Boat Departure Time from Vilanova de Arousa

[dillsburger]

Has anyone recently taken the boat from Vilanova de Arousa? What was the date and what time did you depart?

I know the time for the boat departure from Vilanova de Arousa is based on the tides. I actually found a tide chart for Vilanova de Arousa, so now I'm trying to estimate a departure time for the first week of June. I took the boat back in June 2013 and left early in the morning. But if I read the charts correctly and assume the boat leaves around high tide, it looks like the departure time for early June has shifted to the late afternoon.

I'm wondering if we should just walk in from Armenteira, jump on the boat, and then spend the night in Pontesures. That would be a long day and I really did like staying in the sports center (actually, we were the first group to use the sports center as an albergue in 2013 and they threw a big party for us). But it might be better to overnight in Pontecesures rather than spending most of the next day in Vilanova de Arousa waiting for the afternoon boat.

Thanks for your wisdom!

 

[unadara]

As you've been there before you know the drill. I spent a lovely/relaxing day waiting on a 1pm boat and had a long lunch on arrival in Pontesecures and walked into Padron, I'd recommend that. A German girl ran down from Armenteira and hopped on the boat with me and she was going to walk on further than Padron.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

It depends on the captain you use, and what boat he wants to use. I had called one of them ahead and was told 9am, but the hospi said 2 pm. I asked him what had changed. Turns out the hospi likes to deal with a particular captain, and the one he likes to send business to wanted to use his soft bottom boat (or the hard one, can't remember), and that one he could only use in the afternoon. Guess the hospi told him about the other captain being will to take us in the morning and, like magic, the hard bottom boat appeard for 9am.

 

[dillsburger]

Just to close the loop on this, Anemone had it right . . . you never know what to expect as far as boat availability in Vilanova de Arousa. Carmen, the hospitalera in Armenteira called and reserved us 7 seats on a boat leaving at 2:00. We could have also opted for a 4:00 departure, but we figured we'd use the extra time to walk to Padron. As we strolled across the Vilanova footbridge around 1:15, we were met by a man wearing a nametag that said he coordinated the boats. He said he was expecting a group of 8 people for a boat leaving at 1:30. I hustled to the Vilanova albergue to buy the €19 tickets where I was informed they only had 5 seats because peregrinos who had spent the night in the albergue had priority. By this time, it was pouring rain, so two of us in the group had no problems giving up our seats.

During the boat ride, the captain showed the passengers three of his mussel farms and gave detailed explanations in rapid Spanish that nobody could understand. He got stuck on a sand bar, but that was a good opportunity for him to take a phone call and chat with a friend while all the passengers sat in the rain. He eventually managed to free his boat with an oar and the entire trip took about an hour. The €19 cost is too high, but walking from Vilanova isn't a decent option since the Camino is on too many busy roads. It wouldn't surprise me if, in the future, the Camino shifts away from the too touristy Vilanova to the more working class Vilagarcia de Arousa. I really like the sportscenter albergue in Vilanova, but the boat business seems to be focused more on profit than a Camino experience.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Lucky you for getting a "tour", our guy had nothing to say, bit at least he got us there 7 hours ahead of schedule ;0). I think there is either a little mafia going on there or else some elbowing. Just call the 2 numbers on the poster at the Armentwira monastery albergue and see what is really on offer.

 

[Camembert]

I assume if a boat goes from Vilanova de Arousa to Padrón, there will also be a boat going from Padrón to Vilanova de Arousa and hopefully it will take passengers. How do I go about to find out more (I don't really know what to google for in Spanish; no luck with English so far). I understand the timetable depends on the tide. Any help appreciated. No hurry.

Probably find out at what time the boat arrives in Pontecessures (Padrón) and ask the skipper to give a lift back to Vilanova de Arousa. The same boat goes back . There are phonenumbers on the subforum here from the boat organisation.
There is no Tourist information in Vila Nova de Arousa.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

I do not that the boat necessarily goes back to Vilanova, the boat may head back home, wherever home is or off to work on the muscle farm. Mind you, considering the built in seats in the boat I was one I doubt it is use for anything else than transporting people.

Other than calling the boat operations, perhaps you could get info via the Armenteira Albergue Facebook page? The hospitalera is super lovely (baked us a cake!) so if there are email addresses for the boat companies I am sure she would share them with you.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

As mentioned previously, there are at least two people offering this fluvial transport: the one that has the fancy tickets the albergue sells you and the other guy. And they have a number of boats, some that can leve wvem when the water level is lower.

So this business of there being only one possibility is in my opinion a tourist trap. I had phoned the "non fancy ticket" operator amd was told he would leave in the morning. When we got to the albergue we were told that because of the tides we could only leave mid-afternoon. No.... I spoke to the man. Oh oh...

Wouldn't you know it, a few minutes later the tide had magically changed and the fancy ticket operation could leave in the am. B..l. In fact the albergue only does business with 1 operator and doesnot tell you about the other. And the operator it sells tickets cor has two boats, including one that can leave at lower tide.

We were on that boat and there was no way you could hear anything even if the operator had wanted to explain about the aquaculture and crosses along the way.

My recommendation is to take both numbers when you bet to the Armenteira albergue, call and find out on your own what is available, and what isn't.

 

[marjm007]

Thank you. I am in the preliminary stages of planning my Camino Portugues. Did you write a blog? Do you have any other advice. I did the Camino in Spain a few years ago. I started in France. Will this one be as busy? Will I still get the internal experience?

 

[Cee2017]

Just to close the loop on this, Anemone had it right . . . you never know what to expect as far as boat availability in Vilanova de Arousa. Carmen, the hospitalera in Armenteira called and reserved us 7 seats on a boat leaving at 2:00. We could have also opted for a 4:00 departure, but we figured we'd use the extra time to walk to Padron. As we strolled across the Vilanova footbridge around 1:15, we were met by a man wearing a nametag that said he coordinated the boats. He said he was expecting a group of 8 people for a boat leaving at 1:30. I hustled to the Vilanova albergue to buy the €19 tickets where I was informed they only had 5 seats because peregrinos who had spent the night in the albergue had priority. By this time, it was pouring rain, so two of us in the group had no problems giving up our seats.

During the boat ride, the captain showed the passengers three of his mussel farms and gave detailed explanations in rapid Spanish that nobody could understand. He got stuck on a sand bar, but that was a good opportunity for him to take a phone call and chat with a friend while all the passengers sat in the rain. He eventually managed to free his boat with an oar and the entire trip took about an hour. The €19 cost is too high, but walking from Vilanova isn't a decent option since the Camino is on too many busy roads. It wouldn't surprise me if, in the future, the Camino shifts away from the too touristy Vilanova to the more working class Vilagarcia de Arousa. I really like the sportscenter albergue in Vilanova, but the boat business seems to be focused more on profit than a Camino experience.

Hi all, just wanted to give a heads up on trying to get a boat from Vilanova in November, called Alberto on the number found on this forum repeatedly - he never answered nor returned call. I called the reservation number on the leaflets at all the albergues, he said he would not sail without 4 people minimum. I tried to offer extra but he would not budge. I waited a day and a half in Vilanova hoping some more peregrinos would turn up (they didn’t!) I went to the port and spoke to people there and no one would take me. Walked in the end ‍

 

[Mark James]

Probably find out at what time the boat arrives in Pontecessures (Padrón) and ask the skipper to give a lift back to Vilanova de Arousa. The same boat goes back . There are phonenumbers on the subforum here from the boat organisation.
There is no Tourist information in Vila Nova de Arousa.

This is my first post on the forum, so please be gentle. I'm planning to walk between Santiago and Porto between 18 and 31 March 2018 via the Camino Spiritual and coastal route. For those who don't care for a rather grim 30km hike mostly along the roadside, or the uncertainty and expense of the boat, there is also the economic (three euro?) bus option. A DuckDuckGo searchproduced the following (in German, I don't know why): https://www.rome2rio.com/de/s/Vilanova-de-Arousa/Padrón
Hope this helps
Mark James

 

[Barbara06]

Hello,
Can someone tell me if the boat from Villanova de Arousa to Pontecessures works also in the winter season, like in February ?
Thank you
Barbara

 

[jsalt]

Can someone tell me if the boat from Villanova de Arousa to Pontecessures works also in the winter season, like in February ?

Hi
The boat from Vilanova de Arousa to Pontecesures operates with a minimum of 8 passengers, so it is unlikely that they operate in February.

You must book and pay for your tickets in advance.

You could try sending them an email:
naviera@bahiasub.com
I would suggest you send the email in Spanish to be better assured of receiving a reply. (If you don’t know Spanish, keep the English simple, and use Google Translate to turn it into Spanish.)

Their web:
http://www.bahiasub.com/es (but not very useful).

And their phone number:
Tel: 607 911 523

Jill

 

[Barbara06]

th

Hi
The boat from Vilanova de Arousa to Pontecesures operates with a minimum of 8 passengers, so it is unlikely that they operate in February.

You must book and pay for your tickets in advance.

You could try sending them an email:
naviera@bahiasub.com
I would suggest you send the email in Spanish to be better assured of receiving a reply. (If you don’t know Spanish, keep the English simple, and use Google Translate to turn it into Spanish.)

Their web:
http://www.bahiasub.com/es (but not very useful).

And their phone number:
Tel: 607 911 523

Jill

Thanks for your reply!

 

[Rainerbernd]

Olá,

about the boat, there is a message from Celestino Lores:

ATENCION
AVISO
El barco de la Variante Espiitual ya no sube todos los días. Ahora es necesario un número mínimo de peregrinos. Para ello debe llamarse al telefono del barco . +34 607 911 523.
El 23 de Marzo de 2018 volverá a subir cada día
ATENÇÃO
AVISO
O barco da Variante Espiritual não sobe todos os dias. Agora é necessário um número mínimo de peregrinos. Para fazer isso, você deve ligar para o telefone do barco. +34 607 911 523
Em 23 de março de 2018, ele voltará todos os dias
ATTENTION
NOTICE
The boat of the Spiritual Variant no longer climbs every day. Now a minimum number of pilgrims is needed. To do this you must call the phone of the boat. +34 607 911 523.
The 23 of March of 2018 will rise again each day

Bom caminho, Rainer