Portuguese Camino and Costa Verde walking holiday
Description of Portuguese Camino and Costa Verde walking holiday
The Portuguese Way long distance walking route is part of the world-famous network of paths known as the Camino de Santiago. The route designers of this trip have cherry-picked the best bit of the Camino for your enjoyment.
Walking a section of the Camino connects you with hundreds of thousands of other walkers, all on pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela.
This holiday features two days of walking on the Central Camino route. You’ll walk right up to within sniffing distance of Spain. You’ll then follow the River Minho down to the coast, where you’ll pick up a section of the coastal route along Portugal’s Costa Verde (Green Coast), back south, ending in the town of Viano de Castelo.
Walks each day range from between 12km and 23km, generally on well surfaced paths and roads. You can throw in a few boardwalks along the edges of sandy beaches, too.
On the way you’ll stay in a historic 18th-century quinta (country house) with an outdoor pool – the ideal place to put your feet up – as well as a range of comfortable hotels.
The landscape starts with countryside – including views of the dramatic Labruja Mountain – before becoming pretty and coastal. You’ll pass and meet local people working the fields alongside the trail – your trip notes will tell you how to say hello!
Local dishes are well worth a try. Here the wine isn’t just red or white, it can also be green – you should try vinho verde, a speciality here. This is young wine, best enjoyed with Portuguese dishes (though it can’t hurt to take some home with you, too). Other delicacies to try are custard doughnuts and, of course, seafood.
The route ends in Viana, with its grand basilica, monasteries and palaces looking out over the sea. Its famously fine filigree jewellery is a little harder to spot, but makes a much better souvenir.
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Planet
The trail follows sections of the inland pilgrim path, the Camino de Santiago, through verdant countryside and small villages. We then follow the River Minho to its mouth, mainly along a cycle and walking path through areas of natural beauty to reach the Atlantic Ocean in Caminha. From there, we follow more eco trails and boardwalks through forests, coastal villages and across sand dunes and protected natural areas.We take into consideration environmental issues when planning this route and designed it to have negligible harmful impact. To achieve this, we follow the guidelines laid out by the Portuguese Nature Conservation and Forestry Institute (ICNF), which protect and preserve the areas of natural beauty and environmental significance in which we operate.
We provide our self-guided clients with a full briefing and detailed instructions of their route, which includes a traveller’s code of conduct. This includes guidelines for avoiding damage to the landscape and advice on minimising waste. To help with this, we provide a refillable water bottle and make it clear that tap water is perfectly safe to drink.
Clients are able to use public transport to reach the starting town of Ponte de Lima and from the end point at Viana do Castelo and, other than using local taxis for luggage transfer services, there is no need for other transport on this programme.
People
We have always carefully designed our tours in a way that respects the way of life the local populations and provides clients with an intense and authentic experience. For example, the accommodation we use in Vila Nova da Cerveira is an 18th century manor house where the clients have the opportunity to enjoy a regional dish prepared by the owner.The route offers opportunities for clients to see and interact with villagers who are growing their crops along the Camino trail – we supply some handy phrases and tips for greeting people respectfully to make these encounters mutually beneficial.
The difference that clients will notice in the fishing boats used along the River Minho, compared to the coastal towns of Camina and Vila Praia de Âncora illustrates how communities have adapted their boats and practices to the different fishing conditions.
Viana do Castelo is home to filigree jewellery, notably in the shape of the Viana heart, and beautiful embroidery; these handmade crafts make wonderful gifts and souvenirs. Vila Nova de Cerveira hosts an Biennial International Arts Festival, which provides additional opportunities to explore the town and its culture.
We are a local company, based in this part of Northern Portugal, so we have developed deep, long-term relationships with our partners and providers and, of course, our favourite restaurants, which we recommend for each day.
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