As Catedrais beach and routes

[cherrys]

Hi. We’re currently in Ferrol after doing the Portugues from Porto (more on that in another post). But having extra time on our hands want to do bits of the Norte we missed by heading to the Primativo last spring. We’re taking the ferry from Santander to Portsmouth on 10/10 so have a few days to get from here to there. I’m trying to find the Albergue Tia Valeria mentioned as being near the Catedral beaches but my phone is uncooperative. Since we’re walking backwards so to speak, any suggestions would be welcome. Right now we’re planning on taking the train to Foz tomorrow and winging it from there. Hope someone has done this in reverse before. Thanks, Cherry

 

[Tia Valeria]

The restaurante hostal 'O lar de Carmina' is at Devesa just near As Catedrais. Not an albergue but a good place to stay. I don't think that Foz is near enough as it is about 2 days walk from there. There are other FEVE stations much better placed. Barreiros is the better option. You can check the FEVE stations on Google maps.

Sorry - short answer but just going out.

 

[Phil71]

Sorry I don't know the route from Foz but I will say carry on to Ribadeo if you can. The coastal route from as catedrales to Ribadeo is stunning and was my favourite day when I did the Norte. I stayed at hotel de playa de las catedrales and it was fine. Not expensive. The next beach along is gorgeous too and a lot quieter. Called something like playa de las illes. Enjoy.

 

[Elizabeth Cheung]

Just so I understand, the As Catedrais is a side trip from Ribadeo (not on the Norte Route proper). Do most people just have a rest day in Ribadeo to see them? Or do do you taxi/bus out to see them and come back to Ribadeo for the night to continue on the Norte the next day?

 

[Jan_D]

Just so I understand, the As Catedrais is a side trip from Ribadeo (not on the Norte Route proper). Do most people just have a rest day in Ribadeo to see them? Or do do you taxi/bus out to see them and come back to Ribadeo for the night to continue on the Norte the next day?

Hi Elizabeth, yes you're right - the OP was starting from Foz and going eastwards towards Ribadeo (but this is technically the "Ruta do Mar" and not the Norte). In my experience, "most people" on the Norte don't have much interest in visiting As Catedrais - it's about 11km off the camino, so would definitely require a rest day (or a lot of time in the afternoon), and it depends on the weather, how keen you are to organise transport, etc. Not sure about buses, but I know that the Feve train stops at Esteiro, which is about 1km from the beach.

 

[peregrina2000]

Just so I understand, the As Catedrais is a side trip from Ribadeo (not on the Norte Route proper). Do most people just have a rest day in Ribadeo to see them? Or do do you taxi/bus out to see them and come back to Ribadeo for the night to continue on the Norte the next day?

Hi, Elizabeth,

As Catedrais is about 15 kms from Ribadeo. We found that it was very easy to get out to the beach by taxi (15 euros each way). Since 8 of us wanted to go out, it was a very cheap taxi ride. In high summer (July through September), acess is limited, because of crushing crowds. Limited to 2,000 a day, but reports describe as many as 10,000 before the reservation system. We were there in late May, we weren´t alone, but absolutely no sense of crowds. It was gorgeous. If pilgrims don´t tend to visit, it is probably only because they don´t know how close and easy it is. https://ascatedrais.xunta.gal/monatr/inicio?lang=en

You also want to check the tides before you go out (easy to do with google). Low tide was around 9 pm the day we were there, so we got out there about an hour before and came back after walking and oohing and aahhhing almost till sunset, which my notes say was 10:15 pm that day.

Buen camino, Laurie