Preparing for the Camino Portuguese (1-6 months ahead and not answerable for prices that may fluctuate).
The route of your choice is your decision and your intentions. To obtain a compostela certificate you need at least 100km in stamped seals on your passport, regardless of where you commenced your trek. We started ours from Porto, Portugal.
Travel to Portugal by air to Lisbon, via Newark with a 3-hr layover. Book your Lisbon plane connection so you land in the morning. At the Lisbon airport, an underground Metro connection to the Oriente train station is located just outside the airport entrance. Vending machines for tickets are available for about 5 euros. At the Oriente train station for rides to Porto, ask for a 50% senior discount and present your passport as proof. The train reaches Campanha, Porto in three hour. You can get a taxicab to your hotel. Within the city center, your taxi fare will not cost you over 10 euros (within a 3-4 miles trip). Room prices for hotels in Porto vary as in any city. EU 2 or 3-star hotels are comparable if not better than their corresponding U.S. ratings. They include a large breakfast of bread, coffee, ham, juice, and fruits.
You can look up a DIY Camino a’la Rick Steves and alternative travel tours, or have a personalized program through Camino travel specialists. You can explore several web sites to gain a sense of experiences from travelers.
Several travel web sites will offer you a pick of routes and costs. See https://caminoways.com/camino-de-santiago. The preferences can be confounding. It boils down to what you can manage, at the least, 100kms or 62 miles to your destination. You can speed walk the distance, or have a very flexible pace of 30 days.
We hesitate to recommend the D-I-Y Camino for those who need a good night’s sleep after each day of walking. During high travel season (July-August), booking a hotel bed day-by-day, may be difficult. Your chances might be better at the next town. There are three types of traditional lodgings for Camino trekker: a albergue (municipal or private hostel), or a private hotel. They cost an average of 8-12 euros per night. Hotels may cost more. [See alternative options below]
You can estimate plans using this tool: https://www.pilgrim.es/en/camino-portugues-along-the-coast/ if you are following the Portuguese route. Fellow trekkers we met on the road swear by the smart phone app Camino Ninja (www.caminoninja.com) which directs your route by GPS and has recommendations with (phone numbers) for lodgings and restaurants for each stage of the walk. It uses booking.com for its choice of hotels. Be mindful of refunds in case you don’t reach your hotel on time.
Although we were in good health (no special medications), we went with a Camino consultant to minimize the uncertainty of meeting our mileage goals. Patricia chose Portugal Green Walks, who specialize on senior self-guided tours. Once you have contacted them, you can discuss your specific requirements: the desired distance of trail per day, and hotel quality. They will design a suitable plan. Your costs, hotel (doubles), luggage transfers, accident insurance when pre-paid, may range from $1800-$2000 per person for 23 days, including 5 nights for hotels off the trail. You can also opt for a less expensive albergue (municipal or private hostel) with a guaranteed bed but without a private bathroom. A real economical way is to spend the night at the fire station (bombiero) for the price of a donation.
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
(Disclaimer: We did not try this. Take it as suggestions but we claim no responsibility for the outcomes)
The Senda Coastal (Camino Coastal) is perfect for individuals who might be challenged by doing it on foot. Although we trained for it, there were challenges that we did not anticipate—rocky and boulder-strewn trails, steep hills, etc. But that is the nature of the Camino. Your faith in the journey is what is at stake.
Nevertheless, the coastal route is well-serviced by a first-class highway (the reason why cyclists love the route), and an efficient railroad. Remember, as seniors, your ticket may be discounted (make sure your ID is available when you purchase in person. I don’t think online purchases offer the senior option).
If you have a partner, you can meet your partner at each train stop on the Camino. Since the walk is on average half a day at a good pace, you could rejoin your partner at lunch in town. You can spend the rest of the day resting or checking out the town’s offerings. Not all the stops might be interesting. Porto to Caminha is a good stage and covers the Portuguese side up to the Spanish border. You may want to taxi (water taxi or land) to cross the border to A Guarda, the first Spanish town on the Camino coastal, and enjoy the waterfront vista and its renowned lobsters. Repeating the same method, the towns we think are worth spending more time in are lovely Baiona (Vigo is a toss-up unless you are into shopping), Pontevedra for its historic sites, Padron (the origin of the St. James pilgrimage), and finally, Compostela. We don’t know if this method will earn you a compostela certificate since it recognizes only walking for 100 km, or biking for 200 km, as valid. For sentimental reasons, getting a sello in each town would be worth it. During our walk, we would note who we passed by or who would overtake us. There are groups who we saw only at the hotels, but not on the trail. It may be they took a motorized version. But we are not being judgemental. The Camino is what you make of it.