Coimbra to Santiago

[tra]

I'm planning my first Camino in March. I want to fly into Lisbon catch a train to Fatima and then by train to Coimbra where I will start to walk. I'm travelling solo and hope to get to meet people on route.
Any advice would be welcome - is this a good starting point - how long would you recommend to allow (I'm fit but also want to allow time to enjoy the scenery and stop at interesting places).
Thank you!

 

[Walkalong]

Welcome to the forum.

The number of walkers increase after Porto, and increase more after Tui and Redondela.
While there is a lot to be said for continuity of walking, I liked Tomar (east of Fatima), and the walk from there to Coimbra much more than the walk from Coimbra to Porto which has more busy roadside walking.

Hope this helps.

 

[tra]

Welcome to the forum.

The number of walkers increase after Porto, and increase more after Tui and Redondela.
While there is a lot to be said for continuity of walking, I liked Tomar (east of Fatima), and the walk from there to Coimbra much more than the walk from Coimbra to Porto which has more busy roadside walking.

Hope this helps.

That's useful to know. Is it OK to have a broken Camino? Walk Tamar to Coimbra then a bus to and walk Porto to Santiago?

 

[BarbaraW]

Yes it is, as long as you have continuously walked the last 100k. The stretch from Tomar to Coimbra is beautiful, but not busy. You meet people in albergues rather than on the path. I took the train from Coimbra because the distances between places to stay after that were too great for me.

 

[jungleboy]

I agree that the Tomar-Coimbra stretch is much nicer than Coimbra-Porto. A continuous walk is nice but not strictly necessary and I would make an exception in this case. Bom caminho!

 

[tra]

Thank you everyone. i think my route is now decided. I'm looking forward to walking solo - but hope to meet others at the Albergues.
I'm thinking of setting off very early in the season - the end of February / start of March. Has anyone any thoughts on weather at this time of year?

 

[edandjoan]

There is no train to Fatima from the airport and no train from Fatima to Coimbra.. We took an Uber from the airport to Fatima last April and walked to Coimbra. You can get a bus to either. And you can walk from the airport to the train/bus station from the airport or take the metro. @jungleboy will know more about the transportation.

 

[jungleboy]

There is no train to Fatima from the airport and no train from Fatima to Coimbra.. We took an Uber from the airport to Fatima last April and walked to Coimbra. You can get a bus to either. And you can walk from the airport to the train/bus station from the airport or take the metro. @jungleboy will know more about the transportation.

Fátima is a fairly important bus hub so there should be plenty of connections. One option would be to go from Lisbon to Fátima by bus and then walk the link route to Tomar (about 30km) before joining the CP there (or otherwise bus Fátima-Tomar). Rede Expressos and Flixbus are the major bus companies in Portugal.

 

[naplesdon]

Weather-wise, the end of February and beginning of March will probably be chilly with a chance of rain.

 

[Walkalong]

Fátima is a fairly important bus hub so there should be plenty of connections. One option would be to go from Lisbon to Fátima by bus and then walk the link route to Tomar (about 30km) before joining the CP there (or otherwise bus Fátima-Tomar). Rede Expressos and Flixbus are the major companies in Portugal.

We'll take this suggestion when we walk this way again. We generally walked alone and either met others walking at Albergues or some very interesting local people and expats each day. Really enjoyed it.

Bom caminho

 

[Rita Flower]

I'm planning my first Camino in March. I want to fly into Lisbon catch a train to Fatima and then by train to Coimbra where I will start to walk. I'm travelling solo and hope to get to meet people on route.
Any advice would be welcome - is this a good starting point - how long would you recommend to allow (I'm fit but also want to allow time to enjoy the scenery and stop at interesting places).
Thank you!

Sounds like a great plan if you don’t want to walk from Lisbon- except you will need to take a bus rather than a train.. I’m not sure if the distance from Coimbra but one of the Camino apps will tell you. Divine by your daily km average ( mine is around 20 km per day). Add some rest/ refresh or short days and you will have the number of days needed. There will be others around and numbers will increase after Porto.
It’s a great Camino. Enjoy

 

[dougfitz]

There is no train to Fatima from the airport and no train from Fatima to Coimbra.. We took an Uber from the airport to Fatima last April and walked to Coimbra. You can get a bus to either. And you can walk from the airport to the train/bus station from the airport or take the metro. @jungleboy will know more about the transportation.

Checking the CP app, there are train services from Lisboa-Oriente to Fatima, either with a change at Entroncamento or as a direct service. Getting from the airport to Lisboa-Oriente is a short ride on the Lisbon metro.

Similarly, CP shows several services from Fatima to Coimbra B. Trip durations depend on whether you are taking an inter-city service or a regional service. There are regular urban train services from Coimbra-B to Coimbra if you need to get closer to the centre of the city that way, and the station is served by about six of the Coimbra urban bus routes. These either go to Portagem (the city centre near the bridge) or through to the University and beyond on the north side of the city.