Camino Portuguese 2024
The Coastal Way

Day 1 Monday September 2^nd
Airport Express bus Vivian St to Wellington Airport
Fly Wellington (WLG) to Sydney (SYD), Boeing 737-800, 3hr 45mins
Qantas 0164, depart 3.50pm, arrive 5:35pm
Layover 2hr 35mins
Fly Sydney (SYD) to Dubai (DXB), Airbus Industrie A380-800, 14hr 20mins
Emirates 0417, depart Sydney 8.10pm, arrive 4.30am local time (Tuesday Sept 3^rd)
Layover 2hrs 55mins

Day 2 Tuesday September 3rd
Fly Dubai (DXB) to Lisbon (LIS), Boeing 777-300ER, 8hrs 10mins
Emirates 0191, depart Dubai 7.25am, arrive Lisbon 12.35pm local time
Shuttle from Humberto Delgado Airport Lisbon to Ramada by Wyndham Hotel by Talixo Services GmbH
Ramada by Wyndham Hotel Avenida Engenheiro Arantes E Oliveira 9, 1900 221, Lisbon
www.wyndamhotels.com/ramada/lisbon-portugal.com
 
Day 3 Wednesday September 4^th
Day in Lisbon
Ramada by Wyndham Hotel, Lisbon
 
Day 4 Thursday September 5^th
Day trip to Sintra.
Local train from Lisbon to Sintra
Visit Park and National Palace of Pena, The Moorish Castle, Quinta da Regaleira
Ramada by Wyndham Hotel, Lisbon

Day 5 Friday September 6^th
Day in Lisbon
Ramada by Wyndham Hotel, Lisbon

Day 6 Saturday September 7^th
Train Lisbon to Porto
Hotel Doura Porto (Breakfast)
www.hoteldoura.pt

Day 7 Sunday September 8th
Day in Porto
Hotel Doura Porto (Breakfast)
www.hoteldoura.pt

Day 8 Monday September 9^th
Day in Porto
Hotel Doura Porto (Breakfast)
www.hoteldoura.pt

Day 9 Tuesday September 10^th
Walk Porto to Matosinhos 11km
Tram Matosinhos back to Porto
Hotel: Doura Porto (Breakfast)
www.hoteldoura.pt

Day 10 Wednesday September 11^th
Tram Porto to Matosinhos
Walk Matosinhos to Povoa de Varzim 25km
Hotel: Costa Verde (Dinner & breakfast)
www.hotelcostaverde.pt

Day 11 Thursday September 12^th
Walk Povoa de Varzim to Esposende 22km
Hotel: Suave Mar (Dinner @ breakfast)
www.suavemar.com

Day12 Friday September 13^th
Walk Esposende to Viana do Castelo 24km
Hotel: Pension O Laranjeira (Dinner & breakfast)
www.olaranjeira.com

Day 13 Saturday September 14^th
Day in Viana do Castelo
Hotel: Pension O Larajeira (Dinner & breakfast)
www.olaranjeira.com

Day 14 Sunday September 15^th
Walk Viana do Castelo to Vila Praia de Ancora 19km
Hotel: Hotel Meira (Dinner & breakfast)
www.hotelmeira.com

Day 15 Monday September 16^th
Walk Vila Praia de Ancora to A Guarda 13km
Hotel: Vila Da Guarda (Dinner & breakfast)
www.hotelvilladaguarda.com

Day 16 Tuesday September 17^th
Walk A Guarda to Oia 12km
Hotel: Glasgow Hotel (Dinner & breakfast)
www.hglasgow.com

Day 17 Wednesday September 18^th
Walk Oia to Baino 18km
Hotel: Pension El Mosquito (Breakfast)
www.pensionelmosquito.com

Day 18 Thursday September 19^th
Day in Baino
Hotel: Pension El Mosquito (Breakfast)
www.pensionelmosquito.com

Day 19 Friday September 20^th
Walk Baino to Nigran 6km
Hotel: Vinotel 7 Uvas Nigran (Dinner & breakfast)
www.7uvas.es

Day 20 Saturday September 21^st
Walk Nigran to Vigo 20km
Hotel: Hotel Junquera Vigo (Breakfast)
www.hoteljunquera.com

Day 21 Sunday September 22^nd
Walk Vigo to Redondela 15km
Hotel: Rua do Medio (Breakfast)
www.ruadomedio.com

Day 22 Monday September 23^rd
Walk Redondela to Arcade 8km
Hotel: Hotel Restaurante Isape (Dinner & breakfast)
www.gbchostel.com

Day 23 Tuesday September 24^th
Walk Arcade to Pontevedra 12km
Hotel: Hotel Avenida (Breakfast)
www.hotelavenidapontevedra.com

Day 24 Wednesday September 25^th
Day in Pontevedra
Hotel: Hotel Avenida (Breakfast)
www.hotelavenidapontevedra.com

Day 25 Thursday September 26^th
Walk Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis 22km
Hotel: O Cruceiro Center (Dinner & breakfast)
www.hotelcruceiro.com

Day 26 Friday September 27^th
Walk Caldas de Reis to Padron 18km
Hotel: Hotel Rosalia (Dinner & breakfast)
www.hotelrosalia.es

Day 27 Saturday September 28^th
Walk Padron to Teo 12km
Hotel: Parada de Francos (Dinner & breakfast)
www.paradadefrancos.com

Day 28 Sunday September 29^th
Walk Teo to Santiago de Compostela 13km
Hotel: Alameda Rooms (Breakfast)
www.gescahotels.com/alameda-rooms-santiago/

Day 29 Monday September 30^th
Day trip to Finisterre with Camino Ways
Hotel: Alameda Rooms (Breakfast)
www.gescahotels.com/alameda-rooms-santiago/

Day 30 Tuesday October 1^st
Train Santiago de Compostela to Lisbon
Hotel: Ramada by Wyndham Hotel, Lisbon

Day 31 Wednesday October 2^nd
Shuttle from Ramada by Wyndham Hotel to Humberto Delgado Airport Lisbon by Talixo Services GmbH

Fly Lisbon (LIS) to Dubai (DXB), Boeing 777-300ER, 7hrs 50mins
Emirates 0194, depart 9.15pm, arrive 8.05am Thurs October 3^rd (local time)
Layover 2hr 10mins

Day 32 Thursday October 3^rd
Fly Dubai (DXB) to Sydney (SYD) Airbus Industrie A380-300, 13hrs 50mins
Emirates 0412 Depart 10.15am, arrive 6.05am Friday October 4^th
Layover 3hrs 30mins

Day 33 Friday October 4^th
Fly Sydney (SYD) to Wellington (WGN), Boeing 737-800, 3hrs 10mins
Emirates 5047 (Code share Qantas), depart 9.35am, arrive 3.45pm
Airport Express bus Wellington Airport to Vivian Street

On the road again.
Just can’t wait to get on the road again.

Last year while we were walking around the Isle of Portland section of the South West Coast Path, we met a lady from Nova Scotia, Canada who was also walking some of the path. As usual we compared notes on the different places we had walked. She had walked the Dingle and Kerry Peninsulas which we had done in 2017. In 2022 she walked the Camino Portugués and the way she talked of it piqued our interest.

After walking the Camino Frances in 2016 we always had in the back of our minds going back and repeating some of it as we had enjoyed it so much. We were aware of the Camino Portugués but had not looked at it in any detail. After talking with the lady from Nova Scotia we researched it a lot more and looked at dozens of You Tube videos.

It looked like an interesting and manageable walk. Fairly flat – much less climbing than the Camino Frances, Ireland or the South West Coast Path. If we started in Porto the distance of 270km was about right for us these days. The journey could be split up into walking day lengths of about 20km interspersed with “rest” days. We have never been to Portugal before and I like going to new places. Lisbon and Porto look like beautiful historic cities. The food and wine in Portugal are renowned. Also in contrast to the Camino Frances which was 100% inland, 70% of the Coastal Way follows the shoreline with lots of pristine beaches and opportunities for swimming.

So that was that, we decided to do it.

There are at least 14 Caminos that I am aware of, starting in different parts of France, Spain and Portugal but all ending in Santiago de Compostela Spain. Last year 442,073 pilgrims successfully completed a Camino route. 219,785 did the Camino Frances, 88,717 the Camino Portuguese Central, and 52,746 the Portuguese Coastal route.

The full Camino Portugués starts in the capital of Portugal, Lisbon, and finishes in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. It is about 640kms. We are walking from Portugal’s second largest city Porto to Santiago de Compostela, about 270kms.

The Camino Portugués, O Caminhos Portugueses, is a general heading with at least four alternate routes: the Central Way (Caminho Central), Coastal Way (Caminho da Costa), Seashore Path (Senda Litoral), and Spiritual Variant (Variante Espiritual).

In Portugal the main historical route is the Central Way, an inland route, and is the most popular and busiest. The Coastal Way follows the coast from Porto before joining the Central Way at Redondela and going on to Santiago de Compostela. The Senda Litoral and Spiritual Variant are variations of the Coastal Way. You can see the routes in the map above. The Coastal Way, while not the traditional route for purists, is becoming more popular and is promoted by Portuguese Tourism to get better wayfinding and infrastructure (accommodation, food, transport, medical facilities etc).

We are walking the Coastal Way from Porto to Santiago de Compostella by way of Matosinhos, Villa do Condo, Povoa de Varzim, Esposende, Viana do Castelo, Caminha, A Guarda, Oia, Baiona, Vigo, Redondela, Pontevedra, Caldas de Reis and Padron.

 

We are using a tour company, Caminoways, to book our accommodation and transport our bags eash day. We have  previously used Caminoways when we walked the Camino Frances in 2016, and the Dingle, Kerry and Beara Peninsulars in Ireland in 2017.  In those days you used to get paper maps but now they have an app for your phone which shows the exact route and you can follow your progress by way of your blue dot on the path. It is pretty much impossible to get lost if you are using the app. When we used Macs Adventures on the South West Coast Path they also had an app of the route and many times it saved us from taking a wrong turn and getting lost, or walking a lot of unnecessary kilometres.