Portuguese Camino - Coimbra to Porto

Portuguese Camino - Coimbra to Porto

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8 Days From

$995

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Tour Overview

Embark on a captivating journey along the Portuguese Camino from Coimbra to Porto, exploring charming villages, historic sites, and vibrant cities. This self-guided walking tour offers a blend of cultural and culinary delights, from the lively university town of Coimbra to the historic port city of Porto. Traverse the original Via Romana XVI, cross the restored Marnel bridge, and visit the 13th-century Mosteiro San Salvador in Grijo. Enjoy comfortable accommodations with ensuite facilities, daily breakfasts, and luggage transfers, ensuring a seamless and enriching experience. Discover the beauty and heritage of Portugal on foot, with the freedom to explore at your own pace. ...more ...less

Highlights

  • Discovering on foot the small villages and pilgrimage sites along the Camino Portugués

  • Exploring the historical and lively university city of Coimbra

  • Experiencing culinary delights and the port wine varieties of the area

  • Visiting historic and vibrant Porto

  • Walking along the original Via Romana XVI and crossing the restored bridge Marnel towards Albergaria

  • Passing through the town of Avelas de Caminho with its pretty Manueline featured Quinta de Grimpa

  • Visiting the 13th century monastery Mosteiro San Salvador in Grijo

Itinerary

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Day 1 : Arrive Coimbra

Location: Coimbra

Accommodation Name: hotel

Coimbra is a lively university town situated on the Mondego River. Enjoy exploring this beautiful and historic city, its churches and museums and don’t miss the university itself, especially the library Biblioteca Joanina. Coimbra can be very busy in early May with its 'Ribbon Burning' festivities, the oldest in Portugal, which begin with the traditional fado serenade in the square of the Old (Se) Cathedral of Coimbra. ...more ...less

Day 2 : Coimbra To Mealhada (5-6Hrs)

Location: Mealhada

Accommodation Name: hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast

The trail today is quite flat. It follows river valleys and irrigation channels along a mix of asphalt (68%) and natural paths (32%). Passing through several villages, arrive in Mealhada, once a major Roman crossroads. It is now best known for leitão da bairrada, suckling pig. Pigs from the surrounding Barraida region are acorn fed and considered the best in Portugal. Mealhada is also well known for its wine.
Distance 22.5km/14mi

Day 3 : Walk To Agueda (6-7Hrs)

Location: Agueda

Accommodation Name: hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast

Today the path is gently undulating along the Certima river valley. It is mostly along roads (88%) with pockets of vineyards and woodland tracks (12%). You'll pass through the town of Avelas de Caminho with its pretty Manueline featured Quinta de Grimpa. Continue to Agueda after crossing the river and the old bridge Ponte Velha.
Distance 26km/16.2mi

Day 4 : Continue To Albergaria (4-5Hrs) And Transfer Back To Agueda For Overnight

Location: Agueda

Accommodation Name: hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast

The path is again quite flat except for a small ascent into Albergaria. Walk along the original Via Romana XVI and across the recently restored bridge Marnel towards Albergaria, founded in 1120 to provide refuge to pilgrims on the Camino. 81% of the route today is on small roads whilst 19% is on natural paths. This afternoon (4pm) you will be transferred back to Agueda for the night.
Distance 16km/10mi

Day 5 : Transfer To Albergaria And Walk To Oliveira De Azemeis (5-6Hrs)

Location: Oliveira de Azeméis

Accommodation Name: hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast

After breakfast (8:30am) transfer to Albergaria to re-commence your walk. The terrain today is more undulating than in past days, through pine and eucalypt forests and local villages. About 82% of the route is on roads with some sections on main roads with traffic. Oliveira has an old centre, the Matriz de Sao Miguel church and a row of fine houses dating from the 1800s, built by prosperous emigrants returning from Brazil. On the 2nd Sunday in August, festivities honouring Our Lady of La Salette are very popular.
Distance 20km/12.5mi

Day 6 : Walk To Malaposta (4-5Hrs)

Location: Sao Joao da Madeira

Accommodation Name: hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast

Today’s walking is over rolling hills and through more urban areas including the town of Sao Joao da Madeira. The route is almost entirely on roads today as a result. Follow a section of the original Roman Via XVI via Arrifana to Malaposta.
If you'd like to visit the historic town of Santa Maria de Feira, this can be arranged with reception on arrival at your Malaposta hotel (not included). It has an immaculately maintained castle and in early August hosts the Viagem medieval festival, with re-enactments, markets and entertainment.
Distance 16km/10mi

Day 7 : To Porto (7Hrs)

Paul Allen

Location: Porto

Accommodation Name: hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast

Leaving Malaposta on the original cobbled Roman road, the path leads to Grijo. Its 13th century monastery Mosteiro San Salvador, first consecrated in 1235, has long been an important stop along the Camino. Continue to Porto, on the banks of the Douro River. Its maritime legacies and importance as a New World trading port shaped it into a proud city, with an impressive cathedral and port wine lodges. After checking in to your hotel, take the time to explore the city with its many cultural sites.
Distance 27km/16.8mi

Day 8 : Trip Concludes

Location: Porto

Accommodation Name: hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast

Trip concludes after breakfast in the hotel. Porto has a lot to see and do, we can assist with booking extra nights on request.
Own onward arrangements from Porto, or continue along the inland Portuguese Road to Tui, or coastal route to Viana and beyond.

What's Included

  • Accommodation
    7 nights in comfortable hotels

  • 7 breakfasts. Breakfasts are usually continental inclusive of breads, cheese, ham, tea, coffee & juices.

  • 7 nights in comfortable hotels on a twin share basis with ensuite facilities

  • Luggage Transfer, 1 piece maximum 20kg, supplement applies for excess

  • Digital information pack with route notes, maps & GPX

  • Return transfers between Albergaria and Agueda

  • Pilgrim Passport

  • Emergency hotline

  • Travel to Coimbra and from Porto

  • Meals not listed as included, drinks

  • Travel insurance - mandatory

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What's Not Included

  • Lunch, dinner and drinks

    Meals not listed as included and drinks are not provided.

  • Travel insurance

    Travel insurance is not included.

  • Tour guide

    This is a self-guided walking trip, so no tour guide is provided.

  • A supplement for solo travelers or single rooms

    A supplement will apply if you are traveling solo or book a single room.

  • Entrance fees not listed as included

    Entrance fees to attractions not listed as included are not covered.

  • Transfers not listed as included

    Transfers by taxi or public transport if you need to skip a stage are not included.

  • Excess luggage

    A supplement applies for excess luggage beyond the 20kg limit.

  • Items of a personal nature

    Personal items are not included in the tour package.

Grading

MODERATE – GRADE 3
Daily walks are between 15-26km on a combination of small roads (70% on av.), natural paths (18%) and main roads (12%) over diverse terrain – from relatively flat to hilly. The route takes you along quiet rural roads, at times on the verges of roads with traffic. Some of the route is on walking trails away from the road and there are often alternative routes available. Route finding is reasonably straight forward following the yellow arrows and granite pillars (showing distance to Santiago), however you still need to be vigilant as markers from other trails can be confusing (refer below for further details on self guided adventures). However our notes include hints and pointers to help you navigate the route. The route will inevitably cross main roads close to cities and towns, although the majority is on side roads the surface of this route is largely asphalt. The main areas to concentrate on route finding are arriving and leaving towns and cities. The accent is on keeping a steady pace to take in all of the attractions, with time to stop and take photos. You will need a good level of fitness to participate fully in this adventure. ...more ...less

What You Carry

As the walks are fully supported you only need to carry a daypack with your daily requirements including wet weather gear, water bottle, lunch supplies, mobile phone and sun protection etc.

Mode of Transport

The tour includes return transfers between Albergaria and Agueda, with additional transfers by taxi or public transport if you need to skip a stage.

Accommodation

Enjoy 7 nights in comfortable hotels on a twin share basis with ensuite facilities, offering a cozy and welcoming stay throughout your journey.

Check out our Q&As

  • What kind of accommodation is provided during the tour?

    The tour includes 7 nights in comfortable hotels on a twin share basis with ensuite facilities, offering a cozy and welcoming stay throughout your journey.

  • What meals are included in the tour package?

    The tour package includes 7 breakfasts, which are usually continental and inclusive of breads, cheese, ham, tea, coffee, and juices. Lunch, dinner, and drinks are not included.

  • Is luggage transfer provided during the tour?

    Yes, luggage transfer is provided for one piece of luggage with a maximum weight of 20kg. A supplement applies for excess luggage.

  • What kind of support is available during the tour?

    The tour provides a digital information pack that includes route notes, maps, and GPX files. Additionally, there is access to an emergency hotline for assistance.

  • Are there any transfers included in the tour?

    Yes, the tour includes return transfers between Albergaria and Agueda. Additional transfers by taxi or public transport are available if you need to skip a stage, but these are not included in the tour package.

  • Is a tour guide provided during the tour?

    No, this is a self-guided walking trip, so no tour guide is provided.

  • What should I carry during the walks?

    As the walks are fully supported, you only need to carry a daypack with your daily requirements, including wet weather gear, a water bottle, lunch supplies, a mobile phone, and sun protection.

  • What is the difficulty level of the tour?

    The tour is graded as moderate (Grade 3). Daily walks range between 15-26km on a combination of small roads, natural paths, and main roads over diverse terrain, from relatively flat to hilly. A good level of fitness is required to participate fully in this adventure.

  • What is the Pilgrim Passport and is it included?

    Yes, a Pilgrim Passport is included for the journey. It is a document that pilgrims carry to collect stamps from various locations along the Camino.

  • What are the main highlights of the tour?

    The main highlights include discovering small villages and pilgrimage sites along the Camino Portugués, exploring the historical city of Coimbra, experiencing culinary delights and port wine varieties, visiting historic Porto, walking along the original Via Romana XVI, and visiting the 13th century monastery Mosteiro San Salvador in Grijo.

  • How fit do I have to be?

    Our adventures are first and foremost holidays and can be undertaken by anyone in a reasonable state of health and fitness - however, please carefully read our Terms & Conditions when booking and view the trip grading. We rank our trips according to our honest Trip Grading System. We recommend that you familiarise yourself with our grading system by reading our detailed trip notes (which you can order through this site) and to speak with us about the physical requirements of your chosen trip.

  • What happens if something goes wrong?

    On our guided tours, you travel in small groups with a local multi-lingual guide whose knowledge of the terrain, flora, fauna and history of the region is exemplary. Our self guided tours give you the freedom to explore at your own pace - but they're not unsupported. We provide detailed route notes and maps and our local partners are on hand throughout the day in the unlikely event that something goes wrong. All we request is that you select a program that matches your level of fitness to ensure that you have a comfortable experience.

  • I'm travelling solo on a self-guided trip. Do I pay the single supplement or the single traveller surcharge?

    Most of our self guided trips are priced based on twinshare. If you are travelling solo the single traveller surcharge will apply. The single supplement would apply if you were travelling in a party with others and you had chosen to book a single room. You would never pay a single traveller surcharge and a single supplement.

Reviews of this operator

Katharine McLennan (Google Reviewer)  

UTracks is awesome. My...

13-Jun-2024

UTracks is awesome. My Assisi trip was one of the most beautiful trips I have taken in my 56 years. I wanted to walk by myself, and Utracks teamed up with a local Italian travel company to do everything for me—book the hotels and move my bags from hotel to hotel as I walked the track. The app was AMAZING. It showed the daily itinerary, and the interactive map told me metre by metre where I needed to go and whether I was on track or not. It was far more accurate than Google Maps, and I loved all the commentary on what to look for and what not to. The places I stayed were known as "agriturismo places." They are hosted by families on working farms. Those gorgeous families had farms and accommodations that sometimes dated back to 800!!! But all of them had done a fantastic job updating them to be modern, beautiful rooms. I loved how warm the hosts were and how much they appreciated my stay. There were seldom more than 5 people staying each night. The walk was fabulous -- and incredibly well-researched and noted. I was often the only one on the trails, but I always felt safe and looked after by UTracks in their 24-hour cover. I never had to use it - but as a single woman walking on her own through the Italian hills -- it is great to know that people know where I am. The preparation pack sent to me was also incredibly organised with equipment lists, hotel directions-- with all the contacts, and the contacts of the lovely fellow who would be taking my bag from place to place. He was fantastic -- and I also felt supported by him if things were to go wrong. I will definitely be working with Utracks again and can't wait to plan my next adventure. ...more ...less

Kate (Google Reviewer)  

Wonderful experience in Turkey hiking...

31-Oct-2024

Wonderful experience in Turkey hiking the Lycian way. It was unhurried, with beautiful scenes and access to nature. The accommodation was excellent with (truly) amazing home cooked Turkish food throughout. We felt a lot calmer, fitter and healthier afterwards. ...more ...less

Addy K (Google Reviewer)  

Great hike to sample some...

04-Oct-2023

Great hike to sample some of the best locations along the Tour Du Mont Blanc. Our guide Sara was great at maintaining pace and knew the route very well. The scenery was amazing especially the tall mountains close to our accomodation. The accomodation provided great 3 course dinners, and we got to sample French, Swiss and Italian food. This is not an easy hike, but as long as you are able to do 1000 mtr elevation gain hikes, this is thoroughly enjoyable. ...more ...less

Mike Burke (Google Reviewer)  

UTracks did everything they promised,...

23-Oct-2024

UTracks did everything they promised, but it is what they did above & beyond that stands them apart. We were caught in the fires in Portugal & they arranged transport to get us out of danger, changed hotel bookings to accommodate the new circumstances & made us feel very safe. We were more than impressed with the level of communication & service. I won't be looking anywhere else when I book my next trip. ...more ...less

Lisa Kibeiks (Google Reviewer)  

Fantastic trip! Well organised and...

18-Oct-2024

Fantastic trip! Well organised and everything went smoothly. Would probably split the two big 30+ days if I were to have my time again. The heat adds another level of difficulty. Accommodations were all different but all clean and welcoming. Meals were varied as we walked into different regions the food changed to what was local. We never had a bad meal or a bad stay anywhere. Highly recommend this trip through France. A nice quiet Camino compared to the Frances but far more challenging. Very enjoyable. ...more ...less

Patrick Shum (Google Reviewer)  

Hassle free self guided tour...

26-Jul-2023

Hassle free self guided tour around the most scenic Austrian hills and lakes. All our heavy baggage taken care of from hotel to hotel. Hiking not difficult at all, instructions are v clear. I recommend use online GPS map. In case someone want to shorten the walking, various options (bus / boat) provided. ...more ...less

Amanda Liddell (Google Reviewer)  

300km in 12 days from...

15-Jun-2023

300km in 12 days from Porto to Santiago de Compostela where a Cathedral stands as the most beautiful ‘Welcome’ imaginable. The accomodation arranged by UTRACKS was consistently excellent & the ease of only having to worry about carrying your backpack and what you’ll have for lunch is perfect. Yes, most days at breakfast you can make up your own bread roll and filling. Notes and directions were included but once you arrive in Spain you just need to look for the ‘shell’ and ‘yellow arrow’ to find your ‘way’. I am 67 years old & consciously chose to walk alone however I met some fabulous people along the way and finally had hours on end with ‘no headchatter’. There’s healing which catches you unaware & makes every step very worthwhile. ...more ...less

Cathy Eaton (Google Reviewer)  

UTracks “Footsteps of Dali” is...

07-Nov-2024

UTracks “Footsteps of Dali” is a predominantly coastal walk from the very lovely French town Collioure to Cadeques in Spain. There are 2 routes to choose each day and each have different elevation and distance. On day 5 (the 4th day of walking) there is an option to climb up to a monastery. Try not to do this on the only day it is closed (as we did) - Monday. In my opinion the day between Cerbere and Llanca was the best - really pretty coastal scenery and included some rock hopping around the sea edge. The hotels were all family run and comfortable but usually a bit out of the centre. The luggage transfers worked well. (We didn’t have supplied luggage labels and so used sticky sports tape each day to label the next hotel name). Breakfasts were all excellent, dinners varied a bit - but they were adequate. I thought the trip was good value. The trails were not crowded and I recommend October as a good time for this hike. There is little shade so it would be extremely hot at the peak of summer. ...more ...less

Ian Freestone (Google Reviewer)  

Recently two trips with utracks....

26-Aug-2024

Recently two trips with utracks. Mont Blanc self-guided and Austrian hike-bike. In summary, the experience is only as good as the local partner. In Austria, Helmut was amazing! Met with us prior - went over every detail of the trip, answered his phone if we had a concern. Mont Blanc, the partner would only communicate by text, did not meet us on arrival, and would not return calls even when we had an emergency. Other concerns we raised with utracks staff were not responded to adequately leaving the feeling that they had our money, job done. ...more ...less

Amanda Fairley (Google Reviewer)  

Self-guided Hadrian’s Wall Walk. The local...

24-Sep-2024

Self-guided Hadrian’s Wall Walk. The local agent’s documentation needs immediate updating to include current accommodation used and their locations. I also had to uncover (it was not proactively disclosed to me) a double up in accommodation location booking (same town over two nights but different accommodation 160 metres apart) by the same local agent which resulted in me having to walk two days of distance in one day, back track for accommodation on the second night and be charged for a 160m bag transfer! UTracks did apologise and the local agent covered my dinner one night as compensation, but the situation would not have happened if either UTracks or their local agent had reviewed their itinerary which would have called out quite loudly to them the messy issue, before finalising it and providing it to me. I was later contacted by UTracks to acknowledge my post trip feedback, but stating that both UTracks and their local agent had been in contact with me THROUGHOUT my walk. To be clear - I had one phone call initiated by UTracks after I had identified the issues and emailed them, and the only contact with the local agent were two emails and one phone call that I initiated to inform them of the issues they created, that I had to uncover. I wouldn’t describe that as anyone from UTracks or their local agent being in contact with me throughout my trip. It is important to not over state the service or support that people provide to a client. ...more ...less

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Book with Confidence

  • Transfer as credit to Future Tours

    UTracks allows you to transfer existing payments to a future tour to avoid cancellation fees if you can't travel and inform utracks, 70 days before departure.

  • Low Deposit

    UTracks requires a minimum deposit of 250 GBP per person or the full booking value, whichever is less, with the final balance not due until 70 days before departure.

  • Cancellation Policy

    We don't charge a cancellation fee, here is a summary of utracks charges.

    Up to 70 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of deposit.

    At 69 days before tour starts: Forfeit 50% of booking price.

    At 35 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of booking price.

Portuguese Camino - Coimbra to Porto

8 Days Starting in Coimbra, Portugal and ending in Porto, Portugal

Visiting: Coimbra, Mealhada, Agueda, Oliveira de Azeméis, Sao Joao da Madeira, Porto

Tour operator:

UTracks

Tour code:

PC2

Group Type:

Independent

Guide Type:

Self Guided

Physical rating:

moderate

Tour operated in:

English
From: $995 (USD)

NB: Prices correct on 15-Feb-2025 but subject to change.