It's Day 1 of my Portuguese Camino — and the pack on my back isn't a backpack at all. It's a 20L laptop bag.

I'm starting from Porto, planning to walk the Central Route over seven days. I've walked long distances in other countries before, but this one feels different — more urban, more layered, and unmistakably pilgrim-like.

Below is my real packing list — not a "perfect" list, just what made sense for me given how I got here. I'll add notes on what worked (and what didn't) after the trail.

How I ended up walking the Camino with a laptop bag and trail runners

I made a mistake thinking I'd be able to buy a new backpack in Paris. I only had a few hours there between landing from Auckland via Hong Kong and catching the cheap bus to Lisbon. I spent 2 days in Lisbon and didn't buy one. Then 7 days in Porto before my start date — still didn't buy one.

Why? Before I caught the bus in Paris, my son-in-law told me not to worry about it. He'd buy me one for our GR20, which we're starting on 2 June, about 7 weeks away. So I decided to leave my suitcase in Porto and walk the Camino with a 20L laptop bag.

The shoes were a similar story. I'd thrown away my Salomon X Ultra 5 Mid GORE-TEX boots before flying — great grip, waterproof, comfortable for full-day walking. I'd put thousands of kilometres into them and although the soles still looked new, there were 2 small tears near the toes. My son-in-law had already ordered replacement pairs for the GR20, one for me and one for him.

So I walked the Camino in the white trail runners my son had brought back from Tokyo three months earlier. I love those shoes. I feel like I might fly anytime I walk fast in them. It turned out to be a good decision — walking on roads and cobblestones in stiff boots would have been painful. The trail runners got soaked in the rain, but they also dried fast.

What I carried (about 7 kg total)

What I'd tell someone packing for the Portuguese Camino

1. Don't bring cotton t-shirts. They're miserable when it rains, especially in heavy downpours. While it's raining it isn't cold — on the contrary. With a poncho or rain jacket on your back, you sweat under the cotton t-shirt. You end up feeling sticky, and then cold.
2. Aim for 5 kg, not 7. I was fine with 7 kg, but you can find cheap and good food and drinks everywhere on the walk, so there's no need to carry much. Two kilos less makes a real difference. Walking on sealed roads, pavement, and cobblestones might sound easy, but it's punishing on the heels — especially for hikers used to proper trails. Only parts of the Camino feel like real hiking.
3. Bring a power bank. I really suffered because I left my small one in Auckland. My son-in-law had already bought two good ones for the GR20, so I thought I'd be fine on the Camino without one. Big mistake. The battery on the phone I was using drained fast, and on Day 1 alone I had to buy coffee three times along the way just to charge it — the last one as soon as I reached Póvoa de Varzim. After being turned down for a bed at the albergue there, I realised I'd left my universal adapter in the last café. I walked at least 1.5 km back to try to find it. No luck. In the end I bought a bottle of water from a small shop opposite the beach and asked the owner to charge my phone.
4. Protect your important documents. I had a dry sack at home and didn't bring it. Big risk. Imagine being 12,000 km from home and your passport suddenly becomes useless because it's been soaked through for hours. The poncho I bought at Decathlon ended up doing double duty — it kept me dry, and it kept my passport dry inside the laptop bag. But that was luck, not planning. Bring a dry sack, or at minimum a sturdy ziplock for your passport, cash, and phone.

Want a more structured, long-term gear guide? Visit our Gear section — that's where I keep updating trail-tested recommendations shared by the Wakahi community.

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