One of the first questions almost everyone asks when staring to plan a Camino is what route they will do. There are dozens of different routes across Spain and you can start pretty much anywhere you would like. Currently I have completed two Caminos, the Portuguese route (12 days) and the French route (32 days). I have written my thoughts on the major differences between the Camino Portugese vs Camino Frances to make the important decision easier for you!

The Camino Scenery & Trail

Obviously one of the major aspects of the Camino is the trail and scenery. In general I would give a soft preference towards the Portuguese Camino trail and Camino Frances scenery. Both trails are very easy to follow and navigate. However I think the Camino Portuguese passes through more cute towns with great rest stops. It also spends less time on the side of a large road than the Camino Frances does.

Of course any approach to a major town or city is not great – the walk into Vigo is particularly uninspiring. However if you are in Vigo make sure you take a trip to the Cies Islands off the coast which are absolutely gorgeous. You could also spend a night there if you plan ahead and the stars are meant to be gorgeous there. You can also get to the islands from Baiona. Baiona is a much nicer town than Vigo, but can be hard to actually get accommodation in the summer. There is nothing wrong with the Camino Frances trail, it is also very beautiful. But it does follow major roads more frequently than the Portuguese route.

The Portuguese Coast is absolutely stunning, beautiful beaches as far as you can see, literally. You walk along the beach for about 5 or 6 days straight. It is gorgeous and there are tons of cute towns, but you do get a little tired of beach board walks after a while. The Portuguese Camino is also quite flat which is great for your legs, but provides less beautiful panoramas. The Camino Frances on the other hand is much more varied route and the scenery ranges from the Pyrenees mountains, rolling grass hills, wine regions and forests. The Camino Frances does have a noticeably dull section right in the middle where you walk along flat, boring grass lands for ages.

Cies Islands on the Camino Portuguese

The Camino People

If you’ve read any of my other blog posts on the Camino you’ll know that I think the sheer number of interesting people you meet on the Camino is probably one of the best reasons to walk the Camino. So which of the routes is better for meeting people? This one I have to give to the Camino Frances. There is only one route on the Camino Frances, there are more people, places cater to pilgrims more, plus it is just longer. There is a group solidarity that builds the longer you walk the trail. On to Portuguese route there is a coastal route and an in land route. Sometimes people will switch between them and you may not see them again, that does not happen on the Camino Frances.

However if you are only going to walk a small portion to the Camino, say the last 100km, the Camino Portuguese is better. The last 100km on the Camino Frances is really crowded and filled with huge dormitories. While the last 100km on the Portuguese Camino does get more crowded as the routes merge, the albergue, cafes and restaurants are still smaller and it is easier to meet people / bump into people you’ve meet previously. Also in generally the last 100km of the Portuguese route is nicer than the last 100km of the French route.

The Camino Food

The food on the Camino is notoriously bad. It is surprising because its a walk through the country side of Spains so it should be filled with delicious tapas. However the Spanish eat late and it is a rare pilgrim that can stay up till 10 then get up at 6 to walk. That means that a majority of the meals on the Camino are either cooked in the shared kitchen or a pilgrim special meal. The pilgrim special meals normally consist of uninspiring pasta, salad and bread served with excellent wine. That makes these pilgrim meals sound pretty depressing, but they are actually really fun! They are one of the main ways to meet other pilgrims and are a great time to swap blister tips!

Not to say they isn’t good food on both routes, but the food on the Portuguese Camino is better because there is more variety. It felt like the only thing we ate on the Camino Frances was bread, cheese and egg. On the Portuguese route there was of course still a lot of bread, cheese and egg. But there was also Padrón peppers, Pastéis de Nata and occasionally even salads. The restaurants on the Portuguese route seemed to open earlier as well so even getting traditional Spanish food like paella was easier.

Wine on both routes is spectacular.

The Camino Accommodation

Both routes have alot of variation in the quality of albergues so it is difficult to judge which route had better accommodation. My favourite albergue ever was on the Portuguese route, the  Alburgue Casa Do Sardao. Generally I think the allergies on the French Way tended to be larger. I’m not a fan of huge ones, but there were also more of them on the French way. That meant that you could walk a few more kilometres to stay at a small, nicer albergue.

On both routes there are Paradores, which are super fancy hotels built into historic buildings though-out Spain and Portugal. They are rather expensive, but are pretty fun to splurge on! We stayed in one built into an old monastery on the Camino Frances.

Camino Portugese vs Frances Overall

The French Route was my first Camino and I think you are always a little bit in love with your first. But both routes have their virtues. It really depends on what you are looking for on your Camino, how long you have and what aspects of trail life are more important to you – you really can’t go wrong with either choice! I can’t wait to walk more Camino so I can compare more routes for you!