Which Camino - Portugues, Norte, Frances or Other?

[Mark T17]

Hi all,

I'm going to be kids free in a couple of years and want to enjoy some "me time"! So 2022 looks like being a great year for a walk after the holy year in 2021.

I completed the Frances by bike in 2017 over 12 days and don't think I really did the pilgrimage justice, so I'm thinking about going back and walking it through to Finisterre. However, the crowds on the Frances are deterring me so I'm starting to look at the Portugues and Norte routes. Everest Base Camp or the Milford Track in New Zealand are also of interest to me, but walking through a barren landscape in the Himalaya eating rice and lentils for 2 weeks is not appealing and I think New Zealand hikes are too short without infrastructure.

Getting the time off work and spending more than 25 euro a day wont be a problem.

I'm currently watching Youtube videos and I would welcome comments on my current views:

The Portugues route from Porto looks like a walk through suburban Portugal. Why is this route so popular?

I'm becoming more interested in the Norte because of the scenic beauty and combining it with the Primitivo, so I get the best of both beach and mountains. However, the infrastructure looks poor and is there a bed race on the Norte?

Happy to hear all opinions!

Cheers
M

 

[NorthernLight]

Start further away. Walk from home to your airport. When you land in Europe (assuming you live outside continental Europe), start walking. That should spice up the pilgrim feeling.

If time and money aren't an issue, start somewhere in France.

 

[Walli Walker]

If the potential crowds on the Camino Francés bothers you don’t do the Everest Base Camp Trek which, by the way, is anything but barren.

 

[Dennis52]

Hi all,

I'm going to be kids free in a couple of years and want to enjoy some "me time"! So 2022 looks like being a great year for a walk after the holy year in 2021.

I completed the Frances by bike in 2017 over 12 days and don't think I really did the pilgrimage justice, so I'm thinking about going back and walking it through to Finisterre. However, the crowds on the Frances are deterring me so I'm starting to look at the Portugues and Norte routes. Everest Base Camp or the Milford Track in New Zealand are also of interest to me, but walking through a barren landscape in the Himalaya eating rice and lentils for 2 weeks is not appealing and I think New Zealand hikes are too short without infrastructure.

Getting the time off work and spending more than 25 euro a day wont be a problem.

I'm currently watching Youtube videos and I would welcome comments on my current views:

The Portugues route from Porto looks like a walk through suburban Portugal. Why is this route so popular?

I'm becoming more interested in the Norte because of the scenic beauty and combining it with the Primitivo, so I get the best of both beach and mountains. However, the infrastructure looks poor and is there a bed race on the Norte?

Happy to hear all opinions!

Cheers
M

I have done all three and depending on the time of year, if it’s a bed race.
I always started in the second week of September and had no issues with getting a bed, especially on the CP and CN.
Both the CP and CN have beautiful ocean trails.
By far the pastry’s in Portugal are second to none.

 

[roving_rufus]

I've done the CF and CP from Lisbon - the CP is more built up but has charms. There are ways to avoid the crowds on the CF- winter! I walked several sections of the CF off season - November and January, and there were far few people, and I loved it!

It all depends on time of year. And there are other pilgrim routes - the Frances is busy, the Portugues is getting more and more popular and the Norte too. If its not summer trip how about Via de la Plata or Camino Mozarabe? Or what about one of the pilgrim routes through France if money isn't very tight?

I am currently working on the Via Francigena from Canterbury to Rome in chunks. But my eye is already on Camino Mozarabe as an interesting next pilgrim route.

 

[David Tallan]

Hi all,

I'm going to be kids free in a couple of years and want to enjoy some "me time"! So 2022 looks like being a great year for a walk after the holy year in 2021.

I completed the Frances by bike in 2017 over 12 days and don't think I really did the pilgrimage justice, so I'm thinking about going back and walking it through to Finisterre. However, the crowds on the Frances are deterring me so I'm starting to look at the Portugues and Norte routes. Everest Base Camp or the Milford Track in New Zealand are also of interest to me, but walking through a barren landscape in the Himalaya eating rice and lentils for 2 weeks is not appealing and I think New Zealand hikes are too short without infrastructure.

Getting the time off work and spending more than 25 euro a day wont be a problem.

I'm currently watching Youtube videos and I would welcome comments on my current views:

The Portugues route from Porto looks like a walk through suburban Portugal. Why is this route so popular?

I'm becoming more interested in the Norte because of the scenic beauty and combining it with the Primitivo, so I get the best of both beach and mountains. However, the infrastructure looks poor and is there a bed race on the Norte?

Happy to hear all opinions!

Cheers
M

I found the Portuguese from Porto to be less suburban than the Frances. Fewer large cities so fewer suburbs. I walked along the river and seashore on the first day and a bit and then over to the Central. The Central was mostly rural, with villages and some small towns. When you are entering the larger places, there are often alternative routes that take you through parkland rather than industrial suburbs. As to why it is so popular- who can say for sure? My guess would be that it is some combination of:
- a good length that people can do with available vacation
- a chance to see and partake of Portuguese culture as well as Spanish
- a desire to walk by the seashore
- a route that is not as physically challenging as the Primitivo or Norte
- a desire for a solid infrastructure and the company of other pilgrims

I haven't walked the Norte or the Primitivo, but I've heard good things about both and they are supposed to be quite beautiful. I've also heard that they are more physically challenging than the Frances or the Portuguese.

All that said, if you have only done the Frances by bike, I wouldn't let the fear of crowds drive your choice of camino. I haven't myself both biked and walked the Camino, but what I have heard from those who have is that the community aspect of biking a camino is not the same as walking one. While people who walk the camino tend to see the same pilgrims day after day and form "camino families", socializing in the evening and walking with each other during the day, people who bike are moving at a different pace and meet up with new people every day, I'm told. Even when biking in a group, the act of biking doesn't lend itself to conversation while in motion. Many of us who walk our caminos find the camaraderie of fellow pilgrims to be one of the most rewarding parts of the experience. I know it has been for me, on my caminos. I didn't find the "crowds" on the Camino in the summer of 2016 to be a problem after my previous experience of a much less crowded camino in the spring of 1989. You may find that more fellow pilgrims are a plus rather than a minus.

I hope this helps!

 

[intrepidtraveler]

I walked the Norte from mid-May- June in 2017 and did not experience a bed race. July and August on the Norte might be a different situation since this is "high season" at the beach. The Norte is beautiful and definitely worth walking, IMO. If you want information about places to stay and distances between services, check out Gronze.com.

 

[blueskywa]

I'm with intrepidtraveller!! The Norte May-June 2018 was a fantastic Camino for me. The days were mostly cloudy, some drizzly rain and quite a bit of mud at times but the gorgeous coastline and peacefulness was great. Arriving in Arzua on the CF we had the whole albergue to ourselves while across the road at the municipal albergue, it was completo!!!
We had no problem with getting beds on the Norte or Finesterre.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I walked the Norte/Prinitivo conbo in mid April thru mid May, 2016. Saw few pilgrims during the day, but with less infrastructure lodging did fill up end of day. I began emailing the "morning of" just to be certain to have a place to lay my head. Everything worked out well. Only once did my son and I truly get the last two beds in town!

 

[Mark T17]

Thanks all, Norte and Primitivo it is !