Camino portuguese

[ThirstyThursday]

Hi my husband and I are starting the Camino from Lisbon to Santiago on may 10 2023. Does anyone know if the albergues are open and is it necessary to walk the 30 plus km a day.
Thanks
ThirstyThirza

 

[C clearly]

Welcome to the forum!

Most albergues should be open, but what guide are you using as reference? No one source is always 100% correct, but Gronze.com is generally up-to-date.

What "30 plus km a day" are you referring to? I guess the same question applies - what guide or source of information are you using? Most guides indicate the distances between towns, villages, and accommodation, so you should be able to pick and choose what is appropriate for you.

 

[trecile]

As @C clearly said, there is no required itinerary - you are free to create your own. One good resource for planning your stages is this website.

Planificador - Camino Portugués - Godesalco.com

Perfiles altitudinales, planificación de etapas y archivos GPS para el Camino Portugués.

godesalco.com

And yes, the albergues (and other accommodations) will be open.
Be aware that there is a new route out of Lisbon that is supposed to be open sometime in May. Information is on this thread: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...magine-the-new-exit-of-lisbon-may-2023.58763/

 

[dougfitz]

I walked the Caminho de Tejo then the CP from Tomar, starting in late Apr 2022. My planning target was to walk 20 km/day or less. There were some days where it needed to be a bit more, but not many. I never needed to walk anywhere near 30 km.

You can expect that any albergues that are going to open will be. There was only one listing on Gronze where it was uncertain whether they were going to open up again post-COVID and the owners decided they would remain closed.

 

[snuz55]

Is Gronze.com switchable to English language?

 

[trecile]

Is Gronze.com switchable to English language?

If you use the Chrome browser it will automatically translate to English or the language of your choice.

 

[snuz55]

If you use the Chrome browser it will automatically translate to English or the language of your choice.

Thanks. I haven’t used chrome in years but may need to. I’ll check my other browsers first.

 

[ThirstyThursday]

Welcome to the forum!

Most albergues should be open, but what guide are you using as reference? No one source is always 100% correct, but Gronze.com is generally up-to-date.

What "30 plus km a day" are you referring to? I guess the same question applies - what guide or source of information are you using? Most guides indicate the distances between towns, villages, and accommodation, so you should be able to pick and choose what is appropriate for you.

I have been following brierley book. I understand that Alpriate is closed permanently. I’ll check the bronze. Com.
Thanks so much

 

[Lleslie]

We start from Lisbon May 14 - will walk first day to Povoa de Santa Ira or there abouts and probably train forward to Vila Franca de Xira and return next morning to continue. Yes, the Alpirate albergue is closed. Hoping the new route will be open. There are several accommodation options in Alverca de Ribatejo also. We have planned 21 days to Porto with 2 days off and some short days to avoid the long walks doing between 14 to 26k/day. I'm using Wisepilgrim and Village to Village guide and double checking with Gronze. Bom Caminho! Linda

 

[dougfitz]

We start from Lisbon May 14 - will walk first day to Povoa de Santa Ira or there abouts and probably train forward to Vila Franca de Xira and return next morning to continue.

I did something similar, catching the train back to Lisbon from Povoa, and returning the next day. The other section I did this was from Azambuja to Santarem, where I caught a bus from Porto de Muge to the train station near Santano-Cartaxo and the train to Santarem. The following day I caught the bus to Muge, and walked in from there on one of the other routes leading to Fatima. It was well sign-posted, and easy enough to follow although I did get a little confused when I got back to the outskirts of Santarem, and started walking back out of town on the CP going north, and not back into town towards my accommodation!

 

[Lleslie]

We are planning on only doing a short stage (13k) to Valada from Azambuja then 22k to Santarem. Hoping it all works out

 

[dougfitz]

We are planning on only doing a short stage (13k) to Valada from Azambuja then 22k to Santarem. Hoping it all works out

I was tempted by this option, but had already made a booking for two nights in Santarem. In the end I had a wonderful little adventure on the buses and trains, and getting a little lost as well. It's always hard to know which would have been the more interesting when options like this present themselves.

 

[Lleslie]

It's all an adventure we've left it mostly flexible to Porto then being joined by 3 others I've mostly booked thru to Santiago as we will be a party of 5. Not too long to go now

 

[jrewins]

I’m starting the CP on 26 April and was planning to stop in Alpriate also. But research on GRONZE confirms that the albergue in Alpriate is closed. An alternative is to stray 4.4 km off of the path and stay in Santa Iris de Azoia. However, the distance from the Camino to SIA and return the next day is the same distance as from Alpriate to Alverca…and the walk is as flat as a pancake. Another option (albeit a pricey one) is to stay in Sacavém. There are a couple of hotels there. I think I’m just going to put on my big boy walking shorts and enjoy a nice walk up to Alverca.

 

[snuz55]

I’m starting the CP on 26 April and was planning to stop in Alpriate also. But research on GRONZE confirms that the albergue in Alpriate is closed. An alternative is to stray 4.4 km off of the path and stay in Santa Iris de Azoia. However, the distance from the Camino to SIA and return the next day is the same distance as from Alpriate to Alverca…and the walk is as flat as a pancake. Another option (albeit a pricey one) is to stay in Sacavém. There are a couple of hotels there. I think I’m just going to put on my big boy walking shorts and enjoy a nice walk up to Alverca.

I’m doing something like that. I arrive in Lisboa on the 17th of April and plan to start walking on the 19th. I’m staying in the Lisboa Orienta area for the two nights which shortens my first day walk to around 24km. I’m staying in Vila Franca de Xira on the 20th. On my day in Lisboa (the 18th), I plan to at least walk back from the Cathedral to my place in Orienta which looks to be about 8.3km. I may use public transportation to get down to the Cathedral initially. I hope this makes sense. It looks like I will be about a week ahead of you.

 

[jrewins]

Nice loc for your mug shot, Snuz55! You will be about a week ahead of me. Ive not yet made a res in Lisboa, so I’ll check out the Orienta area. Bom Caminho!

 

[snuz55]

That's funny!

 

[Suzanne H]

I’ll check my other browsers first.

Safari also translates

 

[Bohemiana]

We are starting in Tomar on May 14, 2023. I based our "plan" on a popular Camino tour company's stops.
If you see a problem in any of these stages, please let me know:

Tomar-Cortica (16 miles)
Cortica-Ansaio (12 miles)
Ansaio-Rabaciol (10 miles)
Rabaciol-Coimbra (16 miles)
Coimbra-Mealhada (14 miles)
Mealhada-Agueda (15 miles)
Agueda-Albergaria a Velha (13 miles)
Albergaria a Velha-Oliveira de Azemes (12 miles)
Oliveira de Azemes-Lourosa (13.6 miles)
Laurosa-Porto (13.6 miles)
In Porto we will begin the coastal route.

We walked the French Way from SJPDP to Santiago in 2014 and we did part of it again in 2019 starting from Leon. We loved both experiences, although the first time was a bit more magical just because it was all new.

A couple questions regarding starting from Tomar--
Do villages have water fountains like on the French Way?
Is it probably ok to book a private room (two people) the day before arriving in one of the towns above?
Is the path out of Tomar as easy to follow (yellow arrows) as the French Way?

 

[Camembert]

Sometimes villages have fountains , called fontes ( plural) or fonte ( singular)
sometimes the water is not potable .

Cortica I do not know so advice to look at booking.com if there is any place to stay

Ansião we stayed in a small hotel , Adega Tipica. Booking.com ?

Rabacal ( take care for your spelling ) is very small but has an albergue. When you enter there just after the roundabout at the right is a bar where they call a woman who has the key of the albergue .

In Coimbra are several hotels, b&b’s.

in Mealhada walk on to Serdanello (+2 kms) there is Residencial Hilário. They rent rooms for 2 but also for 4 like some albergues do.

Agueda. We stayed in residencial Celeste. rooms with double beds.

in Albergaría-a-Velha we stayed in a retraîte house with nuns but can’t find it back
but saw there is a hotel around. Booking.com

In Oliveira de Azemeîs is hotel Dighton. See booking.com

you do not mention São João da Madeira where is Residencial Solar.


Lourosa we do not know
We walked from São Joåo to Grijó ( one of the suburbs of Porto and took the bus from there into Porto because we did not like to walk alongside very busy roads




in June I should make reservations on beforehand .
I do not know how your Portuguese is but in the small villages not everybody is speaking English. .And the part you are writing about is less popular by pilgrims then from Porto on the coastal . So do some research on the internet about the places and phonenumbers . I booked a lot on Booking.com and Aibnb .


out of Tomar the route is waymarked with yellow waymarkers and sometimes with blue ones which point to Fãtima For the Portuguese Fátima is more important than the Caminho de Santiago .

 

[dougfitz]

Do villages have water fountains like on the French Way?
Is it probably ok to book a private room (two people) the day before arriving in one of the towns above?
Is the path out of Tomar as easy to follow (yellow arrows) as the French Way?

Before responding to these question, let me note that I did Rabacal to Coimbra over two days. The distances estimates I used would have made doing it in one leg just under 30 km, which was well over my personal target. My notes indicate that I actually walked over 32 km, but that included exploring the Roman ruins at Conymbriga. Your estimate of the distance seems a little short to me. I haven't bothered checking the rest of the distances, but even expressed in miles, that particular one looked a little shorter than what I had done, so I did the conversion for it. You might want to check the others.

Yes, villages have fonts. It seemed to me most were marked to indicate they are either untreated or untested. I don't recall any being marked non-potable.

I found booking a day ahead worked, but I cannot tell if that will work for you. Try it, and if you need to, adjust your pattern.

I don't recall there being any particular difficulty getting out of Tomar. There are a couple of different options on leaving, and I chose the route closest to the river. I don't know how well the other options are marked. Generally, the marking was generally good all along the CP, so I expect that you would have no difficulty on any of the options leaving Tomar.

 

[Camembert]

Before responding to these question, let me note that I did Rabacal to Coimbra over two days. The distances estimates I used would have made doing it in one leg just under 30 km, which was well over my personal target. My notes indicate that I actually walked over 32 km, but that included exploring the Roman ruins at Conymbriga. Your estimate of the distance seems a little short to me. I haven't bothered checking the rest of the distances, but even expressed in miles, that particular one looked a little shorter than what I had done, so I did the conversion for it. You might want to check the others.

Yes, villages have fonts. It seemed to me most were marked to indicate they are either untreated or untested. I don't recall any being marked non-potable.

I found booking a day ahead worked, but I cannot tell if that will work for you. Try it, and if you need to, adjust your pattern.

I don't recall there being any particular difficulty getting out of Tomar. There are a couple of different options on leaving, and I chose the route closest to the river. I don't know how well the other options are marked. Generally, the marking was generally good all along the CP, so I expect that you would have no difficulty on any of the options leaving Tomar.

I now remember we did Rabacal to Coimbra in two days too.
we stayed at a schoolcampus in Cernache. By coincidence I read about this place I think on this forum.
I sent an email on beforehand and we were welcome
My luck was that I speak Portuguese because except for some teachers nobody spoke english . Another couple arrived too but the concierge only spoke Portuguese but the pupils were willing to translate into English.
on the campus was a guesthouse with bunks, hot showers and so on
In front of the gate was a restaurant/snackbar for a simple evening meal and breakfast
The concierge told us to come back from diner before 21h00 , otherwise the fence of the campus was locked up and we had to move before 7h00 next morning

They did not want money for staying the night there.

i have never seen again anything about this campus here on the forum The reason probably was that there was opened an albergue in Cernache.

 

[Marcus2020!]

Hi my husband and I are starting the Camino from Lisbon to Santiago on may 10 2023. Does anyone know if the albergues are open and is it necessary to walk the 30 plus km a day.
Thanks
ThirstyThirza

My friend Mark and I (another Mark) are also starting from Lisbon on the 10th. See you there. Bon Camino.

 

[ThirstyThursday]

My friend Mark and I (another Mark) are also starting from Lisbon on the 10th. See you there. Bon Camino.

Sounds good see you then.

 

[GlennJ]

let me note that I did Rabacal to Coimbra over two days

I was looking up information on breaking up the sector between Rabacal and Coimbra over 2 days when I came across your post.

May I know where you overnighted in your case? And which accommodation too? Many thanks!

 

[dougfitz]

I was looking up information on breaking up the sector between Rabacal and Coimbra over 2 days when I came across your post.

May I know where you overnighted in your case? And which accommodation too? Many thanks!

I walked to Conimbriga, and after spending some time at the Roman ruins, stayed at Albergue privado de Conimbriga.