100 km --TOTAL??

[SandyJean]

Buen Camino, Pilgrims! My daughter and I are planning our first Camino for this September. We are doing the physical training, the reading, beginning to gather items to pack and are following this forum and taking notes. Whew! We are getting more and more of a feel for the freedom and variety of the Camino Portugues and looking forward to this pilgrimage.
We know that there is a 100 km minimum to earn the Compostela and have generally planned to walk several days, rest and take some sort of transport closer to Santiago to finish walking so we will have a total of 100 km. Is this a possible plan or do we need to walk at LEAST 100 Kms contiguously into Santiago?

This may be, well it actually IS a "rookie" question but you can tell that it greatly affects our itinerary! Thanks for an answer to this really basic question!!

 

[Bradypus]

You must walk all of the final 100km of a recognised route finishing in Santiago if you want to receive a Compostela. It is not enough to walk any other sections of a Camino. For the Camino Portugues that means walking the entire section from O Porriño to Santiago as a minimum.

 

[dougfitz]

The Pilgrim Office explanation of the 100 km requirement (in English) is here: https://oficinadelperegrino.com/en/sigle-register/. On the Camino Portuguese, Vigo also qualifies as a starting point for the minimum distance, for example, if you walk up the coastal route.

 

[dick bird]

You have to arrive in Santiago on foot having walked the previous, continuous 100km in order to be eligible for a compostela, so yes ¨we need to walk at LEAST 100 Kms contiguously into Santiago¨. No ifs or buts and they will check and make sure you have two stamps per day for that last 100 kms.

 

[Anamya]

The Portuguese is such a lovely route! It will depend on how much time you have, but maybe start closer to Santiago and walk smaller distances each day? To make sure you do the 100k continuous?

Valença do Minho and Tui are the cities on the border of Portugal/Spain and are super lovely, with good infrastructure. They are around 115km from Santiago, making them a very popular starting point!

 

[Albertinho]

The Portuguese is such a lovely route! It will depend on how much time you have, but maybe start closer to Santiago and walk smaller distances each day? To make sure you do the 100k continuous?

Valença do Minho and Tui are the cities on the border of Portugal/Spain and are super lovely, with good infrastructure. They are around 115km from Santiago, making them a very popular starting point!

Caminha and a Guarda are on the Coastal in the direction of Vigo. About 160 kms from Santiago and are easy to access by train ( Caminha) To get in A Guarda take a short boatride from Caminha by watertaxi

 

[BarbC]

The Pilgrim Office explanation of the 100 km requirement (in English) is here: https://oficinadelperegrino.com/en/sigle-register/. On the Camino Portuguese, Vigo also qualifies as a starting point for the minimum distance, for example, if you walk up the coastal route.

We are doing Vigo to Santiago - I assume that we get 2 stamps in Vigo - is that correct? And in Pontavedro we are spending a rest day - I assume we just get 2 stamps for that town - sorry to be confusing - just want to get it right.

 

[Bradypus]

The point of getting two stamps per day is to show your progress along the route. So it is normal practice to get your two stamps each day in different places. If you stay in albergues or hostals then your credencial will usually be stamped there. Almost all bars and restaurants will have a sello so asking for one at a lunch stop or coffee break will probably be enough to keep the pilgrim office happy.