This is another long day (27km) so I left while it was still dark. The walk out of Vigo is uphill through the city for the first hour and then into smaller suburbs on the outskirts.
There is some impressive street art along the way, and lots of places to get coffee/breakfast.
The route skirts the hills with a view down to the Ria de Vigo.
It was good to be out of the big city!
The path skirts and then enters woodland for some of the way.
There are lots of hórreo, granaries, in Galicia, mostly in the countryside, but even some in urban areas as this one, near Vigo.
There is a church and an ornate graveyard with a pilgrim cafe along the route nearer to Redondela.
Redondela is a busy town and many pilgrims stop there, but I carried on.
The way was mostly countryside paths to Arcade.
My hotel was by the Igrexa de Santiago de Arcade, and as the way gets closer to Santiago de Compostela the number of shrines and churches dedicated to the saint increases.
By this point, I had some nasty blisters! The pharmacies are open late and there was one near the hotel, so I stocked up on more blister plasters and painkillers.
Continue the Camino journey: Arcade to Pontevedra, Spain
Accommodation: I stayed at the Hotel Isape, which had a lovely breakfast and a good restaurant for dinner. It didn’t have air conditioning, but I left the door open so it wasn’t too hot.
Facilities: I had a coffee on the outskirts of Vigo, and there’s a cafe a few kilometers outside Redondela where many pilgrims stopped. Redondela is a bigger town with everything you need. I didn’t stop there but just grabbed a sandwich on the way through. Arcade is much smaller but still has the usual supermarket, pharmacy and restaurants.
I am travelling this route with 19 others in April , our route takes us from Arcade to Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis to Padron then Santiago. Is this the same route as you? Do you have any advice or tips ?
Hi Angela, yes, I walked that route — you can find the whole route here:
https://www.booksandtravel.page/camino-portuguese-coastal-route/
And lots more pilgrimage tips here – https://www.booksandtravel.page/pilgrimage-resources/
Bom Caminho!
Hello Jo,
It seems, that I will follow every destination in your route in April. I am booked with tee travel and I guess, those companies all have their standard plans, to get us to SdC.
May I ask you one thing: As you were not sleeping in pilgrims‘ hostels, did you find it difficult to collect the required stamps?
Best regards and Ultreia!
Seb
Hi Seb, Getting the stamps was not a problem — most of the hotels have stamps anyway, but there are also churches on the route, cafes, and other places.
Bom Caminho!
I am enjoying your pics and story, but have a couple of questions…. For my 70th birthday, my husband and 3 adult kids are joining me on my first Camino! Starting in Vigo but taking the Spiritual Variant. I am trip captain and trying to plan ahead – booking private rooms in advance. I thought we’d do Vigo to Arcade for our first day – which I see was your trek also, but since it’s our first day of walking, I’m wondering if that’s too much.? We are all fit and active – I didn’t realize how hilly it was out of Vigo or into Redondela. Your thoughts? Our next stop will be Pontverde. Then up to Armenteria. Hoping to do it all in 8 days, so our kids can return to their families and lives. Thanks for any insights!
Hi Rebecca, I used Macs Adventure to book everything, and I think they used Tee Travel locally, so best to ask them or another place. I can’t advise on private bookings etc.
The walk out of Vigo starts uphill for sure, but if you get accommodation at the top of the city, rather than by the water, as I did, that will shave off a few kilometers through the urban sprawl. I don’t think any of it is too bad though, if you are fit and active. Buen Camino!
Bom Dia Jo,
My wife & I are walking from Oia to Santiago next Spring for her 60th birthday. We are fairly experienced hikers having completed the Grand Canyon rim to rim and Dolomites Alta Via 1 recently. We typically hike with poles – do most folks on the Camino use poles or are they not needed?
Thank you so much for sharing your experience & pix…so helpful!
Hi Steve, YES! Take poles!
Although lots of people hike without them, I used them and found them very useful on some of the stony walkways where you can roll your ankle. There are also some downhill stretches where people without poles suffered and I knew several people who left the Way because of knee pain.
I have the light kind that fold into 3 so I could strap them on my pack when not using. But I absolutely always recommend poles for longer walks. Bom Camino!