Lisbon to Porto on the Camino: Is it worth it?

When you search the internet for information on the Portuguese Camino, you mostly find out how to walk from Porto to Santiago, but there is hardly anything about the stretch from Lisbon to Porto.

If you’re anything like me, you might think…why not add a little extra adventure and start in Lisbon? 

I’m not here to tell you if you should or should not add the extra 227.9 miles (366.8 km) and start in Lisbon.  I am writing this so you have more information to make an educated decision based on what you want your Camino experience to look like.

Honestly, walking from Lisbon to Porto has pros and cons. Before you decide, I recommend that you consider the weather, terrain, stage distances, and community.

Ultimately, how much time you have will also come into play: Porto to Santiago takes roughly 14-17 days, while Lisbon to Porto will add an additional 12-15 days of walking.

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Lisbon to Santiago vs Porto to Santiago

The biggest differences between walking the Portuguese Camino from Lisbon to Santiago versus Porto to Santiago are distance and timing.

First, consider distance; if you hike from Lisbon to Santiago, you’ll walk 377.3 miles (607.2 kilometers). 

In contrast, if you walk from Porto to Santiago, you’ll walk 149.4 miles (240.4 kilometers).

Plus, an extra 56 miles (90 kilometers) if you finish in Finisterre or Muxía!

As a perpetual thru-hiker, for me, farther is always better. 

So why do I say walking from Lisbon to Porto will add less time than Porto to Santiago?  Because the suggested stages from Lisbon to Porto are longer and average 30 kilometers per day.  (You can go faster on my Lisbon to Santiago fast-paced itinerary if you’d like).

There are not always other ways to break up the stages and make them smaller between Lisbon and Porto.  You need to be able to walk longer distances from the beginning.

Next, you need to consider timing.  Do you only have 3 weeks off work or 5-6 weeks?  Do you have the budget to travel for longer?

I budgeted roughly 40-50 euros per day per person in 2024.  That was based on using albergues as much as possible (unless a private room was roughly the same split 3 ways) and mostly grocery store eating.

⬇️ Click on the photos below for my two Portuguese Camino FREE itineraries! ⬇️

Pros of Starting the Portuguese Camino in Lisbon

After hiking the Portuguese Camino from Lisbon to Porto and onward in the fall of 2024, I felt that extending the trip had a few key pros.

1. You get to see more of Portugal.  Southern Portugal has a different vibe than Northern Portugal. 
2. There are fewer pilgrims who start from Lisbon, and you don’t get the crowded feeling that you often get closer to Santiago. The Portuguese Camino becomes crowded by Porto and even more so by Tui, Spain (the last 100 km).
3. Because there aren’t many options to break the stages up, you’ll form a community by design as you’ll all start to stay in the same places.
4. Lisbon is a beautiful city for a starting point that usually has cheaper flights than Porto.
5. The central Portuguese cities of Coimbra and Tomar were fun to explore.

Cons of Starting the Portuguese Camino in Lisbon

However, as much as I enjoyed the walk from Lisbon to Porto overall, there were a few significant cons. These are inherently why most people avoid this stretch and start in Porto.

1. The stages are long and do not have many accommodation options in between.  If you take a short day, it’s hard to balance it back out without a few awkward distance days.  As a thru-hiker, 30km days are fine for me, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
2. There is A LOT of pavement walking between Lisbon and Porto.  I think it was the most pavement I’ve had on four different Caminos.  Most of it avoided busy roads and walked paved roads from a small village to a small village, but there were a few stretches on busy roads.
3. Lisbon is significantly warmer than Porto and Northern Portugal. We ended up hiking through a heat wave in the middle of September when it was 90-95 degrees F for over a week. Hardly any of the albergues had air conditioning.
4. There are a few sections with larger water gaps than other Caminos that stretch up to 10-15 kilometers. (This is not bad at all on US thru-hiking terms, but it is unusual in Camino terms.) Pair that with heat and lack of shade, and you can get uncomfortable easily.
5. You’ll find fewer “true” albergues and more hostel albergues between Lisbon and Porto.  They haven’t entirely built up an array of Camino infrastructure yet, so many businesses have to also allow others in, not just pilgrims.  In my experience, they always grouped Camino walkers together as much as possible in rooms, though.

Lisbon to Porto: Albergues, Hostels, & Guest Houses

The accommodation on the Portuguese Camino from Lisbon to Porto has a different vibe than any other Camino I’ve hiked.

This is not to say it has a bad vibe…it just doesn’t have a typical Camino vibe, which starts more between Porto and Santiago.

Instead, this stretch boasts more hostels than what I would consider “true” albergues.  My guess is that there aren’t the pilgrim numbers to sustain pilgrim-only albergues for enough of the year.

Thus, you’ll find more hostels that also function as albergues.  They’ll group pilgrims together as much as possible due to our inevitable “early bedtime” and “early starts,” but other people might still be in the common areas.

Despite this, you can find and bond with other hikers at these hostels because there are often only 1-2 options, so you’ll usually all end up in the same place.

There are also more options for (relatively) affordable private rooms in guest houses if you have 2-3 people sharing. 

While guest houses are great after you’ve dealt with the typical Albergue chorus of snoring and farting, they don’t always bring about the same Camino comraderies.

Lisbon to Porto: Are there Camino Markers?

Yes, you will have the Camino shell markers between Lisbon and Porto. 

They will follow the Galician style, where you head toward the edge of the shell instead of the base. 

Usually, you will see the concrete pillars with markers on them accompanied by an arrow. 

However, they are noticeably absent when leaving Lisbon.  You’ll definitely want to have one of the GPS-based apps with downloaded maps because they’re not always obvious.

In general, markers exist through this stretch, but not with the same frequency as other Caminos. Bring a backup!

Lisbon to Porto: Road Walking

I think the amount of road walking was the biggest shock to me about the Portuguese Camino. 

The stretch from Lisbon to Porto had the most pavement road walking than any other Camino I have hiked.  They all have some, but this was mostly pavement.  Many of the roads were off the beaten path, but they still had some cars.

That much pavement paired with longer stages really did a number on my feet.  I never got to the blister levels that my Mom did, but they were sore from the same repetitive motion.

Lisbon to Porto: Food, Pilgrim Meals, Grocery Stores, & Uber Eats

If you’re thinking about finding pilgrim meals between Lisbon and Porto, think again.  You might find one here or there, but that infrastructure has not come about yet.

Instead, you’ll find a wide variety of restaurant options in the larger towns.  You can often choose from Portuguese food, Indian food, Italian food, take-out pizza, and more.

The larger towns often have decent grocery stores like Pingo Doce or Carrefour.  Smaller towns had local shops or a Meu Super. Always scope out the albergue kitchen before you opt to cook!

In some areas, I even had good luck ordering Uber Eats.  I got their free trial for a month and it gave me cheaper to no delivery fees.  Thus, I was able to get plant-based options delivered from the next town over for a better meal.

Portugal had Spain beat for plant-based food options, hands down.  From their grocery stores to take-out pizza chains to great Indian food, I had more plant-based options than any other Camino in Spain.

Southern Portugal vs Northern Portugal Weather

Weather should also be involved in your decision, although it’s more related to your timing than anything else.

Southern Portugal is hotter and drier than Northern Portugal. 

After hiking from Lisbon to Porto from the middle to the end of September, I believe it should be avoided in summer.

There is just not enough shade, water, or resources to make a summer walk from Lisbon to Porto fun.  People laughed that I hike in sandals, but they kept my feet from overheating and prevented blisters.

In contrast, Northern Portugal resembles northwestern Spain in Galicia.  You can expect slightly cooler temperatures and rain.  And Galician rain is the soaking rain.  The kind that you can often see coming at you in a sheet.

Basically, if you can only hike the Portuguese Camino in the summer, I do not recommend walking the stretch between Lisbon and Porto.  Only consider it for a spring or a fall Camino.

Summary & Final Thoughts After Walking It

After hiking from Lisbon to Porto and then on to Santiago, Finisterre, and Muxía, here’s what I think you should consider.

You should consider hiking the section from Lisbon to Porto if:

• You can stay in various accommodations and you’re not depending on municipal Albergue prices every night.
• You download and know how to use GPS-based Camino apps to help when the markers become randomly scarce.
• Pavement road walking doesn’t bother you.  IMO, this is difficult on my feet, more so than uneven dirt.
• You’re aiming for a spring or fall camino adventure.

You should avoid the section from Lisbon to Porto if:

• You’re looking to only stay in albergues and mostly municipal ones at that.
• Pavement bothers you.  You’ll be on it a lot.  I didn’t take clear data on this, but it felt like at least 75% or more was on pavement or cobblestones.
• You want to hike in the summer.  The lack of shade with less water would be problematic for the average hiker.
• You don’t have much time.  If you can only get 2-3 weeks off work, start in Porto.

Personally, I’m glad I walked from Lisbon to Porto.  However, I don’t plan on ever repeating it.  And that comes from someone who has repeated hiking trails like both the Appalachian Trail and the Continental Divide Trail.  I also reread books.  I’m that person. 

Feel free to ask questions in the comments, and happy trails!