Porto to Santiago in 7 days?

[Liz Limerick]

Hi! My sister and I are arriving in Porto on Friday and hope to set off early Sunday morning. Our aim is to reach Santiago on Saturday and stay for the fiesta. We both run a lot ( half/ full marathons) so we are pretty fit. Is it possible to do the distance in this time or would you suggest taking a train/ bus to a more realistic starting point? Thanks a million.

 

[marbuck]

You would have to average nearly 35 km per day for 7 days, that's a big ask for anybody. Camino's are meant to be enjoyed, I think you should bus part of it.

 

[Liz Limerick]

You would have to average nearly 35 km per day for 7 days, that's a big ask for anybody. Camino's are meant to be enjoyed, I think you should bus part of it.

Thanks. Where would you suggest as a reasonable starting point

 

[BeatriceKarjalainen]

35 a day is no problem you just need to find suitable sleeping place. I have averaged 36 and 40 on my caminos and have enjoyed it. Just remember that running and walking activates different muscle groups so if you are not used to walking long distances you might get problems with the legs. So make sure to take a break here and there. I plan to average about 36 on my CP from Lisboa. Some days longer and some days shorter.

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

I get so frustrated with folk asking if they can average 35 or more kms a day.
Of course you can, if you train, and concentrate, and don't care about where you're walking.
But this isn't a race!
At 35 kms a day you won't have time to sit and admire the mountain passes, listen to the wind in the long grass or smell the wild roses.
But I guess it's whatever turns you on ......
Buen camino - fast or slow.

 

[whariwharangi]

Hi! My sister and I are arriving in Porto on Friday and hope to set off early Sunday morning. Our aim is to reach Santiago on Saturday and stay for the fiesta. We both run a lot ( half/ full marathons) so we are pretty fit. Is it possible to do the distance in this time or would you suggest taking a train/ bus to a more realistic starting point? Thanks a million.

I would suggest taking a train or bus to a more realistic starting point. I would further suggest that a good pace is about 20 km per day so find something 120 km from Santiago as a start point. Sure, you might be able walk 35 km a day (and you won't know till you try no matter how fit you think you are) ... but what would be the point?

 

[VascoH]

Hi! My sister and I are arriving in Porto on Friday and hope to set off early Sunday morning. Our aim is to reach Santiago on Saturday and stay for the fiesta. We both run a lot ( half/ full marathons) so we are pretty fit. Is it possible to do the distance in this time or would you suggest taking a train/ bus to a more realistic starting point? Thanks a million.

If you are fit and can do the distance that works out to an average of 34km per day. I'd go for it and if you find yourself running behind you can always get a bus or taxi from one location to another along the way. I've walked with a couple people on the Portuguese Camino who were walking average of 50km per day. One section that may be worth missing if you do have to get some transport would be Valenca/ Tui to wherever you next stop will be. There is plenty of road walking and through industrial area on that stretch.
Bon Camino

 

[Liz Limerick]

I get so frustrated with folk asking if they can average 35 or more kms a day.
Of course you can, if you train, and concentrate, and don't care about where you're walking.
But this isn't a race!
At 35 kms a day you won't have time to sit and admire the mountain passes, listen to the wind in the long grass or smell the wild roses.
But I guess it's whatever turns you on ......
Buen camino - fast or slow.

Thank you, and I did contemplate before posting as I knew there'd be responses like the ' sick of racing Camino' type. However, as busy mothers who have not had the opportunity to do something as adventurous as this since the children, you can appreciate why we are trying to squeeze in as much as we can in such a tiny window of time. Oh to have the luxury of whiling away days and plodding along but, trust me, we will cherish every sight, sound, smell and taste regardless.

 

[SabsP]

If you think you are able to do this Liz : go for it!! It is your Camino. I know alot of pilgrims who walk fast by nature, cover alot of kilometres and can smell the roses.

 

[christy wharton]

Hi! My sister and I are arriving in Porto on Friday and hope to set off early Sunday morning. Our aim is to reach Santiago on Saturday and stay for the fiesta. We both run a lot ( half/ full marathons) so we are pretty fit. Is it possible to do the distance in this time or would you suggest taking a train/ bus to a more realistic starting point? Thanks a million.

I have just completed that route. - Starting in Limerick-! I have never seen anyone running or really speed-walking on any of my Caminos! if you do you will see nothing and have no interaction with fellow pelegrinoes . It is 10 days walking at a reasonable pace and if the sun is hot -say after 12 this time of year- it will really suck your energy. There are many kilometres of cobblestones and some climbs to slow/tire you as well as the heat and the bagpack. Get some "salt" tablets for the heat to have with water. Get a train/bus to Ponte De Lima from Porto(a lovely city), that would make 7 days possible. Buses if needed are more frequent on the Spanish side and as you get nearer SDC. Do not make a race of it. Enjoy the peace. Buen Camino

 

[Felice]

I've not walked from Porto, but..... 35km a day is not that much to walk if you are fit and have all day to do it - ie book accommodation the night before. My only concern would be how you cope with the temperatures. Are you used to heat? I think last week it was in the mid 30s.

 

[Anamya]

You may spend a day in Porto then take the metro to Vila do Conde - that´s almost one entire stage gone (1 day). You may also consider taking a taxi to cross Porriño city.

Your Camino, your way! Take a look at Gronze website to get familiarized with the stages and then search for bus and train timetable. You'll be able to fit something in!

 

[BeatriceKarjalainen]

I have just completed that route. - Starting in Limerick-! I have never seen anyone running or really speed-walking on any of my Caminos! if you do you will see nothing and have no interaction with fellow pelegrinoes . It is 10 days walking at a reasonable pace and if the sun is hot -say after 12 this time of year- it will really suck your energy. There are many kilometres of cobblestones and some climbs to slow/tire you as well as the heat and the bagpack. Get some "salt" tablets for the heat to have with water. Get a train/bus to Ponte De Lima from Porto(a lovely city), that would make 7 days possible. Buses if needed are more frequent on the Spanish side and as you get nearer SDC. Do not make a race of it. Enjoy the peace. Buen Camino

Who says you have to speed walk to cover 35 km a day. That is about 8 h of walking in a slow pace (5 km/h when walking 4.3 in average with the stop) with about 1 h stop. Getting up at 06 and being on the camino at 06:30 means daylight and being at the destination at 14:30. That could impossible be considered as speed walking. Yes it will probably be a little bit hot but drinking water, a good hat will help and yes rehydration tablets are great, I always have water in a water bladder on my back and a bottle with a electrolyte/rehydration mixture. And there is still plenty of time in the afternoon to walk on if you want to stop for taking photos, visiting a church or a museum or just rest in the shade during noon. Nothing says that you have to be at the albergue/pension/hotel at latest at noon. But as I said in another thread, I might have missed some holy rule that every pilgrim should know about regarding speed, length of daily walk and length of stops ;-)

 

[Kiwi-family]

OOOOOH - I started a reply to this thread this morning and then the computer crashed and I lost it. However, I have just come on now and discovered it is still here, so maybe I will post it anyway - even though I've already said some of the same stuff in Beatrice's other thread that was borne out of this one.

Just as some people get tired of people asking if they can walk 35km, I have to tell myself not to get frustrated with people telling them they shouldn't! My husband and I just walked from Porto. We intentionally planned for it to be a slow camino, not walking too far or too fast. Many mornings we said good-bye to good friends believing we wouldn't see them again because they were going to walk farther than us. Many days we got to our destination, stopped and had a pastry and then just had to keep walking because we were not satisfied with 20km - for goodness' sake, it was not yet even noon and we had dawdled and talked with locals and taken photos and visited churches and stopped to watch the fish in the stream and compared bark on different trees and and and. We met those good friends every day and it became a camino joke about where we would actually stop each evening!
It IS possible *for some people* to walk 35km and savour the moments.
On the other hand, I have seen people for whom 20km was actually too big a strain and they would have done well to listen to their personal limitations.
I think it is important to discover what works for you.

I think it is fantastic that you are snatching your seven days! If it were me, I would definitely want to spend a day in Porto - and you are doing just that! The Gronze site has the stages from Porto to Santiago set at ten days at an average of 24km per day. You say you are fit and used to running marathons, so it may well be that you can manage the required average of 34km a day. Let's take a look at Gronze and see if it's doable accommodation-wise:

Sunday: Porto to Vairao - wonderful monastery with very welcoming hospitalera, Carla. If you wanted to do that, you might find my map helpful - https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zolBt8rIFn5s.kj881y0TfwRw From the spot where the route crosses the N306 the camino route (alternative, which is worth taking) is waymarked so it's dead easy. The section along the beach is simple too - all boardwalks. Getting from Porto to Matosinhos is also easy - just walk by the river. 33km if you go from the cathedral (you can cut off 10km by taking the bus or metro to Matosinhos and going from there)
Monday: Vairao to Barcelos 29.9km (now some people will say you absolutely must stay at Casa Ferndanda's if you walk the Portuguese and while I agree this was an absolutely memorable night, it will not be far enough for your purposes and so that is the opportunity cost and you will find other great nights! By the way, when we got to her place she was very surprised that we were there so early - we had had a very pleasant walk but we simply walk quite fast! It is OK to go fast or far!!!!!)
Tuesday: Barcelos to Ponte de Lima 34.5km
Wednesday: Ponte de Lima to Tui 36.5km (Alternatively, if you wanted, you could stop after just 31km at a place called Quinta Estrada Romana - it's an old farmhouse been renovated to multi-star status by a unique Canadian guy who will give you a most memorable camino stay - including cook dinner and wash your clothes and direct conversation)
If you've made it to Tui, this would be a great point to do a long day and end up in Arcade where there is the best ever albergue just opened a month or so ago. It would be a wonderful place to end a long day! And if you felt up to it, you could even cook your own dinner as the kitchen is fabulous! Of course, if you preferred there are plenty of restaurants too.
Thursday: Tui to Arcade 38.3 (still less than a marathon which you are used to!) If you only got to the Quinta you might stop at Redondela and need to go an extra 6.7km the next day - or you might manage it this day.
Friday: Arcade to Caldas de Reis 34km (although I have heard the albergue at Tivo, 1.9km back is very good so you might want to stop there)
Saturday: Caldas to Santiago 42.3km - a marathon!

So it would appear that it is doable if you are up for long days. Of course, if at any stage you find you are too tired or want an easier day for any reason, you can very easily get a bus or train or taxi. This route is very good for that.

 

[christy wharton]

marathons in ireland in are done in temps of about 17deg or even less, it is twice that in spain/portugal now. another thread mentions a lady collapsing from heat/exhaustion on a camino 2days ago.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Hi! My sister and I are arriving in Porto on Friday and hope to set off early Sunday morning. Our aim is to reach Santiago on Saturday and stay for the fiesta. We both run a lot ( half/ full marathons) so we are pretty fit. Is it possible to do the distance in this time or would you suggest taking a train/ bus to a more realistic starting point? Thanks a million.

Hi Liz, why do you want to do this in 7 day's. You suppose to enjoy yourself, it's not a race. Well it's your walk but I find it not normal to walk like this.

 

[amancio]

You might want to consider starting in Barcelos instead (beautiful town) and thus avoiding quite a bit of dangerous traffic and walking on cobblestones... That would give you some extra time.

 

[Liz Limerick]

If you think you are able to do this Liz : go for it!! It is your Camino. I know alot of pilgrims who walk fast by nature, cover alot of kilometres and can smell the roses.

Thanks a million, NualaOC . I'll take that

I have just completed that route. - Starting in Limerick-! I have never seen anyone running or really speed-walking on any of my Caminos! if you do you will see nothing and have no interaction with fellow pelegrinoes . It is 10 days walking at a reasonable pace and if the sun is hot -say after 12 this time of year- it will really suck your energy. There are many kilometres of cobblestones and some climbs to slow/tire you as well as the heat and the bagpack. Get some "salt" tablets for the heat to have with water. Get a train/bus to Ponte De Lima from Porto(a lovely city), that would make 7 days possible. Buses if needed are more frequent on the Spanish side and as you get nearer SDC. Do not make a race of it. Enjoy the peace. Buen Camino

Don't worry , Christy. We have No intention of running any of it!Haha. But thanks a million for some great tips. Think we will bus it to your suggested Ponte De Lima and take our time. We have every intention of enjoying the peace. Thanks for your helpful advice

 

[Liz Limerick]

OOOOOH - I started a reply to this thread this morning and then the computer crashed and I lost it. However, I have just come on now and discovered it is still here, so maybe I will post it anyway - even though I've already said some of the same stuff in Beatrice's other thread that was borne out of this one.

Just as some people get tired of people asking if they can walk 35km, I have to tell myself not to get frustrated with people telling them they shouldn't! My husband and I just walked from Porto. We intentionally planned for it to be a slow camino, not walking too far or too fast. Many mornings we said good-bye to good friends believing we wouldn't see them again because they were going to walk farther than us. Many days we got to our destination, stopped and had a pastry and then just had to keep walking because we were not satisfied with 20km - for goodness' sake, it was not yet even noon and we had dawdled and talked with locals and taken photos and visited churches and stopped to watch the fish in the stream and compared bark on different trees and and and. We met those good friends every day and it became a camino joke about where we would actually stop each evening!
It IS possible *for some people* to walk 35km and savour the moments.
On the other hand, I have seen people for whom 20km was actually too big a strain and they would have done well to listen to their personal limitations.
I think it is important to discover what works for you.

I think it is fantastic that you are snatching your seven days! If it were me, I would definitely want to spend a day in Porto - and you are doing just that! The Gronze site has the stages from Porto to Santiago set at ten days at an average of 24km per day. You say you are fit and used to running marathons, so it may well be that you can manage the required average of 34km a day. Let's take a look at Gronze and see if it's doable accommodation-wise:

Sunday: Porto to Vairao - wonderful monastery with very welcoming hospitalera, Carla. If you wanted to do that, you might find my map helpful - https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zolBt8rIFn5s.kj881y0TfwRw From the spot where the route crosses the N306 the camino route (alternative, which is worth taking) is waymarked so it's dead easy. The section along the beach is simple too - all boardwalks. Getting from Porto to Matosinhos is also easy - just walk by the river. 33km if you go from the cathedral (you can cut off 10km by taking the bus or metro to Matosinhos and going from there)
Monday: Vairao to Barcelos 29.9km (now some people will say you absolutely must stay at Casa Ferndanda's if you walk the Portuguese and while I agree this was an absolutely memorable night, it will not be far enough for your purposes and so that is the opportunity cost and you will find other great nights! By the way, when we got to her place she was very surprised that we were there so early - we had had a very pleasant walk but we simply walk quite fast! It is OK to go fast or far!!!!!)
Tuesday: Barcelos to Ponte de Lima 34.5km
Wednesday: Ponte de Lima to Tui 36.5km (Alternatively, if you wanted, you could stop after just 31km at a place called Quinta Estrada Romana - it's an old farmhouse been renovated to multi-star status by a unique Canadian guy who will give you a most memorable camino stay - including cook dinner and wash your clothes and direct conversation)
If you've made it to Tui, this would be a great point to do a long day and end up in Arcade where there is the best ever albergue just opened a month or so ago. It would be a wonderful place to end a long day! And if you felt up to it, you could even cook your own dinner as the kitchen is fabulous! Of course, if you preferred there are plenty of restaurants too.
Thursday: Tui to Arcade 38.3 (still less than a marathon which you are used to!) If you only got to the Quinta you might stop at Redondela and need to go an extra 6.7km the next day - or you might manage it this day.
Friday: Arcade to Caldas de Reis 34km (although I have heard the albergue at Tivo, 1.9km back is very good so you might want to stop there)
Saturday: Caldas to Santiago 42.3km - a marathon!

So it would appear that it is doable if you are up for long days. Of course, if at any stage you find you are too tired or want an easier day for any reason, you can very easily get a bus or train or taxi. This route is very good for that.

Rachel, you are a star! I'm going to print off this post and stick it in my rucksack and refer to it when we are chilling in Porto. Thank you for such detailed notes. Thank you, especially, for your vote of confidence and optimism. Most refreshing Now I'm getting really excited!

 

[Kiwi-family]

You're welcome Liz. Of course, just because something looks possible on paper, it does not mean it will work in reality! As others have pointed out, the temperature may be a problem or those distances repeated every day for a week might give you troubles, you might get blisters etc etc. I am sure you will listen to your bodies and take plenty of water and see what happens. I see no harm in considering whether something might be achievable - if it turns out you over-estimated your ability you can adjust your plans easily enough.
I wish you all the best and Bon caminho!

 

[Liz Limerick]

You're welcome Liz. Of course, just because something looks possible on paper, it does not mean it will work in reality! As others have pointed out, the temperature may be a problem or those distances repeated every day for a week might give you troubles, you might get blisters etc etc. I am sure you will listen to your bodies and take plenty of water and see what happens. I see no harm in considering whether something might be achievable - if it turns out you over-estimated your ability you can adjust your plans easily enough.
I wish you all the best and Bon caminho!

You're dead right, Rachael. We will play it by ear. Either way we'll get to our delightful destination in time for the celebrations. And sure, if we have to adapt our plans that's absolutely grand. Thanks again for your advice and good wishes

 

[Liz Limerick]

You might want to consider starting in Barcelos instead (beautiful town) and thus avoiding quite a bit of dangerous traffic and walking on cobblestones... That would give you some extra time.

Thank you. I'll look into it.

 

[Liz Limerick]

If you think you are able to do this Liz : go for it!! It is your Camino. I know alot of pilgrims who walk fast by nature, cover alot of kilometres and can smell the roses.

I'll keep you posted, Sabine. Buen Camino to you too!

 

[BeatriceKarjalainen]

marathons in ireland in are done in temps of about 17deg or even less, it is twice that in spain/portugal now. another thread mentions a lady collapsing from heat/exhaustion on a camino 2days ago.

And I did an average of 40 km on the hilly San Salvador and Primitivo last year some days in a really hot weather some of the days, wearing sandals (because foot ware in another religion here at the forum) and I didn't collapse. It's a matter of knowing your body, carrying enough water, remember to drink, use rehydration tablets if needed and start early or take a siesta in the middle of the day. The key is to be well informed, know how to behave in the heat. Remember that for some it is the same to walk 40 k in a day as it is for someone else to walk 20 k.

It is good to remind people that it is hotter in Spain/Portugal but hey give advice about what to do in the heat instead. Do we know why the lady collapse (have't seen the thread), had she a heart condition, forgot to drink, carried a heavy backpack, didn't wear a hat, had to little food in the morning, had she walked far? How used to long distance walk was she? Fit or overweight? There is a lot of factors to consider.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Hi! My sister and I are arriving in Porto on Friday and hope to set off early Sunday morning. Our aim is to reach Santiago on Saturday and stay for the fiesta. We both run a lot ( half/ full marathons) so we are pretty fit. Is it possible to do the distance in this time or would you suggest taking a train/ bus to a more realistic starting point? Thanks a million.

Where you start and how far you walk in a day, how fast etc are very personal. If you want the Compostela however please remember that you must complete the final 100kms into Santiago without using transport, so if you want to skip a section do so before the 100km point.
Buen Camino

 

[Elana]

Thanks. Where would you suggest as a reasonable starting point

Hi Liz, I'm hoping to begin my walk from Tui on the Spanish side, it's just over the boarder from Portugal. I've heard it's a good place to begin, check it out! and have a great journey.. all the best. Elana