Camino Portugués: The Complete Route Guide
Quick facts
- Start: Lisbon, Portugal (most pilgrims start in Porto)
- Finish: Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- Distance: ~620 km from Lisbon, ~260 km from Porto (Central), ~280 km from Porto (Coastal)
- Typical time: 24-27 days from Lisbon, 10-13 days from Porto
- Busiest months: May, June, September. The Porto start is busy year-round compared with other routes
- Compostela requirement: walk at least the last 100 km (from Tui on the Central route, or Vigo on the Coastal) and collect two stamps per day in that final stretch
The route: map, elevation, and stages
Route track: Nederlands Genootschap van Sint Jacob (santiago.nl), republished with credit. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Dashed line: shared finish on another route.
Elevation sampled from terrain data (Terrarium DEM, built on SRTM) along the track. Hover the profile to trace the route on the map. Click a stage to zoom to it.
Stages
| Stage | Walk | Km | Climb | Descent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Porto → Vilarinho | 27.0 | +106 m | −144 m |
| 2 | Vilarinho → Barcelos | 28.0 | +230 m | −252 m |
| 3 | Barcelos → Ponte de Lima | 34.0 | +301 m | −323 m |
| 4 | Ponte de Lima → Rubiães | 18.0 | +363 m | −154 m |
| 5 | Rubiães → Tui | 20.0 | +171 m | −375 m |
| 6 | Tui → O Porriño | 16.0 | +28 m | −19 m |
| 7 | O Porriño → Redondela | 16.0 | +185 m | −198 m |
| 8 | Redondela → Pontevedra | 20.0 | +255 m | −246 m |
| 9 | Pontevedra → Caldas de Reis | 21.0 | +131 m | −97 m |
| 10 | Caldas de Reis → Padrón | 19.0 | +125 m | −162 m |
| 11 | Padrón → Santiago de Compostela | 25.0 | +330 m | −104 m |
Why the Portugués
The Portugués is the second most walked Camino after the Francés, and the friendliest first Camino for a lot of people: gentler terrain than the Pyrenees start, two great cities to begin in, Portuguese food and wine for the first half, then Galicia. It comes in two flavors from Porto that merge at Redondela: the Central route inland through Barcelos, Ponte de Lima and Valença/Tui, and the Coastal route (Senda Litoral and the formal Coastal path) up the Atlantic through Vila do Conde, Viana do Castelo and Baiona. Many pilgrims walk one out and wish they had time for both.
The two routes from Porto
- Central (~260 km, 10-12 days): the historic route. Roman roads, Ponte de Lima (often called Portugal's prettiest town), the climb over the Alto da Portela, and the border crossing on the iron bridge from Valença into Tui.
- Coastal (~280 km, 11-13 days): boardwalks and beach towns north from Porto, Viana do Castelo, the ferry or bridge crossing into Spain at Caminha/A Guarda, then the Galician coast through Baiona and Vigo.
- Variante Espiritual: a popular detour after Pontevedra via Armenteira and the Ruta de la Piedra y del Agua, rejoining at Padrón. Adds roughly a day; many walkers call it the best day of the whole route.
Standard stages (from Porto, Central)
| Day | Stage | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Porto to Vilarinho | 27 km |
| 2 | Vilarinho to Barcelos | 28 km |
| 3 | Barcelos to Ponte de Lima | 34 km (often split at Vitorino dos Piães) |
| 4 | Ponte de Lima to Rubiães | 18 km |
| 5 | Rubiães to Tui | 20 km |
| 6 | Tui to O Porriño | 16 km (or 19 km via the river path) |
| 7 | O Porriño to Redondela | 16 km |
| 8 | Redondela to Pontevedra | 20 km |
| 9 | Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis | 21 km |
| 10 | Caldas de Reis to Padrón | 19 km |
| 11 | Padrón to Santiago de Compostela | 25 km |
Coastal stages run similar daily distances: Porto to Vila do Conde, Esposende, Viana do Castelo, Caminha, A Guarda, Baiona, Vigo, then Redondela where it joins the Central for the final four days.
Starting in Lisbon
The Lisbon to Porto stretch (~380 km, 14-16 days) passes Tomar (a Templar city and the natural rest day), Coimbra and the monastery towns of Alcobaça and Batalha nearby. It is quieter, more road walking, and thinner on albergues than the Porto start, which is why most pilgrims begin in Porto. Those who walk from Lisbon usually say the quiet first half made the walk.
When to walk
- March-April: green, wet in the north, fewer crowds. Easter week fills up.
- May-June: the sweet spot. Long days, festivals in Porto (São João, June 23, is the city's biggest night of the year).
- July-August: hot inland on the Central, sea breezes help on the Coastal. Busiest from Tui and Vigo onward.
- September: harvest in the Douro and Albariño country, warm sea, strong choice.
- October-March: a quieter, rainier walk. The Coastal in winter storms is dramatic and exposed; albergue choice narrows.
Practical notes
- Credencial: available at Lisbon cathedral (Sé) and Porto cathedral, and from Camino associations at home. Two stamps per day from Tui (Central) or Vigo (Coastal) for the Compostela.
- Beds: the network is good from Porto onward and thinner from Lisbon. Private albergues and pensions run roughly 15-25 EUR. In Holy Year 2027, book the Tui/Vigo to Santiago stretch ahead in peak months.
- The border: you walk from Portugal into Spain mid-stage (Valença to Tui on the Central). Clocks change: Spain is one hour ahead of Portugal, which catches people out on check-in times.
- Rest days: Porto itself is worth a full day before you start. Pontevedra is the natural mid-route one after the routes merge.
Holy Year 2027 note
2027 is a Holy Year (Xacobeo) and the Portugués, especially the final 100 km from Tui and Vigo, gets very busy. Start dates in May, June and September and the two weeks around July 25 need beds booked earlier than usual.