Portuguese Camino advice needed

[Jessmoorehead]

Hi just wanting some advice on the best way to tackle the camino Portuguese from Porto, how long it will take me to get to Santiago and what has the weather been like?
I will be leaving on the 28th of June and have not yet booked a return flight?

 

[SabsP]

These websites can be of some help.

https://www.gronze.com/camino-portugues

https://www.accuweather.com/en/pt/porto/275317/july-weather/275317

 

[katie@camino]

It took me 11 days via the Central route. There was a long-ish day in there of 32km and a couple of 15-ish km days.

From Albergue do Peregrinos in Porto I took a metro to the outskirts of Porto...i can't remember the name of the stop - it was recommended to me by the owner of the albergue (Oscar, absolutely beautiful human being) - and from there it was only about 12km to Monasterio Vairao, a wonderful way to start the Camino.

You will love it, it's absolutely beautiful

 

[jpmendes]

Hi, about the Portuguese Way a nice place to check is: umcaminhoparatodos.wordpress.com. This blog is in portuguese and english and you may find useful information about places to stay at night in: umcaminhoparatodos.wordpress.com/albergues.

 

[Jessmoorehead]

Thank you both for you feedback .

 

[walking sticKs]

Hello, I planned for 10 days and did it in 7 including the variant! It was 36 C, 98 F for most days but not humid. I walked out of Porto along the central route on 7/4/2017. The year of drought and wild fires. This year has trended cooler and wetter!
I recommend 9 to 10 days and highly recommend the variant!

bom caminho

 

[Camino2010]

Hello, I planned for 10 days and did it in 7 including the variant! It was 36 C, 98 F for most days but not humid. I walked out of Porto along the central route on 7/4/2017. The year of drought and wild fires. This year has trended cooler and wetter!
I recommend 9 to 10 days and highly recommend the variant!

bom caminho

That's great to read, as i plan on 9 days to Santiago but have found it a bit tricky figuring out stops with albergues on the Coastal route that won't mean a super long day before my feet are conditioned -- the Central route appears to be more straight like an arrow with more regularly spaced stops, but no worries, I'll figure it out.

I look forward to the variant. I was given a pamphlet about it by a pilgrim I met in Fisterra in 2015 and have had it in mind since! Did you take the boat?

Rachel

 

[katie@camino]

Yes I took the boat at 6:30am. It was a great experience - completely unexpectedly saw dolphins playing (huge leaps out of the water) around as we waited for the boat to arrive. And then seeing the religious iconography along the waterways was wonderful.

 

[JohnMcM]

Hi just wanting some advice on the best way to tackle the camino Portuguese from Porto, how long it will take me to get to Santiago and what has the weather been like?
I will be leaving on the 28th of June and have not yet booked a return flight?

I don't have much more to add to the replies you've had so far, except to remind you, if you haven't seen it already, there's a whole section dedicated to the Portuguese routes in the Resources Section in this forum.
Bom Caminho

 

[Ed Aster]

I just finished the coastal route last week, perfect weather and amazing food and accommodation. The end of June will of course be warmer but you would have a great breeze coming off the ocean. Highly recommended

 

[katie@camino]

I just finished the coastal route last week, perfect weather and amazing food and accommodation. The end of June will of course be warmer but you would have a great breeze coming off the ocean. Highly recommended

Hey Ed, congratulations on the 'completion' of your Camino! Would you be able to share some of your highlights re: food and accommodation? I start the Coastal CP in a couple of weeks and would really appreciate some tips!

 

[walking sticKs]

Yes, I took the boat, it was very nice.

 

[Ed Aster]

Hi Katie, a great choice if you will be stopping in Oia Spain is Casa Puertas, very comfortable with a great host Carmen. In Biaona Pension Mesquite, big rooms modern, as you exit the hotel a great seafood restaurant to your left 50 meters. Keep in mind I did not use Albergues for this Camino, if you would like the full list of hotels let me know.
Buon Camino

 

[KariC]

Yes I took the boat at 6:30am. It was a great experience - completely unexpectedly saw dolphins playing (huge leaps out of the water) around as we waited for the boat to arrive. And then seeing the religious iconography along the waterways was wonderful.

Highly recommend the Variante + taking the boat. I am told the alternative is about 30 km right along a highway.

 

[Jon Hebertson]

Hi just wanting some advice on the best way to tackle the camino Portuguese from Porto, how long it will take me to get to Santiago and what has the weather been like?
I will be leaving on the 28th of June and have not yet booked a return flight?

You can do it in 10 days, I recommend walking along the coast from Porto to Vila do Conde and then you gab rejoin the central route all the way to Pontevedra. From their you can either stay on the central route or join the espiritual variant which Is stunning and takes you back to the ocean. Then you rejoin the central in Padron and from there it’s a straight shot to Santiago.

Bon caminho

 

[Jules Montgomery]

I’ve just come back and it took me 17 days walking an average of 11.5 miles a day. I took one days rest in Ponte de Lima. I also did the spiritual variant bit. The shortest stop was about 9.5 miles and the longest day was 17.5 miles from Armeitra to Vilanova de Arousa. I caught the boat as well. And I spent the first morning being a tourist in Porto. I didn’t pre-book any accommodation after the first night and I booked my return flight about 48hours before arriving in Santiago. I traveled alone and it was my first time.
It was absolutely wonderful.
My most appreciated bit of equipment was a small foam kneeling mat that I usually use for gardening. It is very lightweight. I sat on it nearly every day - most churches have hard wooden benches and the boat ride would have been uncomfortable without it! I wish I had also taken a very light weight mini rucksack bag rather than the cloth shoulderbag I had.

Oh and it was cool, cloudy and it rained! So I certainly used my plastic-sheet poncho a lot.

 

[Adrian Harding 65]

I agree with Jon Hebertson. Mix the Coastal with the Central to enjoy different topography and vistas, and make the switch at Vila do Conde. It’s easily achievable in 9 or 10 days without rushing. Enjoy it!

 

[Libby123]

Hi Katie, a great choice if you will be stopping in Oia Spain is Casa Puertas, very comfortable with a great host Carmen. In Biaona Pension Mesquite, big rooms modern, as you exit the hotel a great seafood restaurant to your left 50 meters. Keep in mind I did not use Albergues for this Camino, if you would like the full list of hotels let me know.
Buon Camino

Ed, I will do the coastal route on 4th July. I'd live to see your list of stops and where you stayed and ate if you have the time.
Thank you

 

[BiancaQ]

Ed, I will do the coastal route on 4th July. I'd live to see your list of stops and where you stayed and ate if you have the time.
Thank you

Yes me too!!! Thanks alot for sharing!

 

[katie@camino]

Hi Katie, a great choice if you will be stopping in Oia Spain is Casa Puertas, very comfortable with a great host Carmen. In Biaona Pension Mesquite, big rooms modern, as you exit the hotel a great seafood restaurant to your left 50 meters. Keep in mind I did not use Albergues for this Camino, if you would like the full list of hotels let me know.
Buon Camino

Hi Ed thanks so much! Will keep an eye out for these places

 

[calamity37]

Hi Katie, a great choice if you will be stopping in Oia Spain is Casa Puertas, very comfortable with a great host Carmen. In Biaona Pension Mesquite, big rooms modern, as you exit the hotel a great seafood restaurant to your left 50 meters. Keep in mind I did not use Albergues for this Camino, if you would like the full list of hotels let me know.
Buon Camino

Hi Ed, I would love your list if you wouldn’t mind sending it? Thanks!

 

[Ed Aster]

Calamity37, I sent it to joecamino yesterday, not sure which thread.

 

[Guilherme Ribeiro]

Hi pilgrims Buen Camino . I'm Guilherme , i already have walked and biked the camino portuguese . In on month i will e walking again the portuguese way. But before In the next two weeks I will be the hospitalero on the albergue "Casa de Recoleta" in Tamel ! Im very happy and ansious and look forward to give all a warm welcome!!!!

 

[durbansue]

I’ve just come back and it took me 17 days walking an average of 11.5 miles a day. I took one days rest in Ponte de Lima. I also did the spiritual variant bit. The shortest stop was about 9.5 miles and the longest day was 17.5 miles from Armeitra to Vilanova de Arousa. I caught the boat as well. And I spent the first morning being a tourist in Porto. I didn’t pre-book any accommodation after the first night and I booked my return flight about 48hours before arriving in Santiago. I traveled alone and it was my first time.
It was absolutely wonderful.
My most appreciated bit of equipment was a small foam kneeling mat that I usually use for gardening. It is very lightweight. I sat on it nearly every day - most churches have hard wooden benches and the boat ride would have been uncomfortable without it! I wish I had also taken a very light weight mini rucksack bag rather than the cloth shoulderbag I had.

Oh and it was cool, cloudy and it rained! So I certainly used my plastic-sheet poncho a lot.

 

[durbansue]

Thanks for the tip about the gardening mat - am off to buy one right now!
I leave from Lisbon on the 4th July, but am going by bus to Coimbra and walking from there.
Did you start in Porto?

 

[durbansue]

Yes me too!!! Thanks alot for sharing!

 

[durbansue]

Hi Katie,
I arrive in Lisbon on the 4th July.
Where are you leaving from?
Maybe we will cross paths

 

[Camino2010]

Well, you never know how Camino meetings are going to go! I just realised Katie who I happened to meet yesterday in Vila do Conde, and who I'm at the same albergue as tonight, is Katie on this thread. I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's a small big world. <3

Imagine that!

 

[peregrina2000]

I just deleted posts from @Libby123 and @calamity37. Nothing wrong with those posts, except that they contained private email addresses. We ask people not to post private email addresses on the forum -- for privacy and security reasons.

Calamity37, I sent it to joecamino yesterday, not sure which thread.

A couple of points -- private email addresses can be exchanged in a PM, private message or conversation. That's easy to do. But one thing for @Ed Aster to consider is whether it would be a good idea to just post the document on the forum so everyone can see and enjoy it. You can be sure that if a couple of people are asking for it, there are lots who would like to see it but who aren't asking. Bom caminho, Laurie

 

[Ed Aster]

Hi Laurie, good idea, i’ve Had numerous requests so here it is for all to work with.

 

[Ed Aster]

For some reason the file has not attached, sorry.

 

[peregrina2000]

For some reason the file has not attached, sorry.

I wish I could help you with this, but I can´t. I will call on my mod friends to see if someone can help you.

 

[ivar]

For some reason the file has not attached, sorry.

Hi Ed,

This is how you attach a file to a post...

1) Click the "attach files button below were you enter your message.



2) Then select the file from your device or computer. It should start to upload. Once it is uploaded you can write your message and click the "Post reply" button to post it. It should then include the text (your post) and the file you uploaded.

Please note that the only allowed file types that can be uploaded to the forum are:
zip
txt
pdf
png
jpg
jpeg
jpe
gif
gpx
kmz

...I have decided not to allow any office file (Word, Excel,...) since there is a chance for viruses to be spread this way. I am guessing you had a word file?

If so, feel free to email it to me and I will convert this to a pdf and post it here: ivar@casaivar.com

The file size limit on the forum is 50mb per file (that should usually not be a problem).

Hope this helps!
Ivar

 

[David Tallan]

I guess Ivar's email address is a public one. :-D

 

[ivar]

Here is the file from @Ed Aster

 

[loumura]

It took me 11 days via the Central route. There was a long-ish day in there of 32km and a couple of 15-ish km days.

From Albergue do Peregrinos in Porto I took a metro to the outskirts of Porto...i can't remember the name of the stop - it was recommended to me by the owner of the albergue (Oscar, absolutely beautiful human being) - and from there it was only about 12km to Monasterio Vairao, a wonderful way to start the Camino.

You will love it, it's absolutely beautiful

Katie, this will be our first Camino for my husband and I (March 2019). We are starting the same place you did and going the coastal for a while and then crossing over to the central to complete it to Santiago. One question would help a lot and I don't seem to be finding the answer yet. When you said there were a couple of "long-ish" days, is that only because you had to find a particular albergue? We will be looking for other accomodations so will we be able to stop somewhere in between these long days and find a place? We can't do 32 km a day. Realistically we plan on 25km a day maximum but we have all the time we want to take so time is not an issue (we are retired). Will we find places to stay in between where you stayed? How easy are places to find? Thank you so much for any assistance!

 

[katie@camino]

Hi there, I'm so excited for you to experience your first Camino! How wonderful!

Yes there will definitely be plethora places to stay within 32kms, on both the Coastal and Central routes. The Central has a lot more options than the Coastal but you should be fine on both. I think I did have particular goals (places, albergues I wanted to visit/stay) which stretched me to do some days in the 30s but if you're happy to walk up to 25km, you should be ok. And if there isn't an albergue within 25kms, there will be a hotel/hostel.

Bom Caminho!!

 

[loumura]

Hi there, I'm so excited for you to experience your first Camino! How wonderful!

Yes there will definitely be plethora places to stay within 32kms, on both the Coastal and Central routes. The Central has a lot more options than the Coastal but you should be fine on both. I think I did have particular goals (places, albergues I wanted to visit/stay) which stretched me to do some days in the 30s but if you're happy to walk up to 25km, you should be ok. And if there isn't an albergue within 25kms, there will be a hotel/hostel.

Bom Caminho!!

Thank you! That's a relief. We will be staying in B&B's or hotels, not albergues so that's good to know