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Yes! We stayed there last year and it was wonderful. The staff was great and very accommodating. The rooms are comfortable and the breakfast was quite good. The hotel staff gave us secure storage for our bicycles and they also arranged for a driver to take us up to Santa Trega (which was...
Ditto for Caminofacil. They have an on line reservation system so you can use it when you need it. On the Frances, I'd use them once then maybe carry my bag for a day or two.
Viana do Castelo is a nice town for a day's rest. Go to the large church, Monte Santa Luzia for a visit. Also, if you stay in Caminha, the townspeopl are very proud of the celtic ruins above the town at Santa Trega. Get a taxi up there - it's very interesting and the views are jaw dropping.
We cycled the Senda Litoral last year. Because we also needed secure bike storage, we booked all accommodations ahead. It was busy, but not overwhelming. The weather was really good, except for one significant rain shower from Vila do Conde into Povoa de Varzim.....some cloudy days, some...
Most of the boats that ferry pilgrims are the small fishing boats. The big ferry hasn't operated for years and probably won't for the forseeable future. We crossed the first time with Xacobeo Transfer https://xacobeotransfer.com/en/home/. We crossed the second trip with a small boat just...
We stayed last September at the Hotel Convento de San Benito. The front desk called a taxi for 6 of us. The driver took us up there, did a little bit of "tour guide" to explain some of the history (we had one native Portuguese speaker and another person who spoke fluent Spanish), stopped at 2...
I would also recommend a splurge at the Parador. The hotel and grounds are exceptional, but the restaurants in the hotel were mediocre. There is a lovely terrace for a drink, but walk into Baiona for dinner - there are lots of restaurants.
Just a comment, we did the CP the last two years. The municipal ferry is no longer in operation. You need to use one of the small boat services or Xacobeo transfer (https://xacobeotransfer.com/es/home_es/) to get across. Where you disembark from Xacobeo is a bit of a walk into A Guarda but...
I have used Caminofacile and they are absolutely the best!! Website caminofacile.net/en. Reliable, friendly, you can book from the website's drop down menu. I highly recommend them.
If you do end up staying in Matosinhos, take the Pinhais sardine factory tour. It's really intreresting and you get enough samples in their "tasting" room to make lunch.
Actually, I believe your post was where I got the idea for us! Thank you - it was super fun, the staff was so accommodating, and the samples in the "tasting room" afterwards actually became our lunch! They provide each guest with 4 tins of each type of sardines, but our panniers were small and...
Sorry, one last tip. If you stay in A Guarda, stay at the Convent hotel. Since we had only 15 miles to Baiona for our day, we asked the front desk to get us a taxi early in the morning. The taxi took us up on the hill/mountain above A Guarda. There are some phenomenal Celtic ruins up...
Yes, it will be my 4th trip, but I'm going back to walking (Frances twice walking; Portuguese twice biking). Biking is wonderful, especially with a fun group of friends, but it's a totally different Camino experience than walking. I'm planning to do either the Camino Primitivo or do the Camino...
So, Steve....just got back from our second go at the Camino Coastal. This year, we started in Porto versus Coimbra and avoided a lot of rough terrain and non-stop hill riding!! Anyone walking or riding through Matosinhos, definitely take the canner tour at the Pinhais sardine factory....it was...
Thanks, Heather. We did Coimbra to Santiago last year on mountain bikes. Unfortunately, we didn't allow enough time and had days that were way too long. This year, we opted for shorter mileage and having some down days in a couple of towns. We enjoyed last year, even though some of the...
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