Camino Portugués

May  2024

Camino De Santiago

– Porto, Portugal – Santiago de Compestela, Spain –

About My Camino

The Camino Portugués is my fourth Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route, but the first one I walked on in the springtime.

My first Camino experience was on the Camino Frances and the Camino Finisterre back in autumn of 2018. That 889-km trek took me across the entire length of Spain from St. Jean Pied de Port (France) to Santiago de Compestela, and then on to the Atlantic Ocean (Fisterra, Spain). The Camino was a truly life-changing experience for me, but something I thought I would only do once in my lifetime. After all, I’m not Catholic and there are so many other long trails on my bucket list left to hike. 

Fast forward four years (and one global pandemic later) and I decided to return to Spain for another Camino in the autumn of 2022. This trek took me up along the Camino del Notre, the 842-km coastal route along the Cantabrian Sea from Hendeye, France, to Santiago de Compestela. This northern pilgrimage route challenged me in many new ways – both physically and mentally – and I loved those magical ocean views.

And so, it’s probably no surprise that my most recent Camino would also follow the coast again. This time though, I opted to begin in Portugal instead of France, and approach Santiago along the Atlantic Ocean.

The Camino Portugués is the second most popular route with pilgrims each year, and it is very much a “choose-your-own-adventure” trek. Some pilgrims start in Lisbon, but the majority opt to begin further north in the town of Porto (as I did). From there, pilgrims can follow the Central Route, the Coastal Route, the Littoral Route, the Spiritual Variant, or move back and forth between them.

Below is my daily trail journal from the Camino Portugués – along with my packing list and some additional random thoughts about this wonderful springtime Camino experience.

Trail Journal

Other Camino Posts

Resources