Porto to Vila do Conde

[Guemes]

Is it reasonable to walk this whole distance the first day from Porto beginning with the river walk from the cathedral to Vila do Conde? Two reasonably fit older folks used to walking. I’m thinking it might be a good idea to book ahead for a private room in Vila do Conde. Any suggestions?

 

[trecile]

Is it reasonable to walk this whole distance the first day from Porto beginning with the river walk from the cathedral to Vila do Conde? Two reasonably fit older folks used to walking. I’m thinking it might be a good idea to book ahead for a private room in Vila do Conde. Any suggestions?

I came across this blog that suggests Porto to Labruge(23 km) for the first day. You do have to scroll down quite a bit on the page until you get to their stages.

The Portuguese Camino de Santiago - a 2024 guide - STINGY NOMADS

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

stingynomads.com

 

[auburnfive]

Another option is to take the metro to Matosinhos and walk the approx 20k to Vila do Conde.

 

[FLEUR]

We flew from UK to Porto arrived early afternoon. We walked from cathedral along the river to Matosinhos, a night stop there then next day on to Parvoa. (Older pilgrims)

 

[Betterisgood]

Hi,
I have done this stage twice and find it very walkable in one go. The second time we walked down from the Cathedral to the river the day before while we were sight seeing and even better wine tasting, then we started early the next am from the river.
Buen Camino
MaryEllen

 

[Marcus-UK]

Depending upon your view concerning walking the whole way or using public transport. Then there are a few options.
1) Walk the hole way and either stop over in Matosinhos or at the Campsite (It has rooms) prior to Vila do Conde
2) Take the Bus/Tram along the river route and then walk all the way to Vila do Conde. The way is flat with good paving or boardwalk and you can really motor along.
3) The traditional road path out of Porto on the central route is another option with ealier overnight stay oportunities. However the route is not nice.
4) As previously suggested take the metro to Matsinhos Mercador stop and start from there.

 

[Caminogoat]

Is it reasonable to walk this whole distance the first day from Porto beginning with the river walk from the cathedral to Vila do Conde? Two reasonably fit older folks used to walking. I’m thinking it might be a good idea to book ahead for a private room in Vila do Conde. Any suggestions?

I did that and it was doable but pretty far. I stayed at Casa Venceslau, a boutique hotel with a nice restaurant. Tel: 252-646-362 or on Booking.com.

 

[Caminogoat]

I did that and it was doable but pretty far. I stayed at Casa Venceslau, a boutique hotel with a nice restaurant. Tel: 252-646-362 or on Booking.com.

 

[gloria lowe]

Bellemar Hostel is wonderful. Right as you cross the bridge into town. I paid 33€ for a private room and they also have shared rooms. Wonderful staff and they have laundry and breakfast. I split it into 2 days as 33km was too far for me. It is a beautiful and totally flat walk. You’ll love it.

 

[mwayne]

I did this in July and yes a long day but very doable. Left Porto around 6:30 am and got to Vila do Conde by around 2 pm I think (several leisurely rest breaks) (I am 61 yrs old)
Had booked shared room at the Bellamar Hostel which was fine (they do your laundry for a small cost) but one caveat don’t get a room that looks out onto the river - while it looks really nice the bars along that street stay open really late and it gets a bit noisy.

 

[gloria lowe]

I did this in July and yes a long day but very doable. Left Porto around 6:30 am and got to Vila do Conde by around 2 pm I think (several leisurely rest breaks) (I am 61 yrs old)
Had booked shared room at the Bellamar Hostel which was fine (they do your laundry for a small cost) but one caveat don’t get a room that looks out onto the river - while it looks really nice the bars along that street stay open really late and it gets a bit noisy.

When I stayed there I had a river view and didn’t notice the noise and had the windows open. But maybe I was very tired.

 

[igailfh]

I walked that way in 2017, stayed at the albergue in Labruge, then walked to Vila do Conde & turned right to the Central. Now I'm back walking from Lisbon at the moment & will be walking the Senda Litoral/Coastal all the way this time. Yes, totally doable & when necessary shorten stages. I'm comfortable with distances around 20kms, that's cool. Bom Caminho!

 

[jmcarp]

Depending upon your view concerning walking the whole way or using public transport. Then there are a few options.
1) Walk the hole way and either stop over in Matosinhos or at the Campsite (It has rooms) prior to Vila do Conde
...

If you are referring to the campground in Vila Chã, there is also a municipal Albergue just a couple of blocks from the campground at Tv. do Sol 40, 4485-743.

 

[David Tallan]

Is it reasonable to walk this whole distance the first day from Porto beginning with the river walk from the cathedral to Vila do Conde? Two reasonably fit older folks used to walking. I’m thinking it might be a good idea to book ahead for a private room in Vila do Conde. Any suggestions?

It is certainly doable by fit people used to walking. Of course, there is "used to walking" and "used to walking long distances with a full backpack day after day". It would make for a fairly long first day (although not longer than the days many pilgrims walk). It may be worthwhile to think about where you plan to go the next day and how long a walk that would be and figure out from that where you want to stop the first day. I was walking on to Rates on the Central route after Vila do Conde, and stopping at Vila do Conde would have meant a long first day and a short second day. So I stopped a few km before Vila do Conde in Vila Chã to even things up a bit. I stayed at the municipal albergue (as mentioned above by jmcarp) which also included a museum dedicated to the local fishing industry on site.

 

[Lightfeet]

We walked from Porto in June. We are 66 and 69 and in good shape. I think going all the way to Vila do Conde would not be fun. We split it up and walked the first day a bit past Matosinhos and stayed at Caravela (in Perafita). Best to book ahead. They have a few private rooms and it was great. 45 euros per night for the 2 of us. I recommend walking from Porto, because there are beautiful beaches that you walk by (once the Douro River meets the ocean). If you start in Matosinhos you'll miss that. If you do walk along the coast from Porto, be sure to go down close to the ocean (prettier than up above on the promenade). Also definitely suggest booking ahead at Bellamar Hostel in Vila do Condo--nice private rooms. Hope this helps!