Pilgrims on the road and friends along the way send me changes every day, and they go out the same day. The Camino Portugués app carries all of it offline, and it's still being built — new features arrive routinely.
Get the appA Guarda is a working fishing port that takes justified pride in serving the freshest catch-of-the-day seafood in Galicia. The waterfront restaurants specialize in whatever the boats brought in that morning, and a meal here is one of the culinary highlights of the Coastal route.
The harbor itself is compact and busy, with fishermen mending nets and offloading their catch in the early hours. The town climbs steeply from the waterfront, and the streets have a no-nonsense character that reflects a place still genuinely tied to the sea rather than tourism.
A Guarda's most important landmark is the mountain peak to the south, the Monte de Santa Trega. The hike to the summit takes about an hour and the reward is twofold: panoramic views over the Minho estuary and the Atlantic, and one of the best-preserved Iron Age Celtic hillforts (castros) in Galicia. The circular stone foundations of some 40 reconstructed dwellings spread across the hillside, and a small museum on site provides context. The settlement dates to at least the 1st century BC, though some evidence suggests earlier habitation. At the top sits a small chapel, and on clear days you can see north along the entire stretch of coast you're about to walk.
Leave A Guarda along the Rúa Puerto Rico, passing the municipal albergue. The arrows are poor here and the best way is to keep an eye out for a sign indicating the way to Playa Area Granda, a left turn off the Rúa Puerto Rico. Follow this road all the way to the sea and turn right. Ahead is a small beach, followed by a curve in the road, and then a slightly larger beach. This is the Area Grande.
6. June 2026 - 20:59
Great and very welcoming hostess. Garden, mixed dorm, kitchen, snack machine. Supermarket in town. Hostess knows where to eat. Everything you expect from a pilgrim hostel. The town is nice and quiet with many small streets.
When you leave the next morning, know that the first coffee shop is 8km along the way and it doesn't open until 9AM.
9. May 2026 - 22:58
Room was not cleaned at all. kept finding hair that did not belong to me in the bathroom, the bed, etc. had to go down to the reception twice to ask for a room change, but they said there were no rooms and sent in an old lady, who does not speak English (and blames the cleaner constantly) to clean the bathroom and change the sheets.
When the day reveption arrived, they issued a full refund. But it was a night of terror.
I feel like they do not like pilgrims in A Guarda, and try to use the language barrier to their advantage.
Pizzeria Di Marco though - superb pizzas. Amazing service. Lovely people.
10. January 2026 - 19:13
$50+ for bed bugs and a manager (maybe owner) who treats you like trash, did not offer any help whatsoever with laundry - even going so far as saying the hotel does not have a laundry and will not do that service which is ridiculous because how else are they doing their sheets - and acting annoyed just for giving me a change of room at 1am and basically pretended nothing happened.
If he had so much as offered consolation and some help rather than giving me dirty looks and ignoring me the next day, i would not have asked for a refund. because of the poor treatment and lack of help that led to a disastrous laundromat situation that ruined a ton of my gear, i asked for a refund and he pretended he did not understand and then practically threw it at my face. avoid if you can.
20. September 2025 - 19:09
You would think seafood is king near the ocean. Somehow this town doesn’t have good seafood nor regular food. Stayed at Eli Mar hotel and their breakfast was very disappointing. Croissant, coffee and juice not ideal for a pilgrimage.
19. September 2025 - 21:57
Did not care for the food. Disappointed since near the ocean.
19. September 2025 - 14:07
Very Spanish style rustic hotel and room. No air conditioning.
17. June 2024 - 20:52
Perfect location and a gorgeous place. They even offered a taste of Port wine and cookies in the parlor. Wine bar is next door, restaurants are plentiful and live music was just outside the church. Super comfy room with private bath and the most amazing massaging shower head ever. Get the breakfast too - best one on the Camino and they can also do gluten free if you ask ahead.
22. April 2024 - 13:54
If you have an early start on the Camino and are leaving AGUARDA there are not a lot of services until Oia there is a really nice store called Blanco on the main road that has pretty much everything you could need and Bar a few doors down has nice coffee.
21. April 2024 - 18:03
FYI about A Guarda. If you’re coming off a long day and crossing over to Spain and arriving on a Sunday do shopping in Portugal because NOTHING is open in Spain. Including the hotel bars. No services at Hotel Eli Mar. better off sleeping staying in Camhina.
23. May 2023 - 23:09
I’m at the Albergue at the moment and I enjoy every minute of it! The facilities are tidy and clean, the privacy you get with the curtains is great and the host-Fernando is the such kind and caring person!
20. July 2022 - 21:37
Loved the privacy curtains . Clean . Upstairs were rooms and downstairs had a well equipped kitchen that I was able to cook a storm and do my laundry for 3 euro . The beach was 5 mins walk down .
4. September 2021 - 16:36
Beautiful town. Lovely restaurants and street artists at the harbour, where you watch the sun go down. The hotel Celta was a lovely place to stay. The whole experience of A Guarda was very positive.
18. July 2021 - 16:34
My comments regarding St Benedict are referring to the Hotel Monumento Convento de San Benito. They served me coffee in the parlor at no cost, printed my luggage tag and knew the Mass times
18. July 2021 - 11:32
I walked from Viana do Castelo and arrived tired. I was welcomed with kindness. The room had an amazing view and I saw Italians eating lobster in the restaurant below. It was Saturday night and I heard music in the distance.
Sunday morning it was the Feast of Saint Benedict and there was a relic to be venerated. Words are useless. I stayed the day to rest.
12. June 2019 - 9:27
We stayed at the Hotel Bruselas. The rooms were nice and clean. It has a bar inside and included breakfast. The owner who loves pilgrims met the with us at check in with cold glasses of fresh orange juice. She also gave us information concerning local attractions such as the Roman ruins.
12. June 2019 - 9:09
Hotel Bruselas was an excellent hotel with rooms for multiple people. 4 of us (2 couples) stayed in a quadruple room with a queen bed and two twin beds. Very clean and modern with plenty of room. The shower was hot and had a rain shower head. One of the nicest hotels along the trail. We paid 58 euros total. A continental breakfast was included. The owners were very kind and attentive. A full grocery store and multiple restaurants are within a couple minutes walking distance.
Esta entidad ha sido beneficiaria de una ayuda del Programa de incentivos a la movilidad eficiente y sostenible (MOVES III), gestionado por la Xunta de Galicia a través del Instituto Enerxético de Galicia (INEGA) en el marco del Real Decreto 266/2021, y cofinanciada por la Unión Europea — NextGenerationEU, dentro del Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia.
