Coastal Route - Camino Portuguese

This week's post bag brought 6 enquiries from pilgrims thinking about walking the coastal route from Oporto to Redondela - and then onwards to Santiago on the "usual" interior route. The route along the coast is very beautiful and I am committed to writing a guide to it. I hope to return for two or three separate weeks this spring and summer. In the meantime I'll publish here the notes I walked with. If anyone has further information particularly about accommodation and route finding I will post that too.

Overall Map of the route:

This map is published on the enormously helpful website http://www.caminador.es

Waymarking

The route is very well waymarked in places but it is patchy in others. On the map above you follow the green dotted line to A Guardia and then the red dotted line. As you can see you always keep the water on your left. If you scout around a little you can find the arrows. Remember there is very little actual walking on the sand which is difficult to do for any length of time - there is a waymarked path nearby! I will eventually provide detailed walking notes on how to find the start of the route each day...but when I walked I found the arrows although sometimes I had to look around a little!

Oporto – Vila do Conde  25 kms

Tourist Office -Vila do Conde

Tel: 252 248 473

http://www.cm-viladoconde.pt

E-mail: turismo@cm-viladoconde.pt

There are hotels and hostales at all prices – for a full list e mail the tourist office. There are two reasonably priced establishments by the harbour:

Pensão Patarata 3.ª

Cais das Lavandeiras,

18 * 4480-789

Vila do Conde

Tel 252 631 894

Hospedaria O Manco d'Areia

Praça da República,

84 * 4480-715

Vila do Conde

Tel 252 631 748

Fax. 252 631 748

Vila do Conde – Esposende  23 kms

Esposende – hostal as you cross the river and another by the old fort

Esposende – Viana do Costelo  22 kms

Viana do Costelo – lots of options including youth hostal

Viana do Costela – Camiña/ A Guarda 24 kms (28kms)

Camiña – albergue, hostals, tourist office with list or cross to A Guarda by ferry

Camiña/A Guarda – Oia  20 kms (16 kms)

Oia – casa rural in village and good hotel

Oia – Baiona  18 kms

Baiona – many options

Baoina – Vigo  22 kms

Vigo ( option 1 follow yellow arrows: modern route no probs but tedious walk in. Option 2 at outskirts of Vigo leave yellow to follow GREEN arrows to Freixo where you can stay in social centre. steep climb up......from Freixo better walk in but longer. Pass v interesting church. OJO! the green arrows tend to run out in Vigo and there are some confusing red ones as well. This is supposedly the original route. Once pass the church ask how to get to city centre.

Vigo – large town, many hostals

Vigo – Redondela  16 kms

Follow CSJ Guide - http://www.csj.org.uk/guides-online.htm

Redondela – Pontevedra 20 kms

Pontevedra -  Caldas de Rei 22 kms

Caldas de Rei – Padrón 17 kms

Padrón– Santiago de Compostela  24 kms