Walking the Camino de Santiago Alone: My Solo Camino Portugues

In May 2024 I embarked on my first Camino de Santiago, on the Coastal Portuguese route. The Camino had been on my bucketlist for years, but it was a journey I was waiting to take with a companion, as I thought that would be the best way to do it. But as a seasoned solo traveler who doesn’t wait for anyone to see the world, I packed my bag, laced up my hiking shoes and decided to set out on the Camino alone. 

And I am so happy I did! After walking the Camino by myself, I think it is a journey best experienced solo. If you’re thinking about walking the Camino de Santiago solo like me, I hope my experience gives you some more confidence that it will be an enriching solo experience!

Is it safe to walk the Camino de Santiago solo? 

Of course, the most important thing to consider when solo traveling is safety, and the Camino de Santiago is very safe, even for solo women. The Camino is very popular and well-established, especially the Frances and Portugues routes. As long as you stick to the official Camino route, you will almost always be walking on well-trodden paths with other pilgrims around. 

In fact, because the Camino is well known for being so safe, you will find many other solo females of all ages. This makes it easy to meet people and make friends, so you will rarely feel lonely. 

If you want to feel more secure, try to walk with other women or large crowds. Instead of trying to “beat the crowd” by leaving early in the morning, wait until others are leaving the albergues (the hostels found along the Camino routes) so you can walk alongside them. Be social at albergues and on the trail so you will always have someone to walk with (if that’s what you want, it’s your Camino and you can walk solo if you want!)

Personally, I felt very safe as a solo female on the coastal Camino Portugués. Because everyone on the trail is on the same journey, they are very supportive and friendly. 90% of the time, I could see someone walking ahead of or behind me, so I never felt alone. 

My Honest Solo Camino Experience

Now that I have completed a Camino de Santiago alone, I truly can’t imagine doing it with someone. Being able to do exactly what I want to each day- when to wake up, when to stop for lunch, how fast I walk- is amazing! (In fact, this is what I love most about solo travel in general.)

The Camino is a very customizable experience. There are countless routes you can take, it can be done on any budget and in almost any time frame, depending on how fast you walk. Therefore, if you are choosing to walk with someone, make sure they are on the same page with all these factors. Thankfully, if you’re traveling solo, this is all up to you!

I decided to walk the Camino slower than most people, taking 14 days, plus 2 rest days, to walk the 170 miles of the Camino Portugues from Porto, averaging about 12 miles per day. Most people walk this route much quicker, in about 10-12 days. Because I had less miles to walk each day, I could sleep in about bit, starting my walk at around 9 am everyday. I took lots of breaks, including a long break for lunch everyday, and never worried about arriving late or walking in the dark at night. I loved having this freedom and flexibility, which I may not have had if I was walking in a group or on a tighter time schedule. 

I am also a true introvert, meaning that most days I wanted to walk alone. I loved having quiet time with my own thoughts and the sounds of nature and the ocean. Sometimes I would listen to music, and I listened to 2 full audiobooks and countless podcast episodes while walking. There were many times where I had the opportunity to talk with people, but I chose not to because I was enjoying the solitude. Additionally, I am a very fast walker and found that I walked faster than most people on the Camino. So if I stopped to talk too much, I felt like it was holding me back. 

However, when I did end up walking and talking with people, even if just for a few minutes, it was a welcome distraction. I met people of all ages, from all over the world. I loved learning about their pilgrimages and why they decided to take this journey. One of my favorite things about the Camino was running into people that I had met a few days, or even a week before. For example, when I finally arrived at the Cathedral de Santiago, I ran into a girl that I had met at an albergue on the second day of my Camino. It was so nice to see a familiar face, hear about her journey, and to know that she completed her Camino. 

Downsides to Walking the Camino Solo

Even though I loved walking the Camino de Santiago by myself, there were a few moments where I would have loved to have a companion with me. 

Firstly, because of lack of accommodation options and my budget, I sometimes had to stay in mixed hostel dorms, which I personally don’t love. Although there are many women who don’t mind staying in a room of strange men, I am not one of those women. In particular on the Camino, the crowd staying in albergues is a lot older than the one you might find at a regular youth hostel in Europe. There where a few nights were I was sleeping a few feet away from a 60+ year old man, sometimes shirtless or pantsless, and I felt a bit uncomfortable. Thankfully, I never had any bad experiences, and there were always other women in the room which made me feel safer. 

Be aware that if you want to ensure a female only dorm, opt for private albergues that you can book ahead of time, and try to book them at least one month in advance. Alternatively, plan to spend a bit more money to get a private room when there are no female only dorms available. I usually chose to stay in a private room when there was an affordable option available. However, you should do what makes you most comfortable and fits into your budget! I used Booking.com to book all of my stays. I love it because it shows all the options, including albergues, hotels, and homestays, and it allows you to manage all your bookings in one place. Most of the accommodations on there have flexible cancellations policies, so you can easily cancel your stay and book another if you decide to take a different route.

The other downside of walking solo is having to deal with the mental challenges alone. Although I felt happy and excited for most of my Camino, I reached a low point about halfway through. My knee had started hurting, it was raining almost everyday, and I was simply getting tired of having to walking 10+ miles everyday. Dealing with this alone and having to make tough decisions, like whether or not I would continue walking on an injured knee, was really hard. I had to be my own motivator. Thankfully, I had supporters at home who I could talk to, and my fellow pilgrims, who were on the same journey and understood the challenges I was going through.

Should you walk the Camino de Santiago Solo?

In my opinion, YES! The Camino de Santiago is an amazing journey of self-discovery that everyone should do once in their lives. In fact, if you have never solo traveled, I think the Camino is a great place to start. Like I mentioned, it’s a safe, accessible experience where you will meet many other solo females, and when you have finished, you will feel like you can accomplish anything by yourself! 

Walking alone through Portugal and Spain with only a small backpack helped me appreciate what I have and gave me a rare glimpse into my own resilience and strength. The Camino increased my confidence and self-sufficiency, and the solitary time allowed me to think introspectively about what I want in life. The journey also reinforced the things I love about solo travel: it pushes you out of your comfort zone, allowing you to discover parts of yourself that might stay hidden otherwise. Whether it was summoning the strength to keep going despite the aches and pains or finding joy in a conversation with a stranger, the Camino de Santiago reminded me that every step counts, even the hard ones.

Ready to embark on your journey was a pilgrim and walk your first solo Camino? If you’d like to hear more about my experience and recommendations for packing and accommodations, check out my other blog posts about the Camino de Santiago!