Camino Portuguese -- tips? advice?

[jena.]

Hello!

I will be doing the last portion of the Portuguese camino (Porto to Santiago to Finnestere) in May of this year -- any advice on routes, albergues, or must sees? I completed the Camino Frances in 2014 (SJPP to Santiago) and am excited to be back. My guide book shows multiple routes to get from Porto to Santiago (many of which seem a bit confusing / not well marked, at least in the book). Which routes have you walked? And were they well marked? On my first Camino, I simply followed the arrows and had no trouble -- maybe this route requires a little more planning?

Thanks for any help you can provide!

Buen Camino.

 

[Dutch]

One thing i would not do, walk day 1 Porto - Vilarinho. It is an awfull walk and lots of dangerous (and i dont say this easily) narrow roads to walk on.

Instead walk day one from Porto to Vila do Conde along the coast and then on day two go inland from Vila do Conde to Barcelos.
This is an excellent first day, with many nice coffee places on the beach on most of the route.

The waymarking on the whole Porto to SdC section is excellent. Dont worry. Plenty of arrows.

Honestly, the CP is just like a shorter CF, you dont need any planning at all, really. Unless you need it to make you feel a bit more comfortable.

 

[Ena Nova]

I can only confirm that. I walked CP last year in May, the Central route. I would change the first day for the coastal variant too.
It's well marked, as said by Dutch. I missed the arrows in Santiago, however, you can't miss the cathedral, can you?!
Bom caminho!

 

[Camembert]

In addition to @Dutch there are more Portuguese routes
The central route Porto Barcelos Valença do Minho to Redondela and on to Santiago.
The coastal from Porto to Viana do Castelo, Caminha, a Guarda BIona ,Vigo to Redondela and on.
And the Interior but this one does not start in Porto but nearby Coimbra.
You can find a lot of info at the subforums here.

I walked the Central route and the coastal both . It is what you prefer. Liked both.
The coastal is easier and flatter but you meet less other people.
The central route is busier with pilgrims.

You can walk out of Porto by the river and the coast to Vila do Conde and head there for the central route to São Pedro de Rates and Barcelos or head for the coastal to Esposende and Viana do Castelo.
To avoid the very busy and dangerous infrastructure of Porto you can take the metro from Porto to Fórum Maia and walk from there in a more rural area to the first albergue , Mosteiro do Vairão in Vairão on the way to São Pedro de Rates and Barcelos. Beautiful walk .
Do not forget to stay at casa da Fernanda, the best albergue on the entire caminho from Porto .Between Barcelos and Ponte de Lima. On this forum by searching in the searchbox type in Casa Fernanda and you get all the info.
Bom caminho

 

[amancio]

Albertinho gives you great advise, as he gave me great advise when I walked this camino in september a couple of years ago. I have another suggestion; you walk down the Douro, beautiful walk, then to Leixoes (gorgeous grilled fish restaurants), Matosinhos and further up the coast.

Vila de Conde might be a bit too long of a day, so you might consider stopping in Angeiras, there is a camping site with special rates for pilgrims and a GORGEOUS swimming pool to stretch muscles after the walk.

http://www.orbitur.pt/camping-orbitur-angeiras

From Angeiras, you can walk to Vila do Conde and further up to Sao Pedro de Rates, it is perfectly signposted, although this second day you do find a few parts of cobblestone paved roads and non existing hardshoulders at times.

And, of course, Casa Fernanda not to be missed.

Unfortunately, I did not have much time to stop, but Barcelos and Ponte de Lima are definitely worth a visit, particularly Barcelos is a historical city.

A beautiful camino, indeed!

 

[Camembert]

Albertinho gives you great advise, as he gave me great advise when I walked this camino in september a couple of years ago. I have another suggestion; you walk down the Douro, beautiful walk, then to Leixoes (gorgeous grilled fish restaurants), Matosinhos and further up the coast.

Vila de Conde might be a bit too long of a day, so you might consider stopping in Angeiras, there is a camping site with special rates for pilgrims and a GORGEOUS swimming pool to stretch muscles after the walk.

http://www.orbitur.pt/camping-orbitur-angeiras

From Angeiras, you can walk to Vila do Conde and further up to Sao Pedro de Rates, it is perfectly signposted, although this second day you do find a few parts of cobblestone paved roads and non existing hardshoulders at times.

And, of course, Casa Fernanda not to be missed.

Unfortunately, I did not have much time to stop, but Barcelos and Ponte de Lima are definitely worth a visit, particularly Barcelos is a historical city.

A beautiful camino, indeed!

I agree with you Amancio. The fishrestaurants in Leixões and Matosinhos great.
Eat where the Portuguese locals eat !

The Orbitur campings are great. We always use them when we camp in Portugal.
Another one is close by Vila do Conde. It is on the caminho if you follow the waymarkers through the dunes instead of following the beachside.
We hired a summerhouse for one night and had all the benefits of the campng like the swimmingpool, restaurant and camping shop for food.

Another addition. If you are in Barcelos take a day off and take the bus to Braga.
Braga is 20 kms away, has the famous world heritage church Bom Jesus Do Monte. Very very beautifull and a stamp on the credential has an extra value in my opineon.
Braga also is the most famous town for the cavaquinho, a typical Portuguese musical instrument-a slightly bigger instrument than the ukulele- used in traditional music of a.o.Portugal, Brasil, Cabo Verde etc. I bought mine in Braga the other day using for playing in a choro ensemble, tipical music from Brasil

 

[Cecy]

Hi, im still in the planning stages...where to start my Camino...i would like to walk at least a little stretch of coast before valenca? Any suggestions? I have the guide book, still deciphering it. Thanks in advance

 

[Dutch]

walk day one out of Porto to vila do conde along the coast and at the end of that day decide if you want more coastline or go inland? For me one day of coast was more than enough, but others (may) want more.

 

[Cecy]

walk day one out of Porto to vila do conde along the coast and at the end of that day decide if you want more coastline or go inland? For me one day of coast was more than enough, but others (may) want more.

I was thinking to going to camiñha towards valenca, lol im trying to invent my own route!! Yeah, I dont need a lot just a little walk. I will be back to Porto for one full day before coming home. .. well the Camino may have a different plan for me.

 

[jena.]

One thing i would not do, walk day 1 Porto - Vilarinho. It is an awfull walk and lots of dangerous (and i dont say this easily) narrow roads to walk on.

Instead walk day one from Porto to Vila do Conde along the coast and then on day two go inland from Vila do Conde to Barcelos.
This is an excellent first day, with many nice coffee places on the beach on most of the route.

The waymarking on the whole Porto to SdC section is excellent. Dont worry. Plenty of arrows.

Honestly, the CP is just like a shorter CF, you dont need any planning at all, really. Unless you need it to make you feel a bit more comfortable.

Thank you so much! I was considering Vila do Conde, so this is reassuring. As is that the path is well marked -- I very much enjoyed the carefree, minimal planning, go where my feet take me approach I took with my first Camino; I will stop worrying so much about planning!

 

[jena.]

Thank you all for your advice -- is casa Fernanda similar to casa de Tomas in manjarin on the Camino Frances? I stayed there and loved it -- Casa Fernanda will definitely be added to the musts on the pilgrimage.

 

[gracethepilgrim]

I agree with you Amancio. The fishrestaurants in Leixões and Matosinhos great.
Eat where the Portuguese locals eat !

The Orbitur campings are great. We always use them when we camp in Portugal.
Another one is close by Vila do Conde. It is on the caminho if you follow the waymarkers through the dunes instead of following the beachside.
We hired a summerhouse for one night and had all the benefits of the campng like the swimmingpool, restaurant and camping shop for food.

Another addition. If you are in Barcelos take a day off and take the bus to Braga.
Braga is 20 kms away, has the famous world heritage church Bom Jesus Do Monte. Very very beautifull and a stamp on the credential has an extra value in my opineon.
Braga also is the most famous town for the cavaquinho, a typical Portuguese musical instrument-a slightly bigger instrument than the ukulele- used in traditional music of a.o.Portugal, Brasil, Cabo Verde etc. I bought one in Braga the other day using for playing in a choro ensemble, tipical music from Brasil

Oh I love love love Braga too! It’s well worth a detour for a day. When I was there you could enquire at the information office and book a ‘free city walking tour’ (donation to your guide of course). It was fabulous. Such a gorgeous place to wander and explore.

 

[Camembert]

Hi, im still in the planning stages...where to start my Camino...i would like to walk at least a little stretch of coast before valenca? Any suggestions? I have the guide book, still deciphering it. Thanks in advance

Start in Viana do Castelo. One day to Caminha. Othr day to Valença do Minho and you walk a beautiful stage along the coast.

 

[Camembert]

I was thinking to going to camiñha towards valenca, lol im trying to invent my own route!! Yeah, I dont need a lot just a little walk. I will be back to Porto for one full day before coming home. .. well the Camino may have a different plan for me.

If you start in Caminha the coast is behind you if you walk to Valença. Then you follow the Minho river.

 

[Camembert]

I only can tell you about Fernanda. Have no experiences on the Francès (yet)
Casa Fernanda is a privat house, not a real albergue. In their garden is a gardenhouse with 10 beds, toilets and showers. You stay with the family in their kitchen.
You get a meal, drinks and a breakfast. Based on a donation.
Prepare a song from your country to sing it can become a nice time together with them and other pilgrims.

 

[jena.]

Ah yes -- similar to the home of Tomas! Except in the home of Tomas there was no electric or running water; but an amazing night of homemade stew, laughter with fellow pilgrims, and quiet sleep. When you travel Frances, I recommend staying there!

 

[Camembert]

Ah yes -- similar to the home of Tomas! Except in the home of Tomas there was no electric or running water; but an amazing night of homemade stew, laughter with fellow pilgrims, and quiet sleep. When you travel Frances, I recommend staying there!

Were is Tomas ? Intend to walk from Pamplona to Burgos next May .

 

[Pete Hohmann]

I am combining the Camino Portugués (Porto to Santiago and Finnestere) with a kayak trip down the Douro River (boarder of Spain to Porto). I am doing this in September, 2016. It makes sense to combine these since I will already be in Portugal. Anyone interested in this?
http://dourokayak.com/

 

[jena.]

Were is Tomas ? Intend to walk from Pamplona to Burgos next May .

Tomas is in Manjarin, which is after Astorga, just after Cruce de Ferro -- so a few days past Burgos. However, when you are in Logrono, there is an albergue run by the church that does community (donativo) dinner followed by a really lovely pilgrim prayer in the church. Since the church and albergue are connected, pilgrims pass through tunnels to reach the church at night -- there is also a special stamp received at this nighttime prayer. We arrived late to the albergue, so we slept on mats in a communal room above the albergue, but if you arrive earlier in the day there are beds

 

[Anemone del Camino]

What a great combination. Mixing the pilgrimage effort between lags and arms!

 

[bgwoman]

Hello, I walked it in June last year - from Porto to Finistere. You may find helpful my travelogue "The Portuguese Way: Short, informative and inspiring travel notes for the lesser-known Portuguese Camino from Porto to Santiago and beyond" - it is available on Amazon for Kindle, just Google it. I would recommend you to do what we did - started from Porto by the cost the first day and then moved to the central route, where all is well marked and more authentic. In the travelogue you will also find some other ideas what you can do to make the most of this experience. Hope that helps and Bom Caminho!

 

[bonita bell]

One thing i would not do, walk day 1 Porto - Vilarinho. It is an awfull walk and lots of dangerous (and i dont say this easily) narrow roads to walk on.

Instead walk day one from Porto to Vila do Conde along the coast and then on day two go inland from Vila do Conde to Barcelos.
This is an excellent first day, with many nice coffee places on the beach on most of the route.

The waymarking on the whole Porto to SdC section is excellent. Dont worry. Plenty of arrows.

Honestly, the CP is just like a shorter CF, you dont need any planning at all, really. Unless you need it to make you feel a bit more comfortable.

 

[bonita bell]

Can you tell me how many km from Porto to Vila do Conde on your first day ? Ans also ,did you start from the city centre or have transportation to the coast to start the walk, as I am starting to plan my camino. Thanks