Experienced CP pilgrims...how many days?

[LynneR]

Hello,
I am planning my walk on the CP. This will by my first time on this path, so I am looking for some input from those of you experienced pilgrims who have started in Porto on the coast and moved over to the central path. I am counting 14, but I see some different views on this forum. Just wondering if someone who has completed the coastal/central combo route can tell me what your experience was.

If I were to take this approach, how many walking days would I need? On the CF I walked anywhere from 20-30 km a day. I can handle those longer 30k days, but I do not want those extended walks every day. Why rush if I do not have to?

Also, if you know how many days the spiritual variant would add, that would be helpful too.

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[woody66]

Hi LynneR!
Posted reply this reply on the other thread INTRODUCTION !(before seeing this post)

Hi LynneR
Only you know on how far you are comfortable walking each day but from Pontevedra to Santiago on the CENTRAL the stages are approx and 3 days walking.
PONTEVEDRA~ CALDAS DE REIS 23 KM
CALDAS DE REIS~ PADRON 20KM
PADRON~ SANTIAGO 25KM
(You can obviously moderate these by splitting stages if your health limits your walking ability;adding extra days))
The Spiritual it's suggested that there are two walking days and then the boat to approx 4 km from Padron and then the walk to Santiago!!

PONTEVEDRA~ARMENTIERA 23 KM
ARMENTIERA ~ VILLA NOVA DE AROUSA 23KM
BOAT 28KM~ (+4km ) to Padron
PADRON~SANTIAGO 25KM
( if the boat leaves early mine; left at 8.20 am and your fit enough and want to head straight to Santiago from the boat it is doable and you wouldn't need extra days!)
Anyway here's my 5 cents worth;don'rush the VE it is the best bit of the Coastal!
(I stayed 2 nights Combarro,1 night Monastery in Armentiera and 2 nights in Villa nova de Arousa then 1 night in Padron.) because i didn't have time constraints!
Have a wonderful walk
BEUN CAMINO
Woody
(sorry LynneR forgot this bit from Porto to Santiago including the VE i walked on 16 days in total some short some long plus lots of rest days to explore (27 days in total).
Checkout GRONZE and Stingy Nomads websites for more info)

 

[Camembert]

Read back for a while on this forum. There is so much information and all questions you ask , will be answered in the forumthreads here. Reading back will valuable for you to be prepared for your caminho. You will find the different routes, maps, youtube vids , pictures etc etc.

 

[Lydia Le]

Like you, I prefer 20km/day. When budgeting time for the Camino, I am always generous to myself. I gave myself a month in 2017 to walk leisurely from Porto, and ended up with extra days to walk to Finisterra. Santiago is a wonderful city to spend a few days exploring the many churches, restaurants and shops. There is no such thing as a wasted day in Spain.

 

[jsalt]

how many walking days would I need?

We did the following (17 days) and were quite happy with it:

Place Kms Overnight
Porto 0.0 Passenger Hostel (B&B)
Matosinhos 11.5 Fishtail Sea House (B&B)
Angeiras 12.0 Orbitur Bungalows
Póvoa de Varzim 15.5 Sardines & Friends
Esposende 20.0 Hostel1 1(B&B)
Viana do Castelo 27.0 Hotel do Parque
Vila P de Ancora 20.0 Hostel d'Avenida
A Guarda 16.0 Hotel Eli-Mar (B&B)
Mougás 19.0 Albergue Aguncheiro
Nigrán 22.0 Pensión Venus
Vigo 19.0 Hotel Oca Ipanema
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 (by boat) 4.0 Albergue Rossol
Milladoiro 18.0 Albergue Milladoiro
Santiago 7.0 Hospederia San Martin

Bom caminho!

 

[bbanks1217]

In 2019, I walked the route from Porto to Santiago taking 12 days plus 2 rest days over 256 km. Here are the stages:

Porto, Matosinhos, Vila do Conde, Barcelos, Ponte de Lima (plus rest day), Rubiaes, Valenca, Porrino, Rendondela, Pontevedra (plus rest day), Caldas de Reis, Padron, Santiago de Compostela.

It's a beautiful walk, quieter than the Camino Frances, and a managable distance (I was 67 at the time).

 

[LynneR]

Read back for a while on this forum. There is so much information and all questions you ask , will be answered in the forumthreads here. Reading back will valuable for you to be prepared for your caminho. You will find the different routes, maps, youtube vids , pictures etc etc.

Hello,
Yes, I have started to sift through the posts. They're helpful, but sometimes it is easier and faster to throw out a specific question. I will definitely go back and look for more details after I get settled with my plane ticket! I know there is a wealth of knowledge in these posts.

 

[LynneR]

In 2019, I walked the route from Porto to Santiago taking 12 days plus 2 rest days over 256 km. Here are the stages:
View attachment 119663
Porto, Matosinhos, Vila do Conde, Barcelos, Ponte de Lima (plus rest day), Rubiaes, Valenca, Porrino, Rendondela, Pontevedra (plus rest day), Caldas de Reis, Padron, Santiago de Compostela.

It's a beautiful walk, quieter than the Camino Frances, and a managable distance (I was 67 at the time).

Thank you for posting this. This itinerary looks about what I had in mind. The walk from Porto to Vila do Conde looks a bit long for a first day and I see that you broke it into two days.
Thanks again. I am looking forward to it!

 

[LynneR]

We did the following (17 days) and were quite happy with it:

Place Kms Overnight
Porto 0.0 Passenger Hostel (B&B)
Matosinhos 11.5 Fishtail Sea House (B&B)
Angeiras 12.0 Orbitur Bungalows
Póvoa de Varzim 15.5 Sardines & Friends
Esposende 20.0 Hostel1 1(B&B)
Viana do Castelo 27.0 Hotel do Parque
Vila P de Ancora 20.0 Hostel d'Avenida
A Guarda 16.0 Hotel Eli-Mar (B&B)
Mougás 19.0 Albergue Aguncheiro
Nigrán 22.0 Pensión Venus
Vigo 19.0 Hotel Oca Ipanema
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 (by boat) 4.0 Albergue Rossol
Milladoiro 18.0 Albergue Milladoiro
Santiago 7.0 Hospederia San Martin

Bom caminho!

Hello.
Thank you for posting these details. It is very helpful. I love that you also posted where you stayed.
Thanks so much!

 

[Grousedoctor]

Our travels in Portugal and Spain have been similar to what other pilgrims on this thread have done. When we walked the Central Route, we took 12 days to do it. Although we didn’t take any rest days, there are any number of pleasant towns to enjoy and take a day off. From Porto to Vila do Conde is a long day. To cut this just a bit, and in part because we had already walked for miles around Porto, we bused up to Matosinhos and started from the market there. The other long day, following the Brierley Guide, is from Tui to Redondela. We split that in two and did an overnight in O Porriño which turned out to be a good decision. Because we also wanted to stay at Casa de Fernanda, we broke the Barcelos to Ponte de Lima in two. Consequently, we has several relatively short walking days. We head back to Porto in about six weeks. We’ll be walking the Coastal Route this time including the Variante Espiritual. We have 14 days planned to get to Santiago. Enjoy your planning and Bom Caminho!

 

[JWB]

I walked the CP in September 2021, starting along the coast, the central, again the coast and the Variante Esperitual and had the following schedule:

Start Porto (Matosinhos); stay at Mystay Matosinhos Centro
Porto (Matosinhos) - Vila do Condo; 21,8 km, stay at Prinsesa do Ave
Vila do Conde - Barcelos; 31 km, stay at Hostel “In Barcelos”
Barcelos - Vitorino dos Piaes; 20 km, stay at Casa Fernanda
Vitorino dos Piaes - Ponte de Lima; 14,7 km, stay at Graciosa Guest House
Ponte de Lima - Rubiaes; 18,6 km, stay at Parades de Coura
Rubiaes - Valencia; 16,9 km, stay at hotel Alojamento da Vila
Valencia - A Guerda; 31,4 km, stay at hotel Bruselas (walk along the river Minho)
A Guerda - Baiona; 30,6 km, stay at Estela do Mar
Baiona - Vigo; 26,6 km, stay at R4Hostel
Vigo - Redondela (detour Cesantes); 17,8 km, stay at hotel Antolin
Redondela (detour Cesantes) - Pontevedra; 16,5 km, stay at Casa Sara
Pontevedra - Barrantes (via Armenteira); 27,8 km, stay at Os Cantanos
Barrantes - Villanova de Arousa; 18,2 km, stay at Albergue A Salazon
Villanova de Arousa (early boat to Pontecesures) - Milladoiro; 19,7 km, stay at Albergue Milladoiro
Milladoiro - Santiago; 7 km, stay at Hostal Campo de Estrelas

Buen Camino!

 

[Former member 49149]

Hi. You are in for a treat! It took 12 days for us. We had two nights in Porto, and thoroughly enjoyed that day. next day we took the metro to the point mentioned in many places. Some people prefer to walk that 9km or so distance, but as we had our dates fixed, we knew it would work better to start a bit further out than right in the city. If I had to do it again - yes, I would walk out on the first day. we enjoyed the camino enormously. What did it entail? The experience of walking, meeting local people, other pilgrims, thoroughly enjoying the ups and downs of each day... being pilgrim. Define that whichever way talks to you!
this is not the place to argue at all, least of all about being pilgrim. I wish you the best of caminos. Make sure to have some kind of rain cover for you and your pack...
Returning to your question: we walked by the sea the first day and then moved from Vila do Conde or wherever to Rates, I think. We followed Brierley's map. I am not the most adventurous, but it was very manageable.

 

[JohnMcM]

@ LynneR
I see you have a number of replies already and have some good information to work with.

I won’t comment any further on stages etc, but would like to remind you of two factors about walking the CP some tend to overlook or are unaware of. Please, allow me to remind you of those two factors.

Stretches of CP walking involve walking on uneven cobbled surfaces which can be hard on your feet, ankles, lower legs and knees, depending of course on the individual and weight carried. Add to the cobbles hot weather and sweaty feet and you can see the increased danger of blisters. I learned the hard way as have many others before us.

I thought my foot care walking regime of boots and socks off for 15 minutes every 2hours or so would be ok. It wasn’t, I learned I had to stop more often.

Buen (happy feet) Camino

 

[LynneR]

Our travels in Portugal and Spain have been similar to what other pilgrims on this thread have done. When we walked the Central Route, we took 12 days to do it. Although we didn’t take any rest days, there are any number of pleasant towns to enjoy and take a day off. From Porto to Vila do Conde is a long day. To cut this just a bit, and in part because we had already walked for miles around Porto, we bused up to Matosinhos and started from the market there. The other long day, following the Brierley Guide, is from Tui to Redondela. We split that in two and did an overnight in O Porriño which turned out to be a good decision. Because we also wanted to stay at Casa de Fernanda, we broke the Barcelos to Ponte de Lima in two. Consequently, we has several relatively short walking days. We head back to Porto in about six weeks. We’ll be walking the Coastal Route this time including the Variante Espiritual. We have 14 days planned to get to Santiago. Enjoy your planning and Bom Caminho!

All of these details are helpful. I am considering your advice for where to stop and how to break up long days. I don't mind a few long days, but it all depends on how I feel at the time.
How is Casa de Fernanda? What town is it in? I've heard of it before, and since you mention it, I think it may be worth looking into!
Thanks again.
Lynne

 

[LynneR]

Hi. You are in for a treat! It took 12 days for us. We had two nights in Porto, and thoroughly enjoyed that day. next day we took the metro to the point mentioned in many places. Some people prefer to walk that 9km or so distance, but as we had our dates fixed, we knew it would work better to start a bit further out than right in the city. If I had to do it again - yes, I would walk out on the first day. we enjoyed the camino enormously. What did it entail? The experience of walking, meeting local people, other pilgrims, thoroughly enjoying the ups and downs of each day... being pilgrim. Define that whichever way talks to you!
this is not the place to argue at all, least of all about being pilgrim. I wish you the best of caminos. Make sure to have some kind of rain cover for you and your pack...
Returning to your question: we walked by the sea the first day and then moved from Vila do Conde or wherever to Rates, I think. We followed Brierley's map. I am not the most adventurous, but it was very manageable.

Thank you for responding. Did you find the walk from Vila do Conde to Rates to be difficult? I have heard it's a dangerous stretch. I wanted to do what you described, but now I am worried about a busy road. Also, you mentioned you wish you would have walked out the first day. Do you mean to Matosinhos?
Thanks again.
Lynne

 

[Former member 49149]

Thank you for responding. Did you find the walk from Vila do Conde to Rates to be difficult? I have heard it's a dangerous stretch. I wanted to do what you described, but now I am worried about a busy road. Also, you mentioned you wish you would have walked out the first day. Do you mean to Matosinhos?
Thanks again.
Lynne

Yes, I meant to Matasinhos.
What I recall of day 2 was the lovely surprise, very soon after heading onwards after the bridge, of finding a very small local fruit and veg market in the garden of a house on the left. We bought what would sustain us on the walk, and probably something for cooking in the albergue on arrival in Rates. More than likely, un tomato feo! Do not be deceived. Ugly tomatoes have such a wonderful, real flavour!
I cannot recall danger or difficulty. For that, you need someone with more accurate recall!
May it all go well.