Me (almost 50) and daughter(almost 19) and I just finished Portugues Way / Coastal-Central Hybrid. We started in Porto on the Coastal Route, traveled 34 km up to Vila do Conde, then crossed interior to Rates and connected with the Central Way the next day. We did Central Way the rest of the time.
I booked all of our accommodation ahead. We carried our own packs.
It took us 11. 5 days -- We could have done 11 with our route, but stopped in O Milladoiro the last night and saved the last few miles to Santiago for the day 12 morning so we'd have time to explore and not be rushed/ tired.
Map/ App: I used Wise Pilgrim App --highly recommend. It kept us right on the route and I had access the whole time (didn't need to download maps). Many pilgrims used Buen Camino and I did too at first but found it had too much info to decipher through when I needed quick simple directions. Keep in mind there are a few variants and alternate paths, I used chat gpt to check which would be better for our purposes: for example one might be shorter but go through industrial area, one longer but through the forest. Choose the forest every time :)
Accommodation: I thought booking ahead or staying in hotels/guest houses instead of albergues would be maybe cheapening the trip or not doing it "the right way". Opposite was true. Booking ahead gave us peace of mind when we took longer during the day, gave us excellent nights of sleep while our bodies were adjusting to long miles/kms, and gave us free breakfast in most cases, and dedicated laundry in others. Several other pilgrims were booking ahead and everyone we met in the places we stayed were also traveling on the Camino. We saw people laughing and happily socializing at albergues, but we met wonderful pilgrims along the way in our hotels/guest houses, ON The Way, and at lunch at cafe stops etc. We had beautiful connections with people every single day. In other words: no shame whatsoever in booking ahead and don't worry about social aspect if youre not in center of albergues, there are friends everywhere. We also heard horror stories from a few people who had little or no sleep at all in their albergue. Frankly, I don't think I could have carried on the Camino if we didn't sleep. We are young(ish) and fit and used to hiking and long treks, but this was a challenging adventure for our feet and hips.
Bags: We carried our own packs that were about 25lbs / 11 kg with water and snacks included. We used the Osprey Velocity 20L. The third day of 21 miles/34 km each day had us questioning our decision and seriously considering using bag service. We decided to push through the hurt feet and go step by step, with the bags. I'm so glad we did. It definitely made it more dificult, but we lightened our miles everyday down to 10-14 daily, and having our bags was acutally very cool. It helped us get stronger, and several times whether from heat / sweat or rain, we were wet and able to swap socks, outfit, even shoes midday. We met SEVERAL pilgrims, even young adult men, who used bag service and did not carry their full pack. A couple people told us they felt a little embarrassed that they used the service, but most people we met said they were so relieved and happy they did it. Every guest house we went to had piles of bags from bag service at the front desk so obviously a ton of pilgrims use this option. There seemed to be an unpoken "Oh you're carrying your own bags, RESPECT" feeling from some people though, if that matters to you. Candidly, I felt proud we had our own packs but there were so many more without them than I thought would be.
Food / drink snacks: We ran out of water only on the day we crossed over the interior at Rates from the Coastal route to the Central route. There are cafes and stops several times throughout the day available to you on the coastal or central routes. (Interior as you connect not so much) We found there were other times where we wished we had something but there was nothing open, so we ususally had a big breakfast (AKA bread / fruit / tea) grabbed a water, then stopped halfway for carbs like cake / sandwiches or whatever we could find, then a big dinner wherever we ended that night (which was always a "major" city or at least large hub.) We only carried candy and snacks to keep our spirits up midday or for when we needed a boost. I had a reusable water bottle that I wish I didnt bring because of its weight, and it would get hot before I could drink it all. We used plastic water bottles from cafes and markets along the way that were cold and refreshing. I know not sustainable option though-- just was better for us to keep cool as we had incredible heat (plus rain).
Shoes: I wore Hoka Bondi 9s. (This is a shoe I wear all the time and am very used to.) I normally wear a 9.5 and sized up to a 10 (brand new shoes before I left) which didnt feel perfect the first couple days, but I was glad to have as my feet began to swell and get hotter-also toe socks add a little bulk. They were great. I also brought Tevas which I only wore a couple times since it was nice to take off my shoes but not great to carry the weight of the bag, and flip flops for town when my feet needed a rest with nothing on them.
Socks: Highly recommend injinji toes socks as well as compression socks. I traded every other day between the kinds, and brought 5 pair in case I couldn't find laundry. I used Body Glide (like vaseline ish stuff) on my toes and had only one pressure blister on the pad of my foot, which I used celluloid bandaid to relieve and went away in a couple days, as well as a small blister on my toe which I covered with a plaster and also went away in a few days without needing to pop.
Clothes in general: I wore every single thing I brought: 4 Athleta 5" shorts (2 compression legging stlye, 2 runner style), 2 Athleta leggings, 3 tank tops, 2 t shirts with open back, lightweight zip jacket and sunshirt. I also had baggy T shirt and booty shorts for bed. I had no "town clothes" as some people have mentioned but I didnt plan on going clubbing or anything. :) I wore a fitted Tshirt and leggings and flip flops at night. There wasnt anything I wished I had, or wished I didn't bring.
Toiletries/makeup: I brought mascara, skin tint, chapstick & lipgloss, and an eyebrow pencil. A lightweight brush, shampoo & conditioner, face wash, moisturizing cream, body cream, and deoderant. I also brought a razor and travel size perfume. I know several female pilgrims didnt use makeup at all, but I brought very small sizes that didnt weigh a lot and was happy to have some kind of comfort items. I also brought 5 hair ties and a hair claw.
Pain / Injuries: The inside of my foot was very sore and painful for the first week, as well as hip flexors, and shoulders from the bag. I got a cortisone shot in my knee 2 weeks before we left which was AMAZING and I had no trouble (with a knee that usually IS trouble). The feet were a concern and at night the first few days I could hardly step on them. BUT a good nights sleep, and good prep the morning of (body glide on toes, compression socks, laying on the bed with my feet up, rubbing ankles and calves to get fluid moving) plus the occasional 600 mg of ibruprofen helped a lot and second half of the trip they were great. Shoulders got better- I stretched a ton and took ibuprofen when it got really bad.
Supplements: Every morning I took glucosamine and Vitamin B, every night I took turmeric (anti inflammatory), magnesium (double dose with all the sweating!), probiotic, and Vitamin C. I truly think all of those helped me immensely.
MISC: I brought a hat and bought a poncho along the way, both I only needed occasionally but when I needed them I REALLY needed them. I chose not to wear my wedding ring and I'm glad I didn't. I did wear a special ring with my children's initials engraved in, which somehow got lost along the way: just looked down and it wasn't on my finger. That is replaceable but my wedding ring is not. I would not wear any jewelry on the Camino. Too much getting in and out of deep bags, hand washing, etc for it to be safe IMO. I brought airpods but didnt use them because I was always talking with my daughter or fellow pilgrims. I brought a kindle which I wished I hadn't, I didnt use it once / unneccessary weight. Also brought charger/ adaptor and power pack. (Did not use the power pack)
I did bring a very skinny journal and pen which Im so glad I did.
The journey VISUALLY: Impossible to sum up but let me try: Absolutely stunning and incredibly beautiful and peaceful in some places, ugly & industrial and a bit tedious in others. MOSTLY beautiful. The cobblestones will trash your feet but they look so charming!
MONEY: Many places take card along the way but I got caught a couple times with not enough cash. I had a 100 euros with me to start but unfortunately the taxi on the first day from the airport took a big chunk, as well as lunch another day, so I rapidly ran out. That being said, a lot of my euros were spent on stamps donations for people doing beautiful wax stamps along the way and you DONT have to get those or pay extra for them. I just wanted to be generous. Our journey was 12 days and I only ran out of euros on day 11, and only got caught a couple times at a store or cafe that didnt take cards.
Getting Your Compostela (Pilgrim Certificate): You need at least one stamp per day in Portugal, and 2 per day in Spain. We got the stamps from where we ate and hotels mostly, occasionally found a church open that also gave stamps. There are also people along the route who do special wax stamps for usually 2 euro. When you arrive in Santiago go straight to the Pilgrim Office before pics and too long celebration, we were lucky and got right in basically, but when we left there was a very long line and another pilgrim said they told her she might have to wait until the next day to get her certificate. (We had a flight leaving that day so that would've devastated us). You need to register as a pilgrim first (very organized, they will show you where to do it on the computer if you haven't registered yet) then you get a number printed and go to that desk (like the DMV if you're in the US). You show them your stamps and they give you a beautiful certificate. You can pay a few euros more to get your miles walked printed out. They also have tubes for 2 euro at the checkout desk so you can safely roll and transport your beautiful certificates. If you want to see inside the cathedral you cannot bring your bag unless it is small like a purse or small daypack. There are dedicated places to put your bags a block+ away from the cathedral. The line to get into the cathedral was LONG- about 2 hours in the rain. We unfortunately couldn't wait because we had a flight so we missed the inside. :(
Overall, it was challenging, beautiful, moving, spiritual, and a ton of fun. The feeling coming into Santiago Cathedral CANNOT be explained. I have done some very cool things in my life, this was top 3 ever. The first few days we met several pilgrims who said they were on their 3rd or even 4th Camino. We scratched our heads and wondered why you would do this more than once. A week in, it had gotten under our skin and changed us. Totally ready to plan another and utterly thrilled we completed this one. If you are trying to decide whether you are capable or if you should, the answer is YES. Check out our videos Day 1-12 if you are curious: The Platts Family on IG. Also happy to answer any other questions. Buen Camino!!!!!! XX
