August 2022 Lisbon - Santiago Updates?

[s80]

Greetings! I'm trying to decide whether to walk from Lisbon to Santiago in late September/October. For those who have walked from Lisbon to Santiago this year, can you please provide any updates? A few questions (please link to the thread if these topics have already been addressed thanks!):

- Were there many pilgrims between Lisbon and Porto?
- Was it easy/possible to find accommodation?
- Did you book your accommodation in advance?
- How is the Covid situation? It seems like the cases are pretty high right now?
- Would you recommend John Brierley's new Portuguese way book?
- Any suggestions/recommendations/tips?

Many, many thanks, and Buen Camino!

 

[jungleboy]

Firstly, just to confirm: do you want to walk the standard Portuguese Way from Lisbon to Porto via Santarém, Tomar and Coimbra (in which case this is in the wrong forum)? Or do you want to walk the so-called coastal way from Lisbon ('Caminho do Mar'), which starts on the coast but is inland thereafter, and meets up with the standard way in Tomar anyway?

 

[trecile]

- Were there many pilgrims between Lisbon and Porto?

Not many pilgrims on their way to Santiago in early May, but there were many (mostly Portuguese pilgrims in large groups) going to Fátima for the anniversary on May 13th.

- Did you book your accommodation in advance?

For the first time on Camino I did, because I wanted to stay in private rooms as much as possible due to Covid.

How is the Covid situation? It seems like the cases are pretty high right now?

Despite staying in mostly private rooms I caught Covid after an albergue stay. I met or personally knew quite a few pilgrims who caught Covid in May. I don't know what the situation is like right now. I haven't been reading as many reports of pilgrims getting Covid on the Camino lately.

I found this graph (source) of Covid cases in Portugal. Cases are down dramatically since I was there in May/June.

 

[trecile]

Firstly, just to confirm: do you want to walk the standard Portuguese Way from Lisbon to Porto via Santarém, Tomar and Coimbra (in which case this is in the wrong forum)? Or do you want to walk the so-called coastal way from Lisbon ('Caminho do Mar'), which starts on the coast but is inland thereafter, and meets up with the standard way in Tomar anyway?

Good catch. I hadn't noticed that this was in the Coastal from Lisboa section.

 

[s80]

Thank you both for the helpful responses! And thank you for flagging my error (ahh!). I meant to file this under the standard Portuguese Way.

 

[trecile]

Thank you both for the helpful responses! And thank you for flagging my error (ahh!). I meant to file this under the standard Portuguese Way.

I have moved it for you

 

[jungleboy]

- Any suggestions/recommendations/tips?

I walked Lisbon-Santiago in Sep and early Oct 2020. Since it was during (an early phase of) Covid times, information about accommodation, pilgrim numbers etc is no longer very relevant. But two things to note about the season:

- It was hot in the southern parts. We left Lisbon on September 1st and walked 12 consecutive days at 33 degrees Celsius or higher (as high as 39 in Azinhaga). I don't mind the heat but if you do, that's a consideration. Max temperatures this week in Lisbon (where I live) are mid-high 20s, so that's more reasonable.

- It's fig season and this was a delight. We passed many wild fig trees and you could just pick the fruit right off the trees, especially between Tomar and Coimbra IIRC.

Some more content of mine from the CP containing further recommendations/tips:

Live from the Camino thread on this forum (daily updates)
Portuguese Way Highlights
Portuguese Way Experiences

 

[susan1312]

Greetings! I'm trying to decide whether to walk from Lisbon to Santiago in late September/October. For those who have walked from Lisbon to Santiago this year, can you please provide any updates? A few questions (please link to the thread if these topics have already been addressed thanks!):

- Were there many pilgrims between Lisbon and Porto?
- Was it easy/possible to find accommodation?
- Did you book your accommodation in advance?
- How is the Covid situation? It seems like the cases are pretty high right now?
- Would you recommend John Brierley's new Portuguese way book?
- Any suggestions/recommendations/tips?

Many, many thanks, and Buen Camino!

Hi I walked in July, very few pilgrims, saw maximum 20 all the way.
Easy to find accomodation, stayed in albergues and hotels just booked 1 day ahead.
Only the first albergue asked for proof of covid vaccination and masks only required in farmacies.
I used the camino ninja app and village to village guide.
Bom caminho

 

[trecile]

I used the camino ninja app and village to village guide.

You may not know that the creator of the Camino Ninja app recently passed away. The app should still work, but won't be getting updates. I noticed that it's no longer in the Google Play store, but it is still showing in the Apple app store.