Hi
@robindysard
Like most of us travelling to Europe ... our wish list sometimes gets out of control.
With your limited time 2.5wks / I would like to add a few comments to the great feedback you’ve received.
My first camino from Porto to Santiago was at the end of a trip around spain to see some of the places I’d always dreamt of. There was so much time involved getting to and from each destination - ‘so wearying’ - In hindsight I’ve realised that to choose a route (section of the camino) Which is nearer these places or you can walk through and ‘really’ get to see it / would have been the best way to attack it ... unless you have months ..
All the places you’ve mentioned are on one or other route in spain.
Have a browse through gronze.com (see link) as it will give maps of route, accommodation, etc etc
Bienvenido a Gronze, tu Guía del
Camino de Santiago: Información práctica, actualizada y participativa de los principales Caminos de Santiago.
www.gronze.com
I’d suggest to make the most of your time : to travel to Portugal if a priority is Porto and Fatima.
Then: 1 ( From Porto you’d have time to walk to Santiago )
Or if you only want 5 days walking
Then 2.. after visiting Porto
Get a train or transport to Ourense. You said you liked hills etc. and walk to Santiago - then see what time is ‘up your sleeve ‘. You may be happy with a walk to Finisterra and/or Muxia after that., which could be the icing on the cake for that trip.
There is no airport at Sarria so if you wanted to start from there on the Camino Francés... time to get there from Porto would be quite a lot (see link below )
Still you’d have time available for that ..
A good source of finding connections ., accommodation etc is this little link. For anywhere in the world !!!
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https://www.rome2rio.com/
El Camino in May or September of 2021. It will be our first time and we also plan to visit Fatima and Porto in Portugal and after seeing Santiago, visiting Grenada and Valencia (we've only been to Sevilla and Barcelona and never Portugal). We really can't be gone more than 2.5 weeks and want to end the walk in Santiago.
Why do you say we need another day in Santiago to get our Compostela
Prior to coronavirus (last year) the numbers arriving in Santiago were creating a huge queue and a system was put in place whereby you received a number at the pilgrims office and you could return closer to your number to save a wait. - however in the earlier stages of this system., there was a limit to how many Compostelas could be processed by the staff and volunteers there and some people had numbers which meant they had to come back next day - if they wanted a Compostela. This may change and since the virus a process of drop off and have certificate mailed happened too. So not sure you’d miss out ... depends how far down the number line you are.
I would suggest starting in Orense, and walking the Sanabres
I think this is a good idea as it’s closer by public transport to Porto. But not as ‘pilgrim’ populated - if you like lots of people. Btw Sarria to SdC has a lot of beauty and is not all flat !!
I do hope to get back to finish!! Even if it takes us two more trips!
I read in this quote from your msg that you may come back ! I’d add Granada and Valencia onto one of the less travelled caminos. Even if you only have time for a section. Just to see the difference.. that is fit in the places you mention that is still on your bucket list to visit on your next trip to spain.
Now you are adding another city to your tour - Santander. It all sounds too hectic to me!
Just a reminder - you don't need to "do it all."
Yes .. the wish list grows for all of us because Spain has so many great destinations. All worth visiting.
You can walk through Santander on the first half of the Camino Del Norte
So many choices -
No matter what combination you choose - it will be a great trip I can guarantee..
Would love to get a report one day after you’ve made your decision
Buen camino
Annie