Camino Portugues budget: a detailed cost breakdown (Lisbon to Muxia)

Planning a Camino Portugues budget? I tracked every euro during my 31-day walk from Lisbon to Muxia. Get a full cost breakdown, including daily averages!

You are probably reading this blog because, like me, you are taking on the challenge: the Camino Portugues! I walked this beautiful route six months after completing the Camino Francés and in terms of expenses, the Camino Portugues was very different.

Because the segments of this Camino are so different, I am dividing this article into four different sections: fixed costs, Lisbon – Porto, Porto – Santiago and Santiago – Muxia (via Finisterre). This way you can easily look at the segment you will walk. The table of contents below allows you to navigate very easily.

My budget for the Camino Portugues

When I walked from Lisbon to Santiago (and then on to Muxía), I tracked every euro in the TrabeePocket app. I wanted to know exactly what my trip would cost. I am generally not a “budget pilgrim” (only staying in hostels and cooking every meal), but I’m also not a “luxury pilgrim” (staying in hotels and eating out multiple times a day). I usually aim for a comfortable middle ground: a mix of hostels and private rooms, with meals from the supermarket and the occasional dinner out.

My budget focused on comfort and efficiency, and in the end, I spent an average of €53.02 per day on the Camino Portugues. Beforehand, I estimated I would spend about €50 per day (though I wasn’t very strict with myself), so I did a great job sticking to that. Good to know: I was on the road for 36 days in total, 31 of which were spent walking my Camino.

Ready for a look at my expenses? Here is the complete Camino Portugues cost breakdown.

Fixed costs

No matter how long you walk, there are certain costs you will always have for a Camino. Think about your return trip, accommodation for the first and last days, and other essentials. These were my fixed costs for the Camino Portugues:

Category	Post	Cost
Outbound	Flight to Lisbon	€122.00
Return trip	Train & flight Madrid – Amsterdam	€142.52
First day	Accommodation and food in Lisbon	€68.98
After the Camino	Accommodation and food in Santiago and Madrid	€212.10
TOTAL	Fixed costs	€545.60

I enjoyed treating myself to a private room on the days before and after the Camino to get some good rest. Afterwards, I stayed two more nights in Santiago and one in Madrid before traveling home. In Madrid, I stayed in a luxury hostel.

I booked my trip to Lisbon a few months in advance. The return trip (both the train and the flight) was booked during the Camino, once I had a better idea of when I would finish. Originally, I had planned to fly back from Porto, but those tickets were significantly more expensive than flying from Madrid. That is why I chose to take the train to Madrid and fly from there.

I always recommend booking your flights directly with the airline for better service and reliability. I bought my train ticket via Renfe, the national railway of Spain.

Segment 1: Lisbon – Porto (17 Days)

This is the long and adventurous start of the Camino Portugues. Why adventurous? Only a very small percentage of pilgrims start in Lisbon. This was noticeable from the first day; in terms of infrastructure, it can be a bit of a search. Logistics are different and accommodation choices are more limited, which affects the price.

Category	Total	Per day
Accomodation	€496.63	€29.21
Food	€350.77	€20.63
Transportation	€10.65	€0.63
Miscellaneous (excursions, shopping, other)	€59.49	€3.50
TOTAL Segment 1	€917.54	€53.97

My total daily budget in this first segment was €53.97. This is due to the trade-offs I had to make along the way.

Accommodation: a mix of dormitories and private rooms

As you can see, this takes up the biggest chunk of the budget. Why? On this part of the route, there were simply fewer (municipal) albergues available. As a result, I was sometimes forced to book a private room.

I stayed in a private room for 7 out of the 17 nights in this segment. I had a bit of a rule for myself: if a private room was €35 or less, I’d go for it. I simply sleep better that way, which allowed me to start the next day with more energy. Private rooms (especially with your own bathroom) are wonderful, but they do drive up the daily average.

• Cheapest stay: €7.50 for the municipal albergue in Santarém (Calvinos).
• Most expensive stay: €149.20 for 2 nights in an apartment in Coimbra. I had been struggling with my Achilles tendon and needed some rest (and a little luxury). After this rest day, I felt much better for the remainder of the Camino!

Sometimes I just walked in, but I mostly booked a bed in advance through Booking.com or WhatsApp.

Food

Despite spending more on accommodation, the daily average wasn’t too bad because I spent less on food. In this first segment, I averaged €20.63 per day. This is significantly lower than my average on the Camino Francés (€26.28 per day).

There were several reasons for this; for example, there were few options for a “pilgrim’s menu” along the way. I was also walking alone most of the time, and I don’t enjoy eating out as much by myself. I usually popped into a café in the morning for coffee with a pastel de nata or a toasted cheese sandwich. For lunch and dinner, I usually went to the supermarket or opted for takeout.

Transportation

Transportation might seem like an odd expense for a walking trip. However, during the first few days, the stages were so long that I opted to take the train back to Lisbon to spend the night and then picked up where I left off the next day.

Miscellaneous

The “miscellaneous” category is remarkably high in this segment. This is because I visited several churches and museums along the way (including the university library in Coimbra and the convent in Tomar). Absolutely worth it!

Segment 2: Porto – Santiago (9 Days)

The most popular segment of the Camino Portugues is the route between Porto and Santiago. From here, it gets a lot busier and there are many more facilities. Once you cross the border into Spain, there are plenty of opportunities for overnight stays. In terms of daily budget, this segment was the most efficient of my entire Camino.

Category	Total	Per day
Accomodation	€283.84	€31.54
Food	€142.94	€15.88
Transportation	€0.00	€0.00
Miscellaneous	€35.55	€3.95
Total segment 2	€462.33	€51.37

My total daily budget here dropped to €51.37. The higher density of amenities made it easier to be efficient.

Accommodation

I didn’t expect it beforehand, but my accommodation costs were actually higher in this segment than before Porto. This was a conscious decision to stick to my “comfort pilgrim” budget, even in this busier segment. Due to the crowds on the trail, I felt a greater need for privacy, so I stayed in a private room or hotel for 4 out of the 9 nights.

• Cheapest stay: €15.00 for a private hostel in Vilarinho. Coffee, tea, and a small breakfast were included.
• Most expensive stay: €57.02 for a studio in Redondela. This wasn’t exactly the plan, but after my gear got completely soaked in torrential rain, I desperately needed comfort (and a dryer!).

Food

With only €15.88 per day for food, this was my most budget-friendly segment. On one occasion, food was included in the accommodation cost, but mostly I just did a lot of shopping at the local supermarkets.

Miscellaneous

The “miscellaneous” category in this segment didn’t consist of fun excursions, but practical necessities like laundry and medication from the pharmacy.

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Segment 3: Santiago – Muxía (5 Days)

After arriving in Santiago on November 3rd, I continued walking toward Muxía for a few more days. Many pilgrims stop in Santiago, but I highly recommend this extension to the coast. In terms of cost, however, this was a “reverse” segment compared to the rest of my trip.

Cost overview Santiago – Muxía

Category	Total	Per day
Accomodation	€96.00	€19.20
Food	€152.19	€30.44
Transportation	€0.00	€0.00
Miscellaneous (Other)	€12.00	€2.40
TOTAL Segment III	€260.19	€52.04

Although the daily average remained almost the same at €52.04, the focus of my spending shifted completely during these final days.

Accommodation

This was by far my cheapest segment in terms of accommodation. While I often opted for private rooms earlier in the trip, I spent 3 out of 4 nights here in a dormitory (albergue). Only in Finisterre did I treat myself to a night in a guesthouse (which had an insanely beautiful view!). You can see the impact of switching to shared rooms immediately: my average nightly price plummeted by more than 10 euros.

Food

While the cost of sleeping went down, the cost of food skyrocketed. At over €30 a day, I spent almost double here compared to the Porto-Santiago stretch.

The reason? The finish line was in sight. I visited the supermarket less often and chose cafés or more elaborate meals to celebrate that the journey was almost over. That’s the beauty of a budget: by saving on one thing (the dorms), I created the space to spend a little extra on another (good food).

Additionally, I had to do some extra grocery shopping on the last day for my return to Santiago. Since I knew I would arrive there on a Sunday when all supermarkets are closed, I stocked up in advance.

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My total Camino Portugues budget

Adding it all up, for the 31 walking days, I ended up with an average of €53.02 per day. Including all fixed costs (flights, the return train journey, and the arrival days), my entire trip from Lisbon to the coast of Galicia cost €2,185.66.

At no point did I feel like I was cutting corners or missing out; I simply followed my intuition and had an incredible experience.

My main lesson? You have the Camino Portugues costs largely in your own hands. By making smart choices at the supermarket, I was able to opt for a private room more often without my daily budget spiraling out of control. One thing is certain: the Camino Portugues is worth every euro!