Based in Spain since 2006
Discover the trail that takes you to Santiago de Compostela along the Atlantic Coast. Starting in Portugal, pilgrims follow the Camino northwards, with the lush Portuguese and Spanish countryside to their right, fabulous views of the Atlantic to their left, and a refreshing sea-breeze as their daily companion.
Day 1
Accommodations: Viana do Castelo (D)
Meeting time: 4:00 pm
Day 2
Accommodations: Viana do Castelo (B, L, D)
Walking: 18.3 km / 11 mi
Day 3
Accommodations: A Guarda (B, L, D)
Walking: 13.5 km / 8 mi
Day 4
Accommodations: Vigo (B, L, D)
Walking: 12.8 km / 8 mi
Day 5
Accommodations: Vigo (B, L, D)
Walking: 19.5 km / 12 mi
Day 6
Accommodations: Pontevedra (B, L, D)
Walking: 16.5 km / 10 mi
Day 7
Accommodations: Pontevedra (B, L, D)
Walking: 16 km / 10 mi
Day 8
Accommodations: Padrón (B, L, D)
Walking: 18 km / 11 mi
Day 9
Accommodations: Padrón (B, L, D)
Walking: 18 km / 11 mi
Day 10
Accommodations: Santiago (B, L, D)
Walking: 13 km / 8 mi
Day 11
Accommodations: (B)
*Please note: This itinerary is subject to slight modifications due to hotel availability, weather, festivals, and other occurences.
Viana do Castelo, Portugal is the official starting point of the Camino Portugués Coastal Tour, which has train connections from Porto (Campanha station) and Lisbon.
Train tickets can be purchased online on Portugal’s leading rail provider, Comboios de Portugal. Schedules and availability are subject to change based on train maintenance needs.
For bus tickets, these can be purchased on Rede Expressos.
Both of these websites have an English language option and accept most major credit cards. Tickets are issued as PDFs and are sent to the email address used to purchase the tickets.
There are buses that will get you from Santiago to Porto.
There are NO direct flights to any city in Portugal city from Santiago.
If your flight arrives in Porto, you will have to go to Porto Campanha train station and catch your train there. Most trains take anywhere between 1.5 – 2 hours.
The Fresco Tours Camino Portugués Coastal Route Tour covers about 145 km of the Camino in the Northwest region between Portugal & Galicia. Here we enjoy a more temperate climate than other parts of the Camino de Santiago in Spain. As we will be walking alongside the coast, weather can also be somewhat unpredictable.
Visit these links for average monthly temperatures of Viana do Castelo and Santiago de Compostela.
After breakfast, we lace up and get the blood going with a walk for a couple hours, where we will do a check point to make sure that everything is OK. You then continue along the Camino for another 1-2 hours where you will come across a complete gourmet picnic prepared with the freshest local ingredients. On some days, we continue for 1-2 hours more after lunch to burn off dessert.
In the afternoon, we go to our hotels, where we take a shower, siesta and just relax! We finish our day with a glass of tinto and a feast of the local gastronomy. We then retire for the night and get ready to do it again! On some afternoons, we have planned excursions, such as a visit to Celtic ruins or perhaps a massage!
The great thing about the Camino is that it is very well-marked and we encourage people to walk at a pace that is comfortable for them – this is not a race! We want you to enjoy the route and we also like to stop with our clients for a coffee or cerveza along the way and take everything in!
Along the coast, the terrain is mostly flat with occasional small elevations. Once we head inland, the terrain is green rolling hills – there are neither steep climbs nor treacherous descents. The trail itself is a combination of well maintained compact dirt, stone footpaths, paved trails and small country roads.
We will be walking from Viana do Castelo to Santiago de Compostela, the last 145 km of the Camino de Santiago. For an overview of the elevation gain and loss on the Camino Portugués Coastal tour, please click here.
The number of kilometers scheduled for each day varies from 14 km to 20 km. We have designed this tour to allow the possibility to walk the last 100 km to Santiago, which is a requirement by the Cathedral Chapter if you are going to request the Compostela Certificate. However, the walks are accompanied by a support vehicle and options for less (or more!) km’s are possible on a daily basis. We can tailor the Camino to suit your needs!
On the Camino Portugués Coastal Tour we offer a Fresco Tours laundry service roughly halfway through the trip where you can send your clothes to the laundromat to have them washed and dried. In addition, some hotels will have laundry facilites or you can use local laundromats whenever you’d like. We also recommend that you bring quick-drying clothes that you can handwash and dry overnight at the hotel if all else fails!
Footwear is a very personal question – depending on how active you are and how much support you will need. Since we will be walking on a daily basis on the Camino de Santiago, I believe that comfort is key – you do not want to get blisters. You probably won’t need a full high boot that covers your ankle (unless you need this support), but rather light trail walkers or even running shoes if you are used to walking. In the spring, there may be mud and water along the trail, so keep that in mind. Most important: Make sure that they are well broken in!
For your own enjoyment, we encourage you to do some moderate training beforehand. However, this is your vacation and not boot camp! During your walk, one of the two guides will be on the trail with the group to ensure that all is well. Additionally, we have planned check points along the way with our support van to make sure you have plenty of water, offer you need a change of shoes, or if you just feel like taking a break. In most cases, you will see the van at a minimum every couple of hours.
Thank you for choosing to travel with Fresco Tours! We are very excited for you to join the ranks of our Happy Customers. If at any moment you should have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you again and we look forward to sharing memories of a lifetime with you.
To join us on a Fresco Tour, please visit our Secure Online Reservation Form or download and print a PDF version of the Reservation Form, one for each participant. To reserve your space on a tour, a 15% deposit per person is required and payment should be made via credit card (Visa or MasterCard only), bank transfer or via Wise transfer. The balance of your tour payment is due 60 days prior to the departure date. If the tour that you selected begins within 60 days of booking, final payment is due at that time. Failure to receive the remainder of your trip balance by the due date will be considered a cancellation.
Once Fresco Tours has received your registration form and tour deposit, we will send you an email with an invoice of payments received and your remaining balance, a copy of our Assumption of Risk / Liability Waiver Form and a link to your Guest Questionnaire. These last 2 items must be returned 60 days prior to the start of tour. In addition, we will send you a Confirmation Packet with information regarding suggestions on preparation, a packing and reading list and other tips to get you excited and prepared for your Fresco Tour.
Once we have received final payment, the signed Assumption of Risk / Liability Waiver Form and Guest Questionnaire, you will be sent a receipt and final details regarding your tour, including a detailed itinerary and the hotel contact list.
Due to the nature of the accommodations we use, there are a limited number of single rooms available. Requests for these rooms are based on availability. Please see the tour itinerary for the cost of this fee. In some cases, it may imply a room smaller in size than a standard double room. If you are traveling alone, and would like to share a room, we will do our best to match you with a same-gender roommate.
All cancellations must be made in writing. No refunds will be issued due to late arrival, early departure, or any unused portion of a tour. The Assumption of Risk / Liability Waiver form must be signed and received 60 days prior to tour departure or the reservation will also be treated as a cancellation. Due to Fresco Tours’ limited group sizes, we strongly recommend trip cancellation insurance to offset the possibility of the following cancellation fees.
| Time | Price |
|---|---|
|
Cancellations received 121 or more days prior to trip start |
10% of trip price |
|
Cancellations received 120 - 61 days prior to trip start |
15% of trip price |
|
Cancellations received 60 - 31 days prior to trip start |
50% of trip price |
|
Cancellations received 30 days or less prior to trip start |
100% of trip price |
Fresco Tours reserves the right to change, modify, or cancel a tour prior to departure for any reason, including lack of participants (tour minimum: 3-6 passengers with 1 guide, 7 passengers or more with 2 guides) or acts of nature and/or circumstances beyond our control. In this case, any payments received will be refunded in full, and this will constitute full settlement. Fresco Tours is not responsible for any additional expenses due to a canceled tour, such as the purchase of non-refundable airline tickets.
Fresco Tours reserves the right to accept, refuse, or decline any tour member’s participation at any time for any reason. In such a case, Fresco Tour’s liability is limited to the actual cost of the unused services.
If we are notified of a change to your scheduled tour date 6 months prior, you can apply your tour deposit to another departure date without penalty. This change can be up to 1 calendar year in advance and is subject to availability. Otherwise, the above Cancellation Fees will be applied.
As Spain-taneous Private Tours are custom built and created with specific dates in mind, any modifications will incur a 15% surcharge.
In accordance with Spanish law and for the duration of your tour with Fresco Tours, you are covered by a basic insurance provided by Intermundial. We strongly advise the purchase of a more comprehensive travel insurance that includes trip cancellation / interruption. We suggest using Travelinsurance.com, which allows you to compare and assess top insurance provider policies and their different coverage plans.
Traveling during these complex times requires a bit more planning and a lot more reassurance. We believe that the Fresco Tours style of travel is particularly well-suited to safe activities: walking in the outdoors, small group sizes, strong reliable relationships with our local partners and, most importantly, we have the local knowledge of our home – the Camino de Santiago and the Spanish culture.
Guided
11 days / 10 nights
145 km / 90 mi
Camino Portugués
Price per person
4,012.68 $
* USD$ price based on current exchange rate
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