This is the Camino with a boat trip in the middle. The Variante Espiritual is short and easy to follow, and on one of the days you don’t walk but sail. It’s for pilgrims looking for something special without it turning into a hard trek straight away. It also works well as a first Camino.
The route starts in Pontevedra, where you leave the standard Portuguese route. Straight away comes the only real climb: more than 350 metres up to Armenteira. After that you descend towards the coast at Vilanova de Arousa. Then you step onto the boat. Across the Ría de Arousa and the river Ulla, you follow the Traslatio, the route by which, according to tradition, the body of the apostle James came to Galicia. Along the banks stand stone crosses, the cruceiros. The water does the work, you just take it all in.
At Pontecesures, close to Padrón, you join the Caminho Português Central. You walk the last stretch to Santiago together with pilgrims from that route. So it will probably get a bit busier here.
The best time is May to September. From November to January, and in March, it is cool and often rainy. Then it becomes mostly a wet walk. It is often walked after a Camino from Portugal. You can then see the Variante Espiritual as a lovely addition.