Trip Overview
Pious Queen Isabela of Portugal first walked the Portuguese Spiritual Way on the Camino to Santiago de Compostela in the 13th century. Follow in her footsteps on this eight-day, 61-mile hiking adventure enjoying the pastoral countryside, local wines, and cuisine of northern Portugal and the Galicia region in Spain!
The Portuguese Way on the Camino de Santiago is the less-traveled but infinitely beautiful Camino hiking route: historic, bucolic, and full of charm. You’ll hike 7-14 miles a day, covering 61 miles in total on this classic European walking tour through the Portuguese and Spanish countryside.
In Porto, Portugal, meet your guide and the women with whom you’ll be walking the Way, getting a taste of Portugal before the journey begins. Visit Foz de Douro Lighthouse and walk the ramparts of the Fortress of Valença do Minho, an ancient river defense, try port wine tastings in the Ferreira Bodega (est. 1751), and then enjoy a lively welcome dinner. With your Pilgrim’s Passport in hand, depart Porto on a route with an ambiance that’s conducive to friendly conversations with your fellow adventurers. You’ll feel like old friends by the time you arrive in Tui, Spain, in the Spanish region of Galacia!
Tui is a medieval border town in Spain and your gateway to the Camino de Santiago. Stop to visit nearby Mos, a pretty, hilly hamlet of farms and vineyards, which offers plenty of spots to dine and refresh on local wines, then continue past the beautiful Galician church of Santa Eulalia del Monte and the Pazo de los Marquis. Later, explore the Castle of Soutomaior once owned by the early 1900s feminist Maria Vingals, a true Adventure Woman who loved to travel throughout Europe and was committed to women’s rights.
Continue your hiking journey in Spain as you discover medieval villages and explore the preserved Roman quarter of Pontevedra along a detour unique to the Spiritual Way, which boasts the oldest roots of any of the pilgrimage paths. Enjoy a cooking class with a Galician chef before heading to coastal Cambados, the heart of Albariño, where you will have the chance to sample some of this area’s delicious Spanish wines! Explore the 16th-century Cistercian Monastery of Armenteira and walk the Armenteira River where 30 medieval grist mills still stand. From here, you will embark on a boatcruise on the river following the route of an ancient vessel that bore the Apostle James’ remains, followed by a visit to the private palace of the Marquis Gonzalo Rivero de Aquilar, a knight of St. James.
The next day, you reach your ultimate goal: the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, where you will proudly receive your pilgrim’s Compostela certificate. While each of you may have had a different reason for hiking “the Way,” everyone on this hiking adventure from Portugal to Spain can agree that walking the Portuguese Way on the Camino de Santiago has made this unique journey on foot one for the ages.
- Camino de Santiago Hiking Trip: Day-by-day Itinerary
- What’s Included in your Camino Hiking Tour for Women
- Accommodations on your Camino Portuguese Way Walking Trip
- What to Pack and Bring on your trip to Portugal and Spain
- Traveling to Porto, Portugal and Departing Santiago de Compostela in Spain
- Detailed Itinerary September Departure: Camino de Santiago Hiking Tour
Main Attractions
- Hike each day on the Camino de Santiago through the beauty of the rural countryside in northern Portugal and southern Spain
- Enjoy the best of Portugal’s and Spain’s vineyards as you learn about the local cuisine in this part of western Europe
- Visit palaces, lighthouses, fortresses, and monasteries as you revisit history along this famous spiritual path
- Triumph in your accomplishment as you gratefully accept your Compostela pilgrim’s certificate at the Cathedral at journey’s end
What You'll See and Do
- Anthropology
- Architecture
- Boat Cruise
- Cooking Class
- Cultural Exploration
- Hiking
- Historical Sites
- Local Delicacies
- Natural History
- Sightseeing
- Walking
- Wine Tasting
- Women-To-Women Exchanges
