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There are a ton of sites specific to the Portuguese camino. We also are going this spring. Decided end of April to avoid the summer heat and the tourist season. Also noticed the airfare skyrocketed from the US after mid May. We also learned the coast was no different to fly to Porto thru Madrid then flying to Madrid and taking the train to Porto.Hi all. Would appreciate help. Planning on a 2024 Porto to Santiago venture. I have walked the Camino Frances a few times and am totally ignorant about the Portuguese route. I am 77 years old and in pretty good shape and have used pack transit service in the past. Here are my questions:
1. If you have walked the Frances route, how do the grades compare?
2. Is there a backpack transit service available?
3. What time of year is best?
4. How are the Way markings?
5. How available are hostels / hotels? (usually stay in private rooms)
6. Is English widely spoken?
7. What city would I fly into?
Any other comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Robert
I walked that route last fall at 75 years of age. The weather was great and on only one day did I wear my GoreTek jacket.Hi all. Would appreciate help. Planning on a 2024 Porto to Santiago venture. I have walked the Camino Frances a few times and am totally ignorant about the Portuguese route. I am 77 years old and in pretty good shape and have used pack transit service in the past. Here are my questions:
1. If you have walked the Frances route, how do the grades compare?
2. Is there a backpack transit service available?
3. What time of year is best?
4. How are the Way markings?
5. How available are hostels / hotels? (usually stay in private rooms)
6. Is English widely spoken?
7. What city would I fly into?
Any other comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Robert
We only booked a few special places that far in advance. Most days we booked our luggage transfer and accommodation 1-2 days ahead. Accommodations were all fine to great and IMMACULATELY clean. They just don’t have the scary, dirty, infested, cheap motels we have in North America. Read the reviews from fellow pilgrims on booking.com. If they’re happy you’ll be happy. One note: many places do not have full time staff so you have to call when you get there so someone can let you in. Also, if you book on booking.com, hosts will likely only communicate with you through booking.com so check your messages.I walked that route last fall at 75 years of age. The weather was great and on only one day did I wear my GoreTek jacket.
There is not a lot of ascent and I found none of it especially challenging compared to some sections of the Frances.
I did not use a bag transfer service, but many people do. I’m sure there is information on this Forum that will help.
You can fly into Porto. I flew into Lisbon because I wanted to explore there for a couple of days prior to walking. There is good train/bus service between Porto and Lisbon.
I booked all my lodging ahead of time. There is a substantial supply of lodging options, but it takes a bit of planning. I booked places 3-4 months ahead. Planning that far ahead meant availability was good.
The route is well marked with yellow arrows and signs.
English is widely spoken especially by young people and in the larger towns. Less English in small places but I never encountered any difficulties with my limited Portuguese.
If I were to walk this route again I’d take a break/rest day in Barcelos.
Prior to Porto I had already walked from Coimbra so took a couple of break days in Porto. When leaving Porto I took the Metro out of the city as recommended in the Brierley guide. I expect there’s information about this on the Forum.
I hope this helps.
Which route are you planning, coastal or central?? I did the coastal in 2022, found the way markings lacking in some areas, you really had to look for the correct marking. English is widely spoken but not always, especially in the smaller towns, especially when checking into a hotel. There are some steep grades but not like the Frances route, I found walking on large rocks tricky in some areas; I thought the food was better than the Frances. Yes, fly in and out of Porto, it's also worth spending a few extra days there. Easy bus ride there from Santiago. Bom CaminoHi all. Would appreciate help. Planning on a 2024 Porto to Santiago venture. I have walked the Camino Frances a few times and am totally ignorant about the Portuguese route. I am 77 years old and in pretty good shape and have used pack transit service in the past. Here are my questions:
1. If you have walked the Frances route, how do the grades compare?
2. Is there a backpack transit service available?
3. What time of year is best?
4. How are the Way markings?
5. How available are hostels / hotels? (usually stay in private rooms)
6. Is English widely spoken?
7. What city would I fly into?
Any other comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Robert
There are a ton of sites specific to the Portuguese camino. We also are going this spring. Decided end of April to avoid the summer heat and the tourist season. Also noticed the airfare skyrocketed from the US after mid May. We also learned the coast was no different to fly to Porto thru Madrid then flying to Madrid and taking the train to Porto.
The most helpful guide has been the 2024 Beirley guide for the Portuguese route - purchased from this site from Ivar.
There are two routes the Coastal and central. Plus you can take the espiritual varient that veers off at Pontevedra heading west and eventually links back up near Padron.
Two of us are both over 65 (67 & 77) and are taking it slow - actually taking the train to Vigo and walking the coastal route and spiritual varient from there. Taking our time - walking 10–18km per day, having our bags transported and are staying in locales where we have private bathroom.
Throughout my planning, there seem to be lots of albergues if that is what you want as well as other types of lodging.
Buen camino!
Also planning late April CP. Depart Aus. April 22 to Lisbon, train Porto and April 27 start with 2 days along coast then Rates,SdC,Muxia/Finisterre & bus to SdC May 22. Our 3rd Camino, 1st CP. May cross paths with you.There are a ton of sites specific to the Portuguese camino. We also are going this spring. Decided end of April to avoid the summer heat and the tourist season. Also noticed the airfare skyrocketed from the US after mid May. We also learned the coast was no different to fly to Porto thru Madrid then flying to Madrid and taking the train to Porto.
The most helpful guide has been the 2024 Beirley guide for the Portuguese route - purchased from this site from Ivar.
There are two routes the Coastal and central. Plus you can take the espiritual varient that veers off at Pontevedra heading west and eventually links back up near Padron.
Two of us are both over 65 (67 & 77) and are taking it slow - actually taking the train to Vigo and walking the coastal route and spiritual varient from there. Taking our time - walking 10–18km per day, having our bags transported and are staying in locales where we have private bathroom.
Throughout my planning, there seem to be lots of albergues if that is what you want as well as other types of lodging.
Buen camino!
To elaborate a little:Peruse the Camino Portuguese section of the forum, and you will find that most of your questions have been answered.
But I'll go ahead and answer a few.
Yes, there are several luggage transport services.
English is widely spoken in the large cities, bit less so in small villages.
There are hotels, pensions, and albergues with private rooms. Gronze is a good source for this information.
I would buy a round trip ticket to Porto. No need to take a bus or train to your starting point, and it's easy to return to Porto from Santiago.
We will be in Porto Apr 25-28 - playing tourists. Then train to Vigo to start. Maybe we can get together for a meal! Staying near the San Bento train station.Also planning late April CP. Depart Aus. April 22 to Lisbon, train Porto and April 27 start with 2 days along coast then Rates,SdC,Muxia/Finisterre & bus to SdC May 22. Our 3rd Camino, 1st CP. May cross paths with you.
So looking forward to it! If we have an extra day to stay between the monastery and Santiago, where do you suggest?I am sure everyone has given similar answers to what I would so all I want to say is that it is imperative that you do the Spiritual Variant. The climb up to the monastery is a doozy, but it is soooo worth it. And they the hike back down is one of the most beautiful parts of any Camino I have ever done.
Yes! I stayed at Casa do Cruceiro the day before I walked into Santiago. It's a beautiful property and I highly recommend paying the extra for meals. The breakfast spread was the best I had seen but the real winner was dinner. I think it was 5 courses of the most delicious food. I felt like I was at a Michelin restaurant.So looking forward to it! If we have an extra day to stay between the monastery and Santiago, where do you suggest?
Great questions but no answers from me, but I'll be following this thread. I'm in the same boat and just starting to plan my May 2024 Camino Portuguese. I did CF route in 2022.Hi all. Would appreciate help. Planning on a 2024 Porto to Santiago venture. I have walked the Camino Frances a few times and am totally ignorant about the Portuguese route. I am 77 years old and in pretty good shape and have used pack transit service in the past. Here are my questions:
1. If you have walked the Frances route, how do the grades compare?
2. Is there a backpack transit service available?
3. What time of year is best?
4. How are the Way markings?
5. How available are hostels / hotels? (usually stay in private rooms)
6. Is English widely spoken?
7. What city would I fly into?
Any other comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Robert
We will be in Porto 2 nts 25-26 April, a 2 min walk from Sao Bento station. Will touch base by private conversation on the forum when we arrive in Lisbon.We will be in Porto Apr 25-28 - playing tourists. Then train to Vigo to start. Maybe we can get together for a meal! Staying near the San Bento train station.
And Casa da Fernanda is a perfect way to split the stage.Walked the Central way 2021 and really enjoyed it. My only recommendation would be to split the Barcelos to Ponte De Lima stage as this was very long and tough on a warm day. Also it meant that we arrived into Ponte De Lima late so we did not see much of it.
Planning to do exactly that.And Casa da Fernanda is a perfect way to split the stage.
This is excellent advice! This is what we ended up doing and I never felt like I was missing anything. Of course, we didn’t see EVERYTHING but I always got to wander the streets for a while in the afternoon, sit in a cafe and people watch, choose somewhere great for dinner. Ah, I miss it so much!Rather than taking whole rest days I'd choose to walk a few shorter distance days.
My recommendation for those planning something similar is to look for a train to Valença rather than a train to Valencia. The latter will leave you with a much greater distance to walk.We did the coastal route to Caminha, took a train to Valencia and then walked Central to Santiago
Sorry - yes that is what I meantMy recommendation for those planning something similar is to look for a train to Valença rather than a train to Valencia. The latter will leave you with a much greater distance to walk.
To be somewhat pedantic, I think that is describing the Senda Litoral route rather than the Coastal, which heads north out of the city before wending its way to the coast later (in the vicinity of Vila do Conde).Here's my one suggestion for the walk out of Porto. Start on the coastal. You basically walk to the river first and then follow it to the sea. I mean, coffee shops overlooking gorgeous coastlines. You can cross over to the central in numerous locations. I think Villa do Conde is a good place to cross over.
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