Best place to switch from coastal route to central route?

[janiec]

I plan to start the Coastal route from Porto but would like to see Tui and experience some of the Central route. It seems easy to switch from Vila do Conde and the Brierley guide offers a path for switching from Caminha. Does anyone have any other recommendations or things I should keep in mind?

 

[naplesdon]

There was a recent thread discussing the difficulty due to poor and lacking way markers.

 

[jsalt]

Does anyone have any other recommendations or things I should keep in mind?

Yes, the weather. If it's fine, stay on the coastal route - it's stunning. If the weather gets bad, move across at any point to the central route, so you are away from the very strong wind and rain.
Jill

 

[Camembert]

I plan to start the Coastal route from Porto but would like to see Tui and experience some of the Central route. It seems easy to switch from Vila do Conde and the Brierley guide offers a path for switching from Caminha. Does anyone have any other recommendations or things I should keep in mind?

The jump over to the central route is not the easiest at Viana do Castelo.
I did it before and will it do next month .
Before Viana in Castelo do Neiva or Chafé you could find your way to a close by trainstation and take the train to Durrães.From there you walk to the village of Balugães where you find the yellow waymarkers of the central route to Ponte de Lima.
Lucky you are because three kms after Balugães you'll find the best albergue of the entire caminho Português, Casa da Fernanda in the hamlet of Vitorino dos Piães.
Give Fernanda a call on beforehand. It can be busy there so reserve your bed.
+351 914 589 521

Walking from Viana to Fernanda is an option but it is about 27 kms and a lot walking along a national road.

You can continue the coastal to Caminha and there follow the river Minho -at your left to Vila Nova de Cerveira and Valença do Minho which is only a throw of a stone away from Tui. After crossing a bridge in Caminha you follow a fairly new foot-and cyclepath, the Ecovia to Valença.
Desavantage is that you'll miss Casa da Fernanda.

 

[makingtrax]

T

The jump over to the central route is not the easiest at Viana do Castelo.
I did it before and will it do next month .
Before Viana in Castelo do Neiva or Chafé you could find your way to a close by trainstation and take the train to Durrães.From there you walk to the village of Balugães where you find the yellow waymarkers of the central route to Ponte de Lima.
Lucky you are because three kms after Balugães you'll find the best albergue of the entire caminho Português, Casa da Fernanda in the hamlet of Vitorino dos Piães.
Give Fernanda a call on beforehand. It can be busy there so reserve your bed.
+351 914 589 521

Walking from Viana to Fernanda is an option but it is about 27 kms and a lot walking along a national road.

You can continue the coastal to Caminha and there follow the river Minho -at your left to Vila Nova de Cerveira and Valença do Minho which is only a throw of a stone away from Tui. After crossing a bridge in Caminha you follow a fairly new foot-and cyclepath, the Ecovia to Valença.
Desavantage is that you'll miss Casa da Fernanda.

he albergue at Valencia is much more friendky and accommodating than one in Tui and supermarket accross street. I found Tui albergue lacking atomsphere!

 

[Lizremedy]

The jump over to the central route is not the easiest at Viana do Castelo.
I did it before and will it do next month .
Before Viana in Castelo do Neiva or Chafé you could find your way to a close by trainstation and take the train to Durrães.From there you walk to the village of Balugães where you find the yellow waymarkers of the central route to Ponte de Lima.
Lucky you are because three kms after Balugães you'll find the best albergue of the entire caminho Português, Casa da Fernanda in the hamlet of Vitorino dos Piães.
Give Fernanda a call on beforehand. It can be busy there so reserve your bed.
+351 914 589 521

Walking from Viana to Fernanda is an option but it is about 27 kms and a lot walking along a national road.

You can continue the coastal to Caminha and there follow the river Minho -at your left to Vila Nova de Cerveira and Valença do Minho which is only a throw of a stone away from Tui. After crossing a bridge in Caminha you follow a fairly new foot-and cyclepath, the Ecovia to Valença.
Desavantage is that you'll miss Casa da Fernanda.

I would love to get more information about the route from Viana do Castelo to Ponte de Lima. We are cycling on mtb bikes in 3 weeks and want to cross over to Central about here, and stay off roads. Supposedly the Ecovia path along the river is doable. Do you have any gpx tracks or further info about conditions? Much obliged
Liz

 

[trecile]

I would love to get more information about the route from Viana do Castelo to Ponte de Lima. We are cycling on mtb bikes in 3 weeks and want to cross over to Central about here, and stay off roads. Supposedly the Ecovia path along the river is doable. Do you have any gpx tracks or further info about conditions? Much obliged
Liz

Check out the app Mapy.cz
It has tons of hiking and cycling paths built on without having to download extra files.
You do have to zoom in to see the trails, but I see that there is a cycling path along the river.

 

[Lizremedy]

Check out the app Mapy.cz
It has tons of hiking and cycling paths built on without having to download extra files.
You do have to zoom in to see the trails, but I see that there is a cycling path along the river.

View attachment 131178

Thank you. I found on strava its quite a popular mountsin bike trail for locals. Thanks for the kml files

 

[EricTheVol]

Another option is a service from Caminha that allows you to paddle up the Mino river to Valenca/Tui. It's called Camino By Boat(you can find them by that name on Facebook). Includes a very nice picnic lunch on the bank. I used their service just a couple of weeks ago and was a wonderful day off for my feet, but my arms picked up the slack that day.

 

[trecile]

Another option is a service from Caminha that allows you to paddle up the Mino river to Valenca/Tui. It's called Camino By Boat(you can find them by that name on Facebook). Includes a very nice picnic lunch on the bank. I used their service just a couple of weeks ago and was a wonderful day off for my feet, but my arms picked up the slack that day.

I just posted about it the other day.
I was wondering how difficult the rowing was.

This sounds like it could be fun - or exhausting!

You can canoe either from Caminha to Valença or Tui to Caminha.

I think that I would choose to go with the current!

Camino by boat

Hello :-) Would you like to include a canoe tour in your Camino? You can row with us from Tui to Caminha, changing from the central way to the coastal way - or from Caminha to Valença, switching from the coastal way to the central way. (map) Just click here to learn more ... or enjoy our photo

www.caminobyboat.com

 

[EricTheVol]

I just posted about it the other day.
I was wondering how difficult the rowing was.

To be honest, it wasn't that difficult. They time your departure with the incoming tide. So by mid-day you are paddling with the current as it flows inland. So the harder you paddle will determine how fast you'll get there, but you will get there.

 

[ficklefancyfree]

Hi, I recently crossed from coastal to central at Vila do Conde to Rates.

It wasn’t difficult but it wasn’t fun. No markers or very few, you need an app, I used Camino Ninja. I don’t remember water points either.

It was really hot that day and there was no shade, I passed one cafe, stopped for a much needed drink and loo stop.

The walking was a bit miserable, all roads with no or very little pavement. If I could redo it, I would have taken a taxi.