The Camino or the Way of St. James is the name for numerous pilgrimage routes that lead to the Cathedral of St. James in the Spanish city Santiago de Compostela.
After in 2019, with my then fifteen-year-old son, who celebrated his 16th birthday on Camino, and my colleague Vera, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, I Camino Frances. UNESCO-protected Camino route, last year it was the turn of the Portuguese Camino - this time coastal route from Porto to Santiago.
Unlike the Camino Frances, you don't need a month for the Portuguese coastal route and you can do it in two weeks, which makes it much more affordable for busy pilgrims.
The Portuguese Camino has several routes, and the main route is Portuguese Way Lisbon - Fátima - Porto - Santiago de Compostela, long approx 650 kilometers. After the Frances route, this route is the most popular Camino route to Santiago.
Pilgrims from Portugal, mainly from Lisbon and Porto, traditionally follow this route. These two beautiful UNESCO World Heritage cities are popular starting points for the Camino Portugués, and our coastal route starts in Porto and follows the coast after 260 kilometers of pleasant, easy walking to Santiago.
Starting from Porto, Camino Portugués coastal it follows the coast and is actually like a scenic walk to Santiago de Compostela. It is perfect for those looking for peace as you will be walking along beaches and rocks and the sounds of the waves of the Atlantic Ocean most of the way.
Pilgrims along this route pass through picturesque, colorful towns and villages along the coast. Most of the way along the beach you walk along a wooden boardwalk, and at times it seems more like a tourist walk than the Camino, especially if you have walked the Frances, be prepared, this route is something completely different.
We definitely recommend that when you are already in Porto, rent a car and go to the most important shrine in Portugal. Fatima which is located about two hundred kilometers in the direction of Lisbon. It is a special experience to visit this shrine when starting a new Camino route, especially for us Catholic pilgrims. If you are also going to Lisbon, Fatima is only 130 kilometers away on the route to Porto.
CAMINO COASTAL ROUTE ALONG THE MAGNIFICENT ATLANTIC COAST BRINGS SCENES THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO DESCRIBE IN WORDS
Starting from the picturesque UNESCO-protected Porto, this route takes you to the charming seaside towns and villages of northern Portugal, along the magnificent Atlantic coast.
During at least 12 days you will stay in picturesque small towns and visit the most charming towns and villages from the coast to the mountains. The sights that open up to you around every corner are indescribable in words, and along with our Camino Krk, this is definitely the most beautiful path I've walked.
However, if you ask me which Camino route I recommend, and you want to do the Camino for the first time, then it is The Camino Frances is 830 kilometers long that real true Camino experience that you need to experience first.
On the coastal route, you will discover the wild Atlantic beauty and sandy beaches of northern Portugal and southern Galicia. On the way, you will have the opportunity to taste traditional Portuguese gastronomy - seafood and local wines.
This is certainly a quieter Camino route than the most famous Camino Frances, and you will find accommodation in nice fishing villages and you will surely remember the scenes of this picturesque coastal Camino forever.
Note that the Caminho da Senda Litoral follows the coast, while the Caminho da Costa (better marked) occasionally turns inland and overlaps the Senda Litoral in certain parts. If you accidentally start the Caminho da Costa, don't worry, the path will take you back to the same destination.
Pontevedra is a city that is definitely worth staying in if you have time, and in my opinion one of the most beautiful on this route after Porto. It will certainly delight you and Baiona, Vigo and A Guarda. Don't forget this is an extremely touristic area and during the season you might have problems finding accommodation in coastal destinations.
If possible, the best option is not to book accommodations in advance and stop where you decide to stop, not where someone wrote that you should stop. Unfortunately, the Camino routes have been so popularized for the past ten years that it is almost impossible to afford to walk casually in this way due to the large crowds and the inability to find accommodation at the last minute, especially if you are like us, slower walkers.
Heat wave in October
For the first couple of days, we somehow managed to walk unencumbered by accommodation, even though we were heading to Portugal early October temperatures they are along the coast exceeded 30 degrees Celsius. There was a sudden heat wave that enticed Portuguese people to go to the coast and enjoy the beaches for the weekend, so it was almost impossible to find a free room, which created quite a few problems for us.
Of course, "Camino provides" somehow solved everything, and after we almost stayed on the beach once and had to walk ten kilometers more to the first available accommodation, we still started booking accommodation in advance so that we could walk more relaxed. We weren't happy about that fact, but tourists flooded the coast and we didn't really have many options.
What is unusual about Camino routes is that here you go part of the way by boat crossing the border between Portugal and Spain.
Entering Santiago is always magnificent, this time we entered from the south side and got to know the city a little better, where the Cathedral of St. James is located, which is the destination of all Camino routes. In Santiago, the proverbial rain is waiting for you, and this time after the heat wave it poured like a torrent, so we didn't walk around the city much, but that's why we finally visited the Camino Museum, which is located right next to the cathedral.
Camino junkies
The Camino is calling... this year we are planning the shortest route Camino Ingles in which they would merge i Camino de Fenisterre and Muxiu. We hope that this year we will walk the paths of St. James and we are among those who just kept walking after the Camino Frances.
Camino junkies call those similar to us, and there are a lot of us - Camino addicts. And once you start on this path, whichever path you take, you will probably join us. The call of Camino is hard to resist once you step on the dusty path of the pilgrims and discover and get to know yourself.
The Camino is actually just that - a path where you finally get to know yourself.
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