Portuguese Camino: Porto to Santiago on foot

1. Day 1: Arrive in Porto

   Porto airport to your hotel in central Porto

   • Drive about 24 min
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Porto
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Porto's Francisco Sa Carneiro airport (OPO), about 11 km northwest of the city centre, where a driver meets you for the 20 to 30 minute run into town. Porto spends little time on this trip, so if you want to see more of it, come a day or two early: we can add pre-trip nights at the same hotel, quoted when you book. In the late afternoon your See Sight Tours guide walks the group up to the Se, the fortified cathedral above the river, where the Portuguese Camino traditionally begins. You collect your pilgrim credential, the folded card you will fill with stamps from churches, cafes and hotels all the way to Santiago, and get your first stamp. From the cathedral terrace you look down over the tiled roofs of the Ribeira to the Douro and the Dom Luis I bridge. The guide briefs you on the week: what each stage is like, how the vehicle and the bags work, and where to fill your water bottle. Then we sit down together for a welcome dinner in the old town.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Porto airport (OPO)
   • Walk to Porto Cathedral (the Se) with your guide
   • Your pilgrim credential and first stamp
   • Welcome briefing
   • Welcome dinner

   Optional experiences

   • Extra nights in Porto before the trip, quoted per room when you book

   Free time: Free until the late-afternoon walk to the cathedral

   Activity: Porto is steep: about 2 km on foot this evening, on cobbled hills and steps.

2. Day 2: Boardwalks from Vila do Conde to Esposende

   Porto to Vila do Conde by vehicle, walk to Esposende, then on to Viana do Castelo

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Viana do Castelo
   Day 2 details

   After breakfast the vehicle takes us about half an hour north, past Porto's port and suburbs, to Vila do Conde, an old shipbuilding town at the mouth of the Ave, with the convent of Santa Clara on its hill and a long stone aqueduct walking away inland. From here the coastal Camino follows wooden boardwalks laid over the dunes, the Senda Litoral, with the Atlantic on your left the whole day. We pass the fishing beaches of Povoa de Varzim and A Ver-o-Mar, and the fields near Apulia where seaweed was once raked from the surf and dried as fertiliser. Lunch is a sit-down meal of grilled fish in Apulia. In the afternoon we cross the Cavado river at Fao into Esposende, a quiet town on the estuary, about 24 km after the start. The vehicle then drives us 20 minutes north to Viana do Castelo, our base for two nights, where your bag is already in your room.

   Included

   • Walk from Vila do Conde to Esposende on the coastal Camino with your guide
   • Sit-down lunch in Apulia
   • Transfer to Viana do Castelo

   Easier option: Start at Povoa de Varzim and stop after lunch in Apulia, about 13 km, then ride the vehicle on to Esposende.

   Free time: Evening free in Viana do Castelo

   Activity: We leave Porto at about 8.30 am. About 24 km, 6 to 7 hours with stops, flat, mostly boardwalk and sandy path. Wind and sun on the open coast: bring a hat and a layer.

3. Day 3: Over the Lima into Viana do Castelo

   Viana do Castelo to Esposende by vehicle, walk back to Viana do Castelo

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Viana do Castelo
   Day 3 details

   No packing today. The vehicle takes us back to Esposende and we walk north to the town where we slept. The route leaves the beach for a while, through the farming parishes of Marinhas and Belinho on cobbled lanes between maize fields and granite walls, with small chapels and wayside crosses, then drops back towards the sea near Castelo do Neiva. Lunch is a sit-down meal on the way. In the afternoon we reach the Lima and cross it on the long iron road and rail bridge of 1878 that locals call the Eiffel bridge, with the whole of Viana do Castelo laid out ahead and the domed basilica of Santa Luzia on its hill above. You reach the old town by mid-afternoon. Later the guide takes anyone who wants up the funicular to Santa Luzia for the view over the river mouth, then the evening is free in the Praca da Republica, around its Renaissance fountain.

   Included

   • Walk from Esposende to Viana do Castelo with your guide
   • Sit-down lunch on the route
   • Santa Luzia funicular and the view from the basilica

   Optional experiences

   • Gil Eannes hospital ship museum in Viana's harbour

   Easier option: Start at Castelo do Neiva, about 12 km, and walk only the second half.

   More active option: Climb to Santa Luzia on the stepped footpath instead of the funicular, about 1.5 km uphill.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Viana do Castelo

   Activity: About 24 km, 6 to 7 hours with stops, some short climbs on cobbled lanes.

4. Day 4: Caminha and across the Minho to A Guarda

   Viana do Castelo to Afife by vehicle, walk to Caminha, boat to A Guarda, then Baiona

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Baiona
   Day 4 details

   A short drive north to Afife, and we walk the last Portuguese stretch of the coast. The path runs between pine woods and beaches to Vila Praia de Ancora, a former fishing village with the small 17th-century Lagarteira fort on its harbour, then along the dunes past Moledo to Caminha, about 16 km from the start. Caminha has a Gothic parish church and a clock tower over its square, and looks straight across the Minho estuary to Spain and the cone of Monte Santa Trega. We cross the river by boat, on the small ferry when it runs or by a local water taxi when the tide and the sandbars stop it, and walk about 3 km into A Guarda. Spanish clocks are an hour ahead. The vehicle, which crosses by bridge, then drives us up Monte Santa Trega to the stone round houses of an Iron Age hillfort and the view over the river mouth, before the half-hour drive to Baiona.

   Included

   • Walk from Afife to Caminha with your guide
   • River crossing from Caminha to A Guarda
   • Monte Santa Trega hillfort and viewpoint
   • Transfer to Baiona

   Easier option: Start at Vila Praia de Ancora, about 9 km to Caminha.

   More active option: Walk up Monte Santa Trega from A Guarda instead of riding, roughly 4 to 5 km and about 340 m of climbing to the summit.

   Free time: Evening free in Baiona

   Activity: About 19 km on foot, 5 to 6 hours with stops, mostly flat. The river crossing depends on tide and weather; we confirm the boat on the day.

5. Day 5: The coast path from Oia to Baiona

   Baiona to Oia by vehicle, walk back to Baiona

   • Drive about 24 min
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Baiona
   Day 5 details

   Another morning with no packing. The vehicle drops us at Oia, where the 12th-century Cistercian monastery of Santa Maria stands right above the rocks, and we walk north along one of the wildest stretches of the route: a path beside the coast road with the open Atlantic below, granite outcrops, sometimes wild horses grazing on the slopes of the Serra da Groba, and few buildings for long stretches. Rounding Cabo Silleiro, the Ria de Vigo opens ahead with the Cies Islands on the horizon. We reach Baiona, about 18 km from Oia, around lunchtime, so the afternoon is free: walk the 3 km of walls around Monte Real, the fortified headland above the harbour, see the replica of the caravel Pinta, which landed here in 1493 with the first news of Columbus's crossing, or swim at Ladeira beach. In the evening we sit down together to a seafood dinner in the old town.

   Included

   • Walk from Oia to Baiona with your guide
   • The walls of Monte Real
   • Seafood dinner in Baiona

   Optional experiences

   • Carabela Pinta replica museum in Baiona's harbour

   Easier option: Start at Cabo Silleiro, about 8 km into Baiona.

   Free time: Afternoon free in Baiona

   Activity: About 18 km, 4.5 to 5.5 hours, mostly flat but exposed to wind and sun, with few cafes until Baiona: carry water and snacks.

   

6. Day 6: Above the Ria de Vigo to Redondela

   Baiona to Vigo by vehicle, walk to Redondela, then Pontevedra

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Pontevedra
   Day 6 details

   The vehicle skips the long built-up stretch around the bay and drops us in central Vigo, Galicia's largest city. We start with a short walk through the Casco Vello, the old fishing quarter, past the oyster sellers of Rua da Pescaderia, and a half-hour look inside MARCO, the contemporary art museum in the old courthouse and prison on Rua do Principe, before the trail. From the city the Camino climbs onto a path along the hillside, much of it level and shaded, high above the Ria de Vigo, with the long cable-stayed Rande bridge ahead and mussel rafts dotting the water. Then it drops through woods into Redondela, about 16 km from Vigo, a small town under two tall 19th-century railway viaducts. Here the coastal route meets the central Portuguese Camino from Tui, and you will see many more pilgrims from now on. Lunch is your choice in Redondela, then the vehicle takes us about 25 minutes to Pontevedra, our base for two nights, with the evening free in its old town.

   Included

   • Short walk in Vigo's Casco Vello with your guide
   • MARCO contemporary art museum in Vigo
   • Walk from Vigo to Redondela with your guide
   • Transfer to Pontevedra

   Easier option: Stay in Vigo for the morning: more time in the Casco Vello and MARCO, then ride to Redondela for lunch.

   Free time: Evening free in Pontevedra

   Activity: About 16 km, 4 to 5 hours, a steady climb out of Vigo then a level hillside path and a descent into Redondela.

   

7. Day 7: Arcade oysters and Ponte Sampaio to Pontevedra

   Pontevedra to Redondela by vehicle, walk back to Pontevedra

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Pontevedra
   Day 7 details

   No packing again: the vehicle takes us back to Redondela and we walk into Pontevedra. The morning path runs through woods and hamlets above the inner end of the ria, past stone granaries (horreos) raised on legs, to Arcade, a village known across Galicia for its oysters. Lunch here is a sit-down seafood meal, oysters for those who want them, and a white wine from the Rias Baixas vineyards. Straight after lunch we cross the Ponte Sampaio, a medieval stone bridge over the Verdugo estuary where Galician forces fought Napoleon's troops in 1809, then climb through eucalyptus and pine on old paved tracks and drop into Pontevedra, about 20 km from Redondela, by mid-afternoon. Pontevedra closed its centre to most traffic decades ago, and its granite squares are full of people at the end of the day. The guide shows you the 18th-century pilgrims' chapel of the Virxe Peregrina, built on a plan shaped like a scallop shell, and the small old square of Praza da Leña, then the evening is free.

   Included

   • Walk from Redondela to Pontevedra with your guide
   • Seafood lunch in Arcade
   • Ponte Sampaio medieval bridge
   • Short walk in Pontevedra's old town: the Virxe Peregrina chapel and the Praza da Leña

   Optional experiences

   • Museo de Pontevedra

   Easier option: Walk the morning to Arcade, about 7 km, and ride the vehicle to Pontevedra after lunch.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Pontevedra

   Activity: About 20 km, 5 to 6 hours with lunch, with one steady climb of about 150 m after Ponte Sampaio.

   

8. Day 8: Padron to Santiago de Compostela

   Pontevedra to Padron by vehicle, walk to Santiago de Compostela

   • Drive about 36 min
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Santiago de Compostela
   Day 8 details

   The vehicle skips the inland stretch through Caldas de Reis and drops us in Padron, about 40 minutes north, where legend says the boat carrying the body of Saint James came ashore. Under the altar of the church of Santiago lies the pedron, the Roman stone the boat is said to have been tied to. Then the last stage: about 24 km through the old episcopal seat of Iria Flavia, past the baroque sanctuary of A Escravitude, through villages, oak woods and, closer in, the suburbs of Milladoiro, where the cathedral spires first appear. Lunch is a sit-down stop at the halfway point. We arrive in the afternoon through the old gate of Porta Faxeira and the Rua do Franco into Praza do Obradoiro, in front of the cathedral's western facade. This trip skips about 40 km on this stretch, so the Pilgrim's Office will not issue the Compostela; we say so plainly, and you keep the credential with its stamps. Farewell dinner tonight.

   Included

   • The church of Santiago in Padron and the pedron stone
   • Walk from Padron to Santiago de Compostela with your guide
   • Sit-down lunch on the route
   • Arrival in Praza do Obradoiro
   • Farewell dinner

   Easier option: Ride to Milladoiro and walk the last 8 km into Santiago, the stretch with the first view of the spires.

   Activity: We leave Pontevedra at about 8 am. The longest day: about 24 km, 6 to 7 hours with lunch, gentle climbs and the last few km on city pavement.

9. Day 9: Santiago Cathedral and home

   Santiago de Compostela, then Santiago airport

   • Drive about 18 min
   • Breakfast
   Day 9 details

   A last morning in Santiago instead of a breakfast and goodbye. Early, before the crowds, your guide walks the group around the cathedral's four squares, Obradoiro, Praterias, Quintana with the Holy Door and Azabacheria, and explains how the Romanesque church grew around the tomb of the apostle. Then we climb onto the cathedral roofs on the guided rooftop tour, walking across the granite steps of the roof with the old town and the Galician hills all round. At noon the Pilgrim's Mass is held in the cathedral; go early if you want a seat. The giant censer, the botafumeiro, is swung only at some masses, so we never promise it. The rest of the day is yours: the Museo das Peregrinacions, the Mercado de Abastos or lunch in the old town. The driver takes you to Santiago's Rosalia de Castro airport, about 20 minutes away. Book a flight leaving after about 4 pm, or ask us about a train or transfer back to Porto.

   Included

   • Morning walk around the cathedral squares with your guide
   • Santiago Cathedral rooftop tour
   • Drop-off at Santiago airport (SCQ)

   Optional experiences

   • Museo das Peregrinacions
   • Cathedral museum

   Free time: Free after the rooftop tour

   Activity: Book a flight after about 4 pm to fit the rooftop tour and the noon mass.

Wildlife and weather: Galicia and the Minho coast get rain in every month and Atlantic wind on the open stretches; spring brings flowers and fresh green, early autumn the warmest sea and the grape harvest around the Albarino vineyards. July and August are hot and the trail is busiest.

• Porto1 night
• Viana do Castelo2 nights
• Baiona2 nights
• Pontevedra2 nights
• Santiago de Compostela1 night