Planning Your Camino, Part 4 - What to Drink

Arlene Laskey
Jul 14
3 min read

Updated: 13 hours ago

Well, planning your Camino de Santiago pilgrimage walk is coming along, right?! Now that you have chosen a route and have given some thought about where to sleep; you can think about what to drink!

Honestly, I was going to talk about food AND beverage, but then I got carried away writing about drinks so I thought food can wait until next time, right? Maybe I was just thirsty when I sat down at the computer, lol.

Planning Your Camino: Drink Enough Water

I will start with water, since that is absolutely essential! Do not forget to carry water! I like to have 1-2 litres with me at all times, but if you are on the Camino Frances, you can refill at most towns.

Often there is a water source (make sure it is potable /drinkable), but if not, just ask at any bar/café and they will happily fill your bottle. The water in Spain and Portugal is safe to drink. In some areas, like the mountains, it actually tastes wonderful!

How Do You Carry Your Water?

Many people carry their water in the side pocket of their backpack. I find it difficult to reach the bottle in this location, so that doesn't work for me.

So far I have carried water in a bottle that I carried in a cross body holder (one Camino), and in a camel-back water bladder (two Caminos). I do like the water bladder as the water is very easy to access, from a tube attached to the backpack. On the down-side, it isn't as easy to clean or fill.

For next time I have a new plan. After watching a video on the Shell Toucher channel, I purchased a system for a bottle that can be placed in my backpack pocket, with a tube attached to drink from - best of both worlds! I actually have a different brand than his, I can share if you are interested.

Non-Alcoholic Beverages

Do consider some sort of electrolyte drink, especially if the weather is warm. Drinking only water in hot weather can be dangerous, and you will feel a lot better when your electrolytes are in balance. Plus it helps you to recover after walking.

I like to carry a few electrolyte packets to add to my water when needed, and Aquarius is a popular (and tasty) electrolyte drink that is readily available.

Here are some other wonderful beverages to quench your thirst:

Freshly squeezed orange juice - many bars have a large machine that squeezes the oranges - why don't we have that here?
Café con leche - my favourite!! Sometimes it comes with a biscuit on the side, but if not, that's okay - it pairs well with tortilla española, napolitana de chocolate, or anything really!
Other - Coke, Coke Zero, Refrescos (soft drinks) are my drinks of choice if I have had enough coffee but still have a ways to walk. I don't like to start on the alcoholic options until I arrive at my destination.

Alcoholic Beverages

Not everyone drinks alcohol on Camino, but it is plentiful. In fact, most of your stops will be at bars/ cafés - they are interchangeable on the Camino.

If you do like to drink, here are a few beverages to consider:

Cerveza (Spain) / Cerveja (Portugal) - beer is so refreshing after a long walk! And you can find a lemon beer / radler that is even more refreshing and tasty (my opinion)!

Non-alcoholic beer is also frequently available - ask for cerveza sin alcohol.
Vino tinto - red wine - I have walked through many wine regions and enjoyed much vino tinto. You can purchase a bottle at the mercado for a very low price - one or two euros!
Vino blanco - white wine - though not as popular as the red version, you can find it. Albariño is a variety of white wine grape grown in Galicia, the part of Spain where Santiago de Compostela is located.

Vino verde - green wine - just kidding, it is actually white wine that is very crisp with a touch of bubble, found in northern Portugal.
Apple cider - very big in parts of northern Spain, quite an experience on the Camino del Norte. There is a traditional way to pour the cider from as high as you can reach so the cider is aerated.
Port wine - the best product of Portugal (my opinion)!
Hierbas - a Spanish liqueur, served as a digestif, best enjoyed after your meal.