Part of Camino del Norte in the end of October

[AlbinaZakirova]

Hello! My friend and I are going to the Camino del Norte on October 23. This is our firsrt time on Camino and first time in Spain. We have only ten 10 days. Could you please check our stages?
Day 1 - Portugalette - Onton
Day 2 - Onton - Laredo
Day 3 - Laredo - Guemes
Day 4 - Guemes - Santander (and visit Santander)
Day 5 - Santander - Cobreses
Day 6 - Cobreses - Serdio
Day 7 - Serdio - Llanes
Day 8 - We want to rent a car in Llanes and go to the Ruta del Cares and then came back to Llanes. Is it possible to rent a car there? Can we stay in Llanes alberge for 2 nights?
Day 9 - Llanes - Ribadesella
Day 10 - Ribadessella - Gijon (by bus), we have a train from Gijon to Valladolid at 14.12

 

[oursonpolaire]

In general, I think your stages are a bit heavy, but only you know what you can do. You might want to think of how important to you will be to take the day for the Ruta del Cares. Others may have an opinion on this.

Day 1 - Portugalette - Onton-- this is 19km and should be plenty for a first day.
Day 2 - Onton - Laredo- this is 35km and will be a very heavy day, unless you are well prepared for such a distance
Day 3 - Laredo - Guemes- 29km and another full day.
Day 4 - Guemes - Santander (and visit Santander)- 13km and so quite reasonable, although there's not as much to see in Santander as their tourism bureau would suggest.
Day 5 - Santander - Cobreses- 44km and I really don't see how you could do this easily--for most people it would take 12-14 hours steady walking. Perhaps if you take the suburban train out of Santander and knock off about 15km or so?
Day 6 - Cobreses - Serdio- 28km, if you really think you can walk that after the preceding day
Day 7 - Serdio - Llanes- 28.6km
Day 8 - We want to rent a car in Llanes and go to the Ruta del Cares and then came back to Llanes. Is it possible to rent a car there? Can we stay in Llanes alberge for 2 nights? According to Mr Google, it is possible to rent cars there. There might be buses or tours for the Ruta de Cares-- check with the turismo. It's highly unlikely that the albergue will permit a second night-- private albergues sometimes will, but it's not to be counted on. There is relatively inexpensive accommodation in the town.
Day 9 - Llanes - Ribadesella- 32km.
Day 10 - Ribadessella - Gijon (by bus), we have a train from Gijon to Valladolid at 14.12 . There are 3 morning buses which would get you there in time. The train would be more scenic, but I don't think that those schedules would work for you.

 

[LTfit]

Hi @AlbinaZakirova and welcome to the Forum. I suggest that you check out www.gronze.com to see if there are albergues open in your proposed stops. I've walked parts of the Norte in October and many albergues closed by mid October. Off hand I recall that the albergues in Guemes and Santander are open all year round but I haven't stayed in some of the towns your mention. You will need to find a private albergue in Llanes, Ribadesella and Gijon as there are no municipals.

The distances you mention would be fine with me as I often walk stages of 35-45 km but most people don't, especially if you have little experience walking multiple days. A weekend hike is very different.

Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[AlbinaZakirova]

In general, I think your stages are a bit heavy, but only you know what you can do. You might want to think of how important to you will be to take the day for the Ruta del Cares. Others may have an opinion on this.

Day 1 - Portugalette - Onton-- this is 19km and should be plenty for a first day.
Day 2 - Onton - Laredo- this is 35km and will be a very heavy day, unless you are well prepared for such a distance
Day 3 - Laredo - Guemes- 29km and another full day.
Day 4 - Guemes - Santander (and visit Santander)- 13km and so quite reasonable, although there's not as much to see in Santander as their tourism bureau would suggest.
Day 5 - Santander - Cobreses- 44km and I really don't see how you could do this easily--for most people it would take 12-14 hours steady walking. Perhaps if you take the suburban train out of Santander and knock off about 15km or so?
Day 6 - Cobreses - Serdio- 28km, if you really think you can walk that after the preceding day
Day 7 - Serdio - Llanes- 28.6km
Day 8 - We want to rent a car in Llanes and go to the Ruta del Cares and then came back to Llanes. Is it possible to rent a car there? Can we stay in Llanes alberge for 2 nights? According to Mr Google, it is possible to rent cars there. There might be buses or tours for the Ruta de Cares-- check with the turismo. It's highly unlikely that the albergue will permit a second night-- private albergues sometimes will, but it's not to be counted on. There is relatively inexpensive accommodation in the town.
Day 9 - Llanes - Ribadesella- 32km.
Day 10 - Ribadessella - Gijon (by bus), we have a train from Gijon to Valladolid at 14.12 . There are 3 morning buses which would get you there in time. The train would be more scenic, but I don't think that those schedules would work for you.

Thank you so much for your reply. I think we will take a train from Santander. Or it is better not to stop in Santander and go futher - to Boo, for example?

 

[AlbinaZakirova]

Hi @AlbinaZakirova and welcome to the Forum. I suggest that you check out www.gronze.com to see if there are albergues open in your proposed stops. I've walked parts of the Norte in October and many albergues closed by mid October. Off hand I recall that the albergues in Guemes and Santander are open all year round but I haven't stayed in some of the towns your mention. You will need to find a private albergue in Llanes, Ribadesella and Gijon as there are no municipals.

The distances you mention would be fine with me as I often walk stages of 35-45 km but most people don't, especially if you have little experience walking multiple days. A weekend hike is very different.

Good luck whatever you decide.
[/QUOTE/]
Thank you! I have written to almost all albergues and I am waiting for the answers.

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, AlbinaZakirova,
Hope you have a great camino. I think that you should consider some of the coastal alternatives https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/coastal-alternatives-to-the-nortes-asphalt.49578/. They really add a lot of beauty to the Norte, which frequently goes along the edge of a highway. The coastal route out of Santander to Boo is just gorgeous, for example. But it is longer.

You may have specific reasons for doing this, but you might want to reconsider the Ruta delCares. I walked this route about 20 years ago and even then it was mobbed, really like a single file conga line in many spots. (But you will be going out of high tourist season, so that may not be a huge issue). And I would not say it is the most gorgeous part of the Picos either, but that is just my opinion. But as I say, you may have your reasons!

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[oursonpolaire]

Thank you so much for your reply. I think we will take a train from Santander. Or it is better not to stop in Santander and go futher - to Boo, for example?

I'm not sure that there is a point at all in stopping in Santander, unless there is something specific you want to see. I would just head out, on foot, or by suburban train, and stay in one of the settlements to the west. But I do feel that a 44km stretch for day 5 is not practical.

By the way, many albergues do not respond promptly to email.

 

[AlbinaZakirova]

Thanks. I have changed to route:
It will be Guemes-Boo
Boo-Camillas
Camillas-Colombres
Colombres-Llanes
I will think about Ruta del Cares
Llanes-Ribadesella