Camino with 11 and 14 year old girls

[Kildare]

I'm planning to do the camino the end of June with my two daughters. I'm thinking of flying into Lisbon from Dublin Ireland for a few days then taking the train to porto were we will start. Has anyone done this? Wud it make more sense to fly to porto maybe have a day or two their and then start. They are both used to walking for hours play soccer and run for their school so I'm not worried about their fitness but do want to make this fun also. I spoke to them both and they are happy to walk for 12-14 days. We have cycled the greenways in ireland doing 47k a day when they were 8 and 10 years old. Thanks for reading. I await your replies

 

[trecile]

If there's not a big cost difference I would definitely fly into Porto, rather than spend time on the train from Lisbon. It's also much easier to return to Porto for your flight home.

 

[Former member 92300]

Yes - I would fly into Porto directly if you can and you are starting in or closer to Porto. For your return flight, you can check to see if it is more cost effective to fly round trip to Porto, or fly "multi-stop" to Porto and from Santiago or Madrid. It seemed easier for me to get to Madrid by Train or bus than to Porto from Santiago. Not that it was hard to get to Porto - but I recall there was going to be some bus or train changes.

Enjoy - hope your girls love it! My daughter did the Frances solo last summer at 18. She loved it way more than she thought she would.

 

[Kildare]

If there's not a big cost difference I would definitely fly into Porto, rather than spend time on the train from Lisbon. It's also much easier to return to Porto for your flight home.

Thank you for your quick reply. We are super excited. So if I buy return flights to porto from Dublin how do I get back to porto to fly home? Their is a new route from santiago to Dublin so I cud fly from their home but the flight times are awful leaving at midnight on Sat 14th July so maybe its best and cheaper to do a round trip?

 

[Kildare]

Yes - I would fly into Porto directly if you can and you are starting in or closer to Porto. For your return flight, you can check to see if it is more cost effective to fly round trip to Porto, or fly "multi-stop" to Porto and from Santiago or Madrid. It seemed easier for me to get to Madrid by Train or bus than to Porto from Santiago. Not that it was hard to get to Porto - but I recall there was going to be some bus or train changes.

Enjoy - hope your girls love it! My daughter did the Frances solo last summer at 18. She loved it way more than she thought she would.

I'm so happy to hear ur daughter loved it and to do it solo is amazing. If their is bus or train changes I might fly home from santiago as that is an option it just means booking two one way tickets which might be expensive I need to check. We are all super excited for our first camino.

 

[Former member 104756]

How wonderful for you and your girls. Porto is a fabulous town, well worth a day or two ... and more. If you have time, I recommend a visit to Livraria Lello - bookstore, It's sometimes known as the Harry Potter Book Store, as it's rumoured to be one of the inspirations for the Hogwarts Library. It's a magical place for all ages.

Livraria Lello - The Most Beautiful Bookstore in the World

An amazing journey through the enchanted world of books begins here!

www.livrarialello.pt

 

[trecile]

It seemed easier for me to get to Madrid by Train or bus than to Porto from Santiago. Not that it was hard to get to Porto - but I recall there was going to be some bus or train changes.

If you take the train there is a change of train in Vigo, but there are direct buses.

Thank you for your quick reply. We are super excited. So if I buy return flights to porto from Dublin how do I get back to porto to fly home? Their is a new route from santiago to Dublin so I cud fly from their home but the flight times are awful leaving at midnight on Sat 14th July so maybe its best and cheaper to do a round trip?

There are a couple of bus companies that cover the route between Santiago and Porto. You will have to look at the timings and also the costs of a roundtrip to Porto vs flying home from Santiago.

Wherever you want to go - Alsa

Buy bus tickets at the best price. At Alsa we offer bus rental, travel deals, on-board services and information on routes and schedules.

www.alsa.com

FlixBus: Convenient and affordable bus travel in the US

Discover the new way to travel by bus. Enjoy comfortable seats with spacious legroom, power outlets and free Wi-Fi while you travel the US by bus at unbeatable prices. Book your bus ticket now → FlixBus: The smart choice in traveling

www.flixbus.com

 

[Kildare]

How wonderful for you and your girls. Porto is a fabulous town, well worth a day or two ... and more. If you have time, I recommend a visit to Livraria Lello - bookstore, It's sometimes known as the Harry Potter Book Store, as it's rumoured to be one of the inspirations for the Hogwarts Library. It's a magical place for all ages.

Livraria Lello - The Most Beautiful Bookstore in the World

An amazing journey through the enchanted world of books begins here!

www.livrarialello.pt

View attachment 146642

Thank you so much I will definitely go their as my eldest is a big Harry Potter fan.

 

[Kildare]

If you take the train there is a change of train in Vigo, but there are direct buses.


There are a couple of bus companies that cover the route between Santiago and Porto. You will have to look at the timings and also the costs of a roundtrip to Porto vs flying home from Santiago.

Wherever you want to go - Alsa

Buy bus tickets at the best price. At Alsa we offer bus rental, travel deals, on-board services and information on routes and schedules.

www.alsa.com

FlixBus: Convenient and affordable bus travel in the US

Discover the new way to travel by bus. Enjoy comfortable seats with spacious legroom, power outlets and free Wi-Fi while you travel the US by bus at unbeatable prices. Book your bus ticket now → FlixBus: The smart choice in traveling

www.flixbus.com

Thank you I just checked it's cheaper to fly one way to porto and home from Santiago. How long shud I plan for in total. I'm thinking one full day in porto then start and two nights in santiago in a nice hotel with a pool before coming home

 

[Albertinho]

Thank you so much I will definitely go their as my eldest is a big Harry Potter fan.

At Lello’s bookshop, be early. Loads of other tourists like to be there too so if you are late you will be queing for some times . You have to pay an entrance fee
If you buy something, you get the fee back

friends of mine walked two weeks ago with their two daughters 13 and 15 years old
they spent 2 days in Porto , then took the train to Barcelos, walked to Casa Fernanda where they all stayed in one room.
Then they walked to Ponte de Lima , Rubiães and Valença from where they took the train to Braga where they also did sightseeing From there back to Porto and back home.

 

[SioCamino]

Hi @Kildare
I recently flew ex Dublin into Lisbon and out of Porto for a weekend away (there were no flights to Porto on a Friday). Both flights were Ryanair.
I took a train which cost around €30 IIRC to get to Porto.
It's up to you, Lisbon & Porto are both lovely cities but it might be simpler got you to just fly to Porto.

Re returning from SdC both Aer Lingus and Ryanair fly but the costs (esp for weekend flights) might be now €€ Aer L and the times are awful for Ryanair.

I have on occasion taken a bus (3hrs?) to Porto to return. That's a straightforward enough journey. While i took the opportunity to stay in Porto i think the bus went first to the airport and then into the city. Just watch out for the time change.

On a final note, if you are in Dublin at any stage on a Thurs/Fri/Sat feel free to drop in to the Camino Society of Ireland information centre in St James's church. Apart from getting passports (credencials), the office is staffed by volunteers who are lots of knowledge and experience and are eager to help.

Info Centre | caminosociety

Camino Society Information Centre

www.caminosociety.ie

Hope this helps

Buen camino

 

[Rmarkob]

If you take the train there is a change of train in Vigo, but there are direct buses.


There are a couple of bus companies that cover the route between Santiago and Porto. You will have to look at the timings and also the costs of a roundtrip to Porto vs flying home from Santiago.

Wherever you want to go - Alsa

Buy bus tickets at the best price. At Alsa we offer bus rental, travel deals, on-board services and information on routes and schedules.

www.alsa.com

FlixBus: Convenient and affordable bus travel in the US

Discover the new way to travel by bus. Enjoy comfortable seats with spacious legroom, power outlets and free Wi-Fi while you travel the US by bus at unbeatable prices. Book your bus ticket now → FlixBus: The smart choice in traveling

www.flixbus.com

My wife and I flew round trip Newark-Porto last summer to walk the CP Coastal route. It was an easy 3.5 to 4 hour bus ride from Santiago back to Porto, no transfer required. There were several buses per day as I recall, and the new Santiago bus/train station is a 15-20 minute walk from the Cathedral area.