Camino Portugués
21.8 km, 75 m up and 72 m down, through 6 places, 5 of which have somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Vila do Conde. Most are too small to sleep in — a fountain, a chapel, a bar that may or may not be open — but they are what the day is actually made of.
From the Igreja Matriz you have two options, the one indicated by the signs takes you through the center of this large town and carries on straight past the church. It is well marked.
The other option is to follow along the Litoral route which is unmarked but easy enough to get to. Opposite the church (on your left as you approach the church) is a small plaza, cross it and follow to the right. Turn left on the second street, the Largo de Doutor Antonío José Almeida. This will take you down to the waterfront, where you turn right and follow the walk all the way to Povoa de Varzim. Just past the harbor the beach-front picks up, and it is here where the main route rejoins.
The Metro of Porto Line B (Linha da Póvoa) passes through Vila do Conde. To stop here, disembark at the Santa Clara station.
An unofficial route connects the Coastal route in Vila do Conde with the Central route in Sao Pedro de Rates. It's marked with two sets of arrows -- one newer and brighter, the other faded and sometimes hard to spot. The…
The entirety of the walk between Póvoa and A Ver-o-Mar can be done along the coast, following the shoreline. Shortly before arriving in A Ver-o-Mar the signs are unclear. If you get to a large soccer field (no grass) you want it to be on your right, but it will likely be on your left. If it is on your right, the way is across a small bridge. If it is on your left, simply turn left at the end of the field and keep on straight, across a different bridge but one which will likewise take you across a small sandy stretch into A Ver-o-Mar.
The Metro of Porto Line B (Linha da Póvoa) terminates here.
The name translates as something close to "to see the sea," which is exactly what you do from this small village. There's little in the way of services, but the beachfront walking between here and Santo Andre is some of …
The camino splits once more at the start of Santo André. You can either follow the coast or turn right towards the chapel, and then left at the first roundabout onto the Rua Santo Andre de Cima. The latter course will take you through quiet residential areas interspersed with vegetable patches and a few services.
Follow the camino along the coast. Shortly before arriving to Apúlia the camino splits, and this time the preferred route (for being more direct) takes you away from the beach.
The most direct route from Apúlia to Fão is away from the beach and through a brief stretch of heavy woodlands.
Crossing the Rio Cávado from Fão to Esposende is done via bridge, take your time as the pedestrian section of the bridge is quite narrow. At the end of the bridge turn left, and at the next roundabout keep to your left into Esposende.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 319 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 21.8 km.
Esta entidad ha sido beneficiaria de una ayuda del Programa de incentivos a la movilidad eficiente y sostenible (MOVES III), gestionado por la Xunta de Galicia a través del Instituto Enerxético de Galicia (INEGA) en el marco del Real Decreto 266/2021, y cofinanciada por la Unión Europea — NextGenerationEU, dentro del Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia.