Eight-Day Camino de Santiago Itinerary: From Portugal to Spain with Intrepid Travel

After an orientation meeting the previous evening, our group set off from our hotel in the Porto city center. The trip begins in Porto because it has a major airport and is also a lovely city with lots to see and do, but that’s not actually where our hike began. You can leave on the Camino directly from Porto. We saw many hikers doing just that, but the hike from that point would be 250 km, and we would have needed another week. To make for a shorter trip (but still the distance required to receive your Compostela certificate), Intrepid hired a van to transport us and our luggage about two hours north to the coastal town of Oia, Spain.

The first day's hike was 19 km, mostly through coastal lowlands with some parts ascending into wooded areas with clifftop views out over the ocean. We quickly realized that September was an excellent time for this itinerary, with strong sun but cool enough temperatures that it was comfortable to wear sun-protective clothing. The first day involves a slow pace as you get your gear figured out. Some group members left items behind that they didn’t feel like carrying, “donating” them at the sun-soaked café where we ate lunch. At the end of the day, we reached the town of Baiona, where it was possible to swim in a bay of the Atlantic Ocean directly behind our hotel.

This was another day of coastal hiking with jaw-dropping views. We walked about 20 km through the countryside from Baiona to Vigo. We then took a taxi for the final 5 km through the congested city — but not before stopping at the beach for ice cream and an ocean swim. The water is cold but tolerable in September, and feels amazing on tired legs!

Dinners so far have been tapas-style, with our guide ordering small plates for us all to share. Seafood is the main event, with octopus, sardines, squid and all manner of shellfish – plus the Spanish staples of potatoes, eggs, various kinds of sausage and the occasional vegetable. Lunches are usually some type of meat and cheese pie. We are learning to balance extreme hunger from being so active with the need to eat on the lighter side if we still need to hike a significant distance later in the day.

This itinerary includes a rest day in Vigo. With 300,000 residents in the surrounding area, this is the largest city between Porto and Santiago de Compostela. The rest day is perfectly timed if you’ve discovered after your first two hiking days that you need medicine, hiking gear or a different kind of SIM card for your phone.

Most of Vigo’s growth has taken place since 1947, when the Spanish government created a free trade zone there. The city does have a hilltop fortress and walls dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. After a leisurely day leaving our hotel room only for breakfast downstairs, I ventured out just before sunset to walk to the fortress with sweeping views of the city and the sea.

With a spring in our step after our rest day, we headed out for the 20-km hike from Vigo to the coastal town of Redondela. The town is small enough that you can easily see the entire thing from end to end, even on tired legs. Walk down to the coastline, then back to the medieval walled city. There is a car-free area of just a few square blocks. Here you can admire the 19th-century viaducts that combine wrought iron with traditional stonework and were assembled without any heavy machinery. Our guide also took us inside the local market to see fresh fish and other produce there.

Today was a relatively easy hiking day — just 17 km from the coastal town of Redondela to the small city of Pontevedra. The first half of the hiking route has near-constant ocean views, but the path turns inland after Pontevedra. We hiked along a bay for the first half of the day. Then we went up and over one of the “fingers” of land that make up Galicia’s west coast, to finish at the end of another bay. After Pontevedra, the path heads inland and up into the mountains.

Even with a longer lunch stop in the town of Arcade for local oysters and the region’s characteristic Albariño wine, we arrived in Pontevedra with plenty of time to rest, freshen up and grab some ice cream before dinner. (Locals might eat dinner at 9pm or 10pm, so we were hard-pressed to find restaurants that would let us eat earlier so we could get plenty of rest before the next morning’s hike. Our dinners typically began no sooner than 8pm.) Pontevedra has gained media attention for making its city center car-free. Just know that this means you’ll have to walk to the edge of it (and possibly wait awhile) if, say, your sandal breaks during dinner and you need to take a taxi back to your hotel! (I may or may not be speaking from experience.)

This was a longer hiking day—24 km from Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis — but by this point in the week, we were ready for it. We had seen vineyards along the path now and then. This was the day where it began to seem like the path was continuously lined with vines bearing the region’s characteristic Albariño grapes. Today’s lunch at a mountain café was memorable — a café in the mountains where I got flambéed chorizo, one of the tastiest things I’ve ever eaten. (Look for it on menus as chorizo al infierno in Spain or chouriço à bombeiro in Portugal.)

Caldas de Reis has public footbaths where you can dunk your feet in the mineral-rich hot springs that give the town its name. For a more immersive experience, for a small admission fee, you can visit one of the pool and bath complexes in this small city. Our tour also included a tasting of local wines on this day.

Today’s hiking distance of 18 km brought us from Caldas de Reis to Padrón. Since Spain and Portugal are in different time zones, daylight hours shift late in this extreme western region of Spain (a small corner directly north of Portugal). We would typically eat breakfast at 7 am and be starting our daily hike at 8 am with the sky just starting to get light. But on this day, we started hiking at 7 am, in complete darkness, to try to beat the rain coming later. It was a mystical experience to be hiking by the light of the moon through the old medieval city with the lamps reflecting off the damp cobblestones. We then watched the sun rise and the fog lift as we continued out into the countryside past stone-walled horse paddocks.

Today’s lunch stop was also memorable. Restaurant Buen Camino may not have a remarkable name (there are multiple restaurants and cafés with this name, which is what pilgrims say when passing one another), but this spot on the stretch from Caldas de Reis to Padrón is worth a stop for a hearty bowl of lentil soup (or anything else on its extensive menu). When we did make it to Padrón, we stopped for a snack at a café in the city center. We didn’t get to see much of the town because it was raining and we were eager to finish our hike and rest up for the final day. If you have more time there, the town has an interesting Catholic church with a Roman-era sacrificial he stone to which the boat carrying St. James' body was moored.)

We stayed at a hotel outside the city. It felt a bit isolated and was the only place we stayed that felt like a tourist trap (with a parking lot full of buses and an institutional-feeling breakfast restaurant). However, the location just north of Padrón was appreciated since it reduced the distance we would need to walk on our final day.

Our final day covered the distance from Padrón to Santiago de Compostela (24 km). We had covered this same distance two days earlier, but today’s hike included more elevation gain. Rain was in the forecast, so we were feeling a bit nervous about whether the day would be too difficult and wet to feel enjoyable. Oddly, I’d say that hiking while it’s raining becomes more of a spiritual experience. There’s less conversation, as people are focused on getting where they need to go (and on the wooded portions, without slipping and turning an ankle). This allows for more silence and introspection.

It also surprised me that today’s hike didn’t feel difficult at all. We were moving a bit slower because of the rain. I also felt tempted to slow down and savor our final moments on the Camino — but I don’t think that’s entirely why the hike just didn’t feel that hard. Walking as much as we did, for as many days as we did, improves your physical fitness, but it also shifts your consciousness. Walking becomes your default state, so that you barely notice you’re doing it.

Regardless of how remote they may be, you can expect that the roadside cafes on the Camino will always have excellent coffee. Our stop this morning had a particularly transcendent cappuccino (or maybe it just tasted that way because we were cold and wet) as well as a well-stocked souvenir shop where I picked up some gifts with the scallop shell Camino insignia. By lunchtime, we had reached O Milladoiro, on the outskirts of Santiago de Compostela, and refueled at a sidewalk cafe there. We also changed our wet socks, but at this point in the journey, we only had about two hours’ hike remaining (if that). We were all feeling confident we could make it, regardless of our gear, blisters or anything else.

Although the number of people on the trail had picked up as we got closer to Santiago and the various paths leading to the destination merged, this was nothing compared to the crush of people that awaited us in the city’s narrow alleyways. I recommend taking a moment at the edge of the city to consolidate your gear and mentally prepare yourself for being shoulder to shoulder with other humans.

The crowds dissipated a bit once we got to the plaza in front of the cathedral and had some space to spread out. That was the moment we could really take in the sense of accomplishment and pride we were feeling at having completed the hike. We didn’t have to wait in line for our certificates. Intrepid had collected our information months ago so our guide could take care of it while we waited on the plaza and had some extra time to people-watch. It was wonderful to have a few moments to take it all in and observe the jubilant celebrations of other hikers taking off their boots, and some even collapsing to the ground in relief.

Before embarking on the hike, my friend and I added on two days in Porto before the beginning of the organized tour. There are plenty of hotels in the city center, but we chose Vila Foz Hotel & Spa for its seaside location. Located just a short taxi ride from the heart of the city, the manor (the former country house of a wealthy family) has been lovingly restored to pair top-notch modern amenities with historical details. An architect and an interior designer contributed their expertise to ensure that every space reflects meticulous attention to detail. Most guest rooms are in a four-story tower built as new construction on the property. Guests can visit a Michelin-starred restaurant as well as a more casual café and the deeply relaxing on-site spa. Just out front is a beachside promenade. Borrow bikes from the hotel to take the short ride to Leça da Palmeira, where you can swim in tidal pools filled with ocean water that’s been warmed by the sun.

At the end of the hike, we took a car service back to Porto immediately after the included group dinner so we could catch our flight the next morning. However, if time allows, I would recommend spending an extra day or two in Santiago de Compostela. Here you can attend Mass at the cathedral if you like. Also visit the Museum of Pilgrimage to learn about the history of the Camino and the people who have walked it. There’s also plenty to see by simply walking around the city. Admire the centuries-old buildings, listen to the dozens of languages being spoken by pilgrims arriving in the city and pop into shops and restaurants as you pass. Among many lodging options, A Quinta da Auga (housed in a former paper mill) stands out as a quiet place to unwind on the outskirts of the city, offering a spa and “high Galician” cuisine in the on-site restaurant.