Coastal and Central Routes: Suggested Itinerary with Short Days to Start

[Frankybaby66]

Hi all, I'm walking the coastal route from Porto in May. I will decide on the walk whether to cross onto the Central route. (I've seen mixed reviews for the Coastal route).
As I'm not as young as I was when I did SJean to Santiago in 2016, I was thinking of doing a couple of short days to break myself in gently. Any recommended stopovers? I was thinking of doing maybe 15 km days to start and then topping out at around 25km after that. I have no particular rush - I start walking on 6th May and have to be back in Porto for 21st May for return flight to the UK; if I have the time, I would like to take the Spiritial option at Pontaverdra. Any suggestions on an itinerary? (Although, ultimately my feet will decide! )
Thanks in advance

 

[Becky 59]

Following; I too would like to try the Porto route in smaller segments.

 

[jsalt]

My itinerary in 2018:

Matosinhos 11.5 kms, Fishtail Sea House (walking next to the river all morning)
Angeiras, 12.0 kms, Orbitur Bungalows
Póvoa de Varzim, 15.5, Sardines & Friends
Esposende, 20.0, Hostel 11
Viana do Castelo, 27.0, Hotel do Parque (you could spilt this day)
Vila P de Ancora, 20.0, Hostel d'Avenida
A Guarda, 16.0, Hotel Eli-Mar
Mougás, 19.0, Albergue Aguncheiro
Nigrán, 22.0, Pensión Venus
Vigo, 19.0, Hotel Oca Ipanema (there is now an albergue in Vigo)
Redondela, 16.0, Albergue A Conserveira
Pontevedra, 20.0, Hotel Rúas
Armenteira, 24.5, Albergue Armenteira
VN de Arousa, 21.5, Hotel Camping Arco Iris
Padron, (boat plus 4.0 kms), Albergue Rossol
Milladoiro, 18.0, Albergue Milladoiro (stopped here so we would have a short day into Santiago)
Santiago, 7.0, Hospederia San Martin

 

[kenwilltravel]

Combining our 2018 and 2019 itineraries to include the Spiritual Variant, here's a suggestion:
1. Porto to Matosinhos. 12.8 km
2. Matosinhos to Vila Chã. 16 km.
3. Vila Chã to Póvoa de Varzim. 19 km.
4. Póvoa de Varzim to Esposende. 19 km.
5. Esposende to Viana do Castelo. 19 km.
6. Viana do Castelo do Castelo to Praia de Âncora. 22 km.
7. Praia de Âncora to A Guarda. 20.6 km.
8. A Guarda to Villadesuso. 19 km.
9. Villadesuso to Baiona. 17.6 km.
10. Baiona to Nigrán. 9.3 km.
11. Nigrán to Vigo. 20.3 km.
12. Vigo to Arcade. 22 km.
13. Arcade to Pontevedra. 13.4 km.
14. Pontevedra to Combarro. 13.2 km.
15. Combarro to Armenteira. 12 km.
16. Armenteira to Ribadumia. 8.5 km.
17. Ribadumia to Vilanova de Arousa. 18 km.
18. Vilanova de Arousa to Padrón (mostly by boat, only a few km walking)
19. Padrón to O Milladoiro. 21.5 km.
20. O Milladoiro to Santiago de Compostela. 9.5 km.

 

[naplesdon]

My 2 cents about Jill's itinerary. When I walked this route it was during the super hot, middle of the summer.
I started my days very early in the morning and then I found several place where I could shorten the walk by catching a bus to my destination, there was a pizza shop some where south of Viana do Castelo which avoided a walk mostly through an area of suburban sprawl and into Pontevedra where I started the day in Baiona on a bus because it is largely urban for a long way after Baiona.

 

[BigT]

Does anyone have experience on these routes from early October to late November? If so, we would appreciate your comments.
We are in our 70s and would like to walk casually and do 12-15 I'm per day, as we are in no rush.
We plan to use baggage transport and stay in albergues, casas rurales, small hotels, as bunk beds are not in our pervue.
Thanks for your comments.

 

[BigT]

That's 12-15 kilometers per day.

 

[Ginny1]

Following…thanks

 

[HaveringRob]

We walked last November. The weather was perfect. Literally not a cloud in the sky most of the way. However, as there is no guarantee, that may be different. Two things if you are going the coastal route -- I took a lightweight umbrella (to work for rain or sun), I didn't use it all the time, but when I did, it was invaluable. There was very little shade. Second -- the spiritual variant is lovely. However, it is a little hard-going to Armenteira -- just quite a climb. You might break it up a little -- stay in Combarro rather than Pontevedra. And stock up on water, etc., in Combarro. We stayed at the monastery and it was a wonderful experience.

 

[bootscobler]

We walked last November. The weather was perfect. Literally not a cloud in the sky most of the way. However, as there is no guarantee, that may be different. Two things if you are going the coastal route -- I took a lightweight umbrella (to work for rain or sun), I didn't use it all the time, but when I did, it was invaluable. There was very little shade. Second -- the spiritual variant is lovely. However, it is a little hard-going to Armenteira -- just quite a climb. You might break it up a little -- stay in Combarro rather than Pontevedra. And stock up on water, etc., in Combarro. We stayed at the monastery and it was a wonderful experience.

How was it at the monastery. I am staying there end of May and I’m so excited.

 

[kestrel39]

We walked this route in October 2018 and had a wonderful experience. We had a few days of rain towards the end but generally lovely weather. We were going slow and took a taxi twice, due to some health issues. We did carry our packs. We booked lodging a day ahead some days, but just took our chances in larger towns.

Day 1 - From Porto central, walked to Matosinhos without packs & took the metro train back to lodging. (a "warm-up" day, and recovering from travel).
Day 2 - took train to Matosinhos, walked to Angeiras (Orbitur camping cabins)
Day 3 - Angeiras to Vila do Conde (air bnb)
Day 4 - Taxi to Rates to join central route, then walked to Barcelinhos (hotel)
Day 5 - walked to Carreira de Agra (Casa Fernanda)
Day 6 - walked to Ponte de Lima (municipal albergue)
Day 7 - Taxi to Rubaies, then walked to Pacos (Quinta Estrada Romano)
Day 8 - walked to Tui (hotel)
Day 9 - walked to O Porrino (Hotel Azul)
Day 10 - walked To Redondela (hotel)
Day 11 - walked to Arcade (hotel Duarte)
Day 12- walked to Pontevedra (rain) (apartment hotel)
Day 13 - walked to Caldas de Reis (rain) (casa rurale)
Day 14 - walked to Padron (Rain) (hotel)
Day 15 - walked to Milledoira (hotel)
Day 16 - to SDC

As you can see, that took us probably twice as long as many people. These were short days. But it was our camino and it was very meaningful for us.

 

[HaveringRob]

How was it at the monastery. I am staying there end of May and I’m so excited.

It was absolutely lovely. An experience for sure. Be sure to ask how to drop off the key when you leave.

 

[kenwilltravel]

the spiritual variant is lovely. However, it is a little hard-going to Armenteira -- just quite a climb. You might break it up a little -- stay in Combarro rather than Pontevedra. And stock up on water, etc., in Combarro. We stayed at the monastery and it was a wonderful experience.

I agree with HaveringRob here. Unless you're really fit, stopping at Combarro before climbing to Armenteira is worth considering. Combarro is a quaint little town with good restaurants so not a bad place to stay the night. And the monastery is a fabulous experience, particularly if you attend the Vespers service in the early evening. In my opinion, the Spiritual Variant is best savoured rather than rushed through.

 

[bootscobler]

It was absolutely lovely. An experience for sure. Be sure to ask how to drop off the key when you leave.

Would you know if I can send my pack to the monastery?

 

[kenwilltravel]

Would you know if I can send my pack to the monastery?

Absolutely. We did that in 2019 using Tuitrans. They service the Spiritual Variant as part of their coverage of the Portuguese Camino. Other baggage handlers might do so as well but I don't have personal knowledge of that.

 

[David Tallan]

Hi all, I'm walking the coastal route from Porto in May. I will decide on the walk whether to cross onto the Central route. (I've seen mixed reviews for the Coastal route).
As I'm not as young as I was when I did SJean to Santiago in 2016, I was thinking of doing a couple of short days to break myself in gently. Any recommended stopovers? I was thinking of doing maybe 15 km days to start and then topping out at around 25km after that. I have no particular rush - I start walking on 6th May and have to be back in Porto for 21st May for return flight to the UK; if I have the time, I would like to take the Spiritial option at Pontaverdra. Any suggestions on an itinerary? (Although, ultimately my feet will decide! )
Thanks in advance

Here's a slight variation on what I did. I walked from Porto to Santiago in 13 days, but my first days weren't particularly short and I didn't do the Spiritual Variant which would add on an extra day. Splitting my first day and adding in the Spiritual Variant takes it to 15, which is cutting it pretty tight. You can decide what you want to trim.
Day 1: Porto to Matosinho (11km)
Day 2: Matosinho to Vila Chã (15.8km)
Day 3: Vila Chã to Rates (Central) (19.1km)
Day 4: Rates to Barcelos (16.2km)
Day 5: Barcelos to Casa da Fernanda (21km)
Day 6: Casa da Fernanda to Ponte de Lima (11.6km)
Day 7: Ponte de Lima to Rubiães (17.8km)
Day 8: Rubiães to Tui (20.2km)
Day 9: Tui to O Porriño (16km)
Day 10: O Porriño to Redondela (15.7km)
Day 11: Redondela to Pontevedra (19.8km)
Day 12: Pontevedra to A Armenteira (20.6 km)
Day 13: A Armenteira to Vilanova de Arousa (24.5km)
Day 14: Vilanova de Arousa to Padron (boat ride)
Day 15: Padron to Santiago de Compostela (24.9km)

 

[G_NYC]

Does anyone have experience on these routes from early October to late November? If so, we would appreciate your comments.
We are in our 70s and would like to walk casually and do 12-15 I'm per day, as we are in no rush.
We plan to use baggage transport and stay in albergues, casas rurales, small hotels, as bunk beds are not in our pervue.
Thanks for your comments.

I do! I did the Coastal/Litoral route this past late-Oct through mid-Nov. Especially early on, I averaged about the same, 12-15km per day, partly to give my body time to adjust and partly because I had an online language lesson every weekday in the afternoon. I did not use a baggage service, but I did stay in private accommodation (all booked through Booking.com), not alburgues. I chose this route because I love the sea and the fact that it is very flat, which gave me a better chance of success. FWIW I'm in my late-50's.

 

[BigT]

I do! I did the Coastal/Litoral route this past late-Oct through mid-Nov. Especially early on, I averaged about the same, 12-15km per day, partly to give my body time to adjust and partly because I had an online language lesson every weekday in the afternoon. I did not use a baggage service, but I did stay in private accommodation (all booked through Booking.com), not alburgues. I chose this route because I love the sea and the fact that it is very flat, which gave me a better chance of success. FWIW I'm in my late-50's.

Thank you very much for your comments and insights, to you and everyone else that commented.
Our Camino in March 2020 was cut short, but we did complete Sarria-SDC. We were unable to camino our last legs on foot, SDC-Finistere-Muxia-SDC.
This time we plan to camino the Camino Portuguese from Porto.

 

[HaveringRob]

Thank you very much for your comments and insights, to you and everyone else that commented.
Our Camino in March 2020 was cut short, but we did complete Sarria-SDC. We were unable to camino our last legs on foot, SDC-Finistere-Muxia-SDC.
This time we plan to camino the Camino Portuguese from Porto.

it is a lovely walk. I hope you enjoy it.