Coimbra vs Fisterre

[MichaelC]

Some close friends will be spending the spring in Porto in 2024, and are interested in following the camino to Santiago.

I'd love to join them, but I think I would want (or need) more than ten days! I have the time to add a few more days of walking, and I'm wondering what folks think would be the better of there two:

1. Coimbra to Santiago. This would give me more time in Portugal (a strong plus), but Coimbra to Porto seems like it's the least attractive section of the Caminho Português.

2. Porto to Santiago to Fisterre. I haven't walked the Camino Fisterre yet, and I'm sure I would enjoy it. There's no real drawback, except that I'd like to have more time immersed in Portugal.

The ideal for me would be to start in Tomar and finish in Santiago, but it will be challenging taking that much vacation time.

 

[Former member 91017]

All I can say to this is that I loved my walk from Coimbra. Yes, it's a bit of a slog on the day into Porto which is a daisy chain of suburbs from Sao Jao do Madeira to Porto, but I found these villages from Coimbra up to be fascinating. I met so many elderly people happy to chat to me in French -- a shared language -- and to tell me how fortunate I was, how they envied my walk... I stayed in a lovely albergue at Agueda that had a marvelous breakfast, charming host, a small rooms rather than massive dorms... (half hotel, half albergue) lovely view...
I was treated with nothing but kindness and really had a fantastic time. I stayed at the Ibis in Coimbra and toured the old city a bit...
From Porto I turned inland due to poor weather and made my way up to Barcelos and then to Velenca and onward up to Santiago. I had planned on the coastal but I have zero, zero, zero regrets about going up the central route.
There are "easter eggs" everywhere.

 

[roving_rufus]

Yes probably the most beautiful section on Lisboa to Porto camino is from Tomar to Coimbra, but that doesn't mean there aren't gems between Coimbra and Porto. And if you are feeling like you want more time in Portugal then Coimbra may be the way to go. Coimbra to Porto also will have less pilgrims than after Porto and will give a different feel. I also really enjoyed Coimbra as a city. Plus if your friends are finishing in SdeC then it may feel odd continuing on without them, whereas looking forward to joining them in Porto after a few days caminoing may be kind of nice.
Alternatively, you could walk from Tomar to Coimbra and then take train to Porto

 

[lt56ny]

I too love love and love Portugal and the more time in Portugal the better. If I could get my wife to move I think Coimbra would be on the top of my list for places to live. Also if you decide to walk to the end of the world it is a really nice walk but I would recommend going to Muxia instead. Again a personal choice but I think the town is much nicer and the walk and views from the church is beautiful (as is the walk to the lighthouse in Finisterre. Muxia is right on the shoreline, and Finisterre is on the cliffs.) Muxia is a much mellower town. I just like the vibe there more.

 

[Camembert]

I should - if I were you- walk from Coimbra to Santiago. The longer you are with the Portuguese the better. But these are my two cents. I love Portugal

 

[Phil71]

Well, that's a tricky one. Like you I love Portugal and want to spend as much time there as possible. Coimbra and tomar were the highlights of that section for me, but I was not inspired by the route. Way too much tarmac. Given the choice (sorry portugal) I would choose fisterra or muxia for the extra days.

 

[gittiharre]

Some close friends will be spending the spring in Porto in 2024, and are interested in following the camino to Santiago.

I'd love to join them, but I think I would want (or need) more than ten days! I have the time to add a few more days of walking, and I'm wondering what folks think would be the better of there two:

1. Coimbra to Santiago. This would give me more time in Portugal (a strong plus), but Coimbra to Porto seems like it's the least attractive section of the Caminho Português.

2. Porto to Santiago to Fisterre. I haven't walked the Camino Fisterre yet, and I'm sure I would enjoy it. There's no real drawback, except that I'd like to have more time immersed in Portugal.

The ideal for me would be to start in Tomar and finish in Santiago, but it will be challenging taking that much vacation time.

Coimbra to Porto looks built up, with lots of road walking.
I plan to fly into Lisbon, on to Coimbra from airport 2 nights, then train to Porto and start walking.
I def recommend Fisterre/Muxia. It provides a lovely ending to your pilgrimage.

 

[tarredon]

Some close friends will be spending the spring in Porto in 2024, and are interested in following the camino to Santiago.

I'd love to join them, but I think I would want (or need) more than ten days! I have the time to add a few more days of walking, and I'm wondering what folks think would be the better of there two:

1. Coimbra to Santiago. This would give me more time in Portugal (a strong plus), but Coimbra to Porto seems like it's the least attractive section of the Caminho Português.

2. Porto to Santiago to Fisterre. I haven't walked the Camino Fisterre yet, and I'm sure I would enjoy it. There's no real drawback, except that I'd like to have more time immersed in Portugal.

The ideal for me would be to start in Tomar and finish in Santiago, but it will be challenging taking that much vacation time.

We walked the Camino Portugues starting and Lisbon up to Santiago and then on to Finisterre and Muxia. I would recommend a third choice. I would start in Golega, then walk through Tomar and Ansiao and Coimbra, ending in Agueda, then transport to Porto to meet your friends. That way you will get to spend more time in Portugal, as you said, well worth it, and see some of the more pleasant towns and villages there. We loved journeying through these parts of Portugal! Finisterre and Muxia are quite nice, but you can always tag them onto the end of a future Camino

 

[walkinglover]

Some close friends will be spending the spring in Porto in 2024, and are interested in following the camino to Santiago.

I'd love to join them, but I think I would want (or need) more than ten days! I have the time to add a few more days of walking, and I'm wondering what folks think would be the better of there two:

1. Coimbra to Santiago. This would give me more time in Portugal (a strong plus), but Coimbra to Porto seems like it's the least attractive section of the Caminho Português.

2. Porto to Santiago to Fisterre. I haven't walked the Camino Fisterre yet, and I'm sure I would enjoy it. There's no real drawback, except that I'd like to have more time immersed in Portugal.

The ideal for me would be to start in Tomar and finish in Santiago, but it will be challenging taking that much vacation time.

We walked from Lisbon to Santiago in '17. We really liked Tomar. We did not like Coimbra, but I've read that others have. We were very happy to cross that bridge into Spain.

 

[wisepilgrim]

How close are these friends? I ask because with the right kinds of friends the scenery won’t matter. And to be fair to Portugal, Coimbra to Porto is not so bad compared to many other major city approaches.

 

[adventurekq]

All I can say to this is that I loved my walk from Coimbra. Yes, it's a bit of a slog on the day into Porto which is a daisy chain of suburbs from Sao Jao do Madeira to Porto, but I found these villages from Coimbra up to be fascinating. I met so many elderly people happy to chat to me in French -- a shared language -- and to tell me how fortunate I was, how they envied my walk... I stayed in a lovely albergue at Agueda that had a marvelous breakfast, charming host, a small rooms rather than massive dorms... (hlaf hotel, half albergue) lovely view...
I was treated with nothing but kindness and really had a fantastic time. I stayed at the Ibis in Coimbra and toured the old city a bit...
From Porto I turned inland due to poor weather and made my way up to Barcelos and then to Velenca and onward up to Santiago. I had planned on the coastal but I have zero, zero, zero regrets about going up the central route.
There are "easter eggs" everywhere.

Yes there ARE easter eggs everywhere. Even if you're not searching for them. One can "trip" on them, and realize they are a Gift. I call them "angels along the way". Recently in the beginning of February, my husban
d and I moved from the US to Porto. Please know that here in Porto, we're still on the Caminho Portugues (even though we will not actually be official pilgrims again until October, when we walk from our apartment in Cedofeita to Santiago). We have met several "angels along the way". They are everywhere.

 

[MichaelC]

Thanks for all the feedback! Luckily I have two years, and a longer camino next year already set; I just need to know now how much vacation time to budget and save. One thing I hadn't thought of was just slowing down and walking shorter stages, and then going back and just being a normal tourist for a week.

All I can say to this is that I loved my walk from Coimbra. Yes, it's a bit of a slog on the day into Porto which is a daisy chain of suburbs from Sao Jao do Madeira to Porto, but I found these villages from Coimbra up to be fascinating.

OK, that's good to know! I got worried when gronze described some of the days on this stretch as fea and not inspiring.

Alternatively, you could walk from Tomar to Coimbra and then take train to Porto

We walked the Camino Portugues starting and Lisbon up to Santiago and then on to Finisterre and Muxia. I would recommend a third choice. I would start in Golega, then walk through Tomar and Ansiao and Coimbra, ending in Agueda, then transport to Porto to meet your friends.

I'm playing around with this idea. Thanks. In general I like to keep a camino "intact" and not skip sections, but it's not a hard philosophical position. I have no problems bussing through industrial areas.

Well, that's a tricky one. Like you I love Portugal and want to spend as much time there as possible. Coimbra and tomar were the highlights of that section for me, but I was not inspired by the route. Way too much tarmac. Given the choice (sorry portugal) I would choose fisterra or muxia for the extra days.

Yeah. I thought the Camino Francés had more tarmac than I cared for. On a long route I just accept what is on the route. On a shorter walk I think it would be more of a drag.

How close are these friends? I ask because with the right kinds of friends the scenery won’t matter. And to be fair to Portugal, Coimbra to Porto is not so bad compared to many other major city approaches.

They're doing a house exchange in Porto. The camino, for them, is just an add-on, a "hey while we're here ... " kind of thing. I wouldn't want to start them off on a walk through suburbs for their first camino - because I fully expect them to become addicted like the rest of us after they walk.