Breaking Up the Walk from Porto to Vila do Conde

[grdemedeiros]

Looking for segmenting advice on the Portuguese Costal between Porto and Vila do Conde. We originally considered starting in Matosinhos walking straight to Vila do Conde. That's ~23 KM. On paper this feels like a long first day (for us). We also thought of leaving from Foz do Douro to Labruge (~17 KM), sleep, then walk the next day to Vila do Conde (~10 KM). We realize that second day will be very short, but also saw that Vila do Conde has some good historical sites.

Questions for the hive mind: Are we overestimating the difficulty of walking 23K on our first day? If not, is the walk from Foz do Douro to Labruge interesting and is Labruge a good place to sleep (i.e. decent lodging)? Is there a different rhythm/pace/segment we should consider for a our first day or two?

*Notes: we'll probably start on June 28 or 29, so will be leaving early each morning to beat the heat. We wanted to start off with a couple of segments of 15K (we regularly walk 10-15 KM, but haven't yet walked 20+ KM). The next few segments we've sketched out are Vila do Conde - Sao Pedro do Rates, Sao Pedro do Rates to Barcelos, Barcelos to Vitorino dos Piaes. Some of these segments are 20K+, but we think by that time we'll be ready for it.

 

[Albertinho]

I do not know what your further plans are ( maybe you follow the Coastal or change in Vila do Conde for the Central caminho to Rates and Barcelos)

What I did several times was starting at the Sé cathedral and headed for Angeiras where is the Orbitur camping -they rent small holidayhouses for among others pilgrims - To be advised is to reserve on beforehand. See their website-
Then continue the next day to Vila do Conde and stay there if you planheading for Rates or walk on along the coast to Esposende .
If walking from Porto is too long, take the metro to Matosinhos and start from there
The best option there is to leave the metro at stop “ Mercado” at the Leixões harbour and your caminho starts there by climbing the Leixões bridge.
Bom caminho

I see now you want to turn to the Central route and I see you plan to stay at Casa da Fernanda.
Reserve your place there on beforehand because full is full.
If you do not succes in reaching Fernanda , send me a conversation ( see my avatar) I am in contact with Fernanda’s husband very regularly by WhatsApp.

 

[peregrino_tom]

Well Matosinhos-VdC is as easy a 23km as you are likely to find. What would tip me in that direction is that Labruge has the one walk-up non-bookable albergue. The other two options on Gronze are guest houses where a double room is €60+ which may not suit.
If you go through to Vilar do Conde to a booked place, you'd be assured of a bed on your first night and able to gauge as you walk that day as to the busyness, or otherwise, of the route. Which should help you decide on future accommodation plans.
Having just seen Albertinho's post above - I think that looks like an even better option!

 

[grdemedeiros]

I do not know what your further plans are ( maybe you follow the Coastal or change in Vila do Conde for the Central caminho to Rates and Barcelos)

What I did several times was starting at the Sé cathedral and headed for Angeiras where is the Orbitur camping -they rent small holidayhouses for among others pilgrims - To be advised is to reverve on beforehand. See their website-
Then continue the next day to Vila do Conde and stay there if you planheading for Rates or walk on along the coast to Esposende .
If walking from Porto is too long, take the metro to Matosinhos and start from there
The best option there is to leave the metro at stop “ Mercado” at the Leixões harber and your caminho starts there by climbing the Leixões bridge.
Bom caminho

I see now you want to turn to the Central route and I see you plan to stay at Casa da Fernanda.
Reserve your place there on beforehand because full is full.
If you do not succes in reaching Fernanda , send me a conversation ( see my avatar) I am in contact with Fernanda’s husband very regularly by WhatsApp.

Thanks, I'll look into the option of the Sé cathedral to Angeiras. Yes, we're connecting to the Central after Vila do Conde.
And thanks for the advice about Casa Fernanda. She has such a great reputation!

 

[grdemedeiros]

Well Matosinhos-VdC is as easy a 23km as you are likely to find. What would tip me in that direction is that Labruge has the one walk-up non-bookable albergue. The other two options on Gronze are guest houses where a double room is €60+ which may not suit.
If you go through to Vilar do Conde to a booked place, you'd be assured of a bed on your first night and able to gauge as you walk that day as to the busyness, or otherwise, of the route. Which should help you decide on future accommodation plans.
Having just seen Albertinho's post above - I think that looks like an even

Well Matosinhos-VdC is as easy a 23km as you are likely to find. What would tip me in that direction is that Labruge has the one walk-up non-bookable albergue. The other two options on Gronze are guest houses where a double room is €60+ which may not suit.
If you go through to Vilar do Conde to a booked place, you'd be assured of a bed on your first night and able to gauge as you walk that day as to the busyness, or otherwise, of the route. Which should help you decide on future accommodation plans.
Having just seen Albertinho's post above - I think that looks like an even better option!

You're the second person to advise that Matosinhos to Vila do Conde is an easy walk. (Someone in our local FB page also mentioned that.) It really helps to have your input!

 

[MilenaS]

Last year I stayed in Porto for two nights. I walked to Matosinhos and took the “metro” back, without my pack, as a warmup. Than the day afterwards I took the bus out and walked to Vila do Conde. Worked very well.

 

[CalgaryLynn]

Last year I stayed in Porto for two nights. I walked to Matosinhos and took the “metro” back, without my pack, as a warmup. Than the day afterwards I took the bus out and walked to Vila do Conde. Worked very well.

That is what I did too this past April and stopped in Matosinhos for a very nice lunch before catching the Metro back to Porto. Worked out well! I think I heard about doing this from another person on the forum.

 

[grdemedeiros]

That is what I did too this past April and stopped in Matosinhos for a very nice lunch before catching the Metro back to Porto. Worked out well! I think I heard about doing this from another person on the forum.

Interesting idea - seems this allows for a warm up, a sense of total* completion of the Camino Português, and one more night in the city.

From Matosinhos, did you then walk all the way to Vila do Conde? (@MilenaS same question for you.)

*Until this set of advice we'd been thinking to skip the Porto to Matosinhos portion. That was feeling a little off for me (but not so much to my husband).

 

[MilenaS]

Yes, as I remember I walked to Vila do Conde. posted Relive videos of all my stages on the Portuguese las year. Let me see if I can find it. You can find all stages on my Instagram too, with photos. https://www.instagram.com/milena_outandabo

EDIT: Found my thread from the Portuguese but just with photos. The videos are on instagram.: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...go-as-much-as-possible-along-the-coast.83086/

 

[Johnnyjenga]

The first part of the Litoral is beautiful, you shouldn't miss it. You can hike from to Matosinhos, without a pack and take the. metro back to Porto for the overnight. Take the metro again the next morning back to Matosinhos to resume. You could actually do the same for the day from Matosinhos to VDC but it's more awkward. Be sure to take breaks and the 23km shouldn't be a problem.

 

[CObluebird]

We walked from Porto to LaBruge on day one. I had just arrived the night before, but the walk wasn’t too difficult. I enjoyed the part between Porto and Matosinhos and am glad I didn’t skip it. I liked the municipal in Labruge also. The following day to Rates was more difficult and disappointing because of so much road walking. Same for the route to Barcelos, but after that it became more enjoyable. Casa Fernanda was one of the best nights of the trip.

 

[K3Lee]

I am currently walking the Senda Litoral route. I walked along the river and coast to Matosinhos on the first morning, so I could take the excellent tour of the Pinhais Sardine cannery, and stayed in Matosinhos that night. Day 2 I walked on to Vila donConde. Bom caminho!

 

[CalgaryLynn]

Interesting idea - seems this allows for a warm up, a sense of total* completion of the Camino Português, and one more night in the city.

From Matosinhos, did you then walk all the way to Vila do Conde? (@MilenaS same question for you.)

*Until this set of advice we'd been thinking to skip the Porto to Matosinhos portion. That was feeling a little off for me (but not so much to my husband).

Yes, I did also!

 

[EstherSTL]

I do not know what your further plans are ( maybe you follow the Coastal or change in Vila do Conde for the Central caminho to Rates and Barcelos)

What I did several times was starting at the Sé cathedral and headed for Angeiras where is the Orbitur camping -they rent small holidayhouses for among others pilgrims - To be advised is to reserve on beforehand. See their website-
Then continue the next day to Vila do Conde and stay there if you planheading for Rates or walk on along the coast to Esposende .
If walking from Porto is too long, take the metro to Matosinhos and start from there
The best option there is to leave the metro at stop “ Mercado” at the Leixões harbour and your caminho starts there by climbing the Leixões bridge.
Bom caminho

I see now you want to turn to the Central route and I see you plan to stay at Casa da Fernanda.
Reserve your place there on beforehand because full is full.
If you do not succes in reaching Fernanda , send me a conversation ( see my avatar) I am in contact with Fernanda’s husband very regularly by WhatsApp.

Hi Albertinho, I am doing the same segment from Matosinhos to Vila de Conde on the Costal route and I find it a bit long for me. I figured out these options:

1. To take the metro from Matosinhos to VC Fashion Outlet/Modivas and walk west 3.1 kms to pick up the Costal Camino on Vila Chã and walk 14 kms to Vila do Conde.
2. Viceversa, walk to Praia de Labruge on the Costa Camino 14.8 kms and walk east to find the Moldivas Sul metro station for 3.5 kms and ride to Vila do Conde
3. Or, walk to Praia de Angeiras (14 kms) and take taxi/bus to the Vilar do Pinheira metro station (4.7 kms).

My questions are regarding walking-friendliness of these options:
a. From VC Fashion Outlet/Modiva metro station to Vila Chã?
b. From Praia de Labruge to the Moldivas Sul metro station?
c. Will I find public transportation from Praia Angeiras to the Vilar do Pinheira metro station? I am assuming that walking this route is not very pilgrim friendly.

I appreciate any comments regarding these options. Thanks a lot!

 

[David Tallan]

Looking for segmenting advice on the Portuguese Costal between Porto and Vila do Conde. We originally considered starting in Matosinhos walking straight to Vila do Conde. That's ~23 KM. On paper this feels like a long first day (for us). We also thought of leaving from Foz do Douro to Labruge (~17 KM), sleep, then walk the next day to Vila do Conde (~10 KM). We realize that second day will be very short, but also saw that Vila do Conde has some good historical sites.

Questions for the hive mind: Are we overestimating the difficulty of walking 23K on our first day? If not, is the walk from Foz do Douro to Labruge interesting and is Labruge a good place to sleep (i.e. decent lodging)? Is there a different rhythm/pace/segment we should consider for a our first day or two?

*Notes: we'll probably start on June 28 or 29, so will be leaving early each morning to beat the heat. We wanted to start off with a couple of segments of 15K (we regularly walk 10-15 KM, but haven't yet walked 20+ KM). The next few segments we've sketched out are Vila do Conde - Sao Pedro do Rates, Sao Pedro do Rates to Barcelos, Barcelos to Vitorino dos Piaes. Some of these segments are 20K+, but we think by that time we'll be ready for it.

I did similar but I shortened my first day and lengthened my second, stopping the first night in Vila Chã instead of Vila do Conde. For what it is worth, the albergue in Vila Chã has a nice little museum to the local fishing industry on its grounds. From Vila Chã, I didn't find the walk to Rates too long.

I like to start at the cathedral and prefer to just keep walking once I start (although, as my current Camino is demonstrating, that isn't always feasible) so that helped determine my choices.

 

[Albertinho]

Hi Albertinho, I am doing the same segment from Matosinhos to Vila de Conde on the Costal route and I find it a bit long for me. I figured out these options:

1. To take the metro from Matosinhos to VC Fashion Outlet/Modivas and walk west 3.1 kms to pick up the Costal Camino on Vila Chã and walk 14 kms to Vila do Conde.
2. Viceversa, walk to Praia de Labruge on the Costa Camino 14.8 kms and walk east to find the Moldivas Sul metro station for 3.5 kms and ride to Vila do Conde
3. Or, walk to Praia de Angeiras (14 kms) and take taxi/bus to the Vilar do Pinheira metro station (4.7 kms).

My questions are regarding walking-friendliness of these options:
a. From VC Fashion Outlet/Modiva metro station to Vila Chã?
b. From Praia de Labruge to the Moldivas Sul metro station?
c. Will I find public transportation from Praia Angeiras to the Vilar do Pinheira metro station? I am assuming that walking this route is not very pilgrim friendly.

I appreciate any comments regarding these options. Thanks a lot!

Ola @Esg

In my opinion it is a bit complicated what you suggest.

Why not take the metro or bus 500 from Porto to station Mercado in Matosinhos and walk from there to Labruge, Angeiras or Vila Châ ? Find a place to sleep there and continue the next day to Vila do Conde.
You walk on the waymarked caminho, safe on the boardwalks and walk on with others in the same direction.

Walking from the Outlet center or any of the Metro stations between Matosinhos and Vila do Conde you will walk on non waymarked roads .Do not underestimate the Portuguese drivers . They drive like devils at the small roads, overtaking without sight etc.
Keep on the caminho path is my advise

I did it several times . Always followed the waymarkers.

 

[lgj]

Looking for segmenting advice on the Portuguese Costal between Porto and Vila do Conde. We originally considered starting in Matosinhos walking straight to Vila do Conde. That's ~23 KM. On paper this feels like a long first day (for us). We also thought of leaving from Foz do Douro to Labruge (~17 KM), sleep, then walk the next day to Vila do Conde (~10 KM). We realize that second day will be very short, but also saw that Vila do Conde has some good historical sites.

Questions for the hive mind: Are we overestimating the difficulty of walking 23K on our first day? If not, is the walk from Foz do Douro to Labruge interesting and is Labruge a good place to sleep (i.e. decent lodging)? Is there a different rhythm/pace/segment we should consider for a our first day or two?

*Notes: we'll probably start on June 28 or 29, so will be leaving early each morning to beat the heat. We wanted to start off with a couple of segments of 15K (we regularly walk 10-15 KM, but haven't yet walked 20+ KM). The next few segments we've sketched out are Vila do Conde - Sao Pedro do Rates, Sao Pedro do Rates to Barcelos, Barcelos to Vitorino dos Piaes. Some of these segments are 20K+, but we think by that time we'll be ready for it.

Porto to Vila de Conde is too far for a first day. Labruge has a hostel and that is a more reasonable distance. I was walking with 4 other women, not really in shape, and we walked from Matosinhos to Vila de Conde and it was too far. It was raining, which made it worse. I trained with my loaded pack before starting and the walking is just not the same. Various surfaces and different weather all make it unique so I suggest that you keep your first several days reasonably short and build up some endurance. And there is always the possibility of blisters when you do too much right out of the gate.

 

[EstherSTL]

Ola @Esg

In my opinion it is a bit complicated what you suggest.

Why not take the metro or bus 500 from Porto to station Mercado in Matosinhos and walk from there to Labruge, Angeiras or Vila Châ ? Find a place to sleep there and continue the next day to Vila do Conde.
You walk on the waymarked caminho, safe on the boardwalks and walk on with others in the same direction.

Walking from the Outlet center or any of the Metro stations between Matosinhos and Vila do Conde you will walk on non waymarked roads .Do not underestimate the Portuguese drivers . They drive like devils at the small roads, overtaking without sight etc.
Keep on the caminho path is my advise

I did it several times . Always followed the waymarkers.

Ola Albertinho, thank you for your advice.
I wanted to start walking from Porto because I understand it very pretty. Now, if walking from Matosinhos will be the same experience; then, your idea of staying in Praia de Angeiras or Praia de Labruge would brake the segment in two doable parts and avoid highways, which makes lots of sense.
By any chance, any suggestions for accommodations in Praia de Angeiras or Praia de Labruge? Thanks again for your information.

 

[grdemedeiros]

Porto to Vila de Conde is too far for a first day. Labruge has a hostel and that is a more reasonable distance. I was walking with 4 other women, not really in shape, and we walked from Matosinhos to Vila de Conde and it was too far. It was raining, which made it worse. I trained with my loaded pack before starting and the walking is just not the same. Various surfaces and different weather all make it unique so I suggest that you keep your first several days reasonably short and build up some endurance. And there is always the possibility of blisters when you do too much right out of the gate.

Oh, no, that's not what I meant (Porto to Vila do Conde). I'm curious specifically about the 23 KM stretch between Matosinhos and Vila do Conde (which we'd been considering as our first day). Thank you for your response, I appreciate hearing your experience.

 

[grdemedeiros]

We walked from Porto to LaBruge on day one. I had just arrived the night before, but the walk wasn’t too difficult. I enjoyed the part between Porto and Matosinhos and am glad I didn’t skip it. I liked the municipal in Labruge also. The following day to Rates was more difficult and disappointing because of so much road walking. Same for the route to Barcelos, but after that it became more enjoyable. Casa Fernanda was one of the best nights of the trip.

Thanks, we have been curious about the terrain / walking surfaces on some parts of the Português. Did you walk all the way to Rates from Labruge? Or stay a night in Vila do Conde?

 

[grdemedeiros]

I did similar but I shortened my first day and lengthened my second, stopping the first night in Vila Chã instead of Vila do Conde. For what it is worth, the albergue in Vila Chã has a nice little museum to the local fishing industry on its grounds. From Vila Chã, I didn't find the walk to Rates too long.

I like to start at the cathedral and prefer to just keep walking once I start (although, as my current Camino is demonstrating, that isn't always feasible) so that helped determine my choices.

This thread has sparked that exact point of conversation with me and my partner! (The question of backtracking or not.)

 

[CObluebird]

Thanks, we have been curious about the terrain / walking surfaces on some parts of the Português. Did you walk all the way to Rates from Labruge? Or stay a night in Vila do Conde?

We walked through Vila do Conde (from LaBruge) and turned inland to walk to Rates. We didn’t really spend any time in Vila do Conde.

 

[Jodean]

I stopped in Matosinhos overnight and then again in Vila Cha. I switched over to the central at Vila do Conde, but could have easily stopped early in the day here to sightsee and stay overnight.

I think people miss a lot by taking the metro out of Porto instead of walking along the river to the ocean. It is a beautiful walk, especially early in the morning.

 

[Albertinho]

Ola Albertinho, thank you for your advice.
I wanted to start walking from Porto because I understand it very pretty. Now, if walking from Matosinhos will be the same experience; then, your idea of staying in Praia de Angeiras or Praia de Labruge would brake the segment in two doable parts and avoid highways, which makes lots of sense.
By any chance, any suggestions for accommodations in Praia de Angeiras or Praia de Labruge? Thanks again for your information.

We stayed at the Orbitur camping in Angeiras
They rent small holiday houses to Pilgrims
Look at their site https://www.orbitur.pt/en/destinations/region-north/orbitur-angeiras
Reserving on beforehand is advised.

 

[EstherSTL]

I stopped in Matosinhos overnight and then again in Vila Cha. I switched over to the central at Vila do Conde, but could have easily stopped early in the day here to sightsee and stay overnight.

I think people miss a lot by taking the metro out of Porto instead of walking along the river to the ocean. It is a beautiful walk, especially early in the morning.

Hi Jodean, as per your comment, I am afraid of missing out walking out of Porto. I will see how to figure this out.

We stayed at the Orbitur camping in Angeiras
They rent small holiday houses to Pilgrims
Look at their site https://www.orbitur.pt/en/destinations/region-north/orbitur-angeiras
Reserving on beforehand is advised.

Thank you Albertinho, I will take a look to this camping; though, I just found Casarão Paraiso in Perafita which makes for 16.5 kms from Porto and will leave another 16.2 kms to Vila do Conde. Thanks for your info, I have been working on this item for weeks, and now is clear!

 

[Freogal]

Looking for segmenting advice on the Portuguese Costal between Porto and Vila do Conde. We originally considered starting in Matosinhos walking straight to Vila do Conde. That's ~23 KM. On paper this feels like a long first day (for us). We also thought of leaving from Foz do Douro to Labruge (~17 KM), sleep, then walk the next day to Vila do Conde (~10 KM). We realize that second day will be very short, but also saw that Vila do Conde has some good historical sites.

Questions for the hive mind: Are we overestimating the difficulty of walking 23K on our first day? If not, is the walk from Foz do Douro to Labruge interesting and is Labruge a good place to sleep (i.e. decent lodging)? Is there a different rhythm/pace/segment we should consider for a our first day or two?

*Notes: we'll probably start on June 28 or 29, so will be leaving early each morning to beat the heat. We wanted to start off with a couple of segments of 15K (we regularly walk 10-15 KM, but haven't yet walked 20+ KM). The next few segments we've sketched out are Vila do Conde - Sao Pedro do Rates, Sao Pedro do Rates to Barcelos, Barcelos to Vitorino dos Piaes. Some of these segments are 20K+, but we think by that time we'll be ready for it.

Watch ‘Chonky Trundlers’ on YouTube for ideas

 

[Albertinho]

There are many ways to go to Vila do Conde.
I walked 5 times to Santiago from Portugal, 4 times out of Porto by the banks of the Douro river and the Atlantic ocean beaches .
Once the Central route out of Porto to Vairão where is a beautiful former monastry to stay the night .But out of Porto in this way, you will partly walk along busy motorways sometimes at the hard shoulder of those roads . Not very nice. So many take the metro from Porto to station Forum Maia or Vilar do Pinheiro and walk from there to Vairão or Vilarinhos or to São Pedro de Rates. Around Vairão starts a beautiful rural area.

The first time when we walked from Lisbon we walked from the Cathedral of Porto to Matosinhos without packs and returned by metro and next day returned to Matosinhos and made it to Vila do Conde .But we already walked from Lisbon for 3 weeks so were “a bit” warmed up.
Other times we started “cold” to Matosinhos and stayed there for the night
Last time we made it from the Cathedral to Angeiras but went beyond Vila do Conde because we did not head inland to the Central route but continued along the coast to Viana do Castelo and from there headed inland to stay at Casa da Fernanda and after staying there for a couple of nights ( Fernanda and Jacinto are friends of us) we returned back to Viana to continue the coastal for a while.

What I will say is that the Portuguese route has so many possibilities to vary.
All varieties are great to do. We did them all.

Have a look at Google Maps to see how the roads lead to Santiago from Porto .
No other camino to Santiago has such variety as the Caminho Português .

 

[Roland49]

In July 2023 I walked from the Albergue in Porto via the Cathedral and the river banks of the Douro up to Vila do Conde. It was a nice and easy start of the pilgrimage. Nothing booked, but slept on a mat on the floor in VdC. All other places filled, so many pilgrims walked on to Povoa.

 

[Jensjaunt]

Hi - I would recommend walking out of Porto via the river route it was beautiful. I have posted in the live on the camino with some photos to give you an idea. I found the Brierleys maps and wise pilgrim app helped me so I could move between the senda literal, the coastal routes. One thing I did find was regardless of what I thought I was walking I always walked maybe 5 more km? Maybe my short legs or that little detour to get that photo or …so when considering day length maybe keep that in mind? All the best! Jen

 

[grdemedeiros]

Thanks to everyone for the advice! We decided that we'll walk from Porto to Angeiras, staying that night at the place @Albertinho recommended. The next day we go on to Vila do Conde. It'll be a short walking day but we do want to see the town.

From there we're heading east to the Central Route with a highlight being our stay at Casa Fernanda (we managed to get reservations).

Bom Caminho!

 

[Albertinho]

Thanks to everyone for the advice! We decided that we'll walk from Porto to Angeiras, staying that night at the place @Albertinho recommended. The next day we go on to Vila do Conde. It'll be a short walking day but we do want to see the town.

From there we're heading east to the Central Route with a highlight being our stay at Casa Fernanda (we managed to get reservations).

Bom Caminho!

Enjoy your stay at the camping in Angeiras
There is a restaurant for your evening meal and a drink
Back to the main road there is a bakershop ( padería ) where you can have your breakfast ( café da manhã or pequeno almoço ) coffee, tea croissant etc.

Nice you managed to reserve at Fernanda’s Have a nice stay there, enjoy !

Bom caminho

 

[grdemedeiros]

Obrigadíssima!