Travel from Lisbon to Sarria over Easter weekend?

[Kaleroo]

Hi! I'm trying to figure out how to get to my start point (Sarria? O Cebreiro?) for March 29th, travelling from Lisbon over the Easter weekend (Sat March 26 - Mon March 28). What will busses and trains be like over that weekend? Do they run on holidays? How long will that whole journey take? I can break it up - maybe first go to Porto on one travel day. Then how to get from Porto to Sarria? My mind is swimming and I can't quite figure it out yet. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Also, I have 10 days to walk from my start point to Santiago. I know that Sarria is a popular start point for the shorter Camino walks. But I'd like to be walking for 9 or 10 days rather than 7. Thoughts?

Thank you!
Kathleen

 

[NualaOC]

Hi Kathleen, I haven't done this journey but I think it could be a bit complicated. Rome2Rio is a good website for planning journeys and exploring the options. Here's a link: http://www.rome2rio.com/s/Lisbon/Sarria

Doing this by bus and train could take a long time, depending on how the schedules work out. You could also consider flying from Lisbon to Madrid or another Spanish airport and see if this simplifies your route planning. There's a night train from Madrid that leaves Chamartin at around 10.30pm and stops in both Ponferrada and Sarria. You mightn't get much sleep on the train (I didn't last year!), but it's a very efficient way of travelling to the Camino following an afternoon flight to Madrid.

Or, as I suggested in your other thread - if your heart isn't set on the Camino Frances, you could walk the Portuguese from Porto (which is an easy train ride from Lisbon),

Enjoy the planning and Buen Camino!

 

[purplesage]

Hi again Kathleen, Its me again... you're mind is swimming is G R E A T !!! I used the analogy of "a catepillar turning to a butterfly". There are easyjet flights to Madrid (the closest you can get) going quite cheap http://www.easyjet.com/EN/Booking.mvc

You can take a bus from Madrid and reach O Cebriero or even Sarria... though O Cebreiro would be a better choice (IMHO). You don't want to miss it for the world (its fantastic...) and there's a small church where a miracle happened a few hundred years ago. The municipal albergue is very good.... clean and lots of heating... for 6 euros a bed... that's a gift !!! You'd be happy you started from O Cebriero. Its 2 days to Sarria.. if you stop in Samos for a night... again something really worth it. Happy planning and Buen Camino Caesar

 

[mariposa627]

Hi! I'm trying to figure out how to get to my start point (Sarria? O Cebreiro?) for March 29th, travelling from Lisbon over the Easter weekend (Sat March 26 - Mon March 28). What will busses and trains be like over that weekend? Do they run on holidays? How long will that whole journey take? I can break it up - maybe first go to Porto on one travel day. Then how to get from Porto to Sarria? My mind is swimming and I can't quite figure it out yet. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Also, I have 10 days to walk from my start point to Santiago. I know that Sarria is a popular start point for the shorter Camino walks. But I'd like to be walking for 9 or 10 days rather than 7. Thoughts?

Thank you!
Kathleen

Hello! My husband and I enjoyed a few days in Portugal before our walk but we walked from Valenca, Portugal to Santiago, along the Portuguese way. You can get a bus to Valenca from Porto, it is a wonderful walk if you are interested. Signage is good, people friendly and there, of course, is a guidebook. I do not know about that time of year though. We walked at end of June/beginning of July.
Buen Camino! Michele

 

[whariwharangi]

4 Stages:

Stage 1

CP train from Lisboa Oriente to Porto Campanha;

or, Rede Expressos bus from Lisboa Sete Rios to Porto. Note there is no central bus station in Oporto. Connect to airport or Campanha station via tram.

Stage 2

CP (see Renfe site) train from Oporto Campanha to Vigo Guixar;

or, Autna bus from Porto Airport to Vigo bus station.

Stage 3

Renfe train from Vigo Guixar to Monforte de Lemos;

or, ALSA bus from Vigo to Monforte de Lemos;

or, Monbus bus Vigo to Santiago, Empresa Freire from Santiago to Lugo, and Monbus from Lugo to Sarria.

Stage 4

Monbus bus from Monforte de Lemos to Sarria;

or, Renfe train from Monforte de Lemos to Sarria. (if you try Renfe website from Vigo to Sarria you won't get results)

Its too early to find schedules for late March. Easter Monday is not a holiday in Spain.

 

[Castilian]

The easiest way would be:

1. Bus from Porto (or from Lisbon) to Santiago de Compostela (It runs daily) with www.alsa.es/en
2. Bus from Santiago de Compostela to Sarria (it runs from Mondays to Fridays; probably except public holidays) with www.monbus.es

The time between buses in Santiago de Compostela would be short (15 minutes) and, as the bus from Santiago de Compostela to Sarria doesn't run on weekends, that route will only work if you take the bus on Monday March 28.

If the schedule of the bus from Santiago de Compostela to Sarria doesn't suit you, there are alternatives changing buses in Lugo (www.empresafreire.com from Santiago de Compostela to Lugo) and www.monbus.es from Lugo to Sarria.

From Santiago de Compostela, there are also daily buses to Pedrafita do Cebreiro with Alsa (it's spelled as Piedrafita do Cebreiro on the web of Alsa). Pedrafita do Cebreiro is just roughly 4 or 5 kms away from O Cebreiro (you could take a taxi); a possible starting point of your walk.

 

[Kaleroo]

Thanks so much for all these suggestions! Sounds like a bit of a haul getting to my start point, but I do have three days to get there so I could take it easy and just enjoy each leg as it comes…getting into the Camino spirit!