How to walk the Camino Portuguese at a more leisurely pace

More and more people walk the Camino de Santiago/Way of St James to the Apostle’s tomb in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain every year. Movies like The Way, Looking For Infinity and I’ll Push You have done their bit in increasing its popularity among the big pilgrimages around the world. And you certainly don’t have to be religious to benefit from the experience.

No matter what route, most pilgrims seem to walk on average 25 to 30 kilometres (15 to 19 miles) a day. But what if you don’t want to walk that much? Or if you’ve got an injury/are older and can’t? That question bugged us before our first Camino, and we’ve got good news: You can walk the Camino at your own pace. In today’s article, we share with you how we did the Camino Portuguese / Portuguese Way (in April 2019), averaging just over 10km (6 miles) of walking a day, and how you can do it too.

So how can you walk the Camino Portuguese (or any other Camino route) at a more leisurely pace?

Consider your needs and be prepared to make adjustments

Paul and I were on either side of 50, and we are generally fit and healthy. However, due to a running accident in August 2018, Paul had to have spinal surgery in mid-December 2018.

When we were about to embark on our first Camino, he was still recovering. So, we decided to make the following adjustments:

• to choose a less strenuous Camino route
• to walk shorter distances each day, and
• for me to carry the majority of our stuff.

We reduced our carry-on travel packs down to a minimum and sent Paul’s travel pack (with anything we didn’t need) from our starting point straight to Santiago de Compostela. I walked with my usual travel pack, which ended up weighing 9 kilograms /20 pounds (about the same weight I carry normally). Paul walked with our usual daypack, carrying one of our laptops, a sleeping bag, and our snacks and water bottle (all weighing in at 3 kilograms /6.5 pounds).

Tip #1: Don’t feel pressured by what others do. It’s YOUR Camino. Listen to your body.

Choose a route and distance according to your liking and ability

We decided to combine the various routes that are considered part of the Camino Portuguese, walking from Caminha to Santiago de Compostela via the

• Camino Portuguese de la Costa (Caminha to Redondela);
• Camino Portuguese Central (Redondela to Pontevedra);
• Variante Espiritual (Pontevedra to Padron);
• Camino Portuguese Central (Padron to Santiago).

Why did we choose this particular route? We were concerned that the distance from Porto would be too far for Paul so soon after surgery – we would have had to walk 15-20km/day. On the other hand, we did want to start in Portugal. And we wanted to have the experience of different routes.

In the end, we walked a total of 183km over 18 days (averaging about 10km/day), with a rest day in Combarro (on the Variante Espiritual).

Interested in replicating our itinerary? Just read on or jump straight to it.

Tip #2: While challenging yourself (at least a little) is part of the whole Camino experience, choose a distance that is achievable and a route that matches your abilities.

Manage your accommodation expectations and prepare as needed

How easy is it to find accommodation and what can I expect? This must be one of the most frequently asked questions we’ve seen in Facebook Camino Groups/Camino Forums.

If you walk in Spring/Autumn it’s easy, and you don’t generally need to book ahead (except for some small and very popular Albergues like Casa Fernanda on the Camino Portuguese Central). The accommodations we stayed in were usually only 25 to 30 per cent full. Once, we even had a 16-bed Albergue all to ourselves. If you want to walk in Winter, be aware that some accommodations will be closed. In Summer, some accommodations may need to be pre-booked.

Some people buy books written by John Brierley to help them with their route and accommodation planning. We downloaded the Wise Pilgrim Camino Portugués app (available on Google Play and Apple Store) and supplemented it with Booking.com to find accommodation not mentioned in the app.

Tip #3: Once you’ve decided what average distance per day you can or want to walk, check the route you’d like to do and the lodging options along the way.

Walk the Camino Portuguese averaging 10km/6miles a day (Sample Itinerary)

If you have three weeks available, and can’t or don’t want to walk more than 10 km/6 miles on average per day, you may want to replicate our itinerary. This gives you 18 days of walking (along the Coastal, Central and Spiritual routes) and 3 spare days, which you may want to use as (a) rest day/s on the road (there are plenty of places that warrant further exploration) or once you’ve reached Santiago.

Tip #4: Make sure you leave some time to explore Baiona [Tourist Office], Redondela [Tourist Office], Pontevedra [Tourist Office], Combarro [Tourist Office], Padron [Tourist Office] and of course, Santiago.

We ended up sleeping in a variety of accommodations, ranging from dorm beds in municipal and private Albergues to bedrooms with our own bathroom in guest houses and hotels (including a monastery and a 4-star hotel). Sometimes a room with a bathroom cost the same as two dorm beds. In some areas, guest houses/hotels were the only options.

I hope I managed to alleviate your concerns, and the Camino is now firmly on your bucket list. If you’re looking for an up-to-date guidebook, nothing seems to beat A Pilgrims Guide to the Camino de Santiago (Camino Francs) though the Wisely + the Camino Portuguese app gets pretty close.

Bom Caminho / Buen Camino!