From Fao to Viana do Castelo, Camino Portuguese de la Costa, Stage no. 3

Basic Information

• Starting Point: Fão, Portugal – A quiet riverside town located at the mouth of the Cávado River, just south of Esposende. You’ll find in town 3 hostels, and many other accommodation options for each budget. It also offers all services for pilgrims, such as shops, restaurants, pharmacy, post office, etc.
• Ending Point: Viana do Castelo, Portugal – One of the most beautiful towns on the northern Portuguese coast, set between the Atlantic Ocean, the Lima River, and green hills. With around 85,000 inhabitants, Viana do Castelo is a lively regional hub offering every possible service for pilgrims. You’ll find two pilgrim only hostels in town, a few other hostels, and plenty of other accommodation options for each kind of budget.  A rewarding and scenic place to finish the stage indeed.
• Availability of an alternative route: YES, you can follow the coast for the first 14 kilometers, before merging with the official Camino for the nicer part of the stage. It follows some sandy paths and wooden pathways, and in general it is a nice way, not taken by many people, so following it you can get away from the crowds for a bit. It is 1 km longer than the official camino, and has a bit less elevation. I recommend you to follow our GPS if you opt for this variant tough.
• Maps:
  • Official camino: map.
  • Coastal alternative: map.
• Distance:
  • Official camino: 28km (download GPS here).
  • Alternative route: 29km (download GPS here).
• Elevation Difference:
  • Official Camino: +345m, -335m
  • Alternative route: +245m, -235m
• Difficulty Score: 3/5, though on a hot day it can grow to 4/5, for both the official camino and the alternative route.
• Beauty Score: 3/5. If you follow the alternative route, combining that beginning with the nicer second part of this stage, it can make for almost 4/5 beauty score.
• Terrain/Asphalt Walking Ratio:
  • Official Camino: 10%/90%.
  • Alternative route: 25%/75%.
• Next stage: Camino Portuguese de la Costa, Stage no. 4, Viana do Castelo – Caminha.
• Previous stage: Camino Portuguese de la Costa, Stage no. 2, Labruge – Fao.

Elevation profiles for the routes

– Official Camino, a bit more eventful than the previous days. The beginning is SUPER flat, then in the mid part there’s a nice hill of 100 meters over 2 kilometers, with a maximum climb gradient of 10%. And there is another hill between km 22 and 23.5, where you’ll climb 80 meters, plus a few smaller climbs in-between. The end of today’s stage, just like the beginning,is super flat.

– The alternative route keeps you a bit longer on the coast, which means a bit more of flat terrain. From km 14 both routes are identical, so you will enjoy both of the bigger climbs (for the standards of this camino), regardless of which way you decide to follow. As you can see, the alternative way is 1 km longer.

Advanced info about the stage

• Natural Highlights: 
  • Ponte de Sebastiao, km 14, right on the camino. Location on Google maps here. A beautiful stone bridge over pristine river. Has enough water even in summer months. A beautiful green spot, something that’s not so common on this particular camino… And, if you prefer it to sea water, you can also take a plunge into water here :).
  • The beaches on the alternative route are nice as well. Not spectacular, but some of them have this feel of privacy, or even “being abandoned” outside of the months of July and August, and have their special beauty exactly for this reason.
• Historical & Cultural Highlights:
  • Moinhos da Abelheira, Marinhas, km 7, 300 meters from the camino. Location on Google maps here. 7 well-preserved historic mills, in beautiful surroundings. Some of them are private, some you can visit. Beautiful views from the spot too.
  • A monastery Igreja e Mosteiro de São Romão do Neiva, roughly km 18, right on the camino, location on Google maps here. Former benedictine monastery dating back to 11th century. There’s still a holy mass on Sundays, 9am. The place has its charm, nearby you will find also picnic tables with fresh water fountain, and you can also walk the Stations of the cross, for nice views and perhaps a bit of penance :).
  • Santuary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Viana do Castelo, km 28. 1 km from the camino, ideal for afternoon stroll, accessible also by a funicular (for 2 euro) . Location on Google maps here. Arguably one of the most scenic spots on the entire Camino Portuguese. For the beauty of the early 20th century basilica (inspired by Sacré-Cœur in Paris), for the views of Lima river, Atlantic ocean and the town, for the sheer austerity and luminosity of the church interior. This is not a place to be missed, regardless of weather and your tiredness after the stage. One of those spots you will still remember many years after walking this camino, just as I still remember it vividly today…
• Alternative route info: The alternative route is basically 10 km extra on the coast, between km 4.5 and km 14 of today’s walk. You leave the official camino in Marinhas exactly here, following a way called “Ecovia Litoral”. You stay on this route (sparsely marked with yellow arrows and also other signs) until this point, where you turn right to eventually rejoin the official camino, which you follow for the rest of this stage. There are some nice places on the alternative route, and though the beaches on this stretch aren’t spectacular, it is still better walking on them (or close to them) than on the road. To make sure you won’t get lost, you can simply download our GPS to your favorite device or mapping application. The alternative route is 1km longer and has 100 meters less climbing and descending than the official camino.
• Camping/Bivouac Options on the Stage: Today things improve a lot for wild camping. Going inland from Viana do Castelo, there’s a big green zone, with plenty of trees and many good places to pitch a tent and stay away from the public eye. It is in the hiking zone of town, you can for example go to a nice place called “Espelho d’agua“, which means a “Mirror of water” and look around there. Location on Google maps here. It is about 4 km from the Camino, but obviously it you find a good spot closer to Viana do Castelo (on your way to Espelho d’aqua), you can just pitch a tent there. Plenty of good spots around… Should you be interested in organized camping place, there are two on this stage:
  • Parque de Campismo de Belinho, location and reviews on Google maps here. Km 11 of today’s walk. Good reviews, packed on the weekends with permanent caravan stayers but relatively quiet during the week. Very close to a beautiful beach, decent restaurant on site with menu for 10 euro, enough trees, dog friendly, very good price (even in a high season you can camp there for 15 euro/night, including electricity). This is a good camping and definitely recommended.
  • Parque Campismo INATEL Cabedelo, location and reviews on Google maps here. Cabedelo, km 25 of today’s walk, a little bit before the bridge crossing to Viana do Castelo. A camping with pretty mixed reviews and questionable reputation. Facilities are run-down and the price is inadequate for what it offers, but for one night on the camino it would do in my opinion–if you can’t find a better option.
• Dog-Friendly Score: 2/5. Too much asphalt walking and accommodations aren’t particularly dog-friendly… In Viana do Castelo, the least expensive accommodation accepting dogs costs $100+/night... For a dog friendly accommodation you’ll have to walk 7 km more to Casa do Sardao, a great albergue in Carreco. You can check location and reviews on Google maps here. Or you can camp with your companion (see section above)… Anyway, make sure to opt for the coastal way, since it has more unpaved sections, and overall your dog will enjoy it more than the official camino.
• Special Remarks: None.

My picks for accommodation on this stage

1. Albergue Casa da Carolina, Anha, km 23. Location and reviews on Google maps here. A stunning place with utmost attention to detail, run by pilgrims. Unbeatable ratings across all pilgrim platforms. Simply a beautiful house with beautiful garden, with a friendly and attentive host. 16 beds (offering privacy with curtains), 20 euro/night, including breakfast. Accepts reservations, recommended way of making a reservation: WhatsApp, +351 969 004 514. Check-in from 2pm. Super recommended.
2. Albergue de Santa Luzia, Viana do Castelo, km 28.5. Location and reviews on Google maps here. 38 beds in 5 shared rooms, including some single beds. Has one private room as well, for a couple. 24-36 euro/night, depending on the season. On a top of a hill (you can take a small funicular up, or walk 600 stairs :)). Anyway, it is an AMAZING location with stunning views, close to the Sacred Heart Church. All installation new and comfortable, well equipped kitchen. Check-in with code, from 2pm. Highly recommended. Reservation through Booking.com, exactly here.
3. Pensao O Laranjeira, Viana do Castelo, km 28.5. Ideal for those who seek affordable privacy on the camino. Beautiful family-run pension in historic center of the town. 9 rooms, prices start from 45 euro/room (not bad for a couple for a private room), but increase during the tourist season. Plenty of restaurants/supermarkets nearby. You can see all the pictures and reviews on Booking.com, exactly here. Highly recommended for couple.

Pictures from the stage

– Those who speak my native language (Slovak) and perhaps understand couple of other languages, would immediately see that the Portuguese didn’t pay much attention to correct translations here :).

– One for an eye of a romantic. Endless ocean and a couple in love. Or is that perhaps only what I wanted to see? :).

– Twenty eight kilometers with only 350 meters of elevation gain may seem like an easy walk. But July’s sun can turn it into a battle…

– Again and again, more steps on the road and street. If only there were more trails on this coastal camino…

– 188 kilometers left to Santiago. Looks easy on the picture, but will it really be?

Few tips at the end

• It would be a mistake underestimating these stages of Camino Portuguese, just because they are very flat. When we climb and descend, we use different group of muscles, and always some groups can rest. Whereas walking on flat terrain, there’s no rest for the muscles and joints in action on flat terrain. So, make sure to take your shoes off whenever you stop (important for blisters prevention), stretch your muscles at least two times a day, and when there are stairs in town (or a climb), just like the ones to Santuary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Viana do Castelo, don’t be afraid to walk them :). In a long run it will only help your legs, to sustain the flat terrains of this camino.

Next/Previous Stage

• Next stage: Camino Portuguese de la Costa, Stage no. 4, Viana do Castelo – Caminha.
• Previous stage: Camino Portuguese de la Costa, Stage no. 2, Labruge – Fao.