Explore Portugal’s Spectacular Rota Vicentina Coastal Trail

The organization that manages the magnificent trails along Portugal’s stunning Alentejo Coast maintains approximately 450 km (280 miles) of hiking routes through one of Europe’s best-preserved stretches of coastline.

Summer temperatures are too hot for comfortable hiking, so plan your visit between late September and late April. While November and December tend to be the wettest months, winters remain relatively mild, making this an excellent destination for off-season walking adventures.

In this episode, Kit Parks talks with Julianna Barnaby about the Rota Vicentina’s exceptionally well-marked trails, breathtaking coastal scenery, charming villages, and why this long-distance hiking network has become one of Europe’s premier walking destinations.

Listen to the podcast interview HERE

Planning a Rota Vicentina Walking Holiday on Portugal’s Southwest Coast

The organization that maintains the magnificent trails along Portugal’s stunning Alentejo Coast cares for approximately 450 km (280 miles) of hiking routes through one of Europe’s best-preserved stretches of coastline.

Summer is simply too hot for comfortable hiking, so plan your visit between late September and late April. While November and December are the wettest months, winter temperatures remain relatively mild.

The Fisherman’s Trail

Walk the same coastal paths that local fishermen and villagers have used for generations while enjoying breathtaking cliff-top views of the Atlantic Ocean.

This is not the trail for anyone with severe vertigo or a fear of heights. Many of the dramatic sea cliffs are quite high—but the scenery is spectacular.

At 125 km (78 miles), the Fisherman’s Trail is widely considered one of the most beautiful long-distance hikes in the world. The route is well blazed and can be hiked in either direction, from Porto Covo to Odeceixe, where it joins the Historical Way and continues to Cabo de São Vicente.

Because the Atlantic Ocean is constantly reshaping the coastline through erosion, every hiker experiences a landscape that is continually changing. No two visits are exactly alike.

The trail closely follows the coastline, using the paths local fishermen have traditionally taken to reach secluded beaches and their favorite fishing spots.

The Fisherman’s Trail is divided into five main stages, along with four adjacent circular walks. Today’s podcast guest, Julianna Barnaby of The Discoveries Of blog, highly recommends taking these side excursions whenever your schedule allows. Each stage is approximately one day’s walk, with accommodations available at the end of every section.

Julianna said she never felt unsafe while hiking the trail, although she cautions that the cliffs can be very high, so it’s important to watch your footing.

One of the biggest physical challenges is walking on soft sand, which requires considerably more effort than hiking on firm ground. You’ll spend 60–70% of the hike on sand, with one day being especially demanding.

For that reason, I rate the Fisherman’s Trail a 3 out of 5 for difficulty. Also keep in mind that, because you’re hiking directly along the Atlantic coast, strong winds are common.

This is a pedestrian-only trail. Because summer temperatures can be extremely hot, the best time to hike is from fall through spring.

The Fisherman’s Trail connects with Portugal’s Historical Way pilgrimage route at Porto Covo, Odeceixe, and Arrifana.

The Portuguese Historical Way to Santiago

While not as well known as the Spanish Camino de Santiago, Portugal’s Historical Way is another important medieval pilgrimage route.

The Rota Vicentina organization has recreated the historic path from Santiago do Cacém to Cabo de São Vicente, taking hikers through charming villages where you can visit historic churches and traditional country homes, meet local residents, and share the trail with fellow pilgrims. Along the way, you’ll also enjoy panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean from the highest points of the Serra.

The Historical Way consists of 12 stages covering approximately 230 km (143 miles). Each stage is designed as a day’s hike, with accommodations available at the end of every section. The route intersects with the Fisherman’s Trail several times as it passes through Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park, allowing hikers to combine portions of both trails into one unforgettable adventure.

Unlike the Fisherman’s Trail, the Historical Way is open to both hikers and mountain bikers, much like Spain’s Camino routes (see Episode 006 of the Active Travel Adventures podcast).

The trail winds through picturesque towns and villages, cork oak and eucalyptus forests, mountains, valleys, rivers, and streams, offering a wonderful variety of landscapes. Beyond its natural beauty, the Historical Way also adds rich cultural and, for many travelers, spiritual experiences to the journey.

Spring is an especially beautiful time to hike, when wildflowers blanket the countryside.

Portugal’s Famous Cork Forests

Portugal is famous for its cork production. Magnificent cork oak forests cover approximately 8% of the country’s land area, and Portugal produces more than half of the world’s cork.

An Award-Winning Trail

In 2016, the Historical Way received the prestigious Leading Quality Trails – Best of Europe designation from the European Ramblers Association, recognizing it as one of Europe’s premier long-distance walking routes.

Circular Routes

In addition to the Fisherman’s Trail and the Historical Way, you can also explore a network of scenic circular routesthat branch off the main trails.

There are eight circular routes to choose from, all of which can be enjoyed on foot or by mountain bike. Most can be completed in half a day or less, and together they total approximately 89 km (55 miles).

Today’s podcast guest, Julianna Barnaby, recommends hiking as many of these routes as your schedule allows because each offers its own unique scenery and character.

If you don’t have time for a multi-day trek but still want to experience the spectacular scenery of Portugal’s Southwest Alentejo Coast, one or more of these circular walks is an excellent option.

One of their biggest advantages is convenience—each route begins and ends in the same location, so you don’t have to worry about transportation or luggage transfers.

Along these trails, you’ll experience the fascinating balance between history and progress in Southwest Alentejo, where traditional farming practices coexist alongside carefully protected natural landscapes.

Like the Fisherman’s Trail and the Historical Way, these routes offer abundant opportunities to observe native wildlife—especially birds—as well as the region’s diverse Mediterranean flora.

The Eight Circular Routes

The eight circular routes are:

• Almograve
• São Luís
• Troviscais
• Santa Clara
• Sabóia
• Odeceixe
• Bordeira
• Carrapateira

Together, these routes beautifully complement the two flagship long-distance trails: the Historical Way and the Fisherman’s Trail.

‘The Discoveries Of’ Travel Blog

I first found Julianna by reading her blog.  In our interview today, Julianna tells us about her hike of the SW Alentejo coast of Portugal on part of the Fisherman’s Trail, the Historical Way and some of the Circular Routes.

 You can follow Julianna and her adventures here:

 Facebook          Instagram        Twitter       Pinterest          Blog

Best Hikes of Europe          Alentejo Portugal Travel Spots

Julianna’s Recommendations

During the podcast, Julianna Barnaby shared a couple of favorite places to stay while exploring Portugal’s beautiful Southwest Alentejo Coast.

Figuerinha Ecoturismo

For a truly memorable stay, Julianna recommends Paula’s Figuerinha Ecoturismo. This peaceful eco-lodge offers a wonderful opportunity to relax and recharge after a day on the trail.

Quinta do Barranco da Estrada

Bird lovers should consider staying at Frank’s Quinta do Barranco da Estrada. If you’re lucky, Frank may even take you on one of his guided birdwatching tours to discover the region’s remarkable birdlife.

More Portugal Travel Tips

For additional recommendations on where to hike, stay, eat, and explore in Portugal’s Alentejo region, be sure to read Julianna’s blog post:

Alentejo, Portugal Travel Spots

John Hayes Walks blog

A nice blog post on hiking the SW Alejeto area is on John Hayes Walks. John was also kind enough to share some of his beautiful photos with us – thanks, John!

Here is John’s itinerary and you can read more at JohnHayesWalks.com.

The excellent Rota Vincentina website can help you plan your own itinerary to suit your tastes and timeline.

Take a Rest Day!

If your schedule allows, plan to take a rest day or two to slow down and soak up the local culture. Here are two wonderful towns where it’s worth spending an extra day.

Santiago do Cacém

Visit Santiago do Cacém, one of the largest towns in the Alentejo region. From its hilltop castle, you’ll enjoy sweeping views of the surrounding countryside and coastline from an elevation of 346 meters (1,135 feet).

While you’re there, browse the local shops featuring handcrafted woodwork, wicker, cork products, and ceramics.

For more ideas on what to see and do, visit the local tourism board website.

Vila Nova de Milfontes

It’s hard to believe such a spectacular stretch of coastline hasn’t been overrun by tourists. Vila Nova de Milfontes is a delightful place to slow down and enjoy Portugal’s relaxed coastal lifestyle.

Stroll its cobblestone streets, admire the whitewashed homes, relax on the beautiful beaches, and savor the outstanding local food and wine.

Interested in other Walking Holidays?

Cotswold Way in England

West Highland Way in Scotland

UK’s Best Walking Holidays

El Camino de Santiago Spain

Active Travel Adventures Podcast Directory

Time Stamped Show Notes

00:00 Intro
01:30 Julianna Barnaby gets into Adventure Travel
02:45 Overview of the Rota Vicentina series of trails
04:00 Accommodations
05:05 Do you need to bring your day’s water
05:30 Best times to go
06:10 Portugal is relatively affordable
06:44 How to get to the trail heads
07:41 Do you see many people
10:00 Is the Way like the El Camino
11:00 Landscapes and cliffs described/ cork trees
13:10 How harvest the cork
14:25 Mediterranean plants you’ll see
15:55 Wind sculpts the landscape
16:28 How well is the trail blazed (signed)
17:15 What if you can’t speak Portuguese
18:05 Can you go solo
19:32 How difficult is it
20:06 Walking in deep dune sand
20:19 How exposed are you
21:15 Birding
22:46 Good ‘rest day’ villages
25:05 Luggage Transfer service
25:47 Advice for hikers
26:48 Take some Circular Routes
27:25 Must plan accommodations in advance
29:30 Julianna’s most striking memory
30:37 Julianna meets a fisherman
32:09 How this trip compares to others
33:15 The Discoveries Of blog Julianna writes
35:13 Julianna explains “Discerning Travelâ€
36:13 Final thoughts: GO!
Review the Active Travel Adventures podcast please!

(c) Active Travel Adventures LLC – All Rights Reserved 

SW Portugal Rota Vicentina Walking Holiday Podcast Transcript

Prefer to read instead of listen? Below is the complete transcript of my conversation with travel writer and hiking expert Julianna Barnaby about Portugal’s spectacular Rota Vicentina trail network. Discover the dramatic Fisherman’s Trail, the historic Historical Way, and the scenic circular routes that wind through the unspoiled Alentejo Coast. Learn about the best time to hike, trail difficulty, accommodations, wildlife, local culture, luggage transfers, and Julianna’s favorite places to stay—all in one of Europe’s most affordable and least-crowded hiking destinations.  Prefer to listen to the interview on the podcast?  Listen HERE.

Do you think Europe has gotten too expensive and crowded to make it
worth your while to go over there? Think again. On this episode, our
guest is going to teach us about an area in Europe that not only is the
landscape stunning, but the price is right and the people are wonderful.
The weather is gorgeous, particularly in the winter so it’s a great
winterscape. You’ll feel like you’re in Europe like it was 50 years ago
before the throngs of tourist overwhelmed it.

In this episode, we’re going to do the Rota Vicentina or the Fisherman’s
Walk and some surrounding trails on the coastal cliffs of Portugal.
We’re going to go in an area that is not touristy at all and you will
also feel that you’re seeing Portugal as it was decades ago. All at a
price that you can afford. Like all of our shows, on the show itself,
you’re going to get a general overview, flavor and taste of what these
adventures are like. Can you start by introducing yourself and perhaps
telling us your age?

My name is Julianna Barnaby and I am 32 years old.

How did you get into Adventure Travel?

It’s a slightly convoluted story which started with me working as a
travel writer after university. I left the travel industry and worked as
a lawyer for five years in the city before I started the blog when I
left the law. I created a travel blog which I’ve been working through
for the past years. That’s how I got into Adventure Travel and how it’s
developed.

Were you always very physical that you like to hike, bike and all that
kind of stuff or is that something new to you once you started
traveling?

I’ve always enjoyed hiking and there are things that have definitely
come along with traveling. I was hardly qualified when I got my PADI
qualification for diving while I was traveling. Some of the more serious
hikes and long-distance hikes that I’ve done, my mind started to want
traveling. It’s been pretty interesting.

We’re going to talk about hiking in Portugal. Can you kindly give us a
brief overview?

One of the hikes that I’ve done is the Rota Vicentina which is a series
of trails, two main trails in the Southwestern Portugal mainly in the
Alentejo region. One of them is the coastal trail called the Fisherman’s
Trail and the other one which is more inland is called the Historical
Way. I have large parts of both of those trails and they’re beautiful.
The Fisherman’s Trail is formerly created at around 2012. It’s
relatively new and the Historical Way was created after that as well.
There are a series of circular routes that go on different parts of
those trails too. The Fisherman’s Trail goes all along the coast of
Alentejo region coastline and it’s beautiful. It’s a great way to be
able to see the rugged landscapes and to see the rough Atlantic
coastline in an area that hasn’t been hugely developed that doesn’t have
loads of large hotels or lots of development along its way. It’s such a
nice way to go and see a different part of Portugal and a beautiful part
of the European coastline.

Is this something because that’s not so developed that you need a
backpack or is there a village within walking distance each day? How do
you do that? How do you figure out the logistics?

The logistics, let’s say the Rota Vicentina team. There’s a community
team around the trails and the back of the trails. Also, they have
masterminded the ways that you can do these hikes. It’s quite cool
because even though it’s quite rural and a lot of the times in places
that are hugely developed in terms of lots of accommodation, the ways of
the days tells me you start or finish somewhere where you can stay in a
B&B or a local bed and breakfast, hotel or somewhere. You don’t have to
come to the bistro.

Do you need to pack your day’s water or there’s plenty of water along
the way?

You do need to pack your day’s water. There are places that you can
refill along the way. Sometimes few and far between. It’s quite warm
temperature-wise unless you’re hiking in the winter months. It’s
definitely one where I would recommend packing your own water and lots
of it.

What months would you say are the best months to do this? I assume
summer might be too hot?

Yeah, summer is too hot. I recommend from late September as the
earliest, until April or May. In between May to September, it’s very
hot. When I was hiking in the trails, it was mid-October and we’re still
looking at temperature some days like 30 to 35 degrees. It’s hotter in
the summer months. The team’s advice and also, I would completely agree
with that is to try to avoid the hotter summer months.

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If I’m not mistaken, Portugal is one of the more affordable European
countries.

Yes, it is. Portugal is definitely more affordable to travel in than a
lot of other European countries, especially in Western Europe. In terms
of cost, it’s a great one. You can get great food, great wine at
relatively inexpensive prices. It’s a good value country to travel in.

How hard it is to get to the starting point to start the trail? Do you
use any kind of mass transits? Is it a bus or train? How do you get
about once you get into the country?

You can do it in a number of ways. I drove and rode the train back to
the beginning. It’s a combination of train and buses back to the start
point. Again, I think that you can arrange transfers. There are
transportation partners. You can fly into Lisbon and Faro, then you can
either take a bus or train in some of the nearest stops then arrange a
private transfer to get you there. There are so many ways that you can
do it and there’s a lot of information on the website to help you plan
how to from and in between different destinations.

Are you by yourself out there or are you seeing other hikers or
villagers? Tell us a little bit about your day to day interactions with
people.

It depends on what trail you are doing. The Fisherman’s Way, which is
the coastal trail, has become increasingly popular in the past few
years. In total, it’s now in between all of the trails is now about
20,000 people a year hiking the trails. The large majority of these
people are hiking on the Fisherman’s Trail. On a day to day basis on the
Fisherman’s Trail, you are going to see other hikers. Not all the time
and you’re certainly not tail backing hiker to hiker. It’s called the
Fisherman’s Way because it’s the way the old Portuguese fishermen used
to go to the best fishing spots on the coast. There are a lot of small
fishing villages which is cool and they are incredibly friendly and
hospitable locals.

You can expect to come across a lot of locals and there are also things
if you do some research ahead. There are also cultural programs that the
Rota Vicentina team put together that you can learn about azulejos, the
Portuguese tiles and learn about the specific cultures of a particular
area. On the Historical Way, it does move from town to town largely. It
starts in Santiago de Cacèm which is, if I’m right, is the beginning of
the Portuguese Camino that goes from town to town. In between the towns,
you’re not going to come across that many people because there are very
few people that are hiking this trail. You are not going to come across
that many hikers either, but you generally start and finish either in a
town or a village. There are great opportunities to interact with the
locals and the kinds of towns that aren’t necessarily in guidebooks.
List those places that you have to see in Portugal that are so
inherently Portuguese and a part of Alentejo region.

When they call it the Way, is that a pilgrimage similar to the El Camino
de Santiago which is like a pilgrimage route or is it just a trade’s
route? These are traditional paths that the local people would use.

The Historical Way is the Portuguese Camino de Santiago. It forms the
Portuguese’s pilgrim’s route to Santiago. They call it the Historical
Way because it’s a traditional pilgrimage route for Portuguese to go.
The Fisherman’s Trail is a lot busier that’s not to say very busy,
whereas if you’re hiking the Historical Way or the circular routes,
they’re a lot quieter and a lot of the time, a lot of the day, the only
people that I’ve seen while I was hiking that trail were locals.

We did cover the El Camino. Can you tell us a little bit about the
landscape particularly on the cliffs? Are these wide paths or scary
paths? Tell us a little bit about what kind of things we’ll see.

It varies very much. What you will see varies a lot on a day-to-day
basis. They’re not scary paths, they’re quite narrow paths and cliff
drops are quite steep, but at no point would I say that it feels
perilous or particularly dangerous. You need to pay attention to where
you’re walking but you’re not close to the cliff’s edge or at least the
paths that will take you very close to the edge of the cliff. I said
some of the cliffs are high. They’re large cliffs for a part of the
landscapes along the Fisherman’s Way. That turns into limestone cliffs
in other parts of the way. There are all other things as well. There are
large bits where there are huge coastal sand dunes. You are weaving in
and out of sea views and then there are these huge sand dunes with
coastal grasses that you’re winding your way between. It was one of the
hardest day’s hikes because hiking through sand dunes feels like three
times as much worth as hiking on a normal path.

It was an interesting contrast of the day’s hikes because it was
something that I haven’t expected at all. In land, there is a lot again.
There are a lot of cork plantations so you’ve got huge space of cork
trees and you can see the last time that they’ve been harvested for
their cork because they’ve all got numbers written on them to show the
landowners when they’re next due to be harvested for their cork. You go
through small towns, open grasslands and you go through a small wooded
forest area. It’s not just cork. Although that area, a large majority of
the forest are cork because that’s traditionally what’s being grown in
the region. You do get a lot of variety on the both of the trails.

For a lot of people, they may not understand how you harvest cork which
is something Portugal’s known for. Can you talk a little bit about that
so people can get an idea? If you know the season that they harvest it,
it would be cool too.

I’m no expert on this but my understanding is that they use the cork’s
bark to create cork over a period of time, it’s every seven years
roughly. They will strip the tree of a large proportion of its bark and
that is how you’re harvesting the cork. You can’t do that on a yearly
basis. It takes another X period of years, I think it’s seven, but I can
be completely wrong with that. It takes another seven years for the cork
tree to regrow the amount of bark that would mean appropriate ready to
be harvested again. They would strip the tree of its bark to use as cork
and that’s something that Portugal is famous for and then you leave to
regenerate before you do it again for a period of time.

I mentioned that it would be very stressful for the tree and it’s going
to take it some time to recover and reproduce again. From my research, I
see that a lot of the landscape or even though Portugal is more
Mediterranean in the landscape. Is that correct? Do you see some
rosemary and some of the southern vegetation? Can you talk a little bit
the kinds of plants or things if you know anything about that you might
see?

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It’s a stark contrast to England where I’m from. It rains all the time
and we have lots of green grass farmland and landscapes. This is a very
dry and arid landscape a lot of the time. The cliffs are very bare and
stark. Even in the land, when you’re walking along dusty parts
punctuated like a Mediterranean Scotland vegetation. It’s vegetation
that clearly has get by without a huge amount of rain all the time. I
saw a lot of dill growing, rosemary and a lot of thyme which makes sense
because it’s a lot of the things that you see in Portuguese cooking.
There are also some vineyards in the Alentejo. It’s becoming
increasingly well-known although it’s always produced a large amount of
wine for Portugal. That wine is starting to get a better reputation or
increasing its reputation internationally. There’re also vineyards but
the natural landscape is dense and quite dry, quite arid with
Mediterranean vegetation.

Since it’s on the coast, I lived on the coast of North Carolina and the
winds almost carve the vegetation so it’s hunched over. Is it like that
as well? Is it very dramatic?

Yeah, it is very dramatic. The parts of the walk that I completed, there
were not many trees nearby. When you did get trees near to the coast, as
you said, you get that bent tree effect. There is a huge expanse of
Atlantic Ocean where the winds can blow that to fierce speed and the
coastal landscape definitely reflects that.

How well is it blazed or marked? Is it well signed?

Yes, it’s incredibly well-marked. It’s one of the best trails that I’ve
had the luck to follow ever. You can pick up a trail guide before you
set off and it tells you the different colors for the trail markers.
Also, a lot of the time, if there are two potential paths, not only will
they give you a marker to tell you the right one but they give you a
marker for the incorrect path to show you not to go that way. It’s easy
to follow. The coastal path tends to be easy to follow anyway because
you’re following the coast, but the inland Historical Way was safer and
incredibly well-placed.

If you don’t speak Portuguese, is that an issue to people speaking
English?

There are a lot of places when you’re not going to find people who speak
English. However, I don’t speak Portuguese, but I didn’t find it to be a
problem. There’s always a way to communicate. I do speak some Spanish
which isn’t the same language. It helps a little bit in some of the
trickier situations, but I know, all the people who try to speak Spanish
don’t speak a lot in Portuguese. You hike the trail without any
problems. It helps if you have phrase book in case you got stuck but I
don’t think you’re going to run into huge problems.

I always find a smile, which works pretty well too. It’s part of the
fun. Is this something that is suitable for solo or should you go with
somebody? Did you go solo or did you travel? Can you tell us a little
bit about that so people might consider doing the trip themselves?

I took that hike with a friend, but I would have felt comfortable doing
that hiking solo. Based on the Historical Way and the Fisherman’s Way, I
am completely fine doing both of those solo. In terms of distance, the
longest distance that you’re looking at each day is 25 kilometers. The
well-marked trails, the people are very friendly, the places to stay,
you can arrange it all in advance. This is one way that you can
completely tackle it solo without any qualms or worries. That said, I
did do it with a friend and as with any hikes sometimes it’s nice to
have companionship on the longer days but equally doesn’t mean that you
don’t take as much time to appreciate your surroundings at times
possibly. I’ll tell you and I would suggest that you do it solo or two
is maximum. You could do that as a family. Some of the Fisherman’s
Trail’s days are more physically demanding so you need to assess whether
that is appropriate for your kid’s fitness levels. As you’re doing solo,
it’s not a problem at all.

On a scale of one to five, how difficult would you rank it?

I would rank the Fisherman’s Trail as a three and the Historical Way as
a two. Overall, it’s not tough. There were some days that are difficult
day on the Fisherman’s Trail. As I said before, it was the day where it
was flat but sandy. That was a long day of walking through rough sand. A
lot to me was one of my tremendous days where surprise me because there
are days that you’re ascending and descending a lot more. The day that I
was coming through the sand took its toll.

I live on the coast and don’t get to tides right, and have to walk back
at high tide. It is very difficult because you have to keep your feet.
You’re shuffling and lifting your feet if you’re wearing boots. Speaking
of that, are you exposed the whole time or are you on the treetop? Talk
a little bit about that.

You’re all pretty exposed a lot of the time particularly on the
Fisherman’s Trail. The Historical Way, you walk through cork groves and
walk through the olive groves as well so you’re less exposed but
definitely on the Fisherman’s Way, prepare yourself with plenty of sun
cream. If it looks like it’s going to rain make sure that you’ve got
something that’s wind proof or water proof. There’s not a huge amount of
shelter or protection from the elements. With that said, the weather in
southwestern Portugal tends to be pretty good. If anything, you’re going
to be more worried about the fact you’re going to get sunburned than
heavily rained upon although that can happen. The winds can be pretty
fierce so I’ll prepare for that.

I’ve read too that this is a good birding area. Did you see much
wildlife?

Yes, it is a good birding area. One of the places that I stayed which is
a slight detour from the Historical Way is a place called Quinta do
Barranco da Estrada and that’s one of the best birding destinations in
Europe. The owner Frank has a reputation as one of the best people to go
bird watching with worldwide. That particular area where it’s based is
incredible like we saw a ton even if we’re just hiking around like the
reservoir. We saw huge amount of bird life but generally, the region as
a whole is good for bird watching. It’s good to keep an eye out. I’m not
an expert. I wouldn’t be able to say which kind of birds we see but we
saw a lot of them and they’re very different. It’s a unique experience.
I’m the guy who wants to find a piece and a real character. Also, it has
this huge reputation for running one of the best places for bird
watching in Europe. If you’re interested, I would recommend this one.

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I’m definitely interested in going there myself. If somebody wants to
take a rest day, what villages or towns would you recommend? They take a
day and let their body rest and explore a little bit or maybe do some
laundry. What would be some good stopping places?

There are quite a few along the way. Santiago do Cacèm which is where
the Historical Way ends is a nice town. Very important as a historical
Portuguese fortress and old Moorish castle there. It’s quite a nice old
church and beautiful and nice covered streets that you can spend all day
wandering around from café to cafe. That was a nice place to spend some
time. One of my other favorites was the town of Vila Nova de Milfontes.
I’m sure a Portuguese person would be upset about my pronunciation with
that but that’s a lucky town because it’s part of the stop on the
Fisherman’s Way. It’s quite big not in excessively way. It’s quite a
large town.

It’s one of the largest in town that came across the scope of the trail
and cool independent cafes and restaurants and traditional Portuguese
bars. Great place where you can do horse riding and nice hotels where
you can splashing out and treating yourself. Those are the two that I
would recommend but also a lot of small villages that are pretty cool
where you can spend some time in there as well. One of the circular
routes which have a nice ecoturismo which is called Figueirinha
Ecoturismo. That’s a cool place because the owner created this eco tree
in the middle of absolutely nowhere. It’s got a natural swimming pool.
Beautiful plant life within the swimming pool and it’s got this huge
cool tent that you can stay in. The owner Paula creates these amazing
meals made up of ingredients that they largely grow themselves. That’s
another cool place if you want to get off-grid for a day and totally
kick back and get off-grid and I recommend that place.

Is there any luggage transfer service available on these trails? I got
back from the Cotswold Way and I had a company moved luggage?

The answer is I’m not sure. Now, I know that the Rota Vicentina deal
with a lot of these programs with people. If you get in contact with
them and speak to them ahead and manage to book it in advance, it’s
something that would be possible. I didn’t take advantage of it. I
wouldn’t know exactly how that works. I do know that they tend to be
very good in trying to make this accessible as possible so I presume
that they do.

Is there anything that you wish you had known before you have gone
there? Is there any advice you’d like to give people as they plan their
own trip?

The advice that I would give is to get ahold of the guide. There is an
in-depth guide book that the Rota Vicentina had fit together on the
trail. It gives you a day-to-day breakdown of each day on the
Fisherman’s Trail and each day on the Historical Way. It’s incredibly
useful not only because it’s going to help you plan your hike. While
you’re hiking, it gives you information about what you’re seeing along
the way. One of the reasons that they started the trails was to showcase
the Alentejo region because it’s not on the other tracks of Portugal or
Europe.

If you know a little bit on what you see about the places that you’re
going to, makes it an even better experience. If you’re looking at the
landscapes and thinking about that, it’s cool. That would be one of my
pieces of advice. The other one would be, if you can take some time to
do some of the circular routes that they have along the way. The two
main routes are linear there are a number of circular routs, there are
eight and they’re increasing those. They already could because they get
you completely off the beaten track. It’s very rarely are people doing
this. They have different themes, some of it fits their culture and some
of them are taking you to beautiful places. If you incorporate those
into your hike, I would highly recommend that you do a couple of them
and I enjoyed them.

Is this something that you have to plan your accommodations in advance
or can you go and see where your feet say, “It’s time to go to the next
village and stop.â€

I would definitely plan your accommodation in advance because some of
the places that you go to are quite small. There’s not a huge amount of
accommodation available. I don’t know the laws of camping in Portugal,
if you were camping, bring a lot of flexibility but if you would stay in
the accommodation, it’s worth doing it in advance. It’s very easy to
plan if you have the guide because it gives you a day by day breakdown
of where you would expect to start to stop. You can change that if
you’re tired, you can stop a little earlier. They do tend to have
created the trail each day of the trails so that you stop somewhere
where there is accommodation. If you change the length of your days,
then you’re going to end up in a place where there isn’t any
accommodation at all.

Let’s talk about food.

It’s wonderful. It’s good. I think Portuguese food is gaining an
increasing reputation in Europe and worldwide. Its simplicity is
brilliant. I did not have about me while I was doing the hike at all.
Along the Fisherman’s Way, you can see a ton of seafood and even on the
Historical Way. It’s not that far inland, so there’s a lot of great
seafood with good quality. There’s a lot of long time focus on
self-sustainability. A lot of locally grown produce and simple
ingredients and fresh herbs that come from around that region. The food
is brilliant and tasty. I’m very hungry thinking about it.

The food is always very important but particularly if you’re working
hard all day, you’re looking forward to at least one special meal. When
you talked about this trip to your friend or people that are
inquisitive. What’s your go to the story? What’s the memory that pops in
your mind and says, “That’s this trip.â€

It was that one day when we were walking along the Historical Way and we
went for about three to four hours without seeing another person. I
thought, “How rare is that?†If you’re hiking in Europe, along a trail
that isn’t incredibly well-known and its’s by no means a secret and you
don’t see another person for three to four hours while you’re hiking
through these beautiful rolling hills of cork and with olive groves.
That to me was this trail, is the fact that it’s a chance to take in
some of southwest Portugal’s finest landscapes and sometimes in complete
solitude. That popped out for me because it’s so rare when you’re hiking
in Europe that you get that experience or at least along the trail.

Any other stories that you remember that you would like to share?

“People Share on X

Every time you get to talk to someone, at least if you could find
someone who could translate, it’s always interesting to hear what
they’re saying about their lives. One of the days we were in Brejão or
Zambujeira do Mar, we’re talking to this Portuguese fisherman and he was
telling us about how he gets out in the middle of the night to go and
fish. Although it sounds quite terrifying, setting off in the middle of
the night, in a very small boat into the very rough Atlantic sea. He
took us to his home to show us how his father-in-law’s hand prepares the
nets. In the course of an hour, I’ve learned something completely new
and this person without any prompting, welcomed us and shown us a part
of what he does on a day to day basis. That is very traditional and
you’ll find that a lot when you’re doing the hike. Local people are
happy to see people taking in interest with their regions and they’re
very proud of their culture and their lifestyle. You get a good
opportunity to be able to see that along with the incredible landscapes
in Southwestern Portugal.

You’ve extremely well-traveled. How would this adventure compare to some
of the other things that you’ve done?

Incredibly well. It was a surprise to me that Rota Vicentina because it
showed that even though I have been to Portugal a number of times, it’s
probably eight but I haven’t yet explored that part of the Alentejo
coastline. I haven’t explored that part of the interior of the Alentejo.
It drove into me even though you’re well-traveled, that you’ve been to a
country several times, there’s still so much to explore. The Rota
Vicentina, the network of trails, is one of the best hikes in Europe
which is why I listed it in the article to say it’s one of the best
hikes in Europe. It’s completely different, amazing views and incredible
landscapes. The Atlantic Ocean on one-hand has cool landscapes on the
other and it’s a wonderful trail.

Julianna, you’ve got a blog and you’ve been into travel for forever. I
love your motto of, “More adventures and less pay.†Tell us a little
bit about what you’ve got going on and how people can reach out to you
and follow you and see what you’re up to.

I have a travel blog The Discoveries Of which I started several years
ago after coming back to the travel industry. I first worked on the
travel industry as a travel writer. I’ve left that and started with the
travel blog. The idea is to celebrate the excitement and the discovery
that you can find personally from travel. We can all go to and see a lot
of pictures of the same faces, you can read a lot of articles, and you
can travel to cool spots, I live in London, a lot of people travel here.
There’s so much that you can personally discover on adventures that you
can go on. The blog is to help inspire you to take those trips and gives
you practical information about when you’re there, how exactly you can
get about, where you can be, what you can do and hikes that you can go.
It’s a combination of inspiration and practical information. You can
find the blog on www.TheDiscoveriesOf.com and also on Instagram
@TheDiscoveriesOf, Facebook which is the same and on Twitter which is
@DiscoveriesOf. I’m pretty much hanging out on social media a lot of the
time and always happy to hear from people’s questions or suggestions or
any feedback. It’s always a pleasure.

Do you have a favorite social channel?

My favorite social channel is Instagram because you can communicate with
people easily and quickly there. I have a lot of communication with
people through blogs. They follow me on Instagram and I spend time to
keep people there.

Julianna, you have a travel philosophy you’ve called Discerning Travel.
Tell us a little bit about that.

People often ask me about while I write about destination, culture and
adventure. That’s where I get the idea of Discerning Travel. It’s doing
all activity that speaks the destination. Sometimes, I was in Mauritius
and stayed in a lovely five-star hotel, which is beautiful but equally,
I spent two weeks driving across the Atacama Desert because I felt
that’s the best way to see and experience that destination. When I say
Discerning Travel, it’s traveling in a way that best suits the
destination. People are quite diverse and eclectic in a way that they
travel depending on where they’re traveling to. They globally embrace
and tells that too.

Any final thoughts for our readers?

If you’re wondering whether you should go to Rota Vicentina, the answer
is you should. If you do have time to go to the Historical Way and the
Fisherman’s Route, I would highly recommend it. If you don’t, do one and
try this one a couple of years later.

Thanks, so much for your time, Julianna. That’s been great.

Thank you. I’ve enjoyed it.

————————————————————————

After my conversation with Julianna and looking at the photos that she
and other bloggers have put on, this adventure has moved way up on my
list. In fact, I’m going to try to squeeze it on this winter if I get
the opportunity as soon as I finish one big project I’m working on. I
like the fact that you can go in the winter time when a lot of places
that I like to hike are not available or they’re very expensive. This is
affordable. You’re off seizing getting to Europe and the airfares are
cheap and it’s an economical country to visit on top of that. I love the
fact that it’s not heavily traveled. In this day and age, airfare has
pretty much come down and like to complain they’re still cheap as
compared to a few decades ago. So many people have been lifted up
poverty across the world. There are a million more travelers. To find a
place that is so beautiful and so underexposed to the tourism trade is
remarkable. I’m glad to share this adventure with you. There are 8,000
podcasts out there right now. It’s hard to make a dent among the masses
and get seen. If you’re enjoying this program, I would sure appreciate a
five-star review. Post right now, scroll down and give hopefully a
five-star review and let me know what you think of the program. It will
help others to find the show. I would surely appreciate. Thanks.

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