find luxurious rooms available from €50; otherwise expect upwards of €70 per room.
Food and drink
Portugal
Breakfast (pequeno almoço), often served from 7.30am, typically consists of a sweet pastry followed by a coffee. Served in a café, cake shop (pastelaria) or bakery (padaria), it will cost you €2–3 in a city and less in smaller towns. Lunch (almoço) is from 12–2.30pm and for locals tends to be a leisurely three-course meal of the day (menu do dia) in a restaurant or pastelaria, costing €7–15. If you want a sit-down meal but not the three courses, there’s the plate of the day (prato do dia) at €3–6. Typical main meals include fish/pork/beef with potatoes, rice and vegetables. For a quick lunch, toasted sandwiches (tosta mista for ham and cheese, for example) are a cheap and filling option. Dinner (jantar), served from 7–9.30pm, can be eaten at BBQ restaurants (churrasqueira), bars (cervejaria) and seafood restaurants (marisqueira) for €7–15. If you’re on a budget, a bowl of soup (sopa) and basket of bread (pão) will set you back about €2–4, or if travelling as a couple, one portion (dose) shared between two will usually suffice as portion sizes are large. Half-portions may be available – ask for meia dose.
Almost every Portuguese town has their own speciality when it comes to sweet pastries but the most famous of all is the pastel de nata (custard tart). The national dish is salted cod (bacalhau) and it’s said there are more than 365 ways of cooking it! Drinks include wine (vinho verde and Albarinho from the Minho region are very popular), Licor Beirão (a sweet digestif), ginjinha (cherry brandy) and port, among others.
Cover charge (couvert)
Unlike free tapas in Spain, when you sit down in restaurants in Portugal you are often served small plates of food (olives, cheese, bread, meats) that you haven’t ordered. This acts as a cover charge and you will be charged for what you eat, or simply ask for them to be taken away (and you won’t be charged).
Spain
Breakfast (desayuno), served from 8am, usually consists of a croissant, churros (sugary fried stick of dough, often accompanied by a hot chocolate) or toast. A hot drink and pastry/toast will cost around €2–3. Lunch (almuerzo), from 1.30–3pm, varies from a sit-down meal of the day (menú del día, €7–15) or single-course dish (plato combinado, €5–8) in a restaurant, to a filled roll (bocadillo) or slice of tortilla in a café/bar. Bakeries (panadería) and cake shops (pastelaría) also sell savoury snacks, including slices of empanada (like an English pastie but filled with seafood/beef/pork/chicken) which cost €2–5. Dinner (cena) is usually served from 8–10pm. Many bars offer free small tapas when you buy a drink, and raciones are larger portions of tapas, good for sharing with a group.
You’ll encounter regional specialities including oysters (ostras) in Arcade, cuttlefish (chocos) in Redondela, empanadas (Pontevedra’s speciality is empanada de maiz, made with corn flour), Galician-style octopus (pulpo a la Gallega), Padrón peppers (pimientos de Padrón) and Santiago almond tart (tarta de Santiago). Local drinks include wine (Albarino, Ribeiro, Godello, Mencia and more), aguardiente (also known as orujo – distilled liqueur with flavours including herbal, coffee, cream and honey), Estrella Galicia beer and Nordés Galician gin, among others.
Pilgrim menus
These are popular in cafés/restaurants along the Camino, often involving a three-course meal including soup/salad, main meal, dessert and wine/water for about €8–12.
Vegetarians
Meat and seafood dominate menus in both Portugal and Galicia, so vegetarians may feel their choices lacking in comparison to those of meat-eaters. Most restaurants serve salads and soup (although note that caldo verde comes with sliced chorizo in Portugal), and typical sides include potato, rice and vegetables (often cabbage). Staying in albergues/hostels with communal kitchen facilities will allow you to cook your own meals.
Useful information
Via Lusitana
Via Lusitana (www.vialusitana.org) is a friendly pilgrim organisation in Portugal with a 24-hour helpline: (+351) 915 595 213. It operates albergues in Alpriate and Albergaria-a-Velha. To volunteer as a hospitalero or to donate to the association, visit their website for details.
Bedbugs
They may not be a nice thought, but often a topic of conversation along all Caminos is the dreaded bedbug – percevejos in Portuguese, chinches in Spanish. They live in bedding, are mainly active at night and feed on blood. Check the sheets and around the mattress for signs of rusty/reddish stains, tiny black spots, or eggs. If you think you’ve been bitten (usually in a row of three, itchier/longer-lasting than a mosquito bite):
inform the owner of the accommodation where you are (and where you came from if they developed during the day)
place all of your clothes and sleeping bag in a hot dryer (the hottest setting possible without melting your belongings) for a minimum of two hours
place your backpack and anything else that may have come into contact with the bed in a garbage bag and put it in the sun or a hot room if available
seek advice from the accommodation owners as they may have their own methods of treatment
| Portugal | Spain | |
| National emergency number | 112 | |
| International dialling code | +351 | +34 |
| Currency | Euro | |
| Electrical power | 220V | |
| Time | GMT (winter), GMT +1 (summer) | GMT +1 (winter), GMT +2 (summer) |
| Language | Portuguese | Spanish (Castellano) is the main language. The Camino enters Spain in Galicia, which also has a regional language called Galego |
| Drinking water | You can fill up your water bottle at accommodation, cafés/bars and fontes (springs) unless there is a sign stating the water is non-potable: Portuguese – água não potável; Spanish – agua no potable | |
| Internet | Wi-Fi is widely available in cafés, bars, restaurants, accommodation and tourist offices | |
| Money/banks | Albergues, budget accommodation and many cafés accept cash only. Banking hours are Monday to Friday 8.30am–3pm, but you will find ATMs in most towns | |
| Museums | Mostly closed on Mondays. Many offer free entrance Sunday mornings | Mostly closed on Mondays |
| Pharmacy | Typically open Monday to Friday 9am–7pm, and Saturdays 9am–1pm | Typically open Monday to Friday 9.30–2pm and 4.30–8pm, Saturdays 9.30am–2pm |
| Phones | Some public payphones take coins but many use a phone card, available from post offices and news-stands. Another option is to purchase a prepaid sim card on arrival (Vodafone has shops at Lisbon and Porto airports), or use your existing sim on roaming (check your network charges for this option) | |
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