Back for a New Adventure: The Portuguese Camino!

Hello again The Trek readers and random internet dwellers! To get right into it, this is a surprise to both you and I to be hearing again (so soon) about my next international hiking adventure👻

In my last set of posts, I took you along my solo walk of the West Highland Way in Scotland. …Well… if you didn’t come along then, please do take a look through those posts now!

My next trip will be walking the last 100km* of the Portuguese Camino from Valença, Portugal to Santiago de Compostela, Spain! This trip came together only in the past six weeks with my travel partner – my aunt Mary🤗 so the energy levels are HIGH.

*~62mi for my fellow Americans

I’ll be following a similar format to my previous entries, so keep reading for all the background info on the trail and how we plan to tackle it!

1. The Camino(s)

There are a good number of Camino routes (or pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela). A great place to start to learn more is CaminoWays.com!

We will be walking along the Central Portuguese Camino (aka Camino Portuguese Central) route.

In order to earn your Compostela pilgrim certificate, which is a religious document certifying you made the pilgrimage, you need to (1) either walk at least 100km or cycle 200km and (2) collect at least two stamps per day in your Credencial del Peregrino (Pilgrimage Passport).

2. Our Walking Plan

As with the West Highland Way, I’m once again setting aside my more purest US hiking style read on for more…

Direction: Taking the traditional northbound route to Santiago de Compostela, starting in Valença, Portugal.

Time of Year: September/October (note: for safety reasons, my daily posts will be delayed to not show my current location)

Itinerary and Hiking Style: Because this trip came together in 6 weeks, we decided to book the six days of walking through the tour company Portugal Green Walks. This company has rave reviews and is really affordable for what is included (accommodation, breakfast, and baggage transfer). Looking forward to my first tour company experience and reviewing them for you all in my post-trail recap!

Day	Distance (mi / km)	To Town
1	12.4 / 20	Porriño
2	13.5 / 22	Arcade
3	8.1 / 13	Pontevedra
4	13.5 / 22	Caldas de Reis
5	11.8 / 19	Padron
6	15.5 / 25	Santiago de Compostela

3. Last Details and What to Expect

In my future posts, you can expect the following:

1. Daily breakdowns of sights, sounds, foods, mistakes, and everything else that comes with long distance walking and international travel (again, posted after the fact for safety reasons)
2. After completing the hike – budget break down, and hostel and gear recommendations

This trip is the second of a three week vacation to Portugal and Spain, so if you like this content, and want to see what other things I get into abroad, check out my Instagram @shannon_hikes 🤠 Bonus: if you catch this post soon after publishing, and have your own recommendations to share, DM me there or leave a comment below!