Senda Litoral Details and Route

[WanderLustToo]

Hi All - I am planning to walk the CP - Senda Litoral route in May with 6 others starting in Porto. I am a researcher at heart so have been reading blogs, books, this forum, and anything else I can find. I have booked places to stay for the whole route, building in a rest day in Oía, Spain. We are women in our 60s and 70s, will have our luggage forward so booking ahead is required.

My question is about finding more details about the actual Senda Litoral route. I have downloaded a few apps, and recently bought the most recent Brierly CP book. The route seems to be presented piecemeal, where the coastal and central routes have much more complete information. Has anyone done the Senda Litoral and can you direct me to the most reliable and detailed information about walking the route? Thanks so much!

Buen Camino

 

[peregrina2000]

My question is about finding more details about the actual Senda Litoral route. I

Hi, @WanderLustToo, welcome to the forum.

The Senda Litoral and the Coastal route zig zag across each other and typically wind up in the same places for the end stage. Based on what forum members have said, you sleep in the same places as those who walk the Coastal, but split up again int he morning.

You can see a great map that shows the two routes (and many others in Portugal) here. The website is done by Luis Freixo, and although I don’t know him, I can say he is a real camino angel, because he has the most complete information on these routes that I have seen. If you poke around the website a bit, you’ll see there is a ton of information (all in Portuguese, but as you probably know, if you open it on google Chrome, it will be translated into English for you if you request it).

The photos that people have put on the forum do not show the entire route down to Porto, but the link I just gave you will show you the full map. Here’s a small part of it.

 

[WanderLustToo]

Hi, @WanderLustToo, welcome to the forum.

The Senda Litoral and the Coastal route zig zag across each other and typically wind up in the same places for the end stage. Based on what forum members have said, you sleep in the same places as those who walk the Coastal, but split up again int he morning.

You can see a great map that shows the two routes (and many others in Portugal) here. The website is done by Luis Freixo, and although I don’t know him, I can say he is a real camino angel, because he has the most complete information on these routes that I have seen. If you poke around the website a bit, you’ll see there is a ton of information (all in Portuguese, but as you probably know, if you open it on google Chrome, it will be translated into English for you if you request it).

The photos that people have put on the forum do not show the entire route down to Porto, but the link I just gave you will show you the full map. Here’s a small part of it.

View attachment 162503

Hi @peregrina2000 - thank you so much. This is the best map I have seen so far. I am happy to add this resource to my list.

 

[Leaderene]

I walked in it 2019 using the Brierly book and had no problems at all.

 

[ElCee]

We walked the Senda Litoral whenever it was available which really just meant when presented with an option we took the path that goes closest to the water. You join and leave the coastal many times but I didn't care which I was on. Honestly, I wasn't even aware which I was on half the time. I occasionally checked Wise Pilgrim app while walking but I found it wonderfully carefree. I don't like the distraction of constant navigation. I did miss a turn once and ended up on a dead end but it was not very far to back track, I pushed through some short over grown sections and walked maybe 100 meters total where the dunes had engulfed the boardwalk but with the ocean always on our left I was never worried about getting lost. The ocean breezes made it much cooler than inland and, at least for us, were not too strong.
I was just re-reading Brierley on the Senda Litoral and he says it's poorly marked and is very negative. (I must not have read that section before we left or I might have changed our plans!) We followed yellow shells and/or arrows the whole way. As I say, I wasn't checking a map constantly so maybe if you're following the Brierley map religiously rather than the markers there are some discrepancies? We switched to the Central between Vila da Conde and Viana do Castelo so maybe that's a problem area? I don't know but if you want a long walk with nothing but crashing waves, sand dunes and rocks this route is fabulous.

 

[diweezyfitz]

Hi All - I am planning to walk the CP - Senda Litoral route in May with 6 others starting in Porto. I am a researcher at heart so have been reading blogs, books, this forum, and anything else I can find. I have booked places to stay for the whole route, building in a rest day in Oía, Spain. We are women in our 60s and 70s, will have our luggage forward so booking ahead is required.

My question is about finding more details about the actual Senda Litoral route. I have downloaded a few apps, and recently bought the most recent Brierly CP book. The route seems to be presented piecemeal, where the coastal and central routes have much more complete information. Has anyone done the Senda Litoral and can you direct me to the most reliable and detailed information about walking the route? Thanks so much!

Buen Camino

Hi Wander! I am in the planning process too, and wish for more available information. Can you share where you will be staying along the way? We're not going until October so I'll be excited to hear about your experience!

 

[mustang2actual]

Hi, @WanderLustToo, welcome to the forum.

The Senda Litoral and the Coastal route zig zag across each other and typically wind up in the same places for the end stage. Based on what forum members have said, you sleep in the same places as those who walk the Coastal, but split up again int he morning.

You can see a great map that shows the two routes (and many others in Portugal) here. The website is done by Luis Freixo, and although I don’t know him, I can say he is a real camino angel, because he has the most complete information on these routes that I have seen. If you poke around the website a bit, you’ll see there is a ton of information (all in Portuguese, but as you probably know, if you open it on google Chrome, it will be translated into English for you if you request it).

The photos that people have put on the forum do not show the entire route down to Porto, but the link I just gave you will show you the full map. Here’s a small part of it.

View attachment 162503

That’s very helpful @peregrina2000 . I’m also in the planning stages for the Portuguese.

 

[WanderLustToo]

Hi Wander! I am in the planning process too, and wish for more available information. Can you share where you will be staying along the way? We're not going until October so I'll be excited to hear about your experience!

Hi diweezyfitz - here is our lodging itinerary. We did not want to stay in hostels or albergues for the most part so you will see that we have booked inns, guesthouses, and hotels. The one hostel we have booked is in Oia, Spain and it looks lovely. We have our own rooms and there is laundry there. We will have two to a room so lodging will run about $30 to $40 US per night. I included the tab I created for our luggage transfer with Pilbeo which has the address of each place we are staying. My mileage is very rough. One blogger said that the walk each day was always longer than they had bargained for - that made me feel better. We are doing shorter days than many because we are older and want to enjoy ourselves.

My one piece of advice is to book early. I booked all of these in December and some places had no beds at that time for May. I will give a report upon our return. Hope this is helpful.

CaminoDePortuguese - Accomodations

 

[Grousedoctor]

Hi diweezyfitz - here is our lodging itinerary. We did not want to stay in hostels or albergues for the most part so you will see that we have booked inns, guesthouses, and hotels. The one hostel we have booked is in Oia, Spain and it looks lovely. We have our own rooms and there is laundry there. We will have two to a room so lodging will run about $30 to $40 US per night. I included the tab I created for our luggage transfer with Pilbeo which has the address of each place we are staying. My mileage is very rough. One blogger said that the walk each day was always longer than they had bargained for - that made me feel better. We are doing shorter days than many because we are older and want to enjoy ourselves.

My one piece of advice is to book early. I booked all of these in December and some places had no beds at that time for May. I will give a report upon our return. Hope this is helpful.

CaminoDePortuguese - Accomodations

Although I’m not able to open your accommodations list, I’m wondering if you are staying at La Cala in Oia? Tonya has a lovely place! Although simple, it is well kept and she was a great host when we stayed there. Would stay there again any time. There are a number of excellent guesthouse-types along this route that we found and enjoyed, but as you suggested above, book early particularly in the busy months.

 

[trecile]

Hi diweezyfitz - here is our lodging itinerary.

You need to change the permissions so that anyone with the link can view the spreadsheet.

 

[laurenligreci]

Hi diweezyfitz - here is our lodging itinerary. We did not want to stay in hostels or albergues for the most part so you will see that we have booked inns, guesthouses, and hotels. The one hostel we have booked is in Oia, Spain and it looks lovely. We have our own rooms and there is laundry there. We will have two to a room so lodging will run about $30 to $40 US per night. I included the tab I created for our luggage transfer with Pilbeo which has the address of each place we are staying. My mileage is very rough. One blogger said that the walk each day was always longer than they had bargained for - that made me feel better. We are doing shorter days than many because we are older and want to enjoy ourselves.

My one piece of advice is to book early. I booked all of these in December and some places had no beds at that time for May. I will give a report upon our return. Hope this is helpful.

CaminoDePortuguese - Accomodations

I must be doing something REALLY wrong because I am doing this route and I’m finding it very expensive for accommodations. I am eager to see your list, and I wonder if I am searching booking.com wrong. I got nervous and panic booked places for every night but I can cancel all, so that I will do if I find other accommodations. Thx.

 

[WanderLustToo]

Sorry - I changed the permissions and the link should work now. Let me know if you have questions.

Portuguese accomodations

 

[temiatwork]

Also doing this in July 2024 hugging the coast as much as possible.

Day 1 - Se Cathedral, Porto – Via do Conde 33 km
Day 2 - Via do Conde - Marinhas, 27km
Day 3 - Marinhas – Carreço, 25 km
Day 4 - Carreço – A Guarda, 23 km
Day 5 - A Guarda – Baiona, 29,5 km
Day 6 - Baiona – Vigo, 25 km
Day 7 - Vigo – Pontevedra 32km
Day 8 - Pontevedra - Padrón 37km
Day 9 - Padrón – SdC, 25 km

Bon caminho