Fisherman's Trail
In May 2024, we hiked a small (but the original!) part of the Rota Vicentina – also known as the Fisherman’s trail – in Portugal. The trail describes itself as the best coastal trail in world. During a four day trip, we hiked 90 kilometers from Porto Covo to Odeceixe.
Relaxing!
On this website we often talk about tuff and unique expedition-like hikes. The Fisherman’s Trail however is an easy accesible and perfectly doable hike. This does not mean the trail isn’t any fun, it actually feels much more like a real holiday! The day to day distances are relatively short, there are enough accommodations in every town, and during the day you will always pass a café where you can get some nice hiker’s food. What puts the Fisherman’s trail above any other easy to do hike, is that there is challenge to be found in hiking in heat and loose sand al day long! This probably makes the Fisherman’s Trail an excellent start when you want to know if hiking is something for you (it probably will be).
sand, sand, sand...did we tell you there is a lot of sand?
During a vast amount of the trail, you will be hiking on loose sand. Especially during climbs and extreme heat, this can definitely cause some excessive sweating. Luckily, you will be reawarded many times, which is special looking at the relatively short day to day distances. When you press the ‘gear’ button you will be taken to our desert geartlist. The temperatures and terrain are very much comparible. Bring light stuff (both gear and shoes, no heavy boots for this one!) is advisable.
Camping
In every town, except in Almograve, you will find many accommodations and campsites. In Almograve, there is not any campsites to be found (Starting one would be a pretty good businessmodel), so we set up camp somewhere in the nearby forest. In the towns, accommodations and campsites you visit, you will meet many nice people to chat with about the adventurs of the past day.
