Walking the Camino in Portugal: A Solo Woman’s Experience

The Camino in Portugal is more than just a hike; it is both a tough physical undertaking and a spiritual and mental journey. It’s a way to connect with yourself and fellow pilgrims, and see more of Portugal in a unique way, whether you start in Lisbon, Porto, or somewhere else along the way.

Whether you’re looking for a quiet break from your daily life to reflect, searching for adventure, or wanting to take in the rich history and culture at a slow pace, the Portuguese Camino routes have so much to offer for both first-timers and pilgrims returning to the Camino.

Since moving to Portugal, we have seen many backpack-carrying, sometimes confused-looking travelers walking through our neighborhood. It has become easy to recognize these pilgrims as they reach us on their first long hike out of downtown Porto.

While we’ve explored many of the smaller towns north of Porto along the Camino route, we haven’t hiked the Camino. We are hoping to do so in a few years when our girls are a bit older, perhaps as a mother/daughter trip.

In the meantime, we asked our friend Mikala from The Unanchored Passenger to share her personal experience walking about 320 miles solo on both of the two main Camino Portugués routes from Porto to Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

This article will share what it’s like hiking the Camino Portugués as a solo female, describe the different routes that run through Portugal (and help you figure out which one is right for you), and discuss some of the reasons to consider walking this Camino.

If you’re worried about hiking solo, Mikala has some great safety tips to help you feel more confident going alone. 

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What is the Camino de Santiago?

The Camino de Santiago, also known as the Way of Saint James, is a 1,000+ year old pilgrimage leading to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. It’s the only Christian pilgrimage recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Camino started as a religious journey with pilgrims coming from all over Europe to visit the alleged remains of Saint James the Greater in Spain’s northwest autonomous community of Galicia. Today, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims still walk the Camino for all kinds of reasons.

Pilgrims used to leave directly from their homes all over Europe. This led to the establishment of hundreds of different Camino routes. Many routes today primarily run through Spain, but two popular routes run through Portugal, now called the Camino Portugués.

That’s not to say issues don’t pop up along the way. With half a million people now hiking along the Camino, incidents do unfortunately happen. It’s important to stay aware of your surroundings as you would anywhere else.

Here are a few key safety tips I recommend based on my experience walking the Camino three times solo:

• Hike one of the more popular routes during a popular time of year (typically around May through September).
  
• Keep someone informed of your plans and give them updates as you go.
  
• Make sure to have cell phone coverage. I know some people prefer to disconnect while on the trail, but as a solo female, I feel it’s really critical to ensure you’re following the right path and have the option to contact authorities if needed.
  
• Download a Camino app so you have a map to reference while hiking. I personally use the Wise Pilgrim app, but the Buen Camino and Gronze apps are popular too.
  
• Carry a personal alarm in case you run into any issues. I know you may be thinking about carrying pepper spray, but it’s illegal to carry in Portugal.

There’s no single right way to walk the Camino. It’s really up to you to figure out which route you’d like to walk and where you want to start. You could even walk a combination of routes if you’d like.

Here’s an overview of the routes that make up the Camino Portugués.

The Central route, one of the main Portuguese routes, runs more inland through quiet rural villages. It’s considered the more traditional of the two main routes because it’s been used by pilgrims for hundreds of years, and many stops along the way revolve more around the Camino.

While this is the second most popular Camino route, I was pleasantly surprised with how quiet it was for most of my walk until I got much closer to Santiago de Compostela. I often didn’t see anyone around me, but I felt safe because other pilgrims weren’t too far ahead or behind me.

Some of my favorite stops on this route included:

• Barcelos, Portugal: This is home to the miracle story that made the rooster such a big symbol in Portugal. It’s a beautiful place to visit with views of mountains in the distance and a river on the edge of the city.
  
• Ponte de Lima, Portugal: This city is considered Portugal’s “oldest village” and has a striking Roman bridge.
  
• Valença, Portugal: My favorite stop on the Central route, this city is home to a medieval fortress that protected the old town from its neighbor, Spain. You can even stay within the old fortress walls if you want!

I loved walking through these places in Portugal that are so rich in history and culture that I’d never have seen otherwise. Throughout my journey, I found myself texting some of my friends who live in Portugal, telling them they HAVE to come up to the north and see some of these destinations!

*Note that technically, this route starts in Lisbon, Portugal. However, the Lisbon to Porto stretch isn’t very developed, and very few pilgrims walk it. Most pilgrims start in Porto or farther along the route.

As the name suggests, the Portuguese Coastal route follows the coastline for much of the way. I absolutely loved the scenery of this main Portuguese route. I often found myself in awe of the striking blue-green waters and powerful waves.

This route is much more built up compared to the Central route. Many people live and vacation along the coastline, so there are stretches where you may see locals and beachgoers walking around and not just pilgrims.

Some pilgrims may dislike how developed this route is, but I felt it offered a good mix of busy stretches and quieter, more isolated paths. With more people out, it did make me feel slightly safer walking as a solo woman.

This route has some special stops as well:

• Viana do Castelo, Portugal: I loved walking around the picturesque old town in this seaside city. If I had the energy, I wish I would’ve gone up its tall hill that has incredible views of the area.
  
• Caminha, Portugal: This historic fishing town has incredible views of the ocean and Spain on the other side of the river.
  
• Baiona, Spain: My favorite stop on this route, Baiona is home to a medieval fortress jutting out into the ocean. There’s even a Parador hotel there that you can stay in.
  

Also known as the Litoral Way, the Senda Litoral pops up periodically as an option for pilgrims walking the Coastal route. At times, the Coastal route will turn more inland, and the Senda Litoral gives pilgrims an option to more closely follow the coastline.

The Senda Litoral often connects with the Coastal route, so you typically only need to decide the day of whether you’re going to take the Coastal route or the Senda Litoral.

Most pilgrims will walk this route, leaving Porto, because you get to follow the river out until you meet the ocean, making for a much more picturesque walk. I also enjoyed walking the Senda Litoral after taking a boat from Caminha to cross into Spain.

The Spiritual Variant offers a detour between Pontevedra and Padrón, Spain. On this route, also known as the Variante Espiritual, pilgrims get to take the same boat journey as the boat that allegedly carried the remains of Saint James into Galicia.

Pilgrims walking both the Central and Coastal routes have the option to take the Spiritual Variant.

I took this way on one of my Caminos and preferred it over the regular way to Santiago. The scenery reminded me of my favorite parts of both the Central and Coastal routes.

Plus, with the last 62 miles (100 km) of the Portuguese Way getting quite crowded, I enjoyed how much quieter the Spiritual Variant was. As a solo hiker, it was a little eerie at times because I didn’t see very many people around.

If you’re nervous about this, you might consider finding other pilgrims to walk with on this stretch.

1. Porto, Portugal (both Central and Coastal routes): 10-15 days
2. Tui, Spain (Central route): 4-7 days
3. Valença, Portugal (Central route): 4-7 days
4. Vigo, Spain (Coastal route): 4-5 days
5. Baiona, Spain (Coastal route): 5-6 days
   

If you want to see more of Portugal and have the time and physical ability to do so, I highly recommend starting in Porto. If you start farther along the route, you won’t get to see much, if any, of Portugal, since the latter sections of the routes are in Spain.

I started in Porto myself and am glad I did, so I could enjoy more of a mix of Portugal and Spain. Plus, Porto is easier to get to, and it’s such a fun city to spend a few days in.

Would I feel safe? Would I be able to find places to stay? Would I make friends?

These were the questions running through my mind and keeping me up way too late the night before I started my first Camino Portugués.

Throughout my walk, I kept bumping into one of the women I met on that first day. We’d often find each other at albergues or while hiking along the trail. We ended up walking into Santiago de Compostela together and still keep in touch now.

I found it a little harder to make friends on this route. However, many of us solo women found each other along the way and were able to form good connections.

While I had heard the Coastal route was less social and it may be harder to make friends, I looked forward to walking along the coast listening to the therapeutic sounds of the ocean waves crashing against the shore.

The coastal views absolutely lived up to the hype. Throughout much of that way, I kept finding myself gasping in amazement at the views of incredibly powerful blue green ocean waves.

Some people may think the views along the coast get monotonous, but I found the views to be quite varied. Sometimes you’re walking alongside beaches full of busy beach bars, other times you’re walking high up on a quiet path with views of the ocean down below.

Or you might be walking along quiet cobblestoned streets through small villages with views of the ocean in the distance.

To my surprise, I ended up making even more friends on this route. There seemed to be more women walking solo like me on the Coastal route.

I’ve so valued escaping from the noise and stress of day-to-day life on all my Caminos. Most days along my Caminos in Portugal, I found myself walking solo throughout the day.

I really appreciated these moments to think about the direction of my life while I’m at a bit of a transition point in my career and where I’m living.

Not only does this help keep your pack weight down because you don’t have to worry about carrying things like a tent, but it also makes for a much more comfortable experience overall. Plus, staying in albergues as a solo traveler makes it much easier to make friends.

With the Portuguese routes gaining popularity more recently, I was pleased to find that many accommodations along the way were quite nice and several were newly built.

When hiking the Central route, I became good friends with a gal just a few years younger than me from Germany. On the Coastal route, my main friends were a trio of men of varying ages from Canada and the U.K.

The Camino can truly bring all kinds of people together who would never otherwise be friends. If you’re looking for this kind of social experience, you can find it on the Portuguese routes.

I’ll never forget walking in the pouring rain by vineyards on the Central route and looking up at the sound of bells to see a church in the misty distance. Or walking along boardwalks on the Coastal route with fields of yellow flowers to my right and strong ocean waves crashing on the beach to my left.

Given the flatter routes, I personally found myself having much more energy after my walks than I did when I hiked the Camino Francés. For me, this made it a bit easier to enjoy the journey because I didn’t feel like I had to take quite as many naps and could instead spend time exploring my stops or enjoying a drink with friends.

As someone who has previously visited both countries, I was so happy to return and get to immerse myself in the language, learn more about the history, and enjoy some of my favorite treats like:

• Portugal’s divine pastel de nata custard tarts
  
• Spain’s tinto de verano–what I call “sangria’s little cousin”–a red wine and lemon soda drink
  
• Spain’s patatas bravas–potatoes with aioli and a spicy tomato sauce
  

Options to Personalize your Camino Route in Portugal

With multiple trail options near each other, the Portuguese Camino routes really allow you to customize your Camino experience more than other Caminos.

There are several places where you can switch between the Central and Coastal routes, and many pilgrims do this if they want to see a little bit of both. Plus, the Litoral Way and the Spiritual Variant provide additional options for customizing your journey.

I loved the scenery along all four of the routes that make up the Portuguese Way. If I were to hike this Camino again, I’d probably do a combination of all four.

In fact, one of the most notable people to complete a Camino was Queen Isabel of Portugal. She walked the Camino twice in 1325 and 1335. Prior to Queen Isabel, the parents of Portugal’s first king also walked the Camino in 1097.

Even if you don’t start in Porto, northern Portugal and northwest Spain are somewhat well-connected, so it shouldn’t be too challenging to get to your chosen starting point.

Navigating travel to and from other Camino routes can feel like a puzzle at times. For instance, for those starting the Camino Francés in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France, there are a lot of steps involved to get there. And then trying to figure out round-trip flights can be even more challenging since the starting and ending points are so far from each other.

Some people seemed a bit more closed off to making friends. Other times, I would meet people that I really liked but we wouldn’t see each other again. Every time I had met someone else who had hiked the Francés too, they said they felt the same way.

I think some of this is because albergues tend to be much smaller on this route. Also with more route options, many people switch routes so you’ll naturally lose more friends along the way.

Plus, I found fewer opportunities to connect with pilgrims during pilgrim meals or church services.

Some places I stopped only had private albergues. There are still many public albergues on the way, but a few of them had communal showers that I wasn’t keen to try out.

With some stops on the Camino only having a few albergues–some of which only had as few as a dozen or so beds–I found myself booking ahead more often than on other Caminos.

If you’re considering walking the Coastal route during summer vacation months, this is even more important for you to know. With many stops on that route being popular vacation spots, accommodations there fill up even more quickly during the summer.

I think because so much of the Central route passes through more rural areas, the churches have more limited hours. When I hiked the Coastal route next, I was pleased to find many more opportunities to visit churches.

I’ve studied Spanish for over ten years now and studied abroad in Spain, so I feel very comfortable on that part of the Camino. Honestly, when I first started the Camino Portugués, I felt a bit discombobulated because I didn’t even know what kind of food to order.

I started ordering tosta mista (a toasted ham and cheese sandwich) all the time because that was one of the only foods I knew cafes would have. And I’d try to use my limited Portuguese skills, but would default to Spanish at times, hoping the locals would understand.

It was a bit of a struggle for me at times, and I felt such a wave of relief when I crossed the border into Spain. If I ever hike one of the Portuguese routes again, I hope I can take some more time beforehand to learn more of the language and culture so I can get even more out of the experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some answers to frequently asked questions when it comes to hiking the Camino in Portugal.

There You Have It

I hope you can see how hiking the Camino can be such a special way to experience Portugal and that this article gave you the confidence to try it yourself, even if you’re going solo.

If you want to dig more into Portugal’s history and culture while going on a unique adventure, then walking the Camino in Portugal is definitely one way to do it.

There’s truly so much to explore in Portugal! If you’ll be spending time in Porto, don’t miss our articles on which dishes to try in Porto, and enjoying coffee culture in Porto and Northern Portugal.

We’ve also got a great list of thing to do in Porto to keep you busy around town! Don’t miss our full guide to getting around Porto.

Waiting out the rain? Here’s our list of the best rainy day activities!