Camino Portugués: Stage 2: Santarém to Coimbra

The Camino Portugués is a fantastic alternative to the well known Camino Frances, and is perfect if you want a route rich in culture as it passes through many historic villages, towns and historical cities. Much of the route follows the original Roman military road so you can expect some road walking but there are alternative routes which can be taken to avoid some of this and this is made up for by the vibrant interesting places you will pass by en-route.

Pilgrimages | For those looking to follow a path of self-discovery. Our Pilgrimage and Camino routes take you on a journey through diverse landscapes and local flavours, while meeting like-minded adventurers along the way.

Inn to Inn Walking | Walk from place-to-place changing accommodations each night. Generally staying in B&B’s, inns, and guesthouses.

Solo Travellers

The Camino Portugues is graded moderate overall and involves daily walks of between 12-33km. It is suited to regular walkers who enjoy long-distance walking. You will follow a mixture of farm/dirt tracks, woodland paths, minor roads (one-third of the route) and closer to the bigger towns and cities, some busier roads. It should also be noted that on the section out of Porto there is a busy road network but there are some alternatives to avoid this. Much of this route is flat, but there are a few days that are long and some sections on cobbled pavements which can be tough so a good level of fitness is recommended.

The accommodation is a mixture of small family-run hotels, guesthouses and larger hotels in the big cities. In both Santarém, Golega and Tomar you will stay in a charming 4-star hotel with a pool. In Alvaizere you will stay in a lovely family-run guest house, in Alvorge you will be staying in a family-run rural house with pool, in Condeixa you will be staying in a charming hotel with a pool and in Coimbra you will be staying in a 3 or 4-star hotel. All with private rooms and en-suite bathrooms and all offer a warm welcome to walkers, traditional hospitality and delicious local food. Please also note that we have added on an extra 2km onto day 5 as your accommodation that night will be a further 2km walk from Alvorge. We do recommend that you book this trip early as the area is always popular and the hotels and inns do fill up early.

Solo Walkers & Single Rooms

The Camino is available to solo walkers at a supplement. Single rooms are available although a single supplement is payable.

Meals

A local breakfast is included each morning which usually consists of a coffee and bread with jams. Lunch and dinner are not included as standard so you are free to choose from the available options.

Additional Nights

There is so much to see and do along the route that many of our clients choose to add extra nights along the walk either as a rest day or simply to do some extra sightseeing. If you are walking the whole route solo try not to add too many extra nights along the way as you will lose touch with those you have met.

Fewer Nights

It is possible to walk the Camino in less time but we would not recommend this.

The route is marked with yellow painted arrows but please take care at intersections where there may be a choice of several different alternative routes, particularly in the latter half of the route from Porto to Santiago. Navigation can become trickier when leaving the busier cities and towns such as Lisbon, Porto and Tui and you will need to pay close attention to your route notes for these sections. We also provide a guidebook and access to the Macs Adventure Smartphone App, which you can use to navigate. We strongly recommend using this App, or at least having it on your phone ready to use should you ever be in any doubt about your direction. There are usually other walkers around in case you are looking for help. A detailed information pack including route notes, local information and maps will be waiting for you at your first accommodation.

This trip is available to start on any day from the beginning of March to the end of October. Option & extension prices will be displayed as part of the booking process.

Time of Year

The weather on the Camino Portugues can be quite varied as it passes through several different regions. We recommend walking between March and October to get the best weather for walking. July and August can be extremely busy on the Camino and very hot (temperatures have reached up to 40 degrees) so we tend to recommend avoiding these months. As some of the route passes close to the coast, this can cool down the temperatures but it can also cause storms and high winds.

To reach Santarém you are best flying into Lisbon. There are several carriers from the UK and you can fly direct from London with TAP, BA and Easyjet.

To get to Lisbon from Santarém, simply take a bus with Rede Expressos, which takes around an hour.

On the return, you are best flying out of Porto. Again, this city is accessible directly from London and Manchester with Ryanair, Easyjet and TAP

To get to Porto from Coimbra, you can take a train with CP Rail which takes around an hour. 

Baggage transfers are included (max 18kg per person). Your main bag will be transferred each day between your overnight accommodation so that you only need to walk with a day pack. There is a supplement applicable for solo walkers on baggage transfers due to the fact that the transfer costs are usually shared.

At Macs Adventure, we work in partnership with many luggage transfer providers who set a limit on how many bags/suitcases they will transfer per person, and also the weight of the bag/suitcase.  Your booking includes transfer of 1 bag per person.  It is very important that you read the luggage information specific to your tour before departure. If you do not adhere to these limits, there is a great possibility that you will be charged locally both for extra bags or if they are too heavy. This limitation can be a challenge, especially as airlines generally have limits that are higher. However, our luggage providers have reasons for these limits (usually due to the Health and Safety of their employees), which we must respect.