My husband and I are thinking of walking the Camino Portugues next July, taking 8 or 9 days to complete it. We are both early risers, so we would probably start walking early in the morning, hoping to do around 30 km a day. Has anyone walked the CP in July? How hot and humid will it be? (We are used to fairly hot and humid weather since we live in Massachusetts.) Is what we are thinking of doing indeed "do-able"? We would try to walk in the early morning until around noon or so each day. Due to our work schedules, July is the only month we can do the Camino. Thanks...this is my first time posting anything on the Forum. I appreciate so much all of the useful information I have gathered from this site!
We did the CP last July. The weather is hot, but we did not find it unbearable. There are plenty of places to get water.
We began in Porto and had 10 days of walking, with a day off in Vigo about halfway. I'd recommend the
Brierley guide book, which has plenty of small hotels listed. I would say 30 km per day is a stretch, especially after the first few days. The guide book will give you the traditional stopping points each day, which are basically little towns on average about 15 miles apart. There are few places to stay in between, so it may be best to stick to the guidebook.
We took the alternate starting route from Porto - it begins on the outskirts of town and follows the beach for much of the first day - beautiful. It then meets up with the the main route by day 3 I believe. We were late risers, and we didn't stay in any albergues, so we saw few other pilgrims. Remember that the Feast Day of St. James is July 25, and Santiago will be very crowded that day. There are a number of "off track" sites to see, which the guide will tell you about, though we did not see any of them - too much for our feet...
The CP was my first Camino, and I loved it. A great variety of landscapes - beach, farms, little cities and villages, rivers, big hills, etc. I hope you enjoy it.
Buen Camino...
