Porto to Villa do Conde

[MAS5]

Good morning,
Has anyone walked Porto to Villa de Conde in a day? We are fit, walk 5 miles a day in every day life but the longest stretch we have completed in a day has been 15 miles and it was without incident , tired but not straight out exhausted. I’d love to hear others experiences. We have three long days like this planned as time is a bit of a concern and we wanted to have two nights post walk in Santiago.

 

[BillW]

I'll be doing the Portuguese route this fall. I'm trying to keep stages under 15 miles (25km).

A friend who has done the route before suggested taking the metro out to Matosinhos to shorten the walk to about 13.5 miles (22km). This skips by some of the urban walking in Porto.

Maybe that would work for you.

I did a little research on the Metro, and I think the following instructions will work. I haven't done the trip yet, so double check it.

• Take the Metro Yellow ("D") line from Sáo Bento north (Toward Hospital de São João) to Trinidade stop.
• Take the Blue Line ("A") west to Senhor de Matosinhos (last stop on blue line).

 

[Flog]

I've walked the 30km or so from the cathedral in Porto, out to the Foz and up the coast to Vila do Conde numerous times. It's flat, easy walking, much of it on board walks, but on a hot day it gets tiring towards the end and there's little shelter along the way. Yes, you could shorten it by 10km by taking the metro out to the Mercado stop, but you'd be missing out.

 

[Jammy/Didi]

I'll be doing the Portuguese route this fall. I'm trying to keep stages under 15 miles (25km).

A friend who has done the route before suggested taking the metro out to Matosinhos to shorten the walk to about 13.5 miles (22km). This skips by some of the urban walking in Porto.

Maybe that would work for you.

I did a little research on the Metro, and I think the following instructions will work. I haven't done the trip yet, so double check it.

• Take the Metro Yellow ("D") line from Sáo Bento north (Toward Hospital de São João) to Trinidade stop.
• Take the Blue Line ("A") west to Senhor de Matosinhos (last stop on blue line).

I would suggest that you get off at the second to last stop, Mercado, right next to the bridge over the harbor inlet. Cross the bridge, turn left and walk straight down to the beach.

 

[BillW]

I would suggest that you get off at the second to last stop, Mercado, right next to the bridge over the harbor inlet. Cross the bridge, turn left and walk straight down to the beach.

Is that shorter?

 

[Maple Leaf Walker]

Taking the metro to Matosinhos will shave off enough time to make for a pleasant day walk to Vd Conde. Whether doing so means you miss out on something is a matter of opinion. Depends what you enjoy and where you want to spend your time.

 

[DennisJ]

When I did the Portuguese Coastal May last year I flew into Porto, went to the Cathedral, then walked out along the river front to Matosinhos where I stayed the first night in a private hostel. I walked to Val de Conde the next day. I completed the walk to Santiago in 14 days.

 

[Flog]

Yes, you could shorten it by 10km by taking the metro out to the Mercado stop, but you'd be missing out.

Is that shorter?

Again, yes.. it's 10km shorter. You would miss walking out to the mouth of the Douro and up coast to Matasinhos. Personally, I love it, some don't

 

[MAS5]

I've walked the 30km or so from the cathedral in Porto, out to the Foz and up the coast to Vila do Conde numerous times. It's flat, easy walking, much of it on board walks, but on a hot day it gets tiring towards the end and there's little shelter along the way. Yes, you could shorten it by 10km by taking the metro out to the Mercado stop, but you'd be missing out.

Mentally I need to start at the cathedral so, the metro was not an option. Thanks for the reply, knowing it has been done is enough for us. We expect to be tired but it’s all part of the experience.

 

[Nanners]

We arrived in Porto and immediately started walking because we were so excited to get going. We had a short day, 7 miles, walking along the river and then up the coast to Matosinhos. That was just right for us. Day 2 we walking to Vila do Conde and Day 3 to Foz. We spend 2 days in Porto post Camino.

 

[Flog]

Mentally I need to start at the cathedral so, the metro was not an option. Thanks for the reply, knowing it has been done is enough for us. We expect to be tired but it’s all part of the experience.

Yes, and there are plenty of places to eat and drink along the way. If sardines are for you, you'll be spoilt for choice. just follow your nose..

 

[Tim]

I've done it a few times. It's an easy walk, along the river then the coast. Mostly on a river promenade and then a boardwalk. It's flat and, as others have said, plenty of places to stop to eat.

 

[AidaYYC]

Good morning,
Has anyone walked Porto to Villa de Conde in a day? We are fit, walk 5 miles a day in every day life but the longest stretch we have completed in a day has been 15 miles and it was without incident , tired but not straight out exhausted. I’d love to hear others experiences. We have three long days like this planned as time is a bit of a concern and we wanted to have two nights post walk in Santiago.

Absolutely doable. Break it up into sections, I prefer walking at least half before noon, take your electrolytes, rest up but move on. I just did it this past April.

 

[AidaYYC]

Mentally I need to start at the cathedral so, the metro was not an option. Thanks for the reply, knowing it has been done is enough for us. We expect to be tired but it’s all part of the experience.

I did start at the Cathedral, walked the whole thing ... for me taking the metro was not the Camino Way

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I took two days; first to Matosinhos along the coast and boardwalk, and the next day on to Villa de Conde before turning inland on the central route. I have walked 15 miles plenty of times, but it gets wearing the times I had to walk further than that.

 

[dbeatriceb]

Good morning,
Has anyone walked Porto to Villa de Conde in a day? We are fit, walk 5 miles a day in every day life but the longest stretch we have completed in a day has been 15 miles and it was without incident , tired but not straight out exhausted. I’d love to hear others experiences. We have three long days like this planned as time is a bit of a concern and we wanted to have two nights post walk in Santiago.

We took a metro out of the city to avoid some of the urban walking. We had already walked from Lisbon so by then we were picking and choosing how to spend our walking day.

 

[Flog]

We took a metro out of the city to avoid some of the urban walking. We had already walked from Lisbon so by then we were picking and choosing how to spend our walking day.

A pity.. the walk from the cathedral, out along the Douro to the Foz and beyond, is far nicer than most of the 'urban walking' you'd have endured between Coimbra and Porto in the preceeding days...

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I walked from Porto cathedral along the river to Matosinhos, then to Villa de Conde the following day. It was nice, but having just completed the Rota Vicentina Fisherman's Trail cliff views for a week+, I was missing the Frances "feel" so decided to turn on to the Central route at Rates and added the Spiritual variant...all good choices.

 

[P Rat]

Hi. We are both over 60, and walked from
The cathedral in Porto to Vila do Condo in a day. Beautiful, easy walk, apart from being long. (We didn’t start our total
Camino in Porto though, had already been walking for about 4-5 weeks coming from Almería. But of you’re fit and perhaps younger than us, it is totally doable!) enjoy your Camino, it’s an easy and pretty one!

 

[Roland49]

Walked from the Albergue in Porto via the Cathedral and Foz de Douro up to VdC.
No problem at all, nice and easy walk, especially after the morning-fog was gone.
Just minor Pilgrims traffic jam on the Harbour-bridge in Matosinhos.

Better book ahead in VdC, had to sleep on mat, Albergue was full. July 2023.

 

[MAS5]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences and encouragement! I should have responded earlier, my apologies. We had a sad week as our 15 year old dog took ill and passed at home. So, checking the forum was far from my mind. Today, however, we are driving to Boston to begin our Camino! A very needed break .
Buen Camino,
Mary Ann

 

[Flog]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences and encouragement! I should have responded earlier, my apologies. We had a sad week as our 15 year old dog took ill and passed at home. So, checking the forum was far from my mind. Today, however, we are driving to Boston to begin our Camino! A very needed break .
Buen Camino,
Mary Ann

It's a hard one.. we had to let our 14 year old dog go last year, she was really one of the family. Buen Camino

 

[MAS5]

It's a hard one.. we had to let our 14 year old dog go last year, she was really one of the family. Buen Camino

They really do put their stamp on our hearts!