Walking the Camino Portugues soon, any advice during Covid?

[Moomoo]

Hi all - I was going to walk the Camino Frances with my daughter at the end of this month but am now thinking the Portuguese may be better and it has been highly recommended (I did the Frances a couple of years ago with my son). Any advice from fellow travellers during these Covid times... are the Albergues open, are people walking it now, what are their experiences etc? We will be travelling from the UK. Many thanks in advance

 

[lt56ny]

Wait until there is a vaccine. It is safer for you and your daughter and the people of Portugal.

 

[naplesdon]

The British government recently pulled the rug out from beneath the feet of British tourists and holiday makers in France giving them 72 hours to return home or face 2 weeks of quarantining. Don't let this happen to you in Portugal or Spain!

 

[Mournes]

The British government recently pulled the rug out from beneath the feet of British tourists and holiday makers in France giving them 72 hours to return home or face 2 weeks of quarantining. Don't let this happen to you in Portugal or Spain!

It has already happened to Spain.On 26/7 the UK government moved Spain from the green list to the red list.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

The British government recently pulled the rug out from beneath the feet of British tourists and holiday makers in France giving them 72 hours to return home or face 2 weeks of quarantining. Don't let this happen to you in Portugal or Spain!

At 17:53 on 19th August 2020 Portugal is still on the "low risk" list but since UK policy changes faster than the weather . . . have you considered a pilgrimage in the UK?

British Pilgrimage Trust

 

[jungleboy]

Bom caminho Moomoo!

Where are you planning to start? Which route are you planning to take (coastal or central or other)?

This is a list of open albergues from Porto onwards (last updated Aug 17).

A few other forum members have walked the CP recently. @Lirsy reported that there were only a handful of pilgrims walking from Porto but more from Tui. @hummingbird started the coastal route a few days ago.

 

[RJM]

My advice is to postpone your Camino plans until next year, at least.

 

[wayfarer]

are the Albergues open, are people walking it now, what are their experiences etc? We will be travelling from the UK. Many thanks in advance

Could we just give the OP the advice they asked for rather than trying to discourage them from going, that is their decision to make.

 

[Deleted member 34316]

Could we just give the OP the advice they asked for rather than trying to discourage them from going, that is their decision to make.

Moomoo, those are Ramblings of the Grounded Pilgrims Society (GPS) as you may call the members of this distinguished forum (including me) lately ☺ So the advice may not be particularly useful at this time

 

[Walking Lover]

Hi all - I was going to walk the Camino Frances with my daughter at the end of this month but am now thinking the Portuguese may be better and it has been highly recommended (I did the Frances a couple of years ago with my son). Any advice from fellow travellers during these Covid times... are the Albergues open, are people walking it now, what are their experiences etc? We will be travelling from the UK. Many thanks in advance

There aren't nearly as many albergues on this route. If I were going to go during Covid-19, I would make all of my reservations in private hostels before leaving home.

 

[Deleted member 34316]

Surprise, surprise...

Portugal added to UK's safe travel list

So now the UK pilgrims don't even have to quarantine if they fly from Porto to the UK.
You can fly to Porto, walk to Santiago, take a bus back to Porto and fly home without restrictions. Edited: Sorry I was wrong. Even if you fly from UK to Portugal and back, but you made a side trip to Spain, you will need to quarantine.

But, you can still make a round trip in Portugal (see Camino Ninja post #15 below) : walk from Porto to Spanish border in Valença following the Central Way, and return from there walking back to Porto via Caminha and Viana do Castelo following the Coastal Way.

Many possibilities, but whatever you choose, do it quickly. The doomsday clock is ticking

 

[Tincatinker]

Oh, good. Now we can encourage people from a country with a moderate infection rate to travel to a country with a low infection rate, walk to a country with a high infection rate and then travel home again. No doubt the virus will be so confused it won’t even try biting your bum

 

[Kathar1na]

the UK Prime Minister just opened the "no quarantine" back door to the UK for the British vacationers in Spain.

Nope. All the energy in thinking up and typing those plans was in vain . From the UK government's website:

How to self-isolate when you travel to the UK​

[...] If you travel from an exempt country but have been in a country that is not exempt within the last 14 days, you will need to self-isolate for the remainder of the 14 days since you were last in a non-exempt country.​

That is the advice if you return to England. The UK government continues to say that you should follow separate advice if you need to self-isolate in:

• Scotland
• Wales
• Northern Ireland

 

[camino.ninja]

It's all good. Just did the Caminho Português da Costa (Senda Litoral) and Caminho Português Central. Both are good to walk. Only walked to the border due to Galician restrictions and restrictions on Spain.

Make sure you check for latest updates on open and closed albergues at Albergue de Peregrinos do Porto when you get to Porto.

Bom Caminho!
Andy

 

[malingerer]

Surprise, surprise...

Portugal added to UK's safe travel list

So now the UK pilgrims don't even have to quarantine if they fly from Porto to the UK.
You can fly to Porto, walk to Santiago, take a bus back to Porto and fly home without restrictions.

Or, if you don't feel like walking in Spain, you can for example make a round trip: walk from Porto to Spanish border in Valença following the Central Way, and return from there walking back to Porto via Caminha and Viana do Castelo following the Coastal Way.

Many possibilities, but whatever you choose, do it quickly. The doomsday clock is ticking

I question this as I recently checked with friends of mine who have residence in Spain. They tell me as Spain is not on safe list, by going to Porto first and then walking in Spain to Santiago and then going back to Porto means I would have to declare I had been in Spain when returning to UK with possible consequences. please double check for your own safety . Buen Camino.

Samarkand.

 

[Nick MJ]

I live in the U.K. and am planning to walk in Portugal next month up to the Spanish border. Looking at the route and booking.com, it strikes me that there is a lot of accommodation available in hotels and apartments for very reasonable prices. Unless you are set on staying exclusively in albergues I would have thought you would be fine.

I’m looking forward to going. Portugal is highly dependent on tourism and the Portuguese government Is advertising heavily in the U.K. for visitors to return. I appreciate forum members’ concerns about the Covid 19 virus but Covid is not the only threat to a country and the well-being of its citizens. Recession, unemployment and poverty caused by these lockdowns are also threats to health.

 

[Deleted member 34316]

Ninja spotted this Covid - friendly dance

Adapted for social distancing!

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[camino.ninja]

Ninja spotted this Covid - friendly dance

Adapted for social distancing!

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

During the lockdown in Santiago

 

[Way Wanderer]

I live in the U.K. and am planning to walk in Portugal next month up to the Spanish border. Looking at the route and booking.com, it strikes me that there is a lot of accommodation available in hotels and apartments for very reasonable prices. Unless you are set on staying exclusively in albergues I would have thought you would be fine.

I’m looking forward to going. Portugal is highly dependent on tourism and the Portuguese government Is advertising heavily in the U.K. for visitors to return. I appreciate forum members’ concerns about the Covid 19 virus but Covid is not the only threat to a country and the well-being of its citizens. Recession, unemployment and poverty caused by these lockdowns are also threats to health.

Couldn't agree with you more.

 

[peregrina2000]

This thread was from 2020. There are many posts with current information, so I will close this one to avoid confusion.