Ocean cliffs, sandy paths and village-to-village walking, from São Torpes to Lagos.
Best season: September to June. Rota Vicentina recommends these months for walking. Plan around heat, daylight and the latest coastal path notices. Before you go
Loading your plan…
Checking the seasons, closures and current conditions for today…
Pick a plan to see its days on the map, or make your own below. Every stage ends in a town or village.
Changing where you stay suggests a new number of days: the fewest that keep each day under 8 h of walking and in daylight, where a place to stay allows.
Days end where the route has a stay, a camp or a village.
Beach passages near São Torpes (stage 1, km 0.9): The route uses the beach in two places near the start; Rota Vicentina asks walkers to make sure the sea is safe first. Otherwise: The road (EM 1109) when the sea is high or rough.
Porto Covo Town or village
OpenStreetMap lists at least 10 places to stay within about 600 m; TrailSplits has not checked which are open.
See the area on OpenStreetMapLow-tide option, Queimado to Malhão along the beach (stage 2, km 5.4): The marked route follows the sand track behind the dunes; Rota Vicentina says you may walk the beach instead, but only at low tide.
Stage 2: The footbridge over the stream at Praia do Sissal has been closed since 19 March 2026. Rota Vicentina's detour goes down to the beach and back up the cliff; the road is the other way round (notice renewed 16 September 2026).
Vila Nova de Milfontes Town or village
OpenStreetMap lists at least 23 places to stay within about 600 m; TrailSplits has not checked which are open.
See the area on OpenStreetMapAlmograve Town or village
OpenStreetMap lists at least 5 places to stay within about 600 m; TrailSplits has not checked which are open.
See the area on OpenStreetMapZambujeira do Mar Town or village
OpenStreetMap lists at least 14 places to stay within about 600 m; TrailSplits has not checked which are open.
See the area on OpenStreetMapOdeceixe Town or village
OpenStreetMap lists at least 19 places to stay within about 600 m; TrailSplits has not checked which are open.
See the area on OpenStreetMapAljezur Town or village
OpenStreetMap lists at least 3 places to stay within about 600 m; TrailSplits has not checked which are open.
See the area on OpenStreetMapArrifana Town or village
OpenStreetMap lists at least 7 places to stay within about 600 m; TrailSplits has not checked which are open.
See the area on OpenStreetMapBordeira stream mouth (stage 8, km 17.4): Rota Vicentina warns (since 19 March 2026) that the crossing is impassable when the water rises. Otherwise: Rota Vicentina's inland alternative by the Bordalete pine wood and the road to Carrapateira: 21.5 km for the stage. Rota Vicentina gives no tide times: cross in the hours around low tide, in a calm sea.
Carrapateira Town or village
OpenStreetMap lists at least 7 places to stay within about 600 m; TrailSplits has not checked which are open.
See the area on OpenStreetMapPraia do Amado (stage 9, km 3.2): Rota Vicentina asks walkers to watch the sea at Amado beach.
Praia da Murração (stage 9, km 4.7): If the beach cannot be crossed from south to north, Rota Vicentina sends walkers on the inland circular route. Otherwise: The inland circular route on the clifftop track.
Vila do Bispo Town or village
OpenStreetMap lists at least 5 places to stay within about 600 m; TrailSplits has not checked which are open.
See the area on OpenStreetMapStage 10: Includes the there-and-back along the road to the Cabo de São Vicente lighthouse, about 0.9 km, as the stage's route relation does; Rota Vicentina gives 20.2 km for the stage.
Sagres Town or village
OpenStreetMap lists at least 14 places to stay within about 600 m; TrailSplits has not checked which are open.
See the area on OpenStreetMapLow-tide option, Furnas to Figueira along the shore (stage 11, km 13.5): At low tide you can walk the shore between Furnas and Figueira beaches, about 1.4 km instead of 3.9 km on the marked clifftop route.
Salema Town or village
OpenStreetMap lists at least 10 places to stay within about 600 m; TrailSplits has not checked which are open.
See the area on OpenStreetMapBoca do Rio (stage 12, km 2): The route crosses the stream mouth at Boca do Rio; Rota Vicentina asks walkers to watch the sea there. Otherwise: Rota Vicentina's alternative stage, 14 km, when the sea blocks the crossing.
Luz Town or village
OpenStreetMap lists at least 10 places to stay within about 600 m; TrailSplits has not checked which are open.
See the area on OpenStreetMapStage 13: Checked on 18 September 2026 against the current OpenStreetMap relation of this stage: the same path, by Porto de Mós and Ponta da Piedade, ending at Lagos railway station (10.9 km, as Rota Vicentina states). The earlier map ran on 2.5 km through Lagos after the finish.
Longest day: day 4, 5 h 50.
Days end at a stage end with a refuge or a village, or in a village the route passes through. Walking times are the Rota Vicentina's published times where it gives one, with our estimate beside it; a day that walks part of a stage gets a share of the stage's time by distance and climb. Running times use 7.5 km/h plus one hour per 700 m of climb: a steady reference, not a prediction. Daylight is sunrise to sunset where the day starts; the time left is for breaks, meals and delays. For villages we count the places to stay OpenStreetMap lists; we have not checked which are open. A plan is not a booking: reserve every night before you commit to these day lengths.Tide times are our prediction from the tide gauges' harmonic constants in TICON-4 (Hart-Davis, Dettmering and Seitz, 2025, CC BY 4.0).
Loading the forecast for low point (sea level) and high point (158 m)…
Typical weather on this trail: at the lowest point (sea level) and the highest point (158 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Good | Good | Good |
| Stages rated good on typical weather | 13/13 | 13/13 | 13/13 | 13/13 | 13/13 | 9/13 | 2/13 | 1/13 | 9/13 | 13/13 | 13/13 | 13/13 |
| High point, day / night | 15°/8° | 16°/8° | 18°/10° | 18°/11° | 21°/13° | 23°/15° | 25°/16° | 25°/16° | 24°/16° | 21°/14° | 18°/11° | 16°/9° |
| Low point, day / night | 16°/8° | 16°/8° | 19°/10° | 20°/11° | 23°/13° | 25°/15° | 26°/15° | 27°/16° | 25°/15° | 23°/15° | 18°/11° | 16°/9° |
| Rain, mm | 62 | 56 | 54 | 44 | 30 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 26 | 68 | 86 | 85 |
| Snow at high point | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Daylight | 9 h 50 | 10 h 47 | 11 h 53 | 13 h 07 | 14 h 09 | 14 h 44 | 14 h 31 | 13 h 39 | 12 h 29 | 11 h 18 | 10 h 12 | 9 h 36 |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
A few places depend on the tide and the swell: the stream mouth at Bordeira (Arrifana to Carrapateira), Amado and Murração beaches (Carrapateira to Vila do Bispo) and Boca do Rio (Salema to Luz). The day planner marks them on your days and gives the low-tide times there for your dates, predicted from the Sines and Lagos tide gauges. Rota Vicentina has an inland way round for each.
Port of Sines: tide tableAfter the winter storms of 2026 Rota Vicentina keeps a map of closures, reroutes and alerts along the trail: footbridges out, landslips, crossings that depend on the tide. Look at it for each stage you plan, and again the day before.
Rota Vicentina: warnings mapThe trail authority asks visitors not to trail run here. Walk the marked path, protect dune vegetation and keep back from cliff edges. Long sandy sections make distance alone a poor guide to effort.
Trail rules and walking guidanceUse each stage finish as an overnight town, then add the walk to your chosen accommodation. Wild camping is not permitted; choose registered accommodation or campsites.
Rota Vicentina: accommodationCarry water and food for your chosen stage and check where you can resupply. Coastal wind can hide how much sun you are getting; check the forecast before each day.
IPMA: Portugal weatherClosures and notices last checked 19 September 2026: Rota Vicentina: safety notices. Check them again before you set out.
Getting there
Choose a stage or journey above to narrow the travel searches.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
Start with a journey above, then compare travel to its first town and home from its last. Bus routes and seasonal services may require changes; check your actual date.
Rede Expressos: intercity journeysFor shorter sections, local transport can connect your accommodation and walking endpoints. Book a transfer when scheduled services do not fit your route.
Rota Vicentina: plan your tripTake your trip with you
Review the current authority maps before downloading these older reference stages. Prepare each part you will need while you still have a connection.
Every stage was checked on 18 and 19 September 2026 against its current OpenStreetMap route relation: stages 1 to 12 follow them to within about 12 m, and Luz to Lagos now ends at Lagos railway station, 10.9 km, as Rota Vicentina states. The stages add up to 222.2 km, and each is within 3% of the length Rota Vicentina gives for it; its headline figure for the whole trail is 226.5 km.
Rota Vicentina: current stages and maps
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Route & sources
Every stage was checked on 18 and 19 September 2026 against its current OpenStreetMap route relation: stages 1 to 12 follow them to within about 12 m, and Luz to Lagos now ends at Lagos railway station, 10.9 km, as Rota Vicentina states. The stages add up to 222.2 km, and each is within 3% of the length Rota Vicentina gives for it; its headline figure for the whole trail is 226.5 km.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 14 September 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
Rota Vicentina: current stages and mapsMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation