Some questions about Camino Portuguese

[nadyap]

Hi Together with 5 friends we are planning to do Camino Portuguese at the beginning of June. I will be very grateful if someone can share some information and experience concerning the Camino Portuguese terrain, are there a lot of serious climbings? I will also highly appreciate if someone can give some info about the possibilities to travel between little towns or villages by train or by bus if for some reason such need appears.
Thank you very much!!!
Nadia

[johnfnewman]

I was just looking for some items online for this trail. I saw a book that was just on the Portuguese way (A pilgrim's guide to the Camino Portugue?s : the Portuguese Way of St. James : Porto to Santiago de Compostela : a practical and mystical manual for the modern day pilgrim [WorldCat.org]), and this is a little guide online:

Camino Portugues, Portuguese Way, Galicia | FollowTheCamino.com

Associa??o dos Amigos do Caminho Portugu?s de Santiago de Compostela

[sckchi@aol.com]

A friend and I walked the Camino Portuguese from Tui in late September 2010. The terrain was not difficult and mostly on blacktop roads or wide gravel paths. One day had some climbing up a rocky hill -- I believe we were on an old Roman road -- but essentially no problems. It was a great experience from start to finish.

[zenb]

I just completed the Portuguese way from Porto to Santiago. It was lovely, especially Portugal. The terrain is generally quite flat, with gentle slopes, with the exception of a few steep but short-lived climbs.

Under foot it goes between country tracks/paths and quiet country lanes, about 50/50. There's the occasional main road near cities. The roads are pretty, but quite hard on the legs and feet, so I advise comfy shoes/boots with decent cushioning.

In the smaller Portuguese towns you'll struggle to find buses in-between, but the stages are short and a taxi could be arranged if need be.

June is a good time to go, but I'm going to play the devil's advocate and ask if you really want to travel with 5 people? Obviously this is your trip, but you should be aware trekking with a group can be taxing if you each have a different natural pace. Something to think about.

Anyway if you have any questions about equipment or logistics, let me know whilst the information is still fresh in my head!

Ben

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Nadia,
I don't know whether you are planning to walk from Porto or from points further south, but in both cases the British Camino group, the confraternity of St. James, publishes two guides online to the Camino/Caminho Portugues. One covers Lisbon-Porto, the other Porto-Santiago. They are available for free on the confraternity website, though they do request a donation to help cover costs. And since the guides are put together by peregrinos, it's always nice to email updates and suggestions to the authors if you actually use the guides. You can find the list of what's available online here:

Pilgrim Guides on-line
Bom caminho to you, Laurie

[Teaccam]

3 of us are heading off next week to start from Tui. Can you tell us where you stopped each night please. Was weather mild ?

[sckchi@aol.com]

3 of us are heading off next week to start from Tui. Can you tell us where you stopped each night please. Was weather mild ?

Sure. We stayed in Arcade, Pontevedra, Caldas de Reis, Padron and then had a very long walk to Santiago -- it was also 90+ degrees that mid-September day, which didn't help. I'd recommend dividing the Padron-Santiago piece into two nights. That way you also walk into Santiago in the a.m.

Hope this helps!
 

[zenb]

I walked from Tui to Redondela (quite a long day to start with) so maybe walking to Mos would be better. From Mos/Redondela I went to Ponteverda, then to Caldas de Reis, then to Padron, and finally to Santiago.

I walked in August, the heat wasn't a problem for me, but I think It was between 30-37degrees most days. It will start to get milder now I suspect... but if you still feel it's too hot take a long lunch at midday.