A few questions...

[Alex Krizel]

Greetings again.

As I start to plan, I find that I have more and more questions.
I can find many answers on the posts here, but some others I'm still looking.
If I missed it, sorry about that.

I am planning a trip along the Portuguese Traditional route (Porto to SdC).
I have 2 weeks in which to complete it.
I live on the East Coast of the US.
Looking up flights, I can go to Porto via Madrid.
This is about a 12 hour flight.
On the way back, I can go SdC home via Madrid and others (Dublin I believe was an option).
This ranges from 16 hours to 45 hours.

Meanwhile, I can fly into Lisbon of about the same price, non-stop, taking only 7 hours.
So, no-brainer, right?
Well, that depends.
How easy is it to get to Porto from Lisbon?
Then, how difficult is it to get from SdC back to Lisbon?
Also, what's the 'general' cost?

Next, I was hoping to start in Porto.
This should give me just enough time to go to SdC and fly home.
Unfortunately, I wouldn't have much "buffer" time in case of weather, emergency, etc.
Then I thought maybe I can do it a bit different.
What if I start in Tui, head to SdC, then on to Finisterre (I wanted to go there, but time constraints wouldn't let me if I started in Porto).
This should be about 8-9 days and leave plenty of time as a buffer or just to explore (which I am sure I will do quite a bit as it will be my first Camino).
Any thoughts on this?
Will I miss a great deal between Porto and Tui?

Lastly, how much should I plan to bring in terms of money (I am assuming I would need to change to Euros)?
I mean an average per-day expense?
Hostel, food, misc, cafe, un poco de vino o cerveza ?

Ok, that's about it for now.
I'm working the pack issue (actually getting one for the Camino, not the monster I used on the AT).
Looks like 30L will do me, just looking at styles.

Thanks again for all your help.

Alex

 

[Doogman]

Hi: I can answer a few of the questions. It is easy to get from Porto to Lisbon by train. There are multiple trains each day and it takes about 3 hours. Also, there are buses that will take you from Santiago de Compostela to Porto. There are 4-5 stops along the way, and it takes about 4.5 hours. During the summer months there were 2-3 buses per day, and you could purchase tickets next to the Pilgrim's Office in SdC.

Whichever decision you make between starting in Porto or starting in Tui, plan for a day or two in Porto. It is a great to explore. The walk to Tui is very nice - places like Barcelos, Ponte de Lima and Valenca come to mind. I have not walked to Finisterre so I cannot compare the choices you are looking at.

 

[Rainerbernd]

Olá , as Doogman said, plan for a day or two in Porto. It´s worth a visit.

Getting from Lisbon airport to Porto: Take the metro, red line to São Sebastião. Change to blue line to Santa Apolónia and take one of the rapid trains to Porto.

Flying home from SdC. If you can´t get a flight from SdC you can flight from Porto or Lisbon. SdC to Porto by bus. SdC to Lisbon also by bus or take the rapid trains from Port to Lisbon.

Which way from Porto? You can choose the way along the coast (Caminho da Costa) or the Central way. Both are doable in about 10 - 12 days. You can also do a mix. The first day and/or the second day along the coast and then switch to the Central Way. Later on, in Pontevedra, you can think about the Caminho Espiritual. All ways are in the forum.

Average per-day expenses: round about 1 € per km. It sounds funny, but that will be between 20 - 25 € per walking day for hostal/albergue, food and drinks.

 

[Camembert]

Sightseeing in 2 days is a good idea as mentioned by @Doogman and @Rainerbernd.
You could start in Barcelos -easy accessable by train from Porto.
Stop at casa Fernanda ,18kms after Barcelos and 14 kms before Ponte de Lima. The best privat albergue on the entire caminho Português.
Stay in Ponte de Lima. ,climb the Alto da Portela mountain to Rubiães and walk on to Valença do Minho ,see the famous fortress and walk over the Eiffel bridge into Spain to Tui and continue to Santiago.
I should forget Fisterre this time .it is great to be there but being in Portugal and finishing in Santiago is a fantastic adventure. In the meantime you got the camino virus and you will come back for the next one.. didn't we all ?
So plan a shorter camino the next time like the camino Inglès from Ferrol and combine this with Fisterre. Just an idea. Portugal has so much to offer. Starting in Tui you'll miss the best of all.
Bom caminho

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Alex,
Welcome to the forum.

A few more things for you to chew on as you make a decision between Porto and Lisbon. The fast train (and there are quite a few a day) from Lisbon to Porto only takes about 3 hours, I think). There are two train stations in Lisbon, and the trains to Porto will stop at both places. The Oriente train station is actually quite close to the airport, and it's only two or three stops on the metro. The metro going into central Lisbon from the airport takes quite the circuituous route and a much longer time. You would have to change twice to get from the airport to Santa Apolonia station on the metro. A cab from the airport to Oriente would be about a five minute ride.

I'm not sure that when all is said and done that you save much time by flying into Lisbon. And if you don't start in Porto you are looking at another train or bus to get you to Tui. I think it would have to be bus, but I am not sure.

SdC back to Lisbon is either a long day bus ride, or a train ride with a change in Vigo (and there is a change in time between Portugal and Spain, so you have to factor that in, too).

As for whether you will "miss a great deal" between Porto and Tui, I think the obvious answer is yes. But any camino is about making choices, so I think the call is not whether you will miss a lot, but whether you feel more comfortable with a more relaxed camino and fewer kms.

If it were me, I'd plot out the total travel times with each option and see how many days that left me, and then choose the route that feels best in that time frame. Good luck with the planning!

 

[Rainerbernd]

Hi, Alex,
Welcome to the forum.

A few more things for you to chew on as you make a decision between Porto and Lisbon. The fast train (and there are quite a few a day) from Lisbon to Porto only takes about 3 hours, I think). There are two train stations in Lisbon, and the trains to Porto will stop at both places. The Oriente train station is actually quite close to the airport, and it's only two or three stops on the metro. The metro going into central Lisbon from the airport takes quite the circuituous route and a much longer time. You would have to change twice to get from the airport to Santa Apolonia station on the metro. A cab from the airport to Oriente would be about a five minute ride.

I'm not sure that when all is said and done that you save much time by flying into Lisbon. And if you don't start in Porto you are looking at another train or bus to get you to Tui. I think it would have to be bus, but I am not sure.

SdC back to Lisbon is either a long day bus ride, or a train ride with a change in Vigo (and there is a change in time between Portugal and Spain, so you have to factor that in, too).

As for whether you will "miss a great deal" between Porto and Tui, I think the obvious answer is yes. But any camino is about making choices, so I think the call is not whether you will miss a lot, but whether you feel more comfortable with a more relaxed camino and fewer kms.

If it were me, I'd plot out the total travel times with each option and see how many days that left me, and then choose the route that feels best in that time frame. Good luck with the planning!

Olá peregrina 2000. Thank you for mentioning Oriente train station. Much closer to the airport. It´s a shame I forgot it. At Oriente I always have to change on my journey from Porto via Lisboa Oriente, Casa Branca to Beja (Alentejo) once a year.

 

[ChristianSdeM]

Have you considered other European airports to get to Porto? For example, check USA-Dublin, Ireland and then Dublin-Porto. The latter is 3 days a week, Sunday, Wednesday, Friday, from April 2017.

 

[brickthomas]

Hi Alex,

I have to agree with all the above. We took a train from Porto to Lisbon last summer to start our Camino and it was easy and cheap. As for packs I used an Osprey 36 on the AT and did fine with a 22 on both my Caminos. For me the best part was the northern bit Porto-SdC-Finnestera-Muxia. If I were pressed for time and didn't mind hiking in a bit of rain I would probably start in Tui to be able to hike through the quiet dairy farms, rolling hills and coast between SdC and Finnestera-Muxia. It's a blend of the Pacific NW, Vermont and Wisconsin. I'm slowly blogging about my Lisbon-Muxia Camino at https://brickthomasblog.wordpress.com. I'll start the Porto to Muxia section this week. A post talking about my Camino pack list is their as well and for some reason it has been my most popular for three years straight. For what it's worth I would not go back to Lisbon to fly out, too much hassle. I would make the ending as simple as possible by flying out SdC, or Porto if necessary. Have a great hike. Brick

 

[jmcarp]

Hi Alex,

My wife and I will be doing the CP in May of 2017. We're flying in to Lisbon because we want to visit Fatima before we actually begin our Camino in Porto. We'll take a bus or train from Fatima -- we'll decide which as the time approaches. We plan to do a combination of the coastal route and the central route, and after we reach Santiago we're going back a ways on the Camino Francés to pick up a stretch we missed on that route due to time constraints when we did it in 2013. That means we'll be returning to Lisbon from León for the flight home. There are many options for that leg of the journey, all of which will involve at least two or three transfers, but we'll figure that out later. Don't delay too long on your ticket purchase for the overseas flights -- there are some great deals available right now. We bought our two round trip tickets from Denver to Lisbon last week using Rome2Rio.com, and we paid less than half of what our two round trips to Madrid cost us in 2013.

I'm not quite the minimalist that brickthomas is (I met him and saw his pack in 2013). I routinely use an Osprey 22 for my daypack when hiking around here and don't think there's any way I could squeeze my Camino kit into it. I'll be taking the same Osprey Kestrel 38 that I used on the CF. However, with judicious gear selection you could probably get by with a 30 or 32 liter pack no problemo.

 

[gittiharre]

Greetings again.

As I start to plan, I find that I have more and more questions.
I can find many answers on the posts here, but some others I'm still looking.
If I missed it, sorry about that.

I am planning a trip along the Portuguese Traditional route (Porto to SdC).
I have 2 weeks in which to complete it.
I live on the East Coast of the US.
Looking up flights, I can go to Porto via Madrid.
This is about a 12 hour flight.
On the way back, I can go SdC home via Madrid and others (Dublin I believe was an option).
This ranges from 16 hours to 45 hours.

Meanwhile, I can fly into Lisbon of about the same price, non-stop, taking only 7 hours.
So, no-brainer, right?
Well, that depends.
How easy is it to get to Porto from Lisbon?
Then, how difficult is it to get from SdC back to Lisbon?
Also, what's the 'general' cost?

Next, I was hoping to start in Porto.
This should give me just enough time to go to SdC and fly home.
Unfortunately, I wouldn't have much "buffer" time in case of weather, emergency, etc.
Then I thought maybe I can do it a bit different.
What if I start in Tui, head to SdC, then on to Finisterre (I wanted to go there, but time constraints wouldn't let me if I started in Porto).
This should be about 8-9 days and leave plenty of time as a buffer or just to explore (which I am sure I will do quite a bit as it will be my first Camino).
Any thoughts on this?
Will I miss a great deal between Porto and Tui?

Lastly, how much should I plan to bring in terms of money (I am assuming I would need to change to Euros)?
I mean an average per-day expense?
Hostel, food, misc, cafe, un poco de vino o cerveza ?

Ok, that's about it for now.
I'm working the pack issue (actually getting one for the Camino, not the monster I used on the AT).
Looks like 30L will do me, just looking at styles.

Thanks again for all your help.

Alex

Hi. walked this route in June. Blog on www.gittiharre.blogspot.com
40 Euros per day with good food and cerveca and mix of accommodation. Could be 10 to 15 euros cheaper if you stay solely in albergues and dorms.
Cheap train Lisbon to Porto. Pre booked on portuguese railway internet site. About 20 Euros.

Not sure about Santiago to Lisbon.
Overall quite a nice route with some highlights. Liked the portuguese segment rather more than the Spanish part. Ugly towns leading up to Santiago and too much road walking.

 

[gittiharre]

Hi. walked this route in June. Blog on www.gittiharre.blogspot.com
40 Euros per day with good food and cerveca and mix of accommodation. Could be 10 to 15 euros cheaper if you stay solely in albergues and dorms.
Cheap train Lisbon to Porto. Pre booked on portuguese railway internet site. About 20 Euros.

Not sure about Santiago to Lisbon.
Overall quite a nice route with some highlights. Liked the portuguese segment rather more than the Spanish part. Ugly towns leading up to Santiago and too much road walking.

My pack by the way is deuter groeden 30 ltr plenty big enough.

 

[Camembert]

Hi Alex,

My wife and I will be doing the CP in May of 2017. We're flying in to Lisbon because we want to visit Fatima before we actually begin our Camino in Porto. We'll take a bus or train from Fatima -- we'll decide which as the time approaches. We plan to do a combination of the coastal route and the central route, and after we reach Santiago we're going back a ways on the Camino Francés to pick up a stretch we missed on that route due to time constraints when we did it in 2013. That means we'll be returning to Lisbon from León for the flight home. There are many options for that leg of the journey, all of which will involve at least two or three transfers, but we'll figure that out later. Don't delay too long on your ticket purchase for the overseas flights -- there are some great deals available right now. We bought our two round trip tickets from Denver to Lisbon last week using Rome2Rio.com, and we paid less than half of what our two round trips to Madrid cost us in 2013.

I'm not quite the minimalist that brickthomas is (I met him and saw his pack in 2013). I routinely use an Osprey 22 for my daypack when hiking around here and don't think there's any way I could squeeze my Camino kit into it. I'll be taking the same Osprey Kestrel 38 that I used on the CF. However, with judicious gear selection you could probably get by with a 30 or 32 liter pack no problemo.

The trainstation of Fatima is 20 kms far away from the place to be so far the bus is the best option.http://lisbon-portugal-guide.com/lisbon-transport/Lisbon-to-Fatima-Transport.html

 

[Camembert]

Hi. walked this route in June. Blog on www.gittiharre.blogspot.com
40 Euros per day with good food and cerveca and mix of accommodation. Could be 10 to 15 euros cheaper if you stay solely in albergues and dorms.
Cheap train Lisbon to Porto. Pre booked on portuguese railway internet site. About 20 Euros.

Not sure about Santiago to Lisbon.
Overall quite a nice route with some highlights. Liked the portuguese segment rather more than the Spanish part. Ugly towns leading up to Santiago and too much road walking.

Nice blog. Memorias feliçes !

 

[AcrossTheWater3008]

Hi, I love the Porto to Santiago Caminho.... its relatively flat and easier compared to the Frances (the only steep bit was walking to Rubiaes). It is only 260 km (according to the distance certificate I got from the Cathedral!) although, I walked on the coastal route from Porto to Parvoa de Varzim and then moved to the Central Route (so it feels longer than 260 km)..... there is quite a bit of boardwalking on the coast, but the winds and rains were strong on the first day I walked out of Porto to Camp Angeiras!! I had to cab the last 2 km to the Camp....... but this was November.... The Portuguese are lovely, and definitely stay at Casa Fernanda if you are on the Central route - she and family are lovely people.

I must say, I had a great time!

Bom Caminho!

 

[jmcarp]

The trainstation of Fatima is 20 kms far away from the place to be so far the bus is the best option.http://lisbon-portugal-guide.com/lisbon-transport/Lisbon-to-Fatima-Transport.html

Thank you, Albertinho.

 

[amourier]

Alex,
I also live on the East Coast and go to Porto several times each year (I lead tour groups on the Camino). I always purchase a multi-destination ticket - believe it or not from Newark International Airport it is the most economical route.

I fly from Newark to Porto and my return trip departs from Madrid. I simply get an Iberia flight from Santiago de Compostela to Madrid which is quite inexpensive and then catch my flight home from Madrid.

Not only is it more economical, but the flights are most oftentimes direct flights and therefore are shorter in duration. Give it a try in your search for airfare.

Arlène

 

[KentuckyJay]

Greetings again.

As I start to plan, I find that I have more and more questions.
I can find many answers on the posts here, but some others I'm still looking.
If I missed it, sorry about that.

I am planning a trip along the Portuguese Traditional route (Porto to SdC).
I have 2 weeks in which to complete it.
I live on the East Coast of the US.
Looking up flights, I can go to Porto via Madrid.
This is about a 12 hour flight.
On the way back, I can go SdC home via Madrid and others (Dublin I believe was an option).
This ranges from 16 hours to 45 hours.

Meanwhile, I can fly into Lisbon of about the same price, non-stop, taking only 7 hours.
So, no-brainer, right?
Well, that depends.
How easy is it to get to Porto from Lisbon?
Then, how difficult is it to get from SdC back to Lisbon?
Also, what's the 'general' cost?

Next, I was hoping to start in Porto.
This should give me just enough time to go to SdC and fly home.
Unfortunately, I wouldn't have much "buffer" time in case of weather, emergency, etc.
Then I thought maybe I can do it a bit different.
What if I start in Tui, head to SdC, then on to Finisterre (I wanted to go there, but time constraints wouldn't let me if I started in Porto).
This should be about 8-9 days and leave plenty of time as a buffer or just to explore (which I am sure I will do quite a bit as it will be my first Camino).
Any thoughts on this?
Will I miss a great deal between Porto and Tui?

Lastly, how much should I plan to bring in terms of money (I am assuming I would need to change to Euros)?
I mean an average per-day expense?
Hostel, food, misc, cafe, un poco de vino o cerveza ?

Ok, that's about it for now.
I'm working the pack issue (actually getting one for the Camino, not the monster I used on the AT).
Looks like 30L will do me, just looking at styles.

Thanks again for all your help.

Alex

I did Lisbon to Porto via train and then hiked the Camino to Santiago last May. Then returned by train. You need to change trains in Vigo. The ticket office in Santiago is very helpful. B-T-W, I did the same Santiago to Lisbon by train via Vigo and Porto after completing the French Route in 2014. Both trips were easy and convenient. Bom Camino.

 

[KariC]

Greetings again.

As I start to plan, I find that I have more and more questions.
I can find many answers on the posts here, but some others I'm still looking.
If I missed it, sorry about that.

I am planning a trip along the Portuguese Traditional route (Porto to SdC).
I have 2 weeks in which to complete it.
I live on the East Coast of the US.
Looking up flights, I can go to Porto via Madrid.
This is about a 12 hour flight.
On the way back, I can go SdC home via Madrid and others (Dublin I believe was an option).
This ranges from 16 hours to 45 hours.

Meanwhile, I can fly into Lisbon of about the same price, non-stop, taking only 7 hours.
So, no-brainer, right?
Well, that depends.
How easy is it to get to Porto from Lisbon?
Then, how difficult is it to get from SdC back to Lisbon?
Also, what's the 'general' cost?

Next, I was hoping to start in Porto.
This should give me just enough time to go to SdC and fly home.
Unfortunately, I wouldn't have much "buffer" time in case of weather, emergency, etc.
Then I thought maybe I can do it a bit different.
What if I start in Tui, head to SdC, then on to Finisterre (I wanted to go there, but time constraints wouldn't let me if I started in Porto).
This should be about 8-9 days and leave plenty of time as a buffer or just to explore (which I am sure I will do quite a bit as it will be my first Camino).
Any thoughts on this?
Will I miss a great deal between Porto and Tui?

Lastly, how much should I plan to bring in terms of money (I am assuming I would need to change to Euros)?
I mean an average per-day expense?
Hostel, food, misc, cafe, un poco de vino o cerveza ?

Ok, that's about it for now.
I'm working the pack issue (actually getting one for the Camino, not the monster I used on the AT).
Looks like 30L will do me, just looking at styles.

Thanks again for all your help.

Alex

You can fly, and fly cheaply, within Europe and can check out the fares for your travel dates online.

You can easily walk Porto to Santiago in 8-10 days, depending on your pace. If you're an AT vet, this would be a piece of cake. And yes, it's beautiful between Porto and Tui, and importantly, you'd miss Casa da Fernanda, an amazing experience and she and her husband are just wonderful people. Porto itself is beautiful.
Did you want to see Finisterre, or hike there? There are MANY daily tours by bus to see Muxia, Finisterre, and other sites along the coast, but it's just a short visit to each site. You could also bus out there, spend the day, and bus back.
I found it very inexpensive on the Camino - probably 20-39 E a day until I reached Santiago. I started w/ 500 E and didn't need an ATM til I reached Santiago and started buying gifts to bring home, eating in fancier restaurants, and of course the albergues there are more expensive.
Bom caminho!

 

[Rainerbernd]

I did Lisbon to Porto via train and then hiked the Camino to Santiago last May. Then returned by train. You need to change trains in Vigo. The ticket office in Santiago is very helpful. B-T-W, I did the same Santiago to Lisbon by train via Vigo and Porto after completing the French Route in 2014. Both trips were easy and convenient. Bom Camino.

Olá,
from Vigo to Porto and Lisboa there are two daily train services in each direction and tickets are to cost less than €15 from Vigo to Porto. One in the morning and one in the late afternoon. If you want to go by train take the trains from SdC to Vigo Guixar because Vigo has two train stations and Train Celta goes only from Vigo Guixar. Tickets in SdC by renfe