Which Camino - Portugues, Norte, Frances or Other?

Mark T17 said:

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

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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!