Lisbon to Santiago: the Camino Portugués from Lisbon, day by day

By August Frederik Kramer · Last updated 7 October 2026

Lisbon to Santiago is 31 days and 620.2 km on our plan, and it climbs 6,508 m. It is two walks. The 18 days from Lisbon to Porto cover 373.8 km, more than the whole Camino Primitivo, on about half its climbing, and almost nobody walks them: at most 19 people a day set out from Lisbon in September. From Porto it is 191 a day, and 975 by the end.

Two walks in one: Lisbon to Porto, then Porto to Santiago

Lisbon to Porto is 18 days and 373.8 km and climbs 3,332 m, 8.9 m per kilometre. Porto to Santiago is 13 days and 246.4 km and climbs 3,176 m, 12.9 m per kilometre. The first half is longer, the second steeper and far busier. The first half is also longer than the whole Camino Primitivo, 306.6 km, by 67.2 km, and climbs 49% of what the Primitivo does.

The first week is the flattest walking on any Camino

The first 7 days, 135.1 km along the Tagus, climb 374 m between them, and not one of them climbs 10 m in a kilometre. Day 4, Azambuja to Porto de Muge, climbs 3 m in 16.8 km: the flattest stage on every route this site measures. The hills start at Tomar.

The high point is before Porto, not after it

The highest ground of the whole walk is 466 m on day 10, Areias to Ansião, in the middle of the Lisbon half. After Porto nothing passes 395 m. But the steepest day comes later: day 24, Ponte de Lima to Agualonga, climbs 26.3 m per kilometre over the Portela Grande. The steepest day before Porto, Tomar to Areias, is 17.8.

How empty the Lisbon half is

The Pilgrim’s Office lists its 20 biggest starting points each year, and Lisbon is not among them: fewer than 3,646 people set out from it in 2025. Spread over the year the way every Compostela was, that is at most 19 a day in September, the busiest month. From Porto, 72,343 people set out in 2025, at least 19 times as many, and the first day out of Porto carries about 191 a day, 10 times the Lisbon ceiling. It rises to 498 on day 26, where Tui and Valença join, and to 975 from day 28, where the coastal route joins at Redondela.

The walk from Porto, day by day, has its own page: Porto to Santiago. The last six days have theirs: Tui to Santiago.

Know these words before your Camino. Spanish is preparation, the same as boots and stages. Try the free topic

Where to sleep: fewer places, more spread out

Our map data has 86 places to sleep along the 18 days to Porto, 4.8 a day, against 199 along the 13 days after it, 15.3 a day. The day out of Lisbon has 24; the day out of Porto has 76. On 9 days before Porto there are two or fewer: days 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 13, 14, 17, and 18. Most places here publish no bed count, so read these as places, not beds, and book ahead in the Lisbon half.

How places to sleep are counted: the albergues guide.

Fátima is not on this route

Fátima is a pilgrimage of its own, and our stages do not pass through it: they go through Tomar, on day 8. If you want both, it is a detour you plan separately.

The 100 km line, and what Lisbon adds

The Compostela needs the last 100 km on foot, and on this route they start at O Porriño, on day 27. That is 16% of the walk; the other 84% is for you. The stamps rule asks for two a day over the last 5 days, 10 in all; from Lisbon you will collect far more, and they all count.

The coastal route from Porto is weighed against this one in its own guide.

The credencial: 10 stamps from Sarria, and the rule everyone misquotes ·The last 100 km: one town misses the line by two hundred metres

Every day from Lisbon

Distances and climbing from our own track and stage plan, the same figures as the Camino Portugués guide. The climbing is the sum of the day totals, 6,508 m; the route page measures the same track in one piece and gets 6,519 m. People a day: the Porto page’s figures, from the Pilgrim’s Office counts for 2025; before Porto only the ceiling is known. Places to sleep from map data.

Common questions

How long is the Camino from Lisbon to Santiago?

620.2 km in 31 days on our plan: 373.8 km to Porto in 18 days, then 246.4 km to Santiago in 13.

Is the Camino from Lisbon busy?

No. Fewer than 3,646 people set out from Lisbon in 2025, at most 19 a day in September. The path fills up after Porto: about 191 a day, and 975 by the last days.

Is Lisbon to Porto harder than Porto to Santiago?

Longer, not harder. It climbs 8.9 m per kilometre against 12.9 after Porto, though the route’s high point, 466 m, is before Porto, on day 10.

Does the Camino Portugués from Lisbon go through Fátima?

No. Fátima is a separate pilgrimage; our stages pass through Tomar instead.

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