Camino: Luxury Coastal Walk from Porto

A coastal Camino adventure where you'll walk alongside beautiful beaches and through historical towns, resting in luxury stays in between.

The Camino de Santiago is an ancient pilgrimage walking trail comprised of a vast network of caminos, or paths, all culminating at Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The Portuguese Camino has been one of these main routes to Santiago for centuries.

On this trip, you'll start partway through the Portuguese Way, in Porto, and complete 13 walking days before arriving at your final destination in Spain. You'll follow in the footsteps of countless pilgrims and walkers as you embark on a journey of discovery, not only of the country but also of yourself.

After a full day of walking beside the ocean and through forests, fields, and villages, you can look forward to quality linens, a dreamily comfortable bed, and all the expected comforts in luxury accommodations along the way.

🚴 The cycling version of this route is here!

• Walk along peaceful coastal trails alongside gorgeous and varied beaches
• Discover scenic woodland, farmland, & authentic country villages inland
• Visit historical cities, and see iconic bridges, rivers, and valleys
• Pass by beautiful churches, chapels, and roadside shrines
• Keep an eye out for flora & fauna as you cross the Cavado Estuary
• Admire the Eiffel Bridge and magnificent architecture in Viana de Castelo
• Learn the history of a 12th Century Monastery in Oia
• Savor amazing, fresh seafood, regional dishes, and great local wines
• Rejuvenate sore muscles in the thermal springs of the spa town, Caldas de Reis
• Stay in picturesque, dreamy luxury accommodations and historical hotels

The landscapes you’ll encounter in Portugal and Spain are varied and beautiful, as are the inland stretches where you will wind your way through woodland, farmland, country villages, and historical towns through Northern Portugal and Galicia.

You’ll witness the cultural contrast between seafaring people, traditional village life, and the comparative bustle of the ancient towns and cities along the Camino.

Some of the luxury accommodations include Pousadas and Paradores, which are usually historical buildings such as palaces, fortresses, and monasteries that have been converted into luxury hotels. Others are stylish, modern hotels in excellent locations, so you can dine onsite or walk to a nearby restaurant.

The historical trail offers a wide range of scenery, experiences, and flavors; it is sure to satisfy you on many different levels!

You can book this itinerary from March 1st through October 31st each year.

• The low season is in March, April, May, and October
• The mid-season is in June and September
• The high season is in July and August

April, May, June, September, and October are ideal for a walking adventure through northern Portugal. Days are generally warm and sunny but can be chilly and possibly windy, especially on the coast. There is always a chance of experiencing some rain, so please come prepared for changeable conditions. May, June, and September tend to be warmer with less chance of rain.

July and August are usually the hottest months, with temperatures regularly exceeding 86° F (30° C). Additionally, the last two weeks of July are especially exciting in Santiago de Compostela. The city celebrates the "Feast of Saint James" or the "Apostle Festival" to honor the patron saint known to be laid to rest in the Cathedral. The city is overtaken by a magical mix of culture, religion, and celebrations during July with costumes, music, activities, and a famously stunning fireworks display.

Traveling during the low or mid-seasons is generally considered a sustainable tourism practice as it helps with tourism dispersal – spreading out where tourists go and how their money supports locals throughout the year.

We firmly believe that travel should be a safe and rewarding experience for all concerned, including the destinations that you visit and the people you meet. Using our own extensive local knowledge, we carefully design our tours to respect the way of life of local populations as well as the environment and provide our clients with a genuine experience that leads to meaningful interactions with another culture. In turn, we make sure that money stays within the small local communities that they spend time in.

Environment

The historical and spiritual Portuguese Coastal Camino de Santiago offers a wide range of scenery and gastronomic experiences. The unspoiled coastal landscapes in Northern Portugal and Galicia in Spain are varied and beautiful, as are the inland stretches through woodland, farmland, country villages, and historical towns.

We take into consideration environmental issues when planning new programs within Northern Portugal and design them to have negligible harmful impact. To achieve this, we follow the guidelines laid out by the Portuguese Nature Conservation and Forestry Institute (ICNF), which protect and preserve the areas of natural beauty and environmental significance in which we operate.

We provide our self-guided clients with a full briefing and detailed instructions on their route, which includes a traveler’s code of conduct. This includes guidelines for avoiding damage to the landscape and advice on minimizing waste as well as preventing forest fires.

We also recommend that our clients bring refillable water bottles (use code YUGEN10 for 10% off) and encourage them to use local tap water or approved water fountains along the Camino. We explain how they can tell when water is safe to drink. We stress the importance of leaving no trace, which includes not following the popular practice of adding stones to cairns to mark their passage.

For luggage transfers, we usually have more than one client undertaking the route at any given time so we arrange bulk delivery and collection with local drivers to reduce carbon emissions.

Our preferred accommodation and catering partners are those who make effective use of eco-friendly practices to save water, utilize solar power, and promote recycling.

Community

This program follows an ancient pilgrim route that passes through non-touristed villages and small towns that depend on the revenue generated by the pilgrims for their survival and development.

For this reason, we encourage our clients to use local cafés, traditional non-chain restaurants, markets, and grocery stores, not only to support the local economy but also to maximize their opportunities to interact with local people. If there is a local delicacy worth trying, such as octopus in Esposende or the renowned oysters in Arcade, we point this out in the roadbook (info pack).

Our ‘roadbooks’ contain information about the destination and advice for clients on respecting local cultures and interacting without inadvertently causing offense, as well as some helpful phrases in Portuguese and Spanish.

One thing that every pilgrim will agree with is the helpfulness of local people. They are used to seeing pilgrims and are pleased to see and support them where possible. If a pilgrim appears to be in any doubt as to which way to go and there is a local nearby, they will point the traveler in the right direction without them even having to ask.

Our office is in northern Portugal, close to Porto, the usual starting point for this program, and a few days’ walk along the Camino. Our staff live locally and have in-depth knowledge of the route, so they are able to help out rapidly and effectively, mobilizing local resources where necessary to help clients if they encounter any difficulties.

We ensure our staff and those who work for us are treated with respect and have fair working conditions. As such, we are directly supporting the local economy and communities in which we operate.

In our office, we recycle as much as possible and do our best to minimize printing and waste in general, e.g., by using washable crockery and cutlery and providing a 20-litre water cooler for staff to refill.

Be sure you have traveler's insurance.