Camino from Porto

[Dale58]

Am planning to walk from Porto to Santiago in early May in about 14 days.How well signposted is this walk? I have not done much training yet for walk, is it very mountainous at the coast, how much training do I need to do. I have match and April to get fit is this enough time?

 

[Dale58]

March and April

 

[PK Smit]

Am planning to walk from Porto to Santiago in early May in about 14 days.How well signposted is this walk? I have not done much training yet for walk, is it very mountainous at the coast, how much training do I need to do. I have match and April to get fit is this enough time?

Dale, the litoral is perfect to do without any training and very beautifull

 

[Bert45]

I walked from Porto to Santiago in 10 days in 2016. I did no training. I am not super-fit, but I have no actual disabilities, apart from being about 28lbs (12kg) overweight and being 67 at the time. I found one or two parts of the trail quite tough - steep sections - but those sections were quite short. I was carrying about 9-10 kg. The route is well signposted. You will see blue arrows pointing the opposite way for pilgrims to Fatima.

 

[stevov]

I took 17 days in june to walk this via the senda Litoral (the coast). I did take a couple of rest days and included a full day in Santiago. Way marking is a bit hit and miss at times but if you keep the coast on your left you are going to find the way for the majority of the time. It's generally flat along the coast (although the wind can be challenging) but there is a lovely inland stretch from Marinhas to Viana de castelo which includes some tougher walking inc some inclines. And the stretch from vigo to redondela is a bit hilly. I would recommend getting to a reasonable level of walking fitness just because day after day is an endurance challenge esp for the legs. A couple of months ahead as you indicate should be enough. Its a lovely caminho ...just to say that the ferry from Caminha to A Guarda does not run on Mondays. Bom Caminho

 

[Bert45]

I walked this route (9 days, I thought it was 10)
Day 1 Porto – Vairão-Vilarinho

Day 2 Vairão-Vilarinho – Barcelinhos

Day 3 Barcelinhos – Ponte de Lima

Day 4 Ponte de Lima – Quinta Estrada Romana, Paços

Day 5 Quinta Estrada Romana, Paços – Porriño

Day 6 Porriño – Pontevedra

Day 7 Pontevedra – Valga

Day 8 Valga – Picaraña

Day 9 Picaraña – Santiago.

 

[Albertinho]

Day 1 Matosinhos to Vila do Conde

Day 2 VdC to São Pedro de Rates

Day 3 São Pedro to Barcelos

Day 4 Barcelos to Casa da Fernanda (Vitorino dos Piäes) the best place to stay !

Day 5 Casa da Fernanda to Ponte de Lima

Day 6 PdL to Rubiães

Day 7 Rubiães to Valença do Minho

Day 8 VdM to o Porriño

Day 9 o Porriño to Cessantes (refúxio de la Jérezana)

Day 10 Cessantes to Pontevedra

Day 11 Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis

Day 12 CdR to Padrón

Day 13 Padrón to Santiago

Easy does it.

Tip 1 stay one extra day in Barcelos before you walk to Casa da Fernanda and take the bus or train to Braga and visit next to an interesting town also the on the world heritage list placed famous church Bom Jesus do Monte

Tip 2 walk from Padrón to Teo or Milladorio ,find a bed in the albergue or a hotel or bed and breakfast and walk easy theclast 8 kms into Santiago the next day.

From Pontevedra you could swap to the Variante Espiritual instead of straight ahead to Caldas de Reis and so on.
On the subforum Variante Espiritual you can read everything about this two or theee days lasting journey which takes you to Padrón.
It was one of our highlights on one of our caminhos Portuguêses

Bom caminho

 

[Gerhardbmwmerc]

I walked from Porto to Santiago in 10 days in 2016. I did no training. I am not super-fit, but I have no actual disabilities, apart from being about 28lbs (12kg) overweight and being 67 at the time. I found one or two parts of the trail quite tough - steep sections - but those sections were quite short. I was carrying about 9-10 kg. The route is well signposted. You will see blue arrows pointing the opposite way for pilgrims to Fatima.

Hi Bert, we’ll be on a tight budget (our rubbish currency). Any reccomendations re lodging/overnghts?

 

[Bert45]

I know no other sort of budget ! With a name like Gerhard and a BMW and Merc, you don't sound as though you'd be on a tight budget !
I stayed in albergues every night except the first (airport hotel, Porto, as it was a late flight) and in Pontevedra and Picaraña. 2nd Mosteiro de Vairão - not recommmended, very cold (early April). 3rd Barcelinhos - albergue on the outskirts of town, before you cross the river. It was cheap - 5€ - but nothing special. 4th Ponte de Lima - albergue across the bridge - 5€, but no blankets, but I think that the facilities were good, though I didn't use them. You might find a pension in the main part of town could be better. 5th Quinta Estrada Romana: Paços, Excellent, highly recommended, very friendly, right by the camino. 6th Porriño - 6€, no blankets - no memories. 7th Pontevedra - Hotel La Peregrina 2** - 31€ inc breakfast. I needed to dry out. It was the first place I saw. I might have walked past the albergue without noticing it. It was cheaper than the nearby Avenida 1* without breakfast, so good value, I thought. 8th Valga, brand new (2010) albergue, - 6€, VG, recommended. 9th Picaraña - Hotel Glorioso - 10€ (no bath) - 20€ with bath. OK. I didn't see a sign for an albergue. 10th Santiago dC - Seminario Mayor (=Hospedería San Martín). The best! If you can get a pilgrim room (it is also a pricey hotel), book it now. Otherwise the Seminario Menor is about the cheapest accommodation in Santiago, but a long way from the cathedral.
Of course, you may find yourself in a different place when it is time to look for a bed for the night. But I would not miss Quinta Estrada Romana if you pass it late in the day. As you will have guessed, I did not carry a sleeping bag -- too bulky and heavy, and I'd never needed one on the Francés -- so the lack of blankets in some albergues was a surprise.

 

[Gerhardbmwmerc]

Sharp. I was battling a bit with the site whilst on my cellphone. So the “bmwmerc“ part was my first effort at a password. Your reply ... 12/10. My life partner had this dream to walk the Camino from long before we met. Although she suffers from MS (Multiple sclerosis), she’s very active and “sporty”. The “budget” part is fact. Finding contracts/employment/income opportunities in my country (South Africa) is a bit of a challenge. So both of us saw this as a real “pilgrimage” ... a bit of cleansing the soul. Your answer is way beyong what I expected...so thank you very much. Will do some additional googling today. Have a great one!
Gerhard Schröder

 

[surya8]

Hi Bert, we’ll be on a tight budget (our rubbish currency). Any reccomendations re lodging/overnghts?

It took me 9 days from Porto to Santiago, cost betwen 160 and 170 euros for accommodation and food. Was too happy and didn't feel really hungry most of the time. SoI walked mostly on salads and coffee having an occasional pilgrim's meal/meal of the day, and cooked my own food once or twice. The portions in Portuguese restaurants are beyond huge, so you can share one for two. Stayed in municipal (5-6 euros) and private (8-10) albergues, the Portuguese way is very budget this way. Portugal is cheaper so stay in Valenca instead of Tui before crossing the border. Many Spanish municipal albergues are bare, no utensils whatsoever and not possible to cook, so be preared to spend a bit more there on food or chose private ones instead.

 

[surya8]

Am planning to walk from Porto to Santiago in early May in about 14 days.How well signposted is this walk? I have not done much training yet for walk, is it very mountainous at the coast, how much training do I need to do. I have match and April to get fit is this enough time?

Well singposted, no worries to get lost. Very easy to walk in comparison to other Caminos, terrain is pretty flat. I did it spontaneously, no training, it took me 9 days but make sure your backpack is light. May is a good month as not very hot and no rush for beds. Plenty of accommodation options and distances to walk between them. I found the central way more fullfilling in terms of the proper Camino spirit, nature and people, although I walked along the coast on the first day out of Porto and then switched to central.