Portuguese Way: a guide to the last week, from Tui to Santiago

The Portuguese Way is the second busiest route to Santiago and the one growing fastest every year. Its last Spanish stretch, starting in Tui, is the most walked: it covers just over 100 kilometres, the minimum distance to get the Compostela.

This guide goes through those stages one by one. It's written from O Porriño, a village the Portuguese Way crosses every morning.

Stage 1 · Tui – O Porriño (about 16 km)

A short, flat stage, ideal for day one. You leave Tui through the old town and enter the Louro valley. There's a variant along the riverbank, longer but much prettier than the industrial route out of town.

O Porriño is a good place to sleep the first night: it has a public albergue, supermarkets and a pharmacy, and you're still fresh to carry on.

Stage 2 · O Porriño – Redondela (about 15 km)

The stage enters eucalyptus country and starts to roll. You pass Mos and its church, and climb to the Santiaguiño hill before going down to Redondela. It's short, but you'll feel the climb if you're carrying a heavy pack.

Redondela, with its viaducts, is where the Coastal and Central Portuguese Ways meet. From here on you'll notice many more people.

Stage 3 · Redondela – Pontevedra (about 19 km)

It passes through Arcade, famous for its oysters, and crosses the medieval bridge of Sampaio. The stretch to Pontevedra alternates forest tracks and minor roads.

Pontevedra has one of the best-preserved old towns in Galicia. If you can, keep a whole evening to see it.

Stage 4 · Pontevedra – Caldas de Reis (about 21 km)

Here you decide whether to stay on the Central route or take the Spiritual Variant, which goes down to the Pontevedra estuary and reaches Vilanova de Arousa to do the Traslatio by boat. It's longer and slower, but many pilgrims call it the best part of their Camino.

Caldas de Reis is named after its hot springs. There are public fountains of warm water where you can soak your feet when you arrive.

Stage 5 · Caldas de Reis – Padrón and arrival in Santiago

Padrón is where, according to tradition, the boat carrying the Apostle's body came ashore. From there it's about 25 km to the Obradoiro square.

Arriving in Santiago on the Portuguese Way is gentler than on the French Way: you come in from the south, through Milladoiro, and the cathedral appears all at once.

When to go, and why 2027 changes everything

2027 is a Compostelan Holy Year: 25 July falls on a Sunday and the Holy Door opens. Holy Years multiply the number of pilgrims, which means full albergues and bookings months in advance.

If you're thinking of walking the Portuguese Way in 2027, the advice is simple: choose your dates well ahead and avoid July and August if you can. May, June and September are better for weather and space.

What you're going to forget

What almost no pilgrim plans for isn't the weight of the backpack or the blisters. It's that, once home, the Camino fades. Photos get lost among thousands in the camera roll, notes stay on a napkin, and two years later all that's left is an "it was amazing" you can't show anyone.

Waymino was born for exactly that: a silicone band you wear for the whole Camino that, when you hold your phone near it, opens your travel journal. Photos, videos and notes saved by stage, with no app to install. When you reach Santiago, your memory video is created with your route and your moments.

It's not an official document and doesn't replace anything: it's yours, to relive it.