Camino de Santiago from Tui

The fastest-growing start after Sarria: 41,646 pilgrims in 2025. The same 100 km and the same Compostela as the Francés, with far fewer people and a gentler profile.

Distance

116 km

Duration

6 days

Route

Central Portuguese Way

Starts in 2025

41.646

Figure checked Pilgrim Office, January–July 2026.

How the stages are usually split

There is no official split. These are the ones actually used, depending on the days you have.

In 6 stages, the classic split

Stage distances are general references. We have not recalculated them against the official track yet, which is why they are underlined.

Tui or Sarria: the honest comparison

Both meet the 100 km and both give the Compostela. The real difference is three things.

People. Sarria had 162,040 departures in 2025; Tui, 41,646. Nearly four times fewer pilgrims on a stretch of similar length.

Profile. The Portuguese from Tui is flatter. Inland Galicia on the Francés is a continuous roll; here the climbs are short and concentrated.

Landscape. And here Sarria wins for many people. The Portuguese crosses urban and industrial areas, especially leaving O Porriño, and that breaks the atmosphere for anyone wanting countryside the whole way.

In short: if you want quiet and less climbing, Tui. If you want the classic pilgrimage atmosphere and the crowds do not bother you, Sarria.

The Spiritual Variant

At Pontevedra the Spiritual Variant branches off through Combarro and the monastery of Armenteira to the Arousa estuary, crossing it by boat along the route the Apostle's body is said to have taken.

It is the only navigable section in the whole Jacobean network and the scenery is among the best in Galicia.

Two practical points: it adds two or three days, and the boat leg does not count as kilometres walked, so you must complete the minimum on foot from the landing point at Pontecesures.

Getting to Tui

Tui sits on the Portuguese border, opposite Valença do Minho. Buses run from Vigo, which has an airport, a railway station and good connections.

The alternative many people use: fly into Porto, which has cheap flights from across Europe, take a train or bus to Valença, walk across the international bridge and start in Tui. It is a beginning people love, because you enter Spain on foot.

Coming home, Santiago has direct flights and trains.