Portuguese Camino Highlights Walk

This trip blends the best of the coastal route from Porto with the stunning, lesser-known Spiritual Variant trail. Hiking over 100 km (62 miles) along the Portuguese Camino Highlights Walk was challenging but very rewarding. The coastal walks offered stunning views of the coastline and ocean and I loved walking through the quaint fishing villages along the coast. The Stone & Water trail and the Spiritual Variant trail offered stunning scenery, peaceful forests, rivers, and charming medieval villages and country towns along the way. The food was a highlight too—fresh seafood and traditional local dishes at every stop. I highly recommend trying local dishes such as Galician Pulpo (octopus), Galician scallops (in the shell), and Padron peppers! On Day 5 and 6, we stayed at Villa Covelo and stumbled upon a local restaurant called, O Recuncho do lolo, and had an incredible local experience here! The owner Graciela was so hospitable and kind that we dined there two evenings in a row! You must try her cheesecake (she sold us by telling us it was the best in the world- and it very well might be!) The accommodations at A Casa Antiga do Monte and Hotel Melo Alvim were cozy, historic, and full of character. If you’re thinking about doing a "highlights version" of the Camino, this Exodus trip is the perfect way to do it! :)

This trip was incredible - from our amazing guide, Aitor, to the fun group we got lucky to travel with, to the special itinerary itself, this tour is incredible from start to finish! If you have ever considered walking the Camino (or at least the highlights of it), then let this be your sign to go ahead and book it! The walks themselves can be challenging, but along with your group and the motivation from the guide, you will feel accomplished by the end of each day and will wake up feeling ready for the next! Join this tour with the expectation of seeing so many scenic villages and towns, tasting different food, and getting deeper insight into how the locals live and work - as you will see all of this and more on this amazing trip. Reaching the Cathedral in Santiago is a moment I will never forget, and one which I will be returning to do again in my life.

The majority of the walking days followed the same pattern: Walk for approx 1.5-2 hours then stop for a coffee Walk for approx 2 hours then stop for lunch On the longer days we stopped for a coffee/break in the afternoon too. The trip notes are reasonably accurate with their description of the route and the activity times - this is the time walking, the days are linger when you factor in stops. On warmer days we took longer, on the rainy/cooler days we tended to be a little quicker. Day 6 of walking (day 7 of the trip) the walk is a bit longer than expected. It is about 30 minutes to the harbour but once you get off the boat it was about another 4km to the hotel via Padron. Pay attention to the packing list - on the early days of the walk when we were in Portugal the route was flatter and you could probably get away with trainers but from day 3 of walking (day 4 of the trip) walking boots are an advantage due to the terrain. A good waterproof coat is definitely needed as we got rained on alot. I used a single walking pole for support on the downhill sections from day 3 of walking onwards. You will stay in a mix of hotels - some were very good, others were definitely more on the cheaper side. We also really struggled to get food at a decent time in two of the Spanish hotels as the restaurants weren't open for hot food until 9pm and there was nothing else open nearby any earlier - after a long day of walking we all wanted an earlier meal and an early night.

As a senior I found the two longer mileage days a bit of a challenge but overall it was a great walking holiday. The hotels and the food were excellent. I especially enjoyed the boat trip, as well as walking the final three days to Santiago, like real pilgrims. The medieval border town of Tui was fascinating. I loved the stone and water route on Day 6. Sadly we had to walk the last 5 miles to Santiago in the rain, which was disappointing. The scenery was varied along the way although I found some sections alongside the road tedious.