Portuguese Way by bicycle from Oporto

Starting your Portuguese Way by bike in a big city in the north of Portugal is a guarantee of a great start. Porto - in Portuguese, Porto - offers you the possibility of cycling through one of the must-see places in the north of this Atlantic country. Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, it has many attractions, from its cathedral and the Torre dos Clérigos to the popular and bustling cais da Ribeira, passing through one of the most famous bookshops in the world: Lello & Irmão.

Porto is one of Portugal's top tourist destinations and it shows. And the experience you're about to begin on two wheels is a great excuse to drop by.

Hostel: Porto Lounge Hostel or similar
Standard accommodation: Hotel Poveira or similar
Charming accommodation: Porto Coliseum Hotel or similar
Premium accommodation: The Clover Act or similar

Distance: 51 km
Difficulty level: ●●○○○
Accommodation: Barcelos

The first stage of your adventure starts from the city of Oporto, which we recommend you have visited the day before. The first part of the route is obviously urban. You have to move through the heavy traffic of the metropolitan area, which will give way to the open countryside as you go along.

Soon you will find small villages such as Mosteiró, Gião and Vairão that will lead you to Vilarinho, one of the places where pilgrims usually stop on foot. For those who cycle, however, this is only half of the journey. For the remainder of the day, rural and agricultural areas reign supreme. The Camino runs along small, almost traffic-free roads and dirt tracks. Finally, you will reach Barcelos, an interesting locality that is at the base of one of the Portuguese symbols par excellence: its rooster.

Hostel: InBarcelos Hostel or similar
Standard accommodation: Hotel Bagoeira or similar
Charming accommodation: Casa da Ana Boutique Guesthouse or similar
Premium accommodation: Art'Otel Barcelos or similar

Distance: 71 km
Difficulty level: ●●○○○
Accommodation: Tui

The second day of this Portuguese cycling route will in fact be the longest and the last truly Portuguese stage, as its end, Tui, is already on the Galician side of the river Minho. From Barcelos you will cross the region of vinhos verdes, a young wine that is highly appreciated in Portugal. The vineyards will accompany you to Ponte de Lima, one of the jewels of the day. There you will find the river Lima, which the Romans knew as the River of Oblivion, and which played an important role in the Roman conquest of Gallaecia.

After leaving this village behind, where we recommend you stop in any case, the route continues through pleasant wooded surroundings, with the only difficulty being the climb to Portela Grande de Labruja. The steep slope and the absence of towns and services in the 9 km that separate the towns of Codeçal and Rubiães constitute the challenge of the day.

After Rubiães, it is less than 20 km to the Miño river and its international bridge, which leads to the old city of Tui, one of the seven ancient capitals of the Kingdom of Galicia, and the place to end this long and intense stage. Don't miss the cathedral of Santa María, a fortified temple that forms the centre of an intricate and pleasant historic quarter.

Hostel: Pilgrim Ideas or similar
Standard accommodation: Hotel Villa Blanca or similar
Charming accommodation: A Torre do Xudeu or similar
Premium accommodation: Tui Parador or similar

Distance: 52 km
Difficulty level: ●●○○○
Accommodation: Pontevedra

The Portuguese Way continues northwards and, on leaving Tui, it will ask you to make a decision: continue along the traditional route, which today runs through the monotonous industrial estate of As Gándaras, or take a detour through the natural area of Gándaras de Budiño and Río Louro. Both variants have the same length and end in O Porriño after 7.9 km. We recommend the second one, although it is a bit more demanding in terms of slopes, because it is worth the effort to get away from the industrial area and it is much more interesting from a scenic point of view.

After leaving O Porriño and Mos behind, the climb to the top of Enxertade begins, hard but relatively short. At the top, the Roman milestone of Vilar de Infesta awaits you, which corresponds to the old Roman road of via XIX, which linked Braga and Astorga. From there, you reach the village of Redondela, famous for the railway viaducts that fly over the houses.

Redondela may be a good place to take another break before tackling the last 19 km to the end of the stage. A new effort will take you to the top of O Viso, with splendid panoramic views over the Vigo estuary, where wrecks full of gold from America lie at the bottom. A gentle descent will take you to Arcade, a town famous for the quality of its oysters.

From there, a short pedal ride will take you to Pontevedra, which is said to be a good town (in Galician, boa vila). And no wonder. Its historic centre, the charming church of La Peregrina and its legend, its lively squares and streets make it the perfect place to stop the Camino and rest.

Hostel: Acolá Hostel or similar
Standard accommodation: Hotel Avenida or similar
Charming accommodation: Hotel Boa Vila or similar
Premium accommodation: Parador de Pontevedra or similar

Distance: 64 km
Difficulty level: ●●○○○
Accommodation: Santiago de Compostela

Last stage of this Portuguese Way by bike that will take you to Santiago de Compostela. Don't be in a hurry: the Camino is about giving time to time and stopping where the mood takes you. You will start the journey leaving Pontevedra behind by the Burgo bridge, where the river Lérez becomes the Pontevedra estuary. This stage is for nature lovers: wonderful landscapes dotted with vineyards and the characteristic villages of the Rías Baixas - a name inextricably associated today with the wines of the area, especially Albariño.

After 20 km you will reach Caldas de Reis, one of the towns with the longest thermal tradition in Galicia, and another 20 km will take you to Padrón, on the banks of the river Ulla, which flows into the immense Arousa estuary. According to Christian tradition, this is where the stone boat that brought the remains of the apostle St. James to rest in Galicia entered. It is worth taking a stroll through its historic centre and its breakwater to the church of Santiago, where the pedrón is kept: the stone on which, according to the same tradition, the boat was moored when the disciples and the remains of Saint James continued their journey on foot.

From Padrón, the Camino will take you through Iria Flavia, where the bishopric of Teodomiro was located at the time of the discovery of the apostle's tomb, and through O Milladoiro, today a dormitory town of Santiago whose name comes from the Latin humiliatorium - a clear reference to the pilgrimage and to the fact that from its top it was possible to see, at last, the towers of the Cathedral of Santiago.

Only five kilometres more and you will enter the city from the south, through the Porta Faxeira of the old city wall and the Rúa do Franco, a name related to the pilgrims, who were indistinctly called Francos, whether they came from Portugal or from the south of Galicia. Congratulations, pilgrim! You have reached your goal. The journey continues.

Hostel: The Last Stamp or similar
Standard accommodation: Hospedería San Martín Pinario or similar
Charming accommodation: Hotel Costa Vella or similar
Premium accommodation: Hotel Monumento San Francisco or similar

You have completed your Portuguese Way by bike and after a well-deserved rest, you finally have time to visit the city you have cycled more than two hundred kilometres to reach. Its historic centre, its university, its market and its countless parks, its surroundings...

And, if you have time, the End of the World awaits you. We bring it to you on a full day trip to Muxía, Fisterra and the Costa da Morte to complete a fantastic week.