LOTUS EATERS TRAVEL

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WHY I THINK THE CAMINO PORTUGUESE IS THE BEST ROUTE FOR FIRST TIMERS.

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If you’re planning your first Camino, choosing the route can feel like a huge decision.

For me though, the Camino Portuguese is one of the easiest routes to recommend to first-timers. It offers forgiving terrain, good infrastructure and flexible daily stages – without requiring a huge time commitment.

That doesn’t mean that it’s the right Camino for everyone. There’s nuance to it. But if you’re looking for a route that gives you an introduction to the Camino, one of the Portuguese routes may be the one. You can find 11 reasons why I think the Portuguese route tends to be the best for first-timers.

Throughout this blog post, I’ll refer to the Portuguese Coastal Route and Central route – both routes run from Porto in Portugal to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. If you’re not familiar with the difference – check out this detailed guide first.

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1/ The terrain

First and foremost, the terrain on the Portuguese Camino routes is forgiving for beginner hikers. Whilst I cannot hand on heart say that it is easy – it isn’t – or that it is entirely flat. But is a lot less challenging and has far far fewer hills than any of the other longer Camino routes.

Over the course of each route, the total ascent is around 4000m. You can compare this to the Camino Primitivo, which is considered a hilly route, where the total climb is around 8500m – more than double.

The walking surfaces are also quite steady – a combination of boardwalks (coastal), cobblestones, path, road and a little trail. It’s not a route that requires any particular technical skills or more than just a bit of surefootedness.

2/ Daily stages

When planning a Camino route, one of the first things to think about, is how far you are able to walk each day. This won’t be the same for everyone – some people will want to aim for 10 to 15km, whilst for others, 20km+ is a better target. With a reasonable level of fitness, most first-time pilgrims will find 20km is a good distance to aim for.

Many of the longer Camino routes, the Via de la Plata and Camino del Norte for example, have sections that require longer daily stages than 20km. This is because accommodation isn’t available at regular intervals throughout the whole route. Many beginners on these types of routes end up having to take a taxi or public transport, which I think is a real shame – it may mean losing the walking momentum that makes the Camino so special.

The Camino Portuguese, both the coastal and central routes, doesn’t require long daily stages. If you wanted to walk less than 20km a day, this is generally quite possible.

3/ The total distance

The Camino Portuguese Central Route is around 240km, whilst the Coastal is 270km. This may sound a lot, but compared to the Camino Frances and Camino del Norte, which are closer to 800km – it is a little less intimidating.

4/ Popular routes

Both of the main Camino Portuguese routes are popular with fellow hikers. For first-time Camino walkers, I think this can be quite important. When I plan Camino routes for clients, I often find that first time walkers are nervous about walking alone.

Whether it’s fears about injury, safety or just not simply being lonely. These are all valid concerns, and it’s exactly why I would recommend the Camino Portuguese to first-timers.

The Camino Central route is marginally more popular, with 80,000 walking last year, compared to the Coastal Route with 50,000. But both routes have enough walkers for you to meet plenty of people along the route – whether you want to socialise, or just be around others for safety.

5/ Infrastructure

As mentioned, the Camino Portuguese routes have plenty of accommodation allowing for sensibly paced daily stages. But there’s also other infrastructure that is important for first timers on the Camino.

Both routes are well served by backpack transfer services. For first timers walking the Camino, is a great option – especially for senior travellers, or anyone who finds carrying extra weight difficult.

Along the way there are also lots of towns with amenities and services – having access to pharmacies can be very useful on the Camino. And of course, being able to stop regularly for coffee or refreshments can make things a lot easier as a beginner on the route.

6/ Two route choices

The Camino Portuguese from Porto to Santiago, has two main routes – the Coastal and the Central. The reason that I think this is important, is that each person walking the Camino can choose between the two routes – deciding which of the two speaks to them more.

7/ Plus variants

As well as this, there are variants on both trails. The Camino Coastal comes with options to walk the Litoral Way – which follows the coastline directly.

As well as this, the Spiritual Variant offers a chance to get away from the main routes entirely and spend a few days walking peacefully after Pontevedra. This section is a little more challenging than the main routes, but as it comes towards the end of the walk, you could build up to it gradually.

8/ Beautiful scenery

It’s probably a point I should have made earlier in this post – but both routes are spectacular. The Coastal Route follows the Atlantic and you have outrageously beautiful sea views most days. Whilst the Central Route has a quieter charm, with greenery, vineyards and gentle rural scenery.

9/ Public transport

Whilst it may not be your goal to use public transport on the Camino, it may be useful to know that it is available as a backup in the case of an injury or problem. Both routes have a decent amount of public transport, the Coastal Route in particular. Whether you need to take a short bus ride to cut 5km off, or take a longer train to Santiago de Compostela – it is generally possible.

This may sound basic, but not all routes have public transport at regular intervals. Even the Camino Frances, which has excellent infrastructure, doesn’t always have public transport available to skip stages, or move ahead.

10/ Rest day opportunities

For first timers walking the Camino, I would always recommend a rest day. This could be a complete “zero day” where you don’t walk at all. Or, just a shortened day, under 10km for example.

On the Coastal Route, towns like Caminha, Baiona and Vigo area great places to take a rest day, with plenty to see and do. Whilst the Central Route offers historic towns like Barcelos, Ponte de Lima and Pontevedra. All are great for day of exploring, pottering around or just eating and catching up on laundry!

11/ Time commitment

The Portuguese Camino routes require less of a time commitment than some of the longer routes. Averaging about 20km, you could walk the Central Route in 12 days, or Coastal in 14 days.

This is just a couple of weeks of vacation time. Rather than a whole month invested walking the Camino Frances. Even if you walk for two weeks and don’t love your first Camino, you haven’t committed loads of time to it. And you’re guaranteed to have learnt something over those two weeks.

Reasons why it might not suit you

All that said, there are a few reasons why the Portuguese might not be the best route for you walking your first Camino.

If you are walking your first Camino, but you are already a very experienced hiker – then frankly, you might find the Portuguese routes a bit underwhelming. Whilst they are lovely, there are few challenging hills to get your teeth stuck into. A more experienced hiker would be better suited to a more challenging route – for example, the Camino Mozarabe, or the Camino del Norte.

Secondly, whilst the Camino Portuguese is very accessible, it might not scratch the itch for your first time Camino. This really depends on what you are after. But, if you want a proper switch off, time away, or a bit of a reset – and you have a month to spare – then the longer routes might suit you. Yes, they are more challenging – but there’s something about hiking for a full month that is incomparable.

More resources

If you’re planning your first Camino, you may find the resources below to be useful:

• 26 things to do to prepare for your first Camino;
• 25 mistakes I’ve made on the Camino;
• How to choose the best Camino route for you;
• Should you choose the Camino Portuguese Coastal or Central?
• Camino Portuguese Coastal Route Daily Stages
• Camino Portuguese Central Route Daily Stages

Alternatively, you can find all our Camino de Santiago resources here.

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Written by Emma

Wine Lover. Yogi. Hiker. Writer.

British travel writer and long-distance hiker, native to Kent. Emma has walked the Camino de Santiago more than ten times, completed trails across Europe from the Corfu Trail to the Fisherman’s Trail, and covered thousands of kilometres on foot. She always writes from first-hand experience. Her goal? Inspire just one person to go on their first long-distance hike.

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