Camino de Santiago Hiking & Walking Tour

Overview

For more than a thousand years, pilgrims have followed the Camino de Santiago across Europe to reach this windswept edge of Galicia. Now the path is yours. Your guides will meet you at the Oporto Airport & Business Hotel at 10:30 AM for introductions, then a one-hour-forty-five-minute drive carries you north to the Atlantic coast. A signature Trek Travel picnic awaits beneath the Faro Pequeno lighthouse, the open sea at your feet, before you set out on your first hike. The trail climbs to a headland where the ocean opens below, then drops to meet the Camino Portugués for the final approach into Baiona, the harbor town that first welcomed news of the New World in 1493. Ahead, the ramparts of the Monte Real fortress rise from the bay, your hotel for the night. Walk its sea-girt walls as the group gathers for a first social hour together, raising a glass of Albariño before a Galician dinner at the hotel restaurant, as the last light fades over the bay.

Overview

After breakfast, a thirty-minute drive south along the coast brings you to Portocelo, where you step onto the Camino Portugués and follow the shoreline toward A Guarda, the Atlantic opening wide beside you. The way then turns inland and climbs to the Celtic ruins crowning Monte de Santa Trega, a hillfort of circular dry-stone houses where Galician families lived two thousand years ago, with the river, the ocean, and the coast spread out below. You pause for lunch at the summit, then follow the trail down to the banks of the Miño, the river that marks the border between Portugal and Spain. A short drive then carries you into the Rías Baixas wine country, where a family winery welcomes you for a tasting of the crisp white wines this cool, green region is known for. A forty-minute drive returns you to Baiona, where the group gathers for dinner at one of our favorite spots in town.

Overview

This morning, you’ll step away from the Camino and board a ferry from the harbor for a forty-five minute crossing to the Cíes Islands, the wild heart of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park. The Romans called them the islands of the gods, and walking them you understand why. You hike up to the Monte Faro lighthouse at the highest point of the archipelago, where the trail opens to views across all three islands and the ocean beyond, past nesting colonies of seabirds along the cliffs. Below you stretches Rodas beach, a curve of white sand linking two of the islands that has been called one of the best beaches in the world. Pause for lunch on the island before the ferry carries you back to Baiona. Dinner tonight is on your own, with Baiona's seafood restaurants and tapas bars ready when you are.

Overview

Today you walk into Santiago the way pilgrims have for a thousand years. A morning drive of about an hour and twenty minutes brings you to Ameneiro, where you join the Camino Portugués for its last stretch into the city, roughly 7.5 miles through eucalyptus woods, farm hamlets, and quiet lanes. Lunch is along the route. The trail delivers you to the old town, and you arrive on foot at the Praza do Obradoiro, the great square at the foot of the cathedral. A walking tour with a local guide brings the city to life, with the stories, legends, and little-known facts behind the cathedral and the corners of the medieval center. Tonight you step inside the Parador de Santiago on the square, and the evening is yours to explore in the city.

Overview

The final day on trail begins at the hotel door. The Tres Montes loop traces three hills above Santiago through forested paths, single tracks, and small hamlets, and crests at Monte do Viso for 360-degree views over Galicia. From there, you'll walk on to Monte do Gozo, the "Mount of Joy" where medieval pilgrims first caught sight of the cathedral's spires after weeks on the road. The loop then joins the Camino Francés, the original pilgrim route into Santiago, and you'll walk the last three miles into the city. Lunch is yours to choose in the old town, with your guides happy to point you toward their favorite spots. Spend the afternoon visiting the cathedral, wandering the Praza do Obradoiro, or simply resting before the evening brings everyone together for a social hour and a farewell dinner in town.

Overview

On your final morning, you'll take an optional walk into the Alameda, where the Paseo da Ferradura frames the classic view across the rooftops to the cathedral's three spires. It is a quiet way to take in Santiago one more time before saying farewell to your guides. You'll depart at 11:00 AM for the twenty-minute drive to Santiago de Compostela Airport, carrying the miles of the Camino with you.