CAMINO del Norte

[PACIFICSWIM]

Hi,
I completed Camino Frances in November last year. I have 10 days available in early May this year and want to walk some of the Northern Camino. I had thought about commencing in Santander. Any suggestions. Regards Greg

 

[grayland]

Starting in Santander would be a pretty good idea if reaching Santiago is not important this time.
It would keep you along the coast with views for a good deal of the time.
An alternative would be Bilbao which would give you a chance to see that great Basque city and take you through the much talked about albergue in Guemes.
Either way you will enjoy it.

 

[Tia Valeria]

If you start in Santander it is worth taking the FEVE 'cercania' out to Barreda (about 20mins ride and half hourly service) to avoid walking the industrial area for the first day. This enables you to walk from Barreda to Santillana on your first day, an amazing old village, and then on and along the coast. At Barreda you turn right out of the station and are on the Camino.
This section of the Norte is beautiful and passes many interesting places with possibility of the FEVE train back to Santander (only 2 per day), or ALSA, depending on where you stop walking. You can go to Ribadasella or keep going through to Oviedo via Villaviciosa, or keep along the coast route to Gijon. It all depends on how far you want to walk in a day.......
Buen Camino

 

[Lollyb]

Hey all. Me and a friend are booked to walk Bilbao to Santander in may this year over 5 days. We were wondering if the public buses are ok to travel on to get us from Santander back to Bilbao at the end of our hike. The organised transfer is €160 when the public bus is only €8.65 one way. We are Camino first timers so just double checking that the public bus system is ok.. any thoughts appreciated. Can't wait to do the Northern route!

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Hey all. Me and a friend are booked to walk Bilbao to Santander in may this year over 5 days. We were wondering if the public buses are ok to travel on to get us from Santander back to Bilbao at the end of our hike. The organised transfer is €160 when the public bus is only €8.65 one way. We are Camino first timers so just double checking that the public bus system is ok.. any thoughts appreciated. Can't wait to do the Northern route!

Don't know what country you are from, but I would venture to say that public transport in Spain is amongst the best in the world. Argentina may still beat it for long distance/overnight trips, but certainly just as good if not better than what we have in Canada.

 

[Lollyb]

Don't know what country you are from, but I would venture to say that public transport in Spain is amongst the best in the world. Argentina may still beat it for long distance/overnight trips, but certainly just as good if not better than what we have in Canada.

Thank you. I'm coming from Ireland. That's good to know. We will stick with the public bus system so.

 

[MKalcolm M]

Hi Greg,

If I had ten days for the Norte, I would start in Irun, which would allow you to walk to Bilbao then on to Santander. This would allow you to see some fabulous coastline and walk along the beaches, but also see some great towns like San Sebastion and Castro Udales and do some pleasant hiking through the mountains and ridges. There are some good alberges en-route and there would be enough time to vary your walking speed to how much you feel comfortable with. The boat ride into Santander would be a nice way to finish your camino, and should time allow it in the future you can always continue where you left off, and keep heading towards Santiago.

Hi Lollyb

The bus from Santander to Bilbao is frequent, cheap and easy to use, so I would highly recommend it over an expensive organised transfer. You can catch it at the bus station, or at the airport. Don't do what I did, which was to take the airport bus into town to catch the bus to Bilbao, only for the first stop to be back at the airport before heading to Bilbao!

 

[Tia Valeria]

You can also take the FEVE from Santander, slower than the bus but maybe more scenic. Goes to San Sebastian and you may then need to bus into Bilbao itself.