Hi!
I’m Nicoletta Arps, originally from Germany, and I’ve been living in Porto since November 2022.
How It All Began in 2017
I walked my first Camino de Santiago at the beginning of 2017 — it was the Portuguese Camino starting from Porto.
At the time, I wasn’t doing particularly well. A burnout eight months earlier had completely derailed my life and left me struggling with depression and panic attacks. But I felt ready to return to work and was looking for something symbolic to mark the end of that break.
I have no idea how I even came across the Camino, but once the idea was there, it was clear: I wanted to do it. Alone. Flying abroad by myself for the first time, committing to something I knew absolutely nothing about, and not knowing whether I could handle it — mentally or physically. But I had a gut feeling that this was exactly what I needed.
Overwhelmed
As I started preparing, it quickly became clear: I couldn’t handle all the unknowns. I could look at pictures, but they didn’t make anything feel more tangible. I could read guidebooks, but they mostly talked about churches—not whether I’d be able to buy more water along the route if I ran out.
I had so many questions, but no one who could really answer them. Facebook groups were only helpful at first glance—just like friends who had walked a Camino before. As kind as everyone was, they all lacked the ability to think beyond their own experience. They just kept saying how easy everything is, to go with the flow, don’t overthink it, blah blah.
But that simply doesn’t apply to everyone.
I wished I had someone who really knew what they were talking about—someone who understood everything that was overwhelming me at the time. Someone who knew what it feels like to be afraid you won’t find a room for the night, and who knew where the bus stops if a stage ends up being too much for me.
Someone who could look at my plan and say, “Yes, this will work—you haven’t missed anything!” Someone I could call if I were alone in the Galician woods having a panic attack. Someone to walk alongside me—figuratively—on my Camino adventure and give me the sense of security I didn’t have in that moment.
The Training Programs
In January 2020, three years after deciding to walk my first Camino, I made another important decision: I want to go all in.
I gave up my successful freelance career as a web developer and committed to helping others prepare for their own Caminos—offering the kind of support I had once needed myself.
Yes, I know… perfect timing—because less than two months later, COVID brought everything to a halt.
Once it became clear the pandemic was going to last a while, I used the time to continue my education. I had already been trained to work on a crisis hotline and had four years of experience there, but that had been a while ago. So during the COVID period, I completed a training program in psychological counseling through Euro-FH and took a course in Mental Health First Aid.
Off to Porto!
In 2022, I made my next big decision: I was moving to Porto. The city I fell in love with back in early 2017—and kept returning to, whether to walk another part of the Camino Portugués or simply to be there.
What I love about my work is seeing people come alive. Whether I’m there with them on the Camino as they grow beyond their limits, or I “just” get a WhatsApp message telling me about a magical evening with other pilgrims in Oia, or how they did something they never thought they’d dare to do—or even about a sudden insight that struck them while walking.
I get feedback from people whose lives were fundamentally changed by the Camino. Knowing that I played a part in helping them take that journey truly makes me happy.
Once a Pilgrim, Always a Pilgrim
I’ve walked over 3,500 kilometers as a pilgrim myself, and as soon as I return from one Camino, I can hardly wait to set out again. To experience that indescribable feeling once more—carrying only what’s essential, walking all day, just one step after another. Having time for my thoughts, using the distance from everyday life to reassess everything, and deciding anew how I want to live my life as it is.
I enjoy being alone—especially in nature—but I also treasure the intense connections with people from all over the world. Almost every Camino ends with a new friendship, and every single one gives me fresh perspectives, insights about myself, and broadens my horizons. I just love it.
The Person Behind your-camino.com
I’m not a travel agency—no agency at all. I don’t talk about “we” or “team.”
When you book here, you’re booking the qualification and expertise of Nicoletta. Someone who, years ago, walked a Camino while living with complex PTSD, anxiety disorder, and residual depression—and who, despite lacking support during those two weeks, grew more on that pilgrimage than in the years of therapy that followed.
Someone who fell so deeply in love with the feeling of pilgrimage that she kept returning to the Camino—and eventually decided to support others full-time on their own journeys.
Someone who works with passion. Where you’re not just a number in a system. Someone who is there for her pilgrims around the clock, whether she’s sitting with friends at a restaurant or going through a crisis herself.
Someone who still has to work a side job because nearly 50% of the prices listed here go to taxes and social charges—and who pours so much time and love into each pilgrim that the numbers don’t add up financially.
Someone who keeps going anyway. Because there’s nothing more beautiful than helping and supporting people as they walk their first Camino, learning new things about themselves with every stage—growing, falling, getting back up, snapping a hundred photos of the same moment out of pure joy, and then hugging someone tightly who was a stranger just an hour ago.
My Caminos
Hi, I am Nicoletta and I plan and support your Camino.
Let′s have a chat!