< Day# 2 Coastal – Vila do Conde to Marinhas

Caution – Always best to take one route. If you decide to change a hiking route from coastal to interior or vice versa then take a taxi or a bus. Don’t expose yourself to walking on a highway road without boundary protection. In Portugal & Spain use caution when walking on a road or crossing a road. Some roads in Portugal do not have pilgrim hiking trails. Use caution & be alert.

Coastal route :

O Porto – Vila do Conde

Distance – 36 kms Difficulty 6/10 or Subway 3 kms Difficulty 1/10

Today we start ( Map – red trail ) at the O Porto historic district and follow the path of Rio Douro that leads to the ocean front. At least 13 kms are industrial. There is an albergue at Labruge where most peregrinos seem to arrive. A little further the trail leaves the coast for a short while at Vila Cha and reaches Vila do Conde. Vila do Conde is the other village that peregrinos reach the first day. It is about 36 kms away.

Today there is an alternative. You can save 2 full hiking days. Skip the industrial portion of O’Porto. Take the metro subway at Metro Trinidade, linha Rubi (Red – line A). One of the last stops on the way is Vila do Conde and the final stop is Povoa do Varzim. Distances are all approximate. Metro O Porto resources : www.metrodoporto.pt

You can now either stay at either of these two villages or arrive at Povoa do Varzim and start your hike to the next town Marinhas. The O Porto metro can save you a lot of hiking. You can save yourself 2 full days of hiking through this industrial sector and can use this extra day for Valenca, Tui, or Caldas de Reis, or Santiago de Compostela.

Interior route :

Porto – Vairao

Distance – 23 kms Difficulty 6 /10 or take the Train + hike ~ 16 Kms Difficulty 4 / 10

The interior route is more challenging than the coastal route. When I first hiked this trail I underestimated the difficulty. The interior route leaving Porto is heavily industrial & suburban. It crosses major highway intersections in Maia. If I had to walk this path again I would take the Metro & skip the industrial section. The path starts at the Porto historic district and continues through the villages of Moreira de Maia, Mosteiro, Vilar, Giao and Vairao which is an albergue monastery. The exit of Porto has 13 kms of the hike which are industrial.

The closest metro subway stop is the Aeroporto de O Porto. Take the Metro at Trinidade and take the purple line – E to the airport. There are frequent subways to the airport. The subway services the coast. There are few stops close to the interior. Take a taxi at the airport to the village of Mosteiro and start the hike from Mosteiro and arrive at Vairao. There are some restaurants at Giao prior to arriving Vairao. The interior hike are rural roads so watch the vehicle traffic.

Hiking paths Coastal & Interior Map & Metro Subway Map

Elevation Chart – Coastal

Elevation Chart – Interior