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The Portuguese Camino ➤ The central route from Porto to Santiago

This is the traditional Portuguese Camino. You walk the ancient pilgrimage route from Porto to Santiago de Compostela. Enjoy the beautiful countryside, lovely beaches, fantastic regional food and finish the experience standing in front of the impressive cathedral in Santiago.

14 Days / 13 Nights
Moderate

- The old Camino from Porto to Santiago de Compostela -

For centuries, the Portuguese Camino de Santiago has been one of the main pilgrim routes to Santiago de Compostela. Set off on a journey of discovery, not only of the land but also of yourself, following in the footsteps of countless pilgrims and walkers. The long days of walking are physically and mentally challenging and rewarding, but there's no need to punish yourself by carrying all your gear or sleeping in overcrowded dormitories.

It is also possible to walk the Portuguese Camino along the coast.

Our way of doing the Portuguese Camino on foot includes luggage transport and comfortable beds at the best accommodations along this historic route. These carefully selected fine hotels, charming country houses and historic buildings bring you closer to the history, culture and gastronomy of this region of northern Portugal and Galicia.

Our route description contains all the tips and information you need to easily follow the Camino Portugués and understand and appreciate what you see along the way. We suggest when and where you can stop for lunch, as well as things that might be worth a little detour.

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More about the route

Here you can see a map of the routes

Itinerary

Here you can see the programme for the tour.

You'll start your Camino walk towards Santiago de Compostela in beautiful and colourful Porto, with its UNESCO-listed old town, picturesque riverside and, not least, the home of port wine. Experience the best of Portuguese hospitality in the lively city before starting your walk along the Caminho Portugués.

Hotel (example): Hotel Porto Trindade

 

After breakfast, you will meet a member of our team who will drive you to Vilar do Pinheiro to start your Portuguese Camino de Santiago. This way you avoid the busy roads and the first stage is reduced to 17 km instead of almost 35 km.

Notice the gradual transition from urban to rural areas as you walk this first stage. You pass through Vilarinho and cross the medieval bridge over the Ave before reaching the village of Arcos, where the first stage ends.


Hotel (example): Quinta de São Miguel

 

Start walking from Arcos towards the old village of Rates and its impressive Romanesque church. You pass the villages of Courel and Pedra Furada and then follow the country roads until you reach the pretty town of Barcelos, which is the end of this stage.

There are plenty of restaurants to choose from in Barcelos.


Hotel (example): Hotel Bagoeira

 

You'll set off from Barcelos along minor roads that take you to a more rural area, where you'll see small farms and perhaps meet some villagers. Walk through the small villages of Tamel and Aboim towards the river Neiva. End the day in the village of Quintiães.


Hotel (example): Quinta da Cancela

 

The day starts with crossing the Neiva River on a medieval bridge just before the village of Balugães. It's a day of country roads and magnificent scenery until you reach the spectacular entrance to the picturesque town of Ponte de Lima. Plan your walk so you have plenty of time to enjoy the historic centre and gardens or just sit by the river for a while.

Enjoy your comfortable bed tonight in a 3-star hotel with breakfast included. Choose from a variety of restaurants in Ponte de Lima, where you can try traditional dishes such as polvo à lagareiro (baked octopus) or bacalhau assado com broa (baked cod with cornbread) and a good Loureiro white wine.


Hotel (example): Hotel Império do Norte

 

You leave the medieval town of Ponte de Lima and return to nature. In the middle of this stage, you reach the Labruja mountain. The 2 km uphill are the most demanding on the entire Portuguese Way of St James, but the views are worth the effort. Once over the mountain, this stage is an easy walk.


Hotel (example): Casa da Capela

 

This day starts by leaving the Coura river valley and climbing gently to São Bento da Porta Aberta. Continue to Fontoura through fields and scrub until you reach the fortified town of Valença.

Have dinner at one of Tui's many restaurants.


Hotel (example): Hotel Lara

 

Before leaving Valença, spend some time visiting the famous Gothic cathedral. From Valença, follow the Louro Valley, walking along a forest path and over a stone bridge to a wetland where you can see plenty of birdlife. Walk through the town of O Porriño with its magnificent Gothic town hall building.


Hotel (example): Hostal Expo

 

Leave Porriño and walk through the forest of Chan das Pipas. You pass Redondela, where the Central Portuguese Camino and the Coastal Camino meet.
You finish this stage in Arcade, a small town famous for its oysters.


Hotel (example): Hotel Duarte

 

You start this stage by walking from the small town of Arcade. This stage is one of the shortest and most beautiful on the route. When you arrive in Pontevedra, don't miss the historic town centre with its many tapas bars.


Hotel (example): Hotel Virgen del Camino

 

As you walk out of Pontevedra, the Camino leads you through chestnut groves and pine and eucalyptus forests. In the village of Ponte Cabras, you pass the fine rectory of Santa María de Alba. At Lombo da Maceira, a statue of Saint James with his cane will show you the way and before you reach Caldas de Reis, you will pass the small village of Tivo with a fine fountain.


Hotel (example): Hotel Balneario Acuña

 

From Caldas de Reis, you cross the Umia River and pass the hot springs that gave the city its name in Roman times. The route takes you again through forests and gradually ascends to the village of Santa Marina. You continue along the Camino through pine forest to the destination of the day: the town of Padrón.


Hotel (example): Pazo de Lestrove

 

Your last day of walking takes you through a series of small villages on your way to the historic sanctuary of A Esclavitude. Nearby on a hilltop are the ruins of a fort called Castro Lupario. Shortly afterwards you will see some of the oldest crossroads in Galicia. As you walk towards Agro dos Monteiros the famous spires of Compostela Cathedral will appear on the horizon - the goal is near. You pass the ruins of the castle of A Rocha Vella as you approach Santiago de Compostela, where the last night of the tour takes place.


Hotel (example): Hotel Lux Santiago

 

After breakfast, it's time to check out and head home, but we recommend taking some time to walk around and discover this gem of a city. Small, vibrant and historic, with its UNESCO-listed Old Town that can seem quite enchanting. Santiago de Compostela isn't just a place for pilgrims, but locals and students also flock to the cityscape.

Prices and dates

Prices per person in EUR

Price includes

Extras
  • Half board (12x dinner)
  • Extra nights before or after the trip
Not included
  • Transport to and from Portugal
  • Tourist tax (if due)
  • Handling fee (€20)

Practical information

Here you can get answers to various questions about the trip
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The price is based upon two people sharing. It is also possible travel alone in a single room. Simply choose "1 person" in the booking form and it will automatically add the single room surcharge.

On this tour you will be on your own supplied with maps, route descriptions and luggage transfers. That means that your time is your own and you have plenty of time to enjoy the stages in your own pace.

Check the price quickly
You can quickly check the price of your desired trip without having to fill in anything. Here's how:

  1. Choose your desired start date
  2. Click on the green button "See price and reserve your holiday" and go to the booking form
  3. Select number of people, add any optional extras and see the price at the bottom of the page (you don't have to fill in anything on the form).

Get a quote
For example, if you want a flight included or changes to the trip, you can order a quote for this using the "Get a quote" button. Remember to describe in detail what, if anything, you want changed.

The process of your booking
When you book, we will start booking hotels and arranging all the practical details of the trip. This process typically takes 2-5 working days, but some bookings may take longer. If you are arranging your own transport, we recommend that you wait until we have confirmed your booking before arranging this.

Dates
If you can select the date in the tour calendar at the top of this page, this is a possible start date. We continually update the tours with sold-out dates, after which those dates will turn red and cannot be selected.

The flights to Porto and home from Santiago de Compostela are not included in the price. You can easily find a suitable flight via a flight booking engine such as Momondo or Skyscanner.

Notice: we recommend that you book with us and wait for the confirmation before you book your flights.

It works like this:

  1. You book your chosen holiday with us
  2. We confirm your holiday (usually within 2-5 working days)
  3. You arrange your transportation

Getting there
Here is a link for the perfect tool which will help you get an overview of how to get to the starting point of the tour: Rome2Rio

For the accommodations, handpicked family-run hotels and guesthouses have been selected for their character and warm hospitality. The standard is 2-3 star tourist class. The hotels are centrally located in the cities and close to the Pilgrim Route. In rare cases, it may be necessary to book accommodation further from the route, but in these cases, transfers will be included so that it does not affect the hiking program.

The standard package includes daily breakfast. The breakfast offered will depend on the hotel. Continental breakfast is the norm. A usual setup will be a breakfast buffet that includes fruit, bread, pastries, cheese, cold cuts, coffee, tea and juice. If there is a special breakfast product that you are used to having, then we recommend that you bring it or buy it at the local supermarket.

The dinners availble in the hotels will usually be a "pilgrim menu", where you can choose between three starters, three main courses and a dessert. The starters usually include soup, salad or fish. The main courses are usually fish or meat with fries, potatoes and bread. As a rule, there is the possibility of a vegetarian dish. For dessert, for example cheesecake, creme caramel or ice cream.

The food will vary depending on the area, as each area has its own seasonal and local dishes and specialties. For example, fish will be more common in Galicia, the northern coast and the Portuguese coastal regions rather than in the inland areas.

Regarding lunch, we recommend that you either buy it at the local store in your accommodation city or stop in the cities along the route to buy basics like water, snacks, fruit, etc. You can also eat at small cafés along the way.

Your route description will include guides to water posts and eateries.

Luggage transfer is included on this tour. Upon arrival at the first hotel you will be given luggage tags along with the rest of the welcome package. You fill out the luggage tags and put them on your bags where they will remain for the duration of the tour.

Your luggage is picked up from the hotel lobby around 9am every morning and will arrive at your next hotel at 6pm at the latest (often long before that). If there are any special exceptions to the luggage transfer you will be notified upon arrival.

Luggage transfer includes one bag per guest and the bags can weigh 20kg each.

This journey has difficulty level 2

Grade 2
Easy hiking on reasonably good trails. The day walks will last 4-6 hours in hilly terrain. Anyone in good physical condition can participate. Your luggage will be transported and you only carry a light daypack. Requires comfortable footwear such as trekking shoes or hiking boots.

Read more about our grading system here.

Here you can get an overview of the entire route and the elevation profile for each day. The data shows the data from the GPX-files related to the tour. Notice that the routes are sometimes updated, which means that there might be small variations.

See a map of the whole route

See elevation profile

Colors
Blue routes: The route as normal
Red routes: Variations/options (such as shortened or extended routes)

On this tour, you will receive the following documents:

Upon booking
Immediately after booking this trip, you'll recieve a pre-booking-email where you can get a complete overview of your booking. Once the tour is confirmed you get a confirmation email from us along with practical information about the tour.

One month before departure
You will receive a hotel list and final travel documents.

Upon arrival at the first hotel
You'll receive the welcome pack, which contains everything you need for the trip. There will be route descriptions, maps, luggage tags and specific local vouchers. The documents are in English.
Notice: On some tours it is necessary to either print the documents yourself or to bring them electronically.

We recommend taking out travel insurance that covers at least illness, accident, repatriation, lost holiday, luggage and liability. As a customer, you are responsible for taking out the necessary travel insurance to cover these costs.

Before taking out insurance, you should check whether you are already covered by travel or cancellation insurance through your home insurance company, credit card or similar - please note that there may be differences in insurance coverage.

After booking this trip, you get access to various discount schemes.

A hiking holiday on the Portuguese Camino from Porto to Santiago offers varied temperatures during the spring, summer, and autumn months. The spring months, March, April, and May, offer mild temperatures between 13-22 degrees, with moderate rainfall and mild wind conditions. In the summer months, June, July, and August, the temperature rises to 22-30 degrees. Since there can be particularly hot days, we recommend that on these days you start the day's stage early to avoid the midday heat. Rainfall is rare in these months, and there will be light wind conditions, which can feel like pleasant breezes. The autumn months, September and October, offer pleasant temperatures between 18-25 degrees, rainfall increases slightly compared to other periods, and wind conditions remain mild.

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