Easy Camino de Santiago hiking vacation

Planet

This low-impact self-guided walking programme follows the ancient Portuguese Camino de Santiago pilgrim route along quiet country lanes and dirt paths in stunning countryside, interspersed with historical towns and cities in Northern Portugal and Spain. The pace of this itinerary is slow enough to allow clients plenty of time to enjoy their surroundings and connect with nature.

We explain the importance of leaving no trace by not littering or damaging any natural or built heritage they encounter during the full briefing they get in Porto, given by a local expert.

Since there are plenty of drinking water fountains along the Camino, and the tap water is of good quality, we provide refillable water bottles to encourage clients not to buy disposable ones.

To keep the pace of this programme more relaxed than our standard Camino itinerary, we make use, as much as possible, of accommodations that are on or very close to the trail, meaning that transfers are kept to an absolute minimum. Where they are unavoidable because of a lack of suitable accommodation to break up a long distance, we use local taxis to keep the carbon emissions down and keep money in the local economy.

Whenever possible, we combine luggage transfers with those of other clients to minimise the amount of road transport. We also encourage clients to either fly out of an airport near Santiago de Compostela or to use public transport to return to Porto.

People

The route passes through numerous small villages and towns that are way off the tourist trail and many of the local shops, cafιs and restaurants rely on the income generated by pilgrims like our clients.

We make recommendations for local restaurants and dishes throughout the journey, including the delicious Galician style octopus and pimientos de Padron.

We encourage clients to seize the opportunity to talk to local people and learn something of their lifestyles, which is why our info packs provide advice about how to respect local cultures and interact without accidentally offending anyone, as well as some helpful phrases in Portuguese and Spanish. With the relaxed pace of the Easy Camino, there is more time for these rewarding interactions.

Our office is in Ponte de Lima in Northern Portugal, a small town along the Camino route. Our team are from this region and know it intimately. Our location and specialist local knowledge enable us to quickly and smoothly provide local help and support to any of our clients that need it on their journey.

It’s fundamental to our business that our staff feel valued and respected, as well as being fairly recompensed for their dedication to our clients and the community.