350 Portuguese Coastal Way
Show Notes
The Portuguese Camino spans 625km from Lisbon in Portugal to Santiago in Spain but rather than doing the full walk many people opt for the shorter 260km Portuguese Coastal Way running between Porto and Santiago and which takes most people 12 to 14 days.
In this podcast episode we catch up with Canberra Based Hiker Mary Wiley-Smith who late last year undertook her own adventure on the Portuguese Coastal Way along with her friend Kylie.
Podcast Overview
In this episode we focus on the Portuguese Coastal Way and interview a hiker on their trip in late 2025:
- Podcast and Episode introduction (time index 0:01:27)
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Mary, before we talk about your trip, please tell us a bit about yourself and why you decided to do this trip. (time index 0:02:04)
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Now let’s talk about the Portuguese Coastal Way. As Camino’s go this isn’t as well known as some of the others so why did you end up choosing this trail? (time index 0:02:06)
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Can you please provide us with an overview of this trail (time index 0:03:48)
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What time of the year was your trip? (time index 0:07:32)
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Now this was an organised trip (time index 0:08:36)
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Who did you go with and why?
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Approximate Trip cost
- You did this trip in 20 dates/ 19 nights. How did you decide on this timeframe?
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- From a logistics perspective how did you get to the trail head (time index 0:14:35)
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- As a generalisation what was the vegetation profile like and the animal situation? (time index 0:16:54)
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- Now this brings us onto porterage. What did you carry with you each day and what did you send ahead? (time index 0:19:57)
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- Insurance (time index 0:21:45)
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- Speaking of gear was there anything outside the standard hiking gear that you needed to carry? (time index 0:22:31)
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- What was your accommodation on this trip? (time index 0:24:55)
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- And the all-important question what was the food like? (time index 0:26:20)
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- Typical day – detailed (time index 0:27:53)
- Did you always walk together?
- Typical day – detailed (time index 0:27:53)
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- What was the temperature situation like on this trail? (time index 0:31:43)
- Maximums to Minimums
- What was the temperature situation like on this trail? (time index 0:31:43)
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- What was the people interaction like on this trip? (time index 0:32:38)
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- What were the highlights for you? (time index 0:34:01)
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- What, if any, were the negatives with this trip? (time index 0:38:17)
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- After doing this walk who would you say it is suitable for? (time index 0:39:20)
One final question
- What’s your next great hiking adventure? (time index 0:40:39)
- Final Thoughts (time index 0:041:34)
- Close (time index 0:51:48)
Mary and Kylie (Image by Kylie Jonasson)
Heading through a town (Image by Kylie Jonasson)
Portuguese Coastal Way on the coast (Image by Kylie Jonasson)
Portuguese Coastal Way trail example (Image by Kylie Jonasson)
Portuguese Coastal Way trail marker and stones (Image by Kylie Jonasson)
Portuguese Coastal Way rustic town (Image by Kylie Jonasson)
Portuguese Coastal Way trail example (Image by Kylie Jonasson)
Portuguese Coastal Way walking through a farm (Image by Kylie Jonasson)
Portuguese Coastal way – Nun walking up a hill (Image by Kylie Jonasson)
Portuguese Coastal way through a town (Image by Kylie Jonasson)
At the church in Santiago, trail done! (Image by Kylie Jonasson)
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Publishing date
16 June 2026