Greetings all. Hoping to get a couple of weeks to walk late October - perhaps into the first week of November. Really dislike the cold, and it seems like this would be a good option.
Anyone done this recently? How many people are likely to be on the trail? I used to love to walk alone, but my last two Caminos have shown me that, actually, I'm not the loner I used to think I was.
As to the trail, I've done a little research - for example, because of the time of the year it's better to walk south to north. And I'll buy some gaiters to deal with the sand.
Advice welcomed
We walked it in the spring of 2022 (if that's recent enough for you). We went north to south, starting on the Historical Way in Santiago do Cacem, then cutting over on day 3 to Porto Covo and continuing south from there to Cabo de S. Vicente and then east to Lagos.
Both the inland and coastal scenery are magnificent. Since we live in northern California, which has a stupendous coastline, I was a little apprehensive that the coastal walking would be a bit boring -- such as we found on the coast north of Porto -- but my fears were unwarranted. It's spectacular all the way.
I'm not sure why you're choosing to walk south to north, but whatever . . . I don't see that the weather will be a problem. Weatherspark is my favorite site for comprehensive weather information, and it shows that average daily highs in October in Porto Covo, at the northern end of the Fisherman's Trail, range from 76 / 24 in the beginning of the month to 69 / 21 at the end of the month. If that's too cold for you, maybe you want to walk from north to south so you have the sun in your face. But your choice. It's marked both ways, and you'll encounter (some) walkers both ways.
We did not see many walkers ourselves in the first two weeks of May. Occasionally, we'd pass or be passed by someone walking our way, and between 10:30 and 11:30 we'd generally intersect the "crowd" going the other way. By "crowd," I mean maybe 6 people total. I wouldn't expect late October to be much different, so this will not be an experience like the Frances or the Portuguese caminos. More like the Invierno, I'd imagine, although I haven't walked that. You will see some people at night in your lodgings, though.
In terms of day-to-day destinations, the stages are pretty much fixed, since there are few lodgings to be had between the towns along the route.
I see that you're from Germany, and I suspect that there's a good guidebook in German. The only English guidebook I know of, which we used, is the one issued by Cicerone. However, we mostly relied on the great "official" website, which has all the lodging information, maps, downloadable gpx and kml tracks, and pretty much everything you need. Here's the url, in English (it's also available in German):
Hiking or cycling through Portugal Southwest Coast. Explore the Fishermen's Trail, the Historical Way or the Circular Routes of Rota Vicentina.
rotavicentina.com
I did find it a little hard to navigate until I found the specific sub-parts for the Historical Way and the Fisherman's Trail. Here they are:
Considered one of the best coastal trails in the world, Fishermen's Trail offers 226.5 km to hike in the Southwest of Portugal.
rotavicentina.com
263 km to hike in Portugal, between Santiago do Cacém and Cape St. Vincent. Historical Way runs through a rural itinerary with several centuries of history.
rotavicentina.com
Happy to answer any other questions you have.
