Camino del Norte

At a Glance

• Start / Finish: Cathedral of Sainte-Marie in Bayonne / Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela; about 853 km from Irún
• Length: 898.8 km, of which 45.5 km in France and the last 41 km or so from Arzúa on the line of the Camino Francés
• Duration: 41 stages, avg. 21.9 km; 34 to 36 days at a brisk pace
• Elevation: ↗ 23,529 m / ↘ 23,278 m – an average of 26 meters of climbing per kilometer
• Highest point: 710 m on the Miraz → Sobrado dos Monxes stage, around A Roxica and A Cabana
• Landscape: cliffs, coves and beaches, eucalyptus forest, Asturian apple orchards, and finally the pasture hills of Galicia
• Operator / Waymarking: yellow arrows and scallop-shell markers from the regions of the Basque Country, Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia; less densely marked in France
• Traces of St. James: Bayonne Cathedral, the Puente de Santiago in Irún, Santiago Cathedral in Bilbao, St. James as a pilgrim by the sea in Santoña, the monastery of Sobrado
• Accommodation: municipal, association and monastery albergues, Xunta albergues in Galicia; since 2026 no municipal albergue in San Sebastián
• Connecting routes: Camino Primitivo via the Camino del Norte via Oviedo, Camino Vadiniense & Lebaniego from San Vicente de la Barquera, Camino Francés from Arzúa
• Best time: May to June and September
• Pilgrim passport / Certificate: credencial with stamps; the Compostela in Santiago

Overview

The Camino del Norte is the route for everyone who hears "Camino" and thinks of the sea. For five weeks the Cantabrian Sea is at your side: you walk cliff paths, pass through fishing harbors and beach towns, and spend nights in San Sebastián, Bilbao, Santander and Gijón – cities worth the trip even without a pilgrimage. Only past Ribadeo does the way leave the coast and head through inland Galicia to Arzúa, where it meets the Camino Francés. Since July 2015, as the Camino de la Costa, it has been one of the northern Spanish routes UNESCO added to the World Heritage List. On the Francés you hunt for a bed in the evening; on the Norte you hunt for the next ferry in the morning.

Its reputation is big, its traffic small. Of the 530,987 pilgrims registered at the Pilgrim's Office in 2025, around 21,500 came via the Norte – just over four percent, hardly more than in 2016, when the share was still 6.2 percent. In 2008 there were 7,035. The reason is in the numbers above: 23,529 meters of climbing, long days, Atlantic weather. The green coast is green because it rains.

Other Names

In Spanish the route is called Camino del Norte or Camino de la Costa, and in older texts and the Xacopedia also Ruta de la Costa; in Galician Camiño do Norte, in Basque Kostaldeko Bidea. Since 2015 UNESCO has listed it among the "Caminos del Norte," together with the Camino Primitivo, the Camino Vasco del Interior and the Camino Lebaniego. In English it is the Northern Way, in German Nordweg or Küstenweg. Don't mix it up: the Portuguese Coastal Way is a different route, running north from Porto along the Atlantic.

Who It's Ideal For—and Who It's Not So Ideal For

Ideal if you need the sea to pilgrimage and you're a strong walker: beaches and cliffs every day, plus four regions with their own cuisine, from pintxos in the Basque Country to anchovies in Santoña and cider in Asturias. Ideal if you've already walked a Camino and this time want quiet instead of crowds; you'll find lonely mornings even in August. And ideal for walking in sections over several years – Bilbao, Santander and Gijón divide it into weeks.

Honestly, though, it's not for you if you want to walk your first Camino with little training: the climbing adds up, some stages run 29 to 31 kilometers, and albergues are sparser than on the Francés. Not for you if you hate asphalt – between Bilbao and Portugalete, and around Santander, Gijón and Avilés, you spend long stretches in suburbs and industrial zones. And not for you if you expect fair weather: on the Bay of Biscay it rains in every season, and in July and August a bed in the beach towns costs more than a night in a hostal elsewhere.

Route & Landscape

Bayonne to Bilbao (km 0–196.5): From Bayonne you pass Biarritz, which lies a good two kilometers off the route, then continue via Saint-Jean-de-Luz (km 28.7) and Hendaye to Irún (km 45.5). Beyond Hondarribia you climb over Jaizkibel to the bay of Pasaia, followed by the Basque ups and downs through Zarautz, Getaria and Deba, then inland via Markina-Xemein and Gernika (km 164.1) to Bilbao.

Bilbao to Ribadeo (km 196.5–702.7): Along the left bank of the estuary you reach Portugalete; then in Cantabria harbor towns and bays alternate: Castro-Urdiales, Laredo, Santoña, Santander, Santillana del Mar (km 371.0), Comillas and San Vicente de la Barquera. In Asturias come Llanes, Ribadesella and Villaviciosa (km 513.9), then Gijón, Avilés and the wild cliffs of western Asturias around Luarca, until at Ribadeo (km 702.7) you cross the Ría del Eo into Galicia.

Ribadeo to Santiago (km 702.7–898.8): Now the way turns inland: via Mondoñedo steeply up to Abadín, across the Terra Chá plateau to Vilalba and Baamonde. Just before Sobrado dos Monxes you reach the highest point at 710 meters. In Arzúa (km 857.7) the Norte flows into the Camino Francés; you walk the last 41 kilometers or so in the great stream of pilgrims.

Stages, Terrain, and Difficulty

We show the route in 41 stages; distances come from the Camino Ninja map, calibrated exactly to 898.8 km. The map counts the three boat crossings. Three stages run about 30 kilometers; you can split them at Portugalete, Nueva de Llanes and Peón. From Arzúa the map follows the line of the Camino Francés – just like the signposts; the Camino Ninja planner combines the two automatically.

1. Bayonne → Saint-Jean-de-Luz (28.7 km) — via Bidart and Guéthary along the Côte Basque.
2. Saint-Jean-de-Luz → Irún (16.8 km) — via Hendaye to the border.
3. Irún → San Sebastián (25.6 km) — Jaizkibel, then the motora across the bay of Pasaia.
4. San Sebastián → Zarautz (21.5 km) — via Igeldo and Orio.
5. Zarautz → Deba (22.9 km) — Getaria, Zumaia, txakoli vineyards.
6. Deba → Markina-Xemein (23.5 km) — lonely mountain stage, hardly anywhere to stop.
7. Markina-Xemein → Gernika (25.1 km) — past the collegiate church of Ziortza.
8. Gernika → Lezama (19.7 km) — woods and hamlets via Larrabetzu.
9. Lezama → Bilbao (12.7 km) — short, leaving time for the cathedral and the Guggenheim.
10. Bilbao → Pobeña (31.0 km) — urban as far as Portugalete, then a bike path to the sea.
11. Pobeña → Castro-Urdiales (20.5 km) — on the old ore railway along the cliffs.
12. Castro-Urdiales → Liendo (26.2 km) — via Islares into the Liendo valley.
13. Liendo → Noja (23.5 km) — Laredo, the boat to Santoña, Berria beach.
14. Noja → Güemes (16.0 km) — marshes and meadows to Padre Ernesto.
15. Güemes → Santander (19.5 km) — cliff path, ferry from Somo.
16. Santander → Boó de Piélagos (13.5 km) — short, through suburbs.
17. Boó de Piélagos → Santillana del Mar (24.3 km) — the industrial strip at Requejada.
18. Santillana del Mar → Comillas (22.5 km) — green hills, back to the sea.
19. Comillas → Colombres (28.4 km) — via San Vicente de la Barquera.
20. Colombres → Llanes (25.2 km) — coast with bufones (blowholes).
21. Llanes → Ribadesella (29.5 km) — beaches and villages, can be split at Nueva.
22. Ribadesella → Colunga (20.4 km) — beaches below the Sierra del Sueve.
23. Colunga → Villaviciosa (16.9 km) — via Priesca to the estuary.
24. Villaviciosa → Gijón (30.9 km) — mountain day over Peón.
25. Gijón → Avilés (25.4 km) — lots of industry.
26. Avilés → Muros de Nalón (23.0 km) — to the mouth of the Nalón.
27. Muros de Nalón → Soto de Luiña (15.3 km) — Cudillero lies just off the route.
28. Soto de Luiña → Cadavedo (19.0 km) — plateau above the cliffs.
29. Cadavedo → Luarca (16.0 km) — down to the white harbor.
30. Luarca → Navia (20.4 km) — meadows and stream valleys.
31. Navia → Tapia de Casariego (24.9 km) — via La Caridad.
32. Tapia de Casariego → Ribadeo (13.9 km) — over the Puente de los Santos into Galicia.
33. Ribadeo → Lourenzá (27.2 km) — farewell to the sea.
34. Lourenzá → Abadín (25.4 km) — Mondoñedo, then the long climb.
35. Abadín → Vilalba (20.5 km) — flat across the Terra Chá.
36. Vilalba → Baamonde (19.6 km) — a little over 100 km before Santiago.
37. Baamonde → Miraz (14.8 km) — quiet, to the albergue of the English Confraternity.
38. Miraz → Sobrado dos Monxes (25.3 km) — highest point, Cistercian monastery.
39. Sobrado dos Monxes → Arzúa (22.2 km) — joining the Camino Francés.
40. Arzúa → O Pedrouzo (19.2 km) — suddenly lots of pilgrims.
41. O Pedrouzo → Santiago de Compostela (21.9 km) — over Monte do Gozo to the cathedral.

Nothing here is technically difficult; what wears you down is the sum: in the Basque Country you go up and down between sea level and 300 meters almost every day, and in western Asturias deep stream valleys cut through the coast. For the Compostela, starting in Baamonde is enough.

Three Boats on the Way: the Camino with a Timetable

On no stage of the Francés do you need a ticket. On the Norte you need one three times. In Pasaia the motora carries you from Pasai Donibane to Pasai San Pedro in two minutes, every few minutes, for 1.95 € (as of October 2026). In Laredo you walk along the beach to El Puntal, where the Barca del Puntal crosses to Santoña in about ten minutes for 2.50 €; the crossing is said to have existed since the 16th century. In Somo you take the Los Reginas ferry across the bay to Santander, once an hour between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., 3.70 €. Here the pilgrim route becomes a timetable: miss the last boat and you don't walk on – you walk around the bay.

This is no modern accident. Pilgrims always reached this coast by water too: from the 13th century they came ashore at Bermeo and Bilbao. In the church of Santa María del Puerto in Santoña, the altarpiece shows St. James as a pilgrim in a seascape. And in Ribadeo, where the Puente de los Santos, opened in 1987, now spans the Ría del Eo, pilgrims from Castropol used to land by boat at the Porcillán quay – "servicio propiedad del Obispado de Mondoñedo en el siglo XII," as the Xacopedia puts it, a ferry service owned by the diocese of Mondoñedo. Even the bed afterward was regulated: in 1550 the hospital of Ribadeo had 20 beds, and it "daba albergue sólo durante 24 horas" – it gave pilgrims shelter for exactly 24 hours.

In practice this means: plan around the boats. According to the operator, the boat to Santoña runs daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., but it depends on season and sea conditions; if it isn't running, you walk via Colindres and the Treto bridge, considerably farther. The Somo ferry can be canceled in bad weather, leaving the bus to Santander. And the most famous ferry on the route you don't have to take at all: the Puente de Bizkaia in Portugalete, opened on July 28, 1893, links the left bank with Getxo, which lies a good three kilometers off the route. The Norte stays on the Portugalete side. For 0.60 € a ride you can float across anyway, just for the gondola.

Highlights Along the Way

• Bayonne (km 0) — Cathedral of Sainte-Marie, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Routes of Santiago in France since 1998.
• Pasai Donibane (km 62.5) — fishing village on the bay where Victor Hugo stayed in the summer of 1843.
• San Sebastián (km 71.1) — La Concha bay and pintxos in the old town.
• Gernika (km 164.1) — the oak of the Basques; on April 26, 1937, the Condor Legion destroyed the town.
• Bilbao (km 196.5) — the Gothic Cathedral of Santiago, a bishop's seat since 1949, and Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum from 1997.
• Puente de Bizkaia in Portugalete (km 215.7) — the world's oldest transporter bridge still in operation, blown up in 1937, running again in 1941, World Heritage since 2006.
• Laredo (km 283.7) — Gothic church of Santa María; Charles V rested here for a week in 1556 on his last journey.
• Güemes (km 313.7) — La Cabaña del Abuelo Peuto, Padre Ernesto Bustio's albergue with 91 beds, which Gronze calls the most charismatic on the route.
• Santillana del Mar (km 371.0) — the "town of three lies," neither holy (santa) nor flat (llana) nor by the sea (mar); next door is Altamira, where in 1879 little María Sanz de Sautuola discovered the bison on the ceiling, on view as the Neocueva since 2001.
• Comillas (km 393.5) — Gaudí's El Capricho, built from 1883 to 1885.
• Villaviciosa (km 513.9) — cider capital; at nearby Tazones the young Charles V came ashore in 1517, 39 years before his farewell in Laredo.
• Luarca (km 643.5) — white fishing town in a narrow cove.
• Sobrado dos Monxes (km 835.5) — founded around 951, taken over by the Cistercians in 1142, dissolved in 1834, resettled on July 25, 1966 – St. James's Day; pilgrim albergue inside the monastery.

Seven Turnoffs: Where the Norte Crosses Other Routes

Hardly any Camino has as many junctions:

• Camino de Baztán — from Bayonne over the Velate pass to Pamplona
• Voie de la Nive — from Bayonne to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port
• Camino Vasco del Interior — from Irún to Santo Domingo de la Calzada
• Camino Olvidado — from Bilbao along the southern edge of the Cordillera into El Bierzo
• Camino Vadiniense & Lebaniego — from San Vicente de la Barquera to Liébana and León
• Camino del Norte via Oviedo — from Villaviciosa to Oviedo and back to Avilés; the Camino Primitivo begins in Oviedo
• Camino del Mar — from Castropol on the Ribadeo estuary to Ferrol

Switch to the Primitivo via Oviedo at Villaviciosa and you won't see the sea again; both routes end in Santiago.

How Pilgrims Find Their Way onto This Path

The map starts in Bayonne, but many pilgrims only set out from Irún or San Sebastián. Two feeder routes lead to Bayonne: the Voie Littorale comes down the French Atlantic coast from the Gironde estuary, and if you don't want to cross the Pyrenees from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, you can walk the Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port–Irun Way to the border in four stages.

Historical pilgrims knew the route in both directions. The Armenian bishop Martyr of Arzendjan walked it in 1489 both going and returning between Rome and Santiago; the Xacopedia calls his account "la primera guía sobre el Camino del Norte" (the first guide to the Camino del Norte). In 1502 Antoine de Lalaing came through Ribadeo and Mondoñedo in the retinue of Philip the Handsome, in 1547 Juan Villuga's road atlas recorded the route, and in 1611 Jakub Sobieski, father of the later Polish king John III, came via Oviedo to Ribadeo. The French tailor Guillaume Manier walked to Santiago on the Francés in 1726 and took the coast for the return; Jean-Pierre Racq from Bruges followed in 1790. By then the coast had long been a side route: according to the Xacopedia, the flow declined from the 15th and 16th centuries with the Reformation, and the way was not waymarked again until the end of the 20th century.

In Arzúa its independence ends: from here you walk on the Camino Francés, together with the pilgrims of the Camino Primitivo, which has already joined in Melide.

Preparation & Practical Information

Credencial and app. As on all Spanish routes, you need a pilgrim passport (credencial) to stay in albergues and to receive the Compostela at the end. It's best to order it online in advance so it reaches you in time for the start of your journey. On the last 100 kilometers you need two stamps a day. The easiest way to plan your stages is right in the Camino Ninja App, where you put your stages together and plan suitable accommodation at the same time – important on the Norte, because some stretches have no albergue at all.

Albergues. The Jakobi albergue in Irún has 109 beds and is open from February 1 to November 30; the association albergue in Santander from April 1 to November 30. In San Sebastián the municipal albergue has been closed since 2026. In Galicia the Xunta rules apply: no reservations, one night. Between Bayonne and Irún, expect gîtes and hotels rather than albergues.

Season. The best times are May to June and September; in July and August beachgoers fill the coastal towns, and in winter many albergues close. A rain jacket and shoes with good tread are a must – the cliff paths get slippery after rain.

What the journey will cost you

Municipal and association albergues usually cost 10 to 15 €: Casa de la Trinidad in Laredo 10 €, Santos Mártires in Santander 15 €, the Sobrado monastery and the Xunta albergues 10 € (as of October 2026). Private albergues run 15 to 20 €, Güemes lives on donations, and in San Sebastián a dorm bed starts at around 30 €. The three boats together cost a little over 8 €, a menú del día 12 to 16 €.

Budget 40 to 55 € a day, or 60 to 80 € with guesthouses. It only gets expensive if you surrender to San Sebastián's pintxos without a fight – and you've earned that.

Getting Here

To the start. You can reach Bayonne by TGV or via Biarritz airport. If you start in Irún, fly to Bilbao or San Sebastián and take the bus or Euskotren to the border. Bilbao, Santander and Asturias have airports for joining partway.

From the finish. From Santiago you can fly straight home or take the train. If you don't want to stop, walk the Camiño a Fisterra to the cape or the Camiño a Muxía to the stone boat of the Virxe da Barca.

• Rail in France: sncf-connect.com — TGV to Bayonne and Hendaye
• Rail in the Basque Country: euskotren.eus — Hendaye, Irún, San Sebastián, Bilbao
• Buses along the north coast: alsa.es — all major stage towns and Santiago
• Somo–Santander ferry: losreginas.com — timetable