O Refuxio de la Jerezana, Redondela, Spain. Very nice, municipal-like facility owned privately. Very nice showers outside the building (including one with disabled access), like-new clean. Serves dinner on a terrace.
* Habitaciones Casa Alicia, Pontevedre, Spain. Old-school hostel, very clean, shared shower and bath. Pontevedre was the surprise of the trip - a great little city.
* Hotel Payro, Milladoiro, Spain. Superb value, sparkling clean, run by a family that cares about its business. A nice place to stay after an especially long walking day before Santiago.
Places I wouldn't stay again:
* Hotel Parque, O Porriño, Spain. Shabby and somewhat inhospitable. If in O Porriño again, I'd try Malosera hosteleria just down the street. We had a great cafe breakfast there, and it looked like it would have been a great place to stay.
Really good coffee in unexpected spot:
* Cafe Cunha Nunes, Codeçal, Portugal.
Weather
Forecast was steady rain for most of the time in Portugal, but it turned out to be intermittent light showers. Never put the poncho on, but the rain jacket was on most of the way. Stopped for breakfast and laundry for the worst of it one day, and that was enough time to avoid it. (Fernanda's husband, Jacinto, had promised short showers followed by fine weather, and that's the way it tuned out.)
I didn't bring a sleeping bag, but my partner took my lightweight one with her. Good choice! I don't get cold often, but it was very, very cold in São Pedro de Rates and the Hotel Parque.
I wore Hoka One One Tor Ultra Hi WP boots, but was blistered pretty badly again, which I am now attributing to the heat generated within the waterproof liner on long days. If I do another Camino, I'm going to go with a non-waterproof shoe like the Hoka Speedgoat 3 trail runner or the Atra Lone Peak 4 mid mesh. I ended up walking in my Keen Newport sandals for the last half of the walk, and past the big uphill crossing north of Bandeira, that worked out OK.
We started out from Porto with two short days along the coast, then crossed over to the central at Vila do Conde.
General:
* The Portuguese in April had far fewer pilgrims than the Camino Frances at peak (my other experience). This was good and bad, in my opinion: The 'bad' was that there were fewer of the pilgrim-to-pilgrim interchanges that are the best part of the Camino (IMO). The 'good' was that it was less like a Pilgrim Highway and there seemed to be more opportunities for authentic interchanges with local people not in the Camino service industry.
* The coastal portion from Porto to Vila do Conde was gorgeous, but not at all Camino-like. We live on the ocean in the US, so it was a pretty easy choice to go inland. The route across to São Pedro de Rates was picturesque, but on narrow roadways and the Portuguese drivers there won the award for least likely to be concerned about the centimeters between their cars and waddling pilgrims.
Specific:
Great places to stay:
* Albergue De Peregrinos Casa Da Fernanda in Vitorino dos Piães, Portugal. What the Camino is all about. Very fortunate that Fernanda made room for us that night.
* Albergue Quinta do Caminho in Pedreira, Portugal. We stayed in a private room, but the bunkhouse looked great, too. Inexpensively luxurious ($40 USD or so).
Fine places to stay:
* Casa Velha in Aldeia Nova, Portugal. Unassuming! Clean, quiet, great hospitality.
* Santa Clara Municipal, Vila do Conde. A beautiful muni. There was a great market in the adjoining square on the Friday we were there, so we cooked in the kitchen.
* Albergue de Peregrinos São Pedro de Rates, Portugal. Clean, well-run by an association (Free Masons, I think), older facility. A couple of nearby restaurants are good.
* O Refuxio de la Jerezana, Redondela, Spain. Very nice, municipal-like facility owned privately. Very nice showers outside the building (including one with disabled access), like-new clean. Serves dinner on a terrace.
* Habitaciones Casa Alicia, Pontevedre, Spain. Old-school hostel, very clean, shared shower and bath. Pontevedre was the surprise of the trip - a great little city.
* Hotel Payro, Milladoiro, Spain. Superb value, sparkling clean, run by a family that cares about its business. A nice place to stay after an especially long walking day before Santiago.
Places I wouldn't stay again:
* Hotel Parque, O Porriño, Spain. Shabby and somewhat inhospitable. If in O Porriño again, I'd try Malosera hosteleria just down the street. We had a great cafe breakfast there, and it looked like it would have been a great place to stay.
Really good coffee in unexpected spot:
* Cafe Cunha Nunes, Codeçal, Portugal.
Weather
Forecast was steady rain for most of the time in Portugal, but it turned out to be intermittent light showers. Never put the poncho on, but the rain jacket was on most of the way. Stopped for breakfast and laundry for the worst of it one day, and that was enough time to avoid it. (Fernanda's husband, Jacinto, had promised short showers followed by fine weather, and that's the way it tuned out.)
I didn't bring a sleeping bag, but my partner took my lightweight one with her. Good choice! I don't get cold often, but it was very, very cold in São Pedro de Rates and the Hotel Parque.
I wore Hoka One One Tor Ultra Hi WP boots, but was blistered pretty badly again, which I am now attributing to the heat generated within the waterproof liner on long days. If I do another Camino, I'm going to go with a non-waterproof shoe like the Hoka Speedgoat 3 trail runner or the Atra Lone Peak 4 mid mesh. I ended up walking in my Keen Newport sandals for the last half of the walk, and past the big uphill crossing north of Bandeira, that worked out OK.
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