They had a map for getting out of Porto, and a full list of albergues (hostels) along the way. The staff there were able to give all kinds of useful advice about the different routes. You can buy a pilgrim passport there if you need one, and get your first stamp in it, before heading to the tourist office directly opposite. The metro runs from the airport to São Bento, although you’ll need to change lines (or start walking) at Trindade.įrom São Bento, it’s a five-minute stroll to the cathedral. That said, Wi-fi is common in albergues, bars, and cafes along the Portuguese Camino. If you want a Portuguese SIM card to stay connected, there’s a Vodafone store in the arrivals area. If you’re coming from further afield, Porto’s international airport has direct flights from several European countries, and a few other destinations. Hint: this only applies to trains from Campanha rail station, not the metro stop that’s just outside. Assuming you booked a ticket to São Bento (which costs the same amount), you can use any suburban train from that station to go the one extra stop. In Porto, inter-city trains stop at Campanha station, which is a little east of the centre. Buses can be even cheaper, but take a bit longer and aren’t as comfortable. That was a particularly good deal, but tickets booked more than five days in advance rarely cost more than €20. I booked my train between Oriente and São Bento stations a couple of months in advance, for the princely sum of nine euros. Trains and buses run regularly between Portugal’s two largest cities, and they’re inexpensive. Since I was in Lisbon anyway, getting to my starting point in Porto couldn’t have been easier. This isn’t due to any language preference on my part, but just staying consistent with other posts on the site. Note, I’m using the Spanish spelling (camino) rather than the Portuguese one (caminho). This meant walking from Santiago to Muxia, on to Finisterre, then back “against the arrows” to Santiago. To throw in an extra twist, I turned the last section into a loop. I considered starting further south, somewhere like Coimbra or Águeda, but finally decided to return to the Galician coast I’d enjoyed so much the first time around. The most common routes only take 10-12 days from Porto to Santiago, so I had a bit of extra time. Ultimately I decided to see what all the fuss had been about the previous year, and chose the Portuguese Camino. They all sounded good, but none felt quite right for this hike. I toyed with walking parts of the Camino del Norte, the Via de la Plata, and others. That narrowed down the options a little, but there are still several different Camino routes just in Spain and Portugal. Knowing I’d be in Lisbon beforehand, picking somewhere on the Iberian peninsula made sense. This time I had about three weeks to devote to it. With a flight booked for a few days later, though, I just didn’t have enough time to squeeze it in. Skip forward a year, though, and it was a different story as I planned my next lengthy walk. Not just the three extra days to the coast that I did, but turning south and walking down to Porto. Towards the end of my time on the French way, many other walkers were talking about continuing on from Santiago. The desire to lace up my boots and hit the trail again is hard to resist. In idle moments since, my mind drifts back to those long days on the meseta or among the vineyards. I’d always enjoyed hiking, but it was only after a wonderful month on the Camino Frances that long-distance walking really became my thing. The full privacy & disclosure policy is here. Articles on this site contain affiliate links, meaning I may be compensated if you buy a product or service after clicking them.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |