Lisbon to Santiago

[glennb]

I'm flying into Lisbon in early April, and need to be back in Lisbon by May 5. So I have a full month. I'm a strong walker.

My question is, is it worthwhile to walk from Lisbon? Or would I be better off starting further North? I originally planned to take a train to SJPP and do the Frances, but now I'm starting to think maybe the Portugul version might be just as fun, so long as I can make it longer than the 2 week trip that it normally entails.

Also, thoughts about the weather?

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Glennb, welcome to the forum.

Oh, one of my favorite topics, the Camino from Lisbon. I'm a big fan, because it goes through some very nice parts of Portugal. But the pilgrim infrastructure lags a bit behind until Porto. You will either have to sleep in the Bombeiros Voluntarios (firefighters) or in private accommodations, which run in the 20-25 euro range.

For starters, you should go to the Confraternity of St. James website and download the two online guides, one Lisbon-Porto, and the other Porto-Santiago. http://www.csj.org.uk/guides-online.htm I just recently posted some updates on the Lisbon-Porto segment here: el-camino-portugues/topic13007.html (but they are all pegged to the pages in the online guide).

I walked from Lisbon in spring 2009, and loved it. I never met another pilgrim till Porto, though. Since I walked, some albergues have opened and the waymarking has improved exponentially.

April could be a beautiful month, or it could be a rainy month. Temperatures will be pretty agreeable, I think, but who knows about the rain.

Buen camino to you, Laurie

 

[glennb]

Thank you Laurie. I like to get off the beaten track, so maybe this is just the ticker.

I'd assumed that since everyone tended to start in Porto, the Lisbon/Porto leg must be something dreadful like walking along a highway. But that's not so, huh? Would you say that it's just as scenic in its own way as the walk over the Pyrenees?

But if the infrastructure on that leg is still lacking a bit, then in April it might be downright dicey, do you think? I like to get off the beaten track, but still want a roof over my head at night.

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

I walked Porto to SdC starting April 1st last year. It was perfect. No rain at all, although it can be part of the rainy season. I'm VERY old and VERY slow! It took me 16 happy days. None of the albergues I stayed in were full, though they got more so the closer I got to Santiago. I didn't meet another pilgrim for the first two days!
I got the camino habit, and will be walking Salamanca to Santiago starting May 1st this year.
There are some pictures and my diary available to download on my web site which may be of interest to you http://www.calig.co.uk/camino_de_santiago.htm
Buen camino! [or, in Portugal, I think Bom Caminho!]
Stephen

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, glennb,
I thnk the online guide has a lot of information relevant to your questions. Though the number of albergues is small (but growing very quickly), there is accommodation in pensoes and residenciales (their Portuguese names) for 20-25 euros a night. You may have to plan your stages more, but you can always find a place to sleep.

There is a lot of roadside walking, as the online guide describes, but it is very rarely on busy roads. In my experience, the few times the Caminho coincided with a national highway, the shoulders were wide and adequate for safety.

I know there are differences of opinion about Lisbon-Porto. I wouldn't even know how to compare it to the crossing of the Pyrenees. Here are my Lisbon to Porto pictures, so you can judge for yourself: https://picasaweb.google.com/laurie.rey ... Dxipep3Vo#

I walked in spring, and the weather was lovely, lots of flowering trees, sunny warm weather. I enjoyed the towns of Coimbra, Tomar (with its convent up on a hill overlooking the main square), the ruins at Rabacal and Conimbriga. The Via Lusitana (Portuguese friends group) is working hard to re-route the camino off road and has made sure that the arrows are easy to see. Since I wrote the guide, others report that the waymarking is much improved.

The numbers are slowing increasing, as the albergues open up. But I don't think you'll see too many others before Porto. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[scruffy1]

Hi Glen and greetings from Jerusalem

I am leaving Lisbon about a week ahead of you and am a slow inquisitive walker, I like to explore old churches, local museums, wineries, chapels, anything which might spark my interest along the way, flowers and birds intrigue me. I also enjoy deviations from the traditional Caminho and have a tendency to meander off on little side trips, Fatima for example, or Braga and Guimares. You have a very vigorous plan, I won’t be able to keep up with you walking but should we meet up some evening I would be very happy for a chinwag over some wine or dinner.
Bom Caminho - as to the weather, can't really do much about it, good rain gear and those elastic nylon leggings against muddy trousers will usually do the trick

Miki
PS We share similar tastes in hats