Trying to decide which one next

[Walking Lover]

My husband and I did the CdF last summer and plan to do the either the Norte or Portuguese next summer. We are both in excellent shape, runners and walkers all year-long, but I'm a little intimidated about the Norte. From what I read, it can be very challenging with all the hills.

I will appreciate any help you can provide on these two routes.

TY!

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, WL,
If it's the ups and downs that are your primary concern, I think the place to start is some of the online guides that show elevation gains. Even if you don't read Spanish, you can find mundicamino.com, gronze.com and Eroski (http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/mobile/los-caminos-de-santiago/)
all have profiles of the stages so you can compare elevations. There is a fair amount of up and down on the Norte but I think anyone in good shape can easily navigate it. Portugues from Lisbon has much less.

Both the Norte and the Portugues have more asphalt than the Frances. And you can find a lot of information already here on the forum, either by searching or scrolling through the Portugues and Norte sub-forums.
Example: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...tugues-or-camino-del-norte.37347/#post-362100

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[jpflavin1]

My husband and I did the CdF last summer and plan to do the either the Norte or Portuguese next summer. We are both in excellent shape, runners and walkers all year-long, but I'm a little intimidated about the Norte. From what I read, it can be very challenging with all the hills.

I will appreciate any help you can provide on these two routes.

TY!

WL:

I have never walked the Portuguese but have walked the Norte and found it a great walk. I think to much is made of the fact there is a lot of hard surface walking on the Norte. While I agree that there is, I did not find this type of surface to be any more difficult on my feet and it is much better in the rain (no mud). There are many 500 meter climbs and while this is challenging it is very doable and the sea views are well worth the effort.

This walk imo, is one of the better ones.

Ultreya,
Joe

 

[sherrysnicker]

My husband and I completed the Portuguese route last year. We started in May and found very few pilgrims on route for the first week. No problems finding places to stay overnight. There is a lot of hard surface walking for the first week, a lot of walking along the roadside. Be careful though, there are a lot of old markings for the original camino. We were sidetracked once and ended up going about 10K out of our way. Had to take Taxi to get back on track. We enjoyed the Camino Frances much more and plan to reddo in 2017.

 

[Larry OHeron]

Take a quick look at the Via De La Plata. The only concern might be the time of year. Summer can be brutal in southern Spain. Leave early in the a.m. to be at your destination as soon as you can.

 

[Walking Lover]

Hi, WL,
If it's the ups and downs that are your primary concern, I think the place to start is some of the online guides that show elevation gains. Even if you don't read Spanish, you can find mundicamino.com, gronze.com and Eroski (http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/mobile/los-caminos-de-santiago/)
all have profiles of the stages so you can compare elevations. There is a fair amount of up and down on the Norte but I think anyone in good shape can easily navigate it. Portugues from Lisbon has much less.

Both the Norte and the Portugues have more asphalt than the Frances. And you can find a lot of information already here on the forum, either by searching or scrolling through the Portugues and Norte sub-forums.
Example: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...tugues-or-camino-del-norte.37347/#post-362100

Buen camino, Laurie

My husband and I completed the Portuguese route last year. We started in May and found very few pilgrims on route for the first week. No problems finding places to stay overnight. There is a lot of hard surface walking for the first week, a lot of walking along the roadside. Be careful though, there are a lot of old markings for the original camino. We were sidetracked once and ended up going about 10K out of our way. Had to take Taxi to get back on track. We enjoyed the Camino Frances much more and plan to reddo in 2017.

So, it's not as much by the sea as I thought?

 

[sherrysnicker]

So, it's not as much by the sea as I thought?

There are two routes you can take, one goes by the sea for about a week. We did not follow the sea route, we were told it is very windy. The sea route then connects back to the original route and continues to Santiago.