For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here. (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation) |
---|
1. Are the albergues open during this time of the year? I know this is the least popular time.
2. Weather can be bad this time of the year. Anyone that have done it could tell me how was it weather wise?
I walked the Coastal + Variante Espiritual in Jan this year. Enjoyed it a lot! Will be walking in winter again if there is a chance! The route is popular, the infrastructure is good after Porto, the albergues are open, and even out of season there will be people on the way. Some of the places might be closed for the winter so if you see an open bar and you are hungry then take your opportunity. I posted about my walk here: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...r-those-who-consider-walking-in-winter.65099/ Make sure to take wanterproofs and also smth warm to chance into in the albergues as there heating might be tricky. Regular sleeping bag might be handy if you are staying in municipal albergues.I decided to do the Camino again and this time the Portuguese one going along the coast, starting at Porto.
1. Are the albergues open during this time of the year? I know this is the least popular time.
2. Weather can be bad this time of the year. Anyone that have done it could tell me how was it weather wise?
Thank you Jill!! I have a really good sleeping bag so that won’t be a problem!Yes, the albergues are open, and a few budget hotels as well, but don’t expect them all to be heated, so carry a warm sleeping bag.
Yes, the weather can be bad, so prepare for the worst and hope for the best. At the end of February one year, the rain and wind was hitting me, horizontally, at such force, with no respite forecast, that I took the bus from Esposende to Viana do Castelo, and continued on the central route where the weather was calmer.
Bom caminho!
Let me ask you, how did you decide between the Coastal and Central route? Do you recommend one over the other?
Thanks Surya! It is in my mind to do the spiritual as well, so I will read you post. And by the way, why did you choose the Coastal rather than the Central camino? I’m considering both, but I’m pending to the Coastal due to the landscape.I walked the Coastal + Variante Espiritual in Jan this year. Enjoyed it a lot! Will be walking in winter again if there is a chance! The route is popular, the infrastructure is good after Porto, the albergues are open, and even out of season there will be people on the way. Some of the places might be closed for the winter so if you see an open bar and you are hungry then take your opportunity. I posted about my walk here: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...r-those-who-consider-walking-in-winter.65099/ Make sure to take wanterproofs and also smth warm to chance into in the albergues as there heating might be tricky. Regular sleeping bag might be handy if you are staying in municipal albergues.
If you are planning to walk Espiritual, then there is a boat/last day walking situation to consder. I posted about it here: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...res-instead-of-boat-my-fav-day-in-pics.65113/ Bom Camino!
I'd already walked the Central from Porto as my first Camino, also walked between Lisbon and Porto on the Central and Portugues Interior from Viseu, so that time walking the Coastal seemed like a logical thingThanks Surya! It is in my mind to do the spiritual as well, so I will read you post. And by the way, why did you choose the Coastal rather than the Central camino? I’m considering both, but I’m pending to the Coastal due to the landscape.
That's interesting. I was hearing the exact opposite when I did the Camino Portugues in October 2018. The albergue filled up in Rates, at Casa da Fernanda (of course) and in Ponte de Lima, all before Rubiães. On the other hand we met a pilgrim in Redondela who joined from the coastal route and who said that she hadn't been sing other pilgrims until she joined the central. Maybe different years are different, or different times of year.If you want to meet other pilgrims, definitely do the coastal—I met five pilgrims at the albergue in Labruge the first night, and then no more till Rubiães on the central.
Hm, we had a totally different experience there last year. When we walked there in Jan 2019 all the albergues were open on the Espiritual, at least the municipal ones where we stayed, and they were of excellent quality. The one in Vilanova de Arousa was definitely year-around, it had a very dedicated elderly hospitaliero there, and it was the hottest on the whole Coastal way! In Armenteira we had to call for it to be open, there was a phone on the door of the albergue, the woman with the key came quickly.Met a Hungarian pilgrim in Padrón who did the coastal route plus the spiritual variant from Pontevedra. She said none of the albergues were open on the spiritual variant, so she stayed once at a hotel, and once she called the albergue and got them to open just for her. The boat for the last part does not operate until March, so she walked the whole thing—45 km today! Along the coastal Camino, she said some of the albergues were closed, so she always called ahead to find out where she could stay next. Her daily walk ranged from 22-45 km between open albergues. So the coastal route in winter is probably best for people who are prepared to walk long (and after dark, since the days are short).
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?