Advice on walking the coastal route from Santiago to Porto.

Nightbadger · Aug 13, 2015

Hello everyone.

I'm walking the Coastal route in three weeks time, but have chosen to walk it from Santiago to Porto. There is a method in the madness - I plan to then walk from Porto to the southern most tip of Spain, moving across to Gibraltar, then on to Seville in order to pick up the Via Plata Pilgrimage route back to Santiago.

The aim is to walk the Santiago-Porto route this autumn and to then pick up the rest of the walk across 2016/17.

Has anyone walked the Camino Portugues coastal route in reverse? Any tips on where to find a decent map of the coastal route so I can start to get my head around reversing this.

Thanks very much for all your help and buen camino!

Vicky

mspath · Aug 13, 2015

Nightbadger,

Welcome to the Forum!

What a wonderful series of caminos you have planned!

Going backwards does take more than a bit of practice. December 2011 after finishing the CF I continued to Finisterre, per usual, and then walked down to the Portuguese border at Tui/Valenca do Minho. This involved going " backward " along the Camino Portugues from Santiago. To go backward is more complicated than you might think; since then the path was hardly well marked, searching for the famous yellow arrows pointing opposite my direction wasn't easy. Viewed backwards the arrows resembled anchors. Thus it all was a bit of a treasure hunt!

However, the Galician Xunta albergues along the route were GREAT in Padron, Caldas de Rei, Pontevedra, Redondela, and O Porrino.

Check out this 2010 blog in English by a cyclist who rode 'straight up' from Lisbon to Santiago. His descriptions and photos will give you some idea of the terrain.

Happy research and Bom Caminho,

Margaret Meredith

BeatriceKarjalainen · Aug 13, 2015

I met a German girl who tried going backward on the costal (after finishing CF) and she stopped after 2 days on the cost and went back to Tui to walk the central instead. From Santiago to Tui you can follow the Fatima arrows, blue. But they continues on the central route and not the cost. She found it really hard on the costal route to find her ways but said that if she had used a GPS route it might have been more easy.

Camembert · Aug 13, 2015

Piece

Nightbadger said:
Hello everyone.

I'm walking the Coastal route in three weeks time, but have chosen to walk it from Santiago to Porto. There is a method in the madness - I plan to then walk from Porto to the southern most tip of Spain, moving across to Gibraltar, then on to Seville in order to pick up the Via Plata Pilgrimage route back to Santiago.

The aim is to walk the Santiago-Porto route this autumn and to then pick up the rest of the walk across 2016/17.

Has anyone walked the Camino Portugues coastal route in reverse? Any tips on where to find a decent map of the coastal route so I can start to get my head around reversing this.

Thanks very much for all your help and buen camino!

Vicky

Piece of cake. Walking the coastal back to Porto. Keep the ocean at your right side
From Santiago follow the blue waymarkers (direction Fátima in Portugal)
Once in Redondela follow the signs to Vigo. From there you can follow the green waymarkers in reverse along the waterside and head for Baiona. From there the ocean will be your company all the time till Porto .
Bom caminho

amsimoes · Aug 14, 2015

Hi:

Georeference of the Caminho to Fátima - SANTIAGO - PORTO - FÁTIMA, and LISBOA - FÁTIMA

I only found for the Central Portuguese Way (blue arrows).

Portuguese:
http://www.caminho.com.pt/mapas.html

English:
http://www.caminho.com.pt/mapas_e.html

AMSimoes

Mark Francis Auchincloss · Aug 14, 2015

All the information you need is on Luis Freixo's Blog see http://www.caminador.es/?page_id=117

edumad · Aug 15, 2015

Without frequent markings as the yellow arrows it takes a bit more time and care (being alert at any crossroads).
There are some blue arrows on the coastal near were I live (Esposende) but these are sporadic so not very reliable. I have done bits of the coastal and central routes going in reverse. It is tricky on a bike, but I suppose much easier while walking (different tempo, no chance of falling off).
Of course I knew both routes, and was really only looking to find the arrows, rarely looking to use them as navigation. I think the stress might be higher for those new to the camino.
Getting to Porto is actually not difficult, as Albertinho points out, keep close to the coast as much as possible and you'll never loose your way.
If you actually want to keep on the camino, then a gps device or app on your mobile would be very useful.
Some sections, like getting out of Santiago, and places with albergues you might wan to have on map or gps.
The gps need not mean you are looking at a screen all the time. Many paths will be obvious, and some gps software warns when you are away from the route, so you can mostly rely on your wits and skill.

Utgaard · Aug 15, 2015

I was told by a gentleman who walked south from Finisterre that the coast path in Spain was well marked. If you are comfortable with reading maps, the Frexio maps should take you all the way from the border to Porto.

Sounds like a great walk!

Nightbadger · Aug 16, 2015

Thank you so much for all your feedback everyone! Totally and utterly appreciate it, and it's given me a lot of very helpful advice. Thank you again, and I'll keep you posted as to how it goes - how knows, I may even bump into some of you en route over the next year or so...

Buen Camino!!

Nightbadger · Aug 16, 2015

mspath said:
Nightbadger,

Welcome to the Forum!

What a wonderful series of caminos you have planned!

Going backwards does take more than a bit of practice. December 2011 after finishing the CF I continued to Finisterre, per usual, and then walked down to the Portuguese border at Tui/Valenca do Minho. This involved going " backward " along the Camino Portugues from Santiago. To go backward is more complicated than you might think; since then the path was hardly well marked, searching for the famous yellow arrows pointing opposite my direction wasn't easy. Viewed backwards the arrows resembled anchors. Thus it all was a bit of a treasure hunt!

However, the Galician Xunta albergues along the route were GREAT in Padron, Caldas de Rei, Pontevedra, Redondela, and O Porrino.

Check out this 2010 blog in English by a cyclist who rode 'straight up' from Lisbon to Santiago. His descriptions and photos will give you some idea of the terrain.

Happy research and Bom Caminho,

Margaret Meredith

Hi Margaret,

Thank you for taking some time to reply, really love the idea of it being a treasure hunt, which is one of the reasons why the camino is such a journey. In my naive walking days I managed to walk the length of France without even realising there was an official Camino Frances - how experience changes things!! I'll check out the blog too, images are always a great help, thank you again.

Best wishes,

Vicky

Nightbadger · Aug 16, 2015

Albertinho said:
Piece

Piece of cake. Walking the coastal back to Porto. Keep the ocean at your right side
From Santiago follow the blue waymarkers (direction Fátima in Portugal)
Once in Redondela follow the signs to Vigo. From there you can follow the green waymarkers in reverse along the waterside and head for Baiona. From there the ocean will be your company all the time till Porto .
Bom caminho

Aaahh reading this was like music to my ears! And exactly how I've walked previous walks - keeping to the coast and keep heading south. It's been a while, so thanks for the reminder that it's actually quite easy, and for the heads up on the green wayward markers!!

Vicky

Deise · Aug 16, 2015

mspath said:
Nightbadger,

Welcome to the Forum!

What a wonderful series of caminos you have planned!

Going backwards does take more than a bit of practice. December 2011 after finishing the CF I continued to Finisterre, per usual, and then walked down to the Portuguese border at Tui/Valenca do Minho. This involved going " backward " along the Camino Portugues from Santiago. To go backward is more complicated than you might think; since then the path was hardly well marked, searching for the famous yellow arrows pointing opposite my direction wasn't easy. Viewed backwards the arrows resembled anchors. Thus it all was a bit of a treasure hunt!

However, the Galician Xunta albergues along the route were GREAT in Padron, Caldas de Rei, Pontevedra, Redondela, and O Porrino.

Check out this 2010 blog in English by a cyclist who rode 'straight up' from Lisbon to Santiago. His descriptions and photos will give you some idea of the terrain.

Happy research and Bom Caminho,

Margaret Meredith

Hi,
Is there any difficulty staying in albergues if not travelling to Santiago ?

No question of credential ?

Met a pilgrim in Valdunciel who was travelling opposite direction ,

mspath · Aug 16, 2015

You must have a Credencial if you wish to stay in the albergues but no problem that you are in reverse!

Camembert · Aug 16, 2015

Nightbadger said:
Aaahh reading this was like music to my ears! And exactly how I've walked previous walks - keeping to the coast and keep heading south. It's been a while, so thanks for the reminder that it's actually quite easy, and for the heads up on the green wayward markers!!

Vicky

The green markers you will find from Baiona to Vigo . To Santiago they point you along the waterside of the town. We met them for the first time in Nigrán .the hospitalero of the Nigrán albergue told us about these markers. The yellow markers send you into the hills .
Possibly coming from Redondela by following the yellow backwards you could end up direction o Porriño on the central Portugese route but if you want to walk the coastal , keep an eye on signs to Vigo And soon you will find the yellow markers of the coastal.

loumura · Jul 22, 2018

MyDestinationGalicia said:
All the information you

Albertinho said:

The green markers you will find from Baiona to Vigo . To Santiago they point you along the waterside of the town. We met them for the first time in Nigrán .the hospitalero of the Nigrán albergue told us about these markers. The yellow markers send you into the hills .
Possibly coming from Redondela by following the yellow backwards you could end up direction o Porriño on the central Portugese route but if you want to walk the coastal , keep an eye on signs to Vigo And soon you will find the yellow markers of the coastal.

Click to expand...

Luis Freixo's Blog see http://www.caminador.es/?page_id=117

loumura · Jul 22, 2018

MyDestinationGalicia said:
All the information you need is on Luis Freixo's Blog see http://www.caminador.es/?page_id=117

Not very helpful unless you can read Spanish!!

jsalt · Jul 22, 2018

loumura said:
Not very helpful unless you can read Spanish!!

Hi, and welcome to the forum! It is the best website for maps of the Portuguese caminos. You don't need to know Spanish to be able to read Luis Freixo's maps. Have another quick look at one of his maps, and you will see what I mean .
Happy planning,
Jill

loumura · Jul 22, 2018

jsalt said:
Hi, and welcome to the forum! It is the best website for maps of the Portuguese caminos. You don't need to know Spanish to be able to read Luis Freixo's maps. Have another quick look at one of his maps, and you will see what I mean .
Happy planning,
Jill

Jill, am I missing something? Are there maps for the Costa Camino Portugues? Thanks, as I can't find any

jsalt · Jul 23, 2018

loumura said:
Jill, am I missing something? Are there maps for the Costa Camino Portugues? Thanks, as I can't find any

Hi, yes, all the maps for the Portuguese caminos can be found there.

Luis Freixo’s Portuguese Maps: http://www.caminador.es/

For example, for the Variante Espiritual maps, scroll down a long way (almost half way down) until you get to this section:

C.: PORTO-Tui-SANTIAGO

VARIANTE ESPIRITUAL DO SALNÉS
VE01.Pontevedra-Armenteira. pdf; VE01.GM
VE02.Armenteira-Vilagarcia.pdf; VE02.GM
VE03,Vilagarcia-Padron.pdf; VE03.GM

Jill

Mark Francis Auchincloss · Jul 25, 2018

loumura said:
Not very helpful unless you can read Spanish!!

What ? A map is a MAP !!

Mark Francis Auchincloss · Jul 25, 2018

loumura said:
Not very helpful unless you can read Spanish!!

A map is a map, it's not rocket science!

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Advice on walking the coastal route from Santiago to Porto.

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