Portuguese Coastal Camino

[Peter Ray]

My wife and I are thinking about biking the Portuguese Coastal Camino, spring 2017. I purchased John Brierley's book which is a start and I have been watching YouTube videos as well. It seems to me that the route ( Porto to Santiago ) is not that bike friendly and I would appreciate any comments or suggestions.
From what I have seen on videos, the wooden side-walks look fine,but the trails are narrow, somewhat overgrown and rocky. On one time lapse video on YouTube there seems to be a lot of busy road biking.
I would be grateful for any advice on this...thanks.

 

[Doogman]

Hi: When I walked the Coastal Way in July, I was not looking at it from a biking perspective, but I do remember thinking that about 75% of it would have been on boardwalk, cobbles or pavement. The cobbles in Portugal might make for a bumpy ride, but it would be doable. There was one section, on the way into Baiona, where we stuck to the main road along the ocean, but there was a fairly wide bicycle/pedestrian path that made for a pleasant walk. When we got into Spain we repeatedly saw an extended family walking the route with two physically impaired members that were non-walkers. The non-walkers were in a one-wheeled device that could be pushed from the rear and pulled from the front. It was truly inspiring to see the love and caring within the family. If they could get up and down the trails, I believe you could do most of it on a bicycle.

 

[Peter Ray]

Hi: When I walked the Coastal Way in July, I was not looking at it from a biking perspective, but I do remember thinking that about 75% of it would have been on boardwalk, cobbles or pavement. The cobbles in Portugal might make for a bumpy ride, but it would be doable. There was one section, on the way into Baiona, where we stuck to the main road along the ocean, but there was a fairly wide bicycle/pedestrian path that made for a pleasant walk. When we got into Spain we repeatedly saw an extended family walking the route with two physically impaired members that were non-walkers. The non-walkers were in a one-wheeled device that could be pushed from the rear and pulled from the front. It was truly inspiring to see the love and caring within the family. If they could get up and down the trails, I believe you could do most of it on a bicycle.

Thank-you for getting back to me so soon. When you say cobbles or pavement, are these roads, paths or sidewalks ? Get back to me when you can...thanks again.

 

[Doogman]

Hi: I hope my comment above does not dissuade anyone from walking this route. It is a great walk. The vast majority of the cobbles and pavement are on small, local roads. There are a few reasonably short sections on busier roads, but nothing that was a problem.

 

[Peter Ray]

Hi: I hope my comment above does not dissuade anyone from walking this route. It is a great walk. The vast majority of the cobbles and pavement are on small, local roads. There are a few reasonably short sections on busier roads, but nothing that was a problem.

Thank-you Doogman,,,,you did not dissuade me in fact you have now encouraged me to reconsider the Camino Coastal. I watched a very recent Youtube video by a Rodrigo F....a bike time lapse....and it appeared they spent a great deal of time on busy roads...made me and my wife go WOW little crazy for us. We began thinking about Leon to Santiago. Anyway thanks again for your insights and helpfulness. Ciao.