The Camino de Santiago/Way of St James is not for everyone. But those who want to walk one (or several) of the routes that lead to Santiago de Compostela often do some research and planning before they embark on their Camino adventure. If you are one of them, today’s article might be for you.
We’ll be diving into the actual costs we (a couple) incurred walking the Camino Portugués. While we walked it at a more leisurely pace—taking 19 days to get from our starting point (Caminha) to Santiago de Compostela (a total walking distance of 183km)—the daily costs are comparable for those who travel in a similar style to us.
We walked a total of 183km, combining the Camino Portugués de la Costa, Central and Variante Espiritual
Travel Cost Assumptions
When reading this article, please keep the following in mind:
- Our travel costs are based upon a couple travelling together.
- We are independent travellers, researching and organising our itineraries using our go-to travel planning tools.
- Our travel style is reasonably consistent wherever we go, which is excellent when you want to compare travel costs between countries:
- Accommodation: We usually stay in self-catered accommodation (homestays, locally owned guesthouses, hostels and short-term rentals) - in our room with (preferably) our bathroom, though the kitchen may be shared.
- Dining and Groceries: We eat at least two meals a day at home. We like to eat out once daily and every few days (and prefer locally owned restaurants and small eateries away from the tourist hotspots).
- Transportation: We walk a lot and use public transportation whenever possible. We only occasionally hire a vehicle.
- Experiences: Many of our activities are free or very low-cost. When we pay for attractions or activities, we are selective, as our funds are limited (just like everyone else's).
- In addition to the above expense categories, our total daily costs include mail scanning and forwarding service, mobile phone plans, and travel insurance—though only for the period we are in the country.
- We use a multi-currency personal account with Wise to manage our currencies and XE to transfer money as required.
- The entry or exit transportation costs into/out of the country are not included.
We halved our stuff and sent one travel pack straight to Santiago.
We started from Caminha (on the Portuguese/Spanish border), walking a combination of the Camino Portugués de la Costa, the Camino Portugués Central and the Variante Espiritual. All up, we stayed in seventeen locations (all for one night only, except Combarro, where we stayed two nights). Check out the map below or read our more detailed post for our entire route.
Map of Accommodation, Points of Interest, Eateries and Transport
Below is a map of the recommended accommodations, points of interest, eateries and transport terminals/stops mentioned in this article.
Accommodation
We slept in a variety of standards of accommodation, from dorm beds in municipal and private albergues to a 4-star hotel. We mixed it up quite a bit. Not only because albergues were not always available but also because our own room with a bathroom cost the same as two dorm beds. But we also wanted to have a good night’s sleep occasionally. And that was easier to achieve when we didn’t share the room with ten other people.
Most Expensive Sleep (Casa Puertas in Oia): USD56.22 / EUR50.00 (per room per night)
Least Expensive Sleep (Albergue de Peregrinos Municipal in A Guarda): USD5.62 / EUR5.00 (per person per night)
Since we did the Camino Portuguese, prices have increased by about 15%. Below is the table of actual accommodations we stayed at, with the prices updated to reflect the 2023/24 low season.
| Day | Name | Stage | Type | Distance in kilometres | EUR Cost (for 2 people) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Arca Nova Guesthouse | Porto - Caminha | Bunk beds in dorm | by train | 36.00 |
| 1 | Albergue de Peregrinos Municipal A Guarda | Caminha - A Guarda | Bunk beds in dorm | 7.9 | 20.00 |
| 2 | Albergue da Estrela | A Guarda - Viladesuso | Bunk beds in dorm | 17.0 | 32.00 |
| 3 | Hotel Bayona | Viladesuso - Baiona | Ensuite double | 14.3 | 45.00 |
| 4 | El Retiro | Baiona - Nigrán | Ensuite double | 9.4 | 35.00 |
| 5 | Hesperia Vigo | Nigrán - Castrelos Park | Ensuite double | 15.8 | 48.00 |
| 6 | Hostal Los Tres PaÃses | Castrelos Park - Vigo | Ensuite twin | 5.5 | 43.00 |
| 7 | Albergue Santiago de Vilavella | Vigo - Redondela | Bunk beds in dorm | 15.0 | 30.00 |
| 8 | Hostel Albergue O Meson | Redondela - Puentesampayo | Bunk beds in dorm | 9.3 | 34.00 |
| 9 | Casa Maruxa | Puentesampayo - Pontevedra | Ensuite double | 11.8 | 42.00 |
| 10 | Hotel Xeito | Pontevedra - Combarro | Ensuite double | 11.5 | 51.70 |
| 11 | Mosteiro de Santa MarÃa da Armenteira | Combarro - Armenteira | Ensuite twin | 10.6 | 70.00 |
| 12 | Hostal O Legado de Ramira | Armenteira - Ponte Arnelas | Ensuite double | 13.6 | 50.00 |
| 13 | Albergue A Salazon | Ponte Arnelas - Vilanova de Arousa | Ensuite twin | 11.9 | 43.00 |
| 14 | Pensión JardÃn | Vilanova de Arousa - Padrón | Ensuite double | 2.9 (plus 26.8 by boat) | 50.00 |
| 15 | Albergue Da Capellania | Padrón - A Escravitude | Bunk beds in dorm | 7.5 | 32.00 |
| 16 | Albergue Peregrinos Milladoiro | A Escravitude - O Milladoiro | Bunk beds in dorm | 11.6 | 33.00 |
| 17 | Albergue Santiago KM-0 | O Milladoiro - Santiago | Bunk beds in dorm | 7.5 | 48.00 |
| Total | 183.1 (excluding boat) | 742.70 |
How to save money on accommodation
For accommodation, as with any other travel expenses, it's worth shopping around. When we book accommodation somewhere, we tend to look across several booking platforms to find the best value-for-money option. Wherever you book, read the fine print to compare apples with apples. For example, your stay may incur extra charges (like local tourist taxes or cleaning fees). Some booking platforms include them, while with others, you have to pay them to your host upon arrival.
Nightly rates are generally cheaper outside of peak season. If you can only travel during peak season, look for accommodation options a little further away from the main tourist attractions yet have good connections by public transport.
We use and recommend the following booking platforms.
On the Camino, it's not always 'you get what you pay for': Two dorm beds might cost as much as a room with your own bathroom
The best Casa on the route was not difficult to find.
Groceries and Dining
Proportionally, we spent more on dining out than we usually would. This was primarily because we didn’t want to carry more than snacks and water daily.
We usually had one substantial hot meal per day (normally the pilgrim’s lunch or menú del dÃa) and a light, cold evening meal, often a bocadillo (a baguette sandwich) with whatever we could get our hands on jamón (cured ham), queso (cheese), tomatoes, tortilla (Spanish omelette), you name it.
If our accommodation didn’t provide breakfast or we knew there would be no cafeteria/bar nearby to have breakfast, we would buy enough ingredients to make two bocadillos: one for dinner and another one for breakfast the following day. While a good base for our daily hike, we were over bocadillos when we got to Santiago…
Most Expensive Meal (Cafe Bar Riez in Vilanova de Arousa): USD30.83 / EUR27.50 (two people for lunch)
A simple bocadillo like this with tomatoes, jamon, patatas and tortilla was often our dinner on the Camino
Communications
This category includes the costs of using our mail service and having a minimum credit on our mobile phones to make emergency calls and receive texts.
Our communication costs on the Camino were zero, even though we are bloggers who continued to do at least some work. Somewhat unexpectedly, every single accommodation we stayed at had wireless internet. Some were faster than others, but all had some internet access, which allowed us to publish articles, provide updates on social media, and respond to messages.
Walking the Camino, you won’t need to get a new SIM card or pay roaming charges to stay connected with your loved ones back home. Just use the Wi-Fi provided at your accommodation or at the many cafes and restaurants along the way.
Transport
These are the costs for the two boat rides involved in doing the Camino Portugués de la Costa (the border crossing into Spain) and the Variante Espiritual (Traslatio boat ride from Vilanova de Arousa to Pontecesures – it follows the route St James’ remains travelled).
Our transportation costs do not include the train ride from Porto to Caminha (our starting point).
How much money do you need to travel?
Are you planning a trip to any other country? As full-time independent travellers with carry-on luggage only, we list our country-by-country travel costs curated over the years. Can you afford not to travel?
How to save money on transportation
Being flexible pays off when it comes to transportation, particularly air travel. If possible, travel outside of peak season. If you can't, fares might still be cheaper at certain times of the week and even hours of the day, so check websites like Skyscanner and Google Flights. These websites allow you to see a month and all the options on any given date.
If several airports are near your home (or your destination), compare the prices of the different options. For example, flying to Mykonos and taking the ferry to Santorini might be cheaper than flying from your home airport straight to Santorini.
We use and recommend the following online travel agents and service providers for our transportation needs:
Airfares
We use one-stop travel sites or travel aggregators to find good flight deals. Each shows the cheapest airfares on any given day, so you can fly a day, week, or month earlier or later, depending on your flexibility.
If you find a good deal, book it there and then, as prices change constantly. Ideally, do your research with your browser in incognito mode, as cookies will show booking sites how keen you are to make a particular trip, which may affect the price quoted – that goes for all online travel bookings (not just flights). The best fares generally go first, so planning is essential for (air) transportation. The same applies if you want to use air points/miles, as only a few seats are available for any flight. We tend not to go through the flight aggregators but book directly with the airline/s. If something goes wrong, the price is usually the same, but we have a direct contract with the airline (rather than the middleman).
Suppose you plan to travel across multiple continents. In that case, you may want to compare passes that offer several destinations as a package (such as around-the-world fares provided by One World or Star Alliance members) versus booking each leg of your trip individually. If you travel during peak season, those multi-destination packages may be a better deal than booking each leg individually. You can do overland sections on around-the-world tickets, too, which means you could supplement your around-the-world ticket with cheap flights and bus and train rides between destinations.
Vehicle rental (including relocations)
Unless your trip takes you across oceans, another way to save on transport is to look for vehicle/motorhome relocations. Websites in many countries offer massively discounted one-way rates (often including fuel and/or insurance) to those driving a vehicle/motorhome from A to B within a certain period. These deals are relatively last minute, and A and B are usually more significant transport hubs, but if that's an option, search for vehicle/motorhome relocation at your destination.
Speaking of vehicles, If you plan to hire a car at your destination, it also pays to shop around. We use and recommend Discover Cars, an aggregator website that allows you to search across significant car rental companies at once. And you don't have to pay for the hire until you pick up the car.
Hitchhiking
A final option to save on transport costs is… to hitch a ride. While Paul and I did it safely in Dominica on a public holiday (when there was no other option) and have taken plenty of people along in our campervan in New Zealand, there are many countries where we wouldn't feel safe hitchhiking. Judge for yourself where and when you can and can't do it.
Camino de Santiago Travel Costs Summary
| Categories | EUR per person per day | Percentage of total per person per day |
|---|---|---|
| Communications | 0.32 | 1% |
| Groceries | 1.68 | 4% |
| Dining | 16.16 | 39% |
| Experiences | 0.23 | 0% |
| Accommodation | 17.53 | 42% |
| Miscellaneous | 1.66 | 4% |
| Finance | 0.13 | 0% |
| Health (including Travel Insurance) | 2.92 | 7% |
| Transport | 1.26 | 3% |
| EUR Total per person per day | 41.90 |
19 nights on the Camino Portugués from Caminha, Portugal to Santiago de Compostela, Spain: USD1,790.41 / EUR1,592.13 (two people)
Daily Expenses: USD47.12 / EUR41.90 (per person)
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Cash Needs for the Camino
Since restaurants and accommodations along the Camino Portugues don’t always accept credit cards, you must carry cash (though not too much for safety reasons). We paid 39% of our total spend in cash (EUR). The most significant portion of that was on accommodation. ATMs are in all small towns/larger villages, so you don’t need to withdraw/exchange everything at once.
What did it cost you to walk the Camino de Santiago?
I wrote this article about Camino de Santiago Travel Costs based on our experience. If you have also walked the Camino de Santiago and have something to add to my discussion of travel costs, please feel free to contact me.
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