TUI (Spain)

Today’s post is not so much about a big city on the Portuguese Camino, but much more about the scenic coastal walk from Porto to Tui in Spain. Although Tui is our next big city, there is a very good reason why we can’t show you much of this city … all will be revealed towards the end of this post.

As always, here’s a reminder of the big cities we’ve covered so far on our Portuguese Camino:

  • Lisbon – what a wonderful start to our Portuguese Camino back in 2018. The buildings, food and even the hilly streets – we loved it! You can read about our first big city on the Portuguese Camino here.
  • Tomar was our first real medieval city we came across. We enjoyed a rest day here and had a delicious meal on a cold Sunday afternoon. You can read about our second big city here.
  • Coimbra is home to one of the oldest universities in the world and the oldest in all of Portugal. Although we didn’t visit the university, we did see quite a few beautiful old churches. You can read about our third big city here.
  • Porto is definitely a strong contender as one of the most beautiful cities in Portugal. We spent two days here – on a bus and in a boat – and would not hesitate to visit this lovely city again. You can read about our fourth big city here and here.

We apologise in advance – you’re going to see a lot of pictures now. The coastal route from Porto to Tui is truly spectacular. Sometimes we exchanged the lovely sea views for a walk through the beautiful forests.

Did we have rain? Oh yes! Did we get lost? Oh yes – so much so, that we walked a total distance of 44.3km in a single day (when crossing the border)!

To get to our next big city, we had to cross the border and walk over the International bridge between Valenca (in Portugal) to reach Tui (in Spain). It took us 5 days to reach Tui and we covered a distance of 163km (101 miles).

Here are some of the highlights of probably the best five days of our Portuguese Camino:

Day 16: Vila do Conde (33.8km):

Our first day on the coastal route from Porto started on a day without walking in the rain! The rain only started when we walked into Vila do Conde where we wanted to spend the night. That’s probably why this was such a nice day on the Camino!

Out of Porto and on our way to the next town, Matosinhos

Camino signs and a church – familiar views on the Camino

The boardwalk along the sea was an absolute pleasure to walk on

We never tire of those lovely ocean views

Traditional stone fisherman’s houses (“Casas do Mar de Angeiras”)

Wooden bridge over the Onda River between Lavra and Labruge

Our favourite part of this day’s walk – ocean and boardwalk

It was a long day on our feet, but we were so glad we could walk a whole day without getting wet. However, as we walked into Vila do Conde, a light drizzle welcomed us … an indication of what to expect the next day!

Igreja e Mosteiro de Santa Clara (Monastery founded in 1318 in Vila do Condo)

(You can read about the hiking of Day 16 here)

Day 17: Esposende (24.2km)

Our old friend, the rain, was back! Sometimes we had to seek shelter in a café and other times we just put on the hoodies of our rain jackets and carried on. But, through the rain, we still appreciated the beautiful surroundings around us.

Replica of wooden ship built in 16th century in Vila do Conde

I made time to pose with an unnamed woman on a bench

By the time we reached Povoa de Varzim, we experienced torrential rain. But even in the rain, one could not miss the beautiful azulejos tile paintings (“Paineis de Azulejos”) that stand along the beach wall of Praia do Leixao.

Beach wall of azulejos tile paintings

Closer look at the azulejos

Back in our rain jackets

Camino shells and a windmill

Boardwalk vs Cobbled walkway – I know which one I prefer

(You can read about the hiking of Day 17 here)

Day 18: Viana do Castelo (25.6km)

We are not superstitious, but hoped that this day – Friday the 13th – would not bring bad luck (especially regarding the weather). And indeed, we had no rain all day. We decided to exchange the beautiful sea views for hiking through the forests on this day.

Leaving Esposende early morning

A hiking day in the forests

The terrain was quite challenging at times

We had to cross this stone bridge over the Nieva River

In Igreja we heard the beautiful sound of church bells. The Santiago de Castelo do Neiva is the oldest consecration to the apostle yet found outside of Spain. We walked into the church where we signed the register and received a small packet of cookies to enjoy along the way.

Santiago de Castelo do Neiva in Igreja

Muddy pathways in a forest

The Lima River estuary and Viana do Castelo beyond

Scenes in Viana do Castelo

Monte Santa Luzia seen from the square in Viana do Castelo

(You can read about the hiking of Day 18 here)

Day 19: Caminha (35.1km)

To reach Caminha, our last overnight stay in Portugal, we had to walk 26km from Viana do Castelo. But we lost the yellow arrows a few times and ended up walking more than 35km. But there was good news: It didn’t rain – yeah!!

Early morning and we were back at the sea

Stone windmill along the beach of Viana do Castelo

Breakfast with a view

To try and get back on track, we went for a walk on the beach

Back on the welcome boardwalk and we could see Spain

Famous bunk beds in our albergue in Caminha

The ladies’ bathroom was interesting

Other good news was that the albergue, Albergue Peregrinos de Caminha, celebrated their 6th birthday and all pilgrims were welcomed with a piece of cake.

Birthday cake – Happy days

(You can read about the hiking of Day 19 here)

Day 20: Tui, Spain (44.3km)

It was a challenging day! We lost our way (for the second day in a row) and walked an extra 15km. And it rained, but thankfully only for an hour or so … always something to be thankful for. But it was also an exciting day because we crossed the border between Portugal and Spain.

Early morning after we left Caminha

The wrong way, but beautiful scenes

Back on the right track, we continued our walk along the Minho River

Ancient stone bridge, Ponte medieval da Veiga da Mira

We reached Valenca, our last town in Portugal, in the late afternoon. The atmospheric old citadel sits high above the Minho River, with most of it dates back to the 17th century. We wished we had more time to spend here, but after more than 40km we had to walk another 3.5km to our overnight town of Tui.

Walking into Valenca

Citadel in Valenca

Citadel in Valenca

After walking in Portugal for almost three weeks, we finally reached the border to enter Spain. We crossed the International bridge and boom! just like that we were in Spain!

International bridge

Goodbye Portugal

Crossing the bridge

If you stand in the middle, I suppose you’re in two countries at the same time

Hello Spain

The Portuguese Camino continue in Tui, Spain

With 44.5km on the clock for the day there were only two things we wanted to do. Drink a beer and find a bed … in that order!

THE best beer ever

(You can read about the hiking of Day 20 here)

We had a great time in Portugal, yes even despite all the rain and after we got lost on the road a few times. In our next post, the last one of this series, we take you with us again to the beautiful city of Santiago de Compostela.