Map App for Portugues Central

[tdosser]

I am leaving at the end of May for the Portugues Central Camino. I was going to try and do it without downloading maps and/or getting an app but have decided I may need them. I am doing this solo and am a little bit nervous that I may get lost
Two Questions:
1) Is the Central Route well marked?
2) Any recommendations for an App that will help me navigate?
Thank you so very much.

 

[trecile]

The route is well marked, but I also use a Camino app that has GPS tracks of the route.

I recommend both Wise Pilgrim and Buen Camino apps.

In addition to the maps, both apps also have information about accommodations, and a bit of history and culture about the different towns and cities.

 

[lovelyshell]

Hi, I just finished the Portuguese Central and while it is well marked there were several times I needed to refer to Wise Pilgrim app for wayfinding. I downloaded the Portuguese version for $4.99 but I checked the free one while en route and it seemed to be the same. It was especially helpful for getting out of Porto and I liked that while I was walking I could refer to the app to see if there was a town with a cafe up ahead. Bom caminho!

 

[tdosser]

Hi, I just finished the Portuguese Central and while it is well marked there were several times I needed to refer to Wise Pilgrim app for wayfinding. I downloaded the Portuguese version for $4.99 but I checked the free one while en route and it seemed to be the same. It was especially helpful for getting out of Porto and I liked that while I was walking I could refer to the app to see if there was a town with a cafe up ahead. Bom caminho!

Thank you so much. Did you do the camino solo?

 

[lovelyshell]

Thank you so much. Did you do the camino solo?

I did the Camino solo but met lots of great people along the way. I walked most days alone and would then meet up with my Camino friends for dinner.

 

[lovelyshell]

Thank you so much. Did you do the camino solo?

I highly recommend prebooking Casa Fernanda in Lugar do Corgo and Ninho/Pilgrims Nest in Rubiaes. Both have communal pilgrim dinners which I never experienced on the Camino Frances and both were definitely a highlight of the Camino Portuguese. Also I recommend Albergue Bulwark in Valenca as the most comfortable bed I had on the CP. enjoy the walk from Porto to Tui, once you hit Tui it’s more crowded on the Camino as a lot of people start there. I also recommend taking a taxi out of Porto and starting in Vilar do
Pinheiro. The walk out of Porto is endless and very uninspiring way to start.

 

[dougfitz]

I have used a number of apps, more out of curiosity about what they offer than real necessity. Once out of the area close to the cathedrals in both Lisbon and Porto, the Central route is well marked, including where the route might split into different options.

When I walked to Fatima and then from Tomar to SDC in 2022, I used OSMAnd+, and used a browser to access Gronze and the Booking.com app when I needed to. The maps for Portugal and Spain from OSM have the the Camino routes already marked up as a map layer that can be enabled.

Gronze now has a map app for the Android OS using map box maps, but it doesn't seem to cover all the alternative or complementary paths. It gives basic accommodation information in the app, but needs a data connexion to access more complete information about each property. It has reasonable integration with Booking.com through the Gronze website.

I used Wisepilgrim as well this year. It has good coverage of most routes to SDC, but not to Fatima, which is why I didn't use it so much last year. It is probably the best all rounder of the several camino specific guide apps I have tried, and doesn't need a data connexion, but will use one if it is there. It has many useful features integrating it with what I think are the other must have apps - WhatsApp and Booking.com. It doesn't cover some of the complementary routes, but does have a more complete coverage than the other Camino specific guides I have tried. Only OSMAnd+ has more complete route coverage.

I did look at others, and there are some pretty solid apps out there. I found some more cumbersome to use, and others just focus on the Camino Frances at this stage of their development. Only you will be able to tell if the way an app works suits you.