Walking the Camino de Santiago: How Many Days Do I Need?

[selvygiaggia]

I have 10 days in September, 8 of which I plan to use for a walk on the Camino de Santiago. My plan is to start in either Vigo, Oia, or Tui and finish in Santiago. However, when I search online, it seems that it will take more than 10-12 days to complete this route. But on other websites, it says it can be done in 7-8 days. Can you advise me on the appropriate amount of time I should plan for this walk?

 

[Tincatinker]

Doesn’t it rather depend on how far and fast you can walk carrying a backpack ( or not)

It’s about 110km from Tui to Santiago. 5 days at most for a reasonably fit walker.

Try here: https://www.gronze.com/camino-portugues for information

 

[C clearly]

The critical question is how fast and far you can walk comfortably, and you will need to estimate that. Here is a thread surveying members on their daily distances, but there is a very big range.

Once you have an idea of how far you can walk in a day, look at the Gronze site mentioned by @Tincatinker above, and see if you can find accommodation at those distances. That will determine how many days you need.

 

[C clearly]

This thread has been moved and should now be open for replies.

 

[henrythedog]

I have 10 days in September, 8 of which I plan to use for a walk on the Camino de Santiago. My plan is to start in either Vigo, Oia, or Tui and finish in Santiago. However, when I search online, it seems that it will take more than 10-12 days to complete this route. But on other websites, it says it can be done in 7-8 days. Can you advise me on the appropriate amount of time I should plan for this walk?

Distance = speed x time
Speed = distance / time
Time = distance / speed.

If you’ve got 10 days all you need is either your speed, or the distance you want to travel and the job’s jobbed.

5 days would get most folk from Tui to Santiago. 4 from Vigo. 6 from Oía.

 

[David Tallan]

Many people can walk all the way from Porto in 12 days. As others have said, it's all in how far you can walk in a day. For me, the sweet spot is generally 20-25 km, but I was taking it easy on my Camino Portugues so I dawdled and took 6 days from Tui.
Tui to O Porriño to Redondela to Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis to Padrón to Santiago.

 

[Grousedoctor]

5 days would get most folk from Tui to Santiago. 4 from Vigo. 6 from Oía.

@henrythedog is spot on with the number of days from each starting point that it takes to reach SdC. With ten days available to you, and walking the daily distances as identified by Brierley or Gronze.com, you would have plenty of time. From all three locations, you could certainly go slower if you chose to. If you’re inclined to want to sample both the coastal and the central routes, start in Oía. If 6 days of walking from Oía to Santiago is reasonable for you but you want to walk a bit more, start two days further south in Caminha. It’s a great stretch of coastline that takes you up to Vigo and then inland to Redondela. We took the coastal route from Porto last spring and thoroughly enjoyed the walk. Charming towns and a couple great cities mark this route which are all worth visiting. In any case, all of these starting points will give you a great Camino experience.

 

[David Tallan]

You could also add a day to your walk by doing the Spritual Variant after Pontevedra which many people have recommended.