Fatima-Tomar

[GlennJ]

Hi, I plan to begin my first Camino from Fatima by walking to Tomar (about 30km) to join the Central route.

As it is a long walk for a first day, is there anyone who has broken it up over 2 days, and if so, where did you stay?

Secondly, is the Fatima-Tomar trail well-marked?

Any tips and advice for walking this sector would be most welcome. Thanks!

 

[JabbaPapa]

There is a great Albergue with a fantastic Hospitalero (and his lovely wife too) at Fungalvaz -- where there is also a very good restaurant.

The waymarkers are a bit patchy, but use mapy.cz (I mean download their app and the needed offline maps to your smartphone), and you'll be fine.

Mainly you can get a bit lost when you reach the aqueduct, but if so just follow the road until you reach the area where people visit it, and you're back on track -- I believe you can walk on top of it from that point, though with my knees and ankles I did not.

 

[GlennJ]

Mainly you can get a bit lost when you reach the aqueduct

I was under the (mistaken) impression once you reach the aqueduct, you should not be getting lost because the aqueduct leads to the city(?), since you can walk either under it (meaning, just follow it), or walk on top of it, and you will end up in the town.
Unless of course the aqueduct does NOT lead into town, in which case, one must know when to deviate from it … (?)

Thanks for your tip on using mapy.cz. I will look it up.

 

[GlennJ]

I’ve been looking up the Fatima-Tomar route a fair bit in preparation for my first Camino next April.

The plan was to start from Fatima. But since I’ve been hearing the way-marking to Tomar is patchy, and since it’s a long 30km walk (long for the very first day of my planned Camino!) with some uncertainty about breaking up the journey into 2 days since the possible known accommodation along the way do not seem to be online to receive reservations, I am inclined to take the bus instead to Tomar and begin the Camino from there right on the Central route.

Does anyone know off-hand if buses run regularly from Fatima to Tomar?

 

[jungleboy]

Does anyone know off-hand if buses run regularly from Fatima to Tomar?

Yes they do. I took one a few months ago.

 

[JabbaPapa]

The plan was to start from Fatima. But since I’ve been hearing the way-marking to Tomar is patchy, and since it’s a long 30km walk (long for the very first day of my planned Camino!) with some uncertainty about breaking up the journey into 2 days since the possible known accommodation along the way do not seem to be online to receive reservations, I am inclined to take the bus instead to Tomar and begin the Camino from there right on the Central route.

No please don't -- the walk out of Fátima is glorious, and there is ZERO need for a reservation at Fungalvaz, just call the day before if you're nervous. On the way to Fátima I was alone in the place ; on the way to Santiago a few days later, there were two other pilgrims.

And that restaurant really is very good !! It's worth staying in the village just for that -- and Top Tip : I didn't, but you should definitely ask for a doggy bag !!

The people of the village are lovely and very helpful.

 

[The Yukon]

No please don't -- the walk out of Fátima is glorious, and there is ZERO need for a reservation at Fungalvaz, just call the day before if you're nervous. On the way to Fátima I was alone in the place ; on the way to Santiago a few days later, there were two other pilgrims.

And that restaurant really is very good !! It's worth staying in the village just for that -- and Top Tip : I didn't, but you should definitely ask for a doggy bag !!

The people of the village are lovely and very helpful.

 

[The Yukon]

Yes, it was a glorious walk from Fatima through quaint Portuguese countryside a couple of Decembers ago. You’ll arrive in Tomar with a smile on your second day.
The 4 day Camino from Nazare on the coast to Tomar via Fatima is a delight in either direction. The Camino Ninja app worked well for me, but the mapy.cz would be more current.
Enjoy!

 

[dougfitz]

Unless of course the aqueduct does NOT lead into town, in which case, one must know when to deviate from it … (?)

The aquaduct ends at the Convento de Christo. I walked a short length of it from there back towards Fatima for a few km, and there was only one place where one could easily walk along the top. That was across the valley near Quinta da Silveira on the section that I walked. There seem to be other sections further from Tomar that I didn't get to, and I don't know whether it is possible to walk them.

While the aqueduct is never far from the roads and trails, they do not always follow the same exact line.

 

[GlennJ]

Yes, it was a glorious walk from Fatima through quaint Portuguese countryside a couple of Decembers ago. You’ll arrive in Tomar with a smile on your second day.
The 4 day Camino from Nazare on the coast to Tomar via Fatima is a delight in either direction. The Camino Ninja app worked well for me, but the mapy.cz would be more current.
Enjoy!

No please don't -- the walk out of Fátima is glorious, and there is ZERO need for a reservation at Fungalvaz, just call the day before if you're nervous. On the way to Fátima I was alone in the place ; on the way to Santiago a few days later, there were two other pilgrims.

And that restaurant really is very good !! It's worth staying in the village just for that -- and Top Tip : I didn't, but you should definitely ask for a doggy bag !!

Thank you JabbaPapa and The Yukon for your encouraging comments. I may well take up the challenge of walking from Fatima after all. However, I may just attempt the full 29-20km in one day since I am planning to make accom bookings for Tomar and beyond in advance (I prefer doing this for comfort so I can focus on the walk without worrying too much about the availability of a place to stay when I arrive). But stop at that acclaimed Fungalvaz restaurant I shall indeed seek to!

 

[Friend from Barquinha]

Does anyone know off-hand if buses run regularly from Fatima to Tomar?

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