Picked by our team
Towns worth discovering along the Camino de Santiago, chosen by our team. Open one to see its history and sights, and where to stay.
17 towns on the Camino del Mar
View on the mapBurela is the fishing port of the Mariña: this is where the albacore tuna is landed that ends up on tables all over Spain as Bonito del Norte. An old tuna boat is now a museum, and one in ten inhabitants has roots in Cape Verde. Not a pretty backdrop, but a town that works, and that is exactly why it is interesting.
Camino del MarCariño is the harbour at the foot of the Serra da Capelada: a fishing town with colourful houses in the O Campo quarter, a fish auction in the afternoon and canning factories that once made the town big. Right behind it waits Cabo Ortegal, and tomorrow you climb the highest cliffs of the tour. Today is a harbour evening.
Camino del MarCatedrais is not a village but a beach, and what a beach: at low tide you walk between slate arches about 30 metres high, at high tide everything is under water. If you plan your stage by the tide table, this is the most spectacular stop on the whole Camino del Mar. If you arrive too late, you look down from above.
Camino del NorteCamino del MarAfter the Capelada, Cedeira is the place to catch your breath: an old whaling port on a sheltered ría, a small centre with a Gothic church, a fortress above the entrance and, with the Praia da Madalena, a town beach of almost one and a half kilometres. Add percebes, a fisheries museum and harbour bars.
Camino del MarCuiña is a parish of Saint James: Santiago de Cuíña celebrates its patron at the end of July with mass, procession and bagpipes. For you the village is above all a lunch stop on the country road, only 2.2 kilometres beyond Ortigueira, before the long asphalt stage to Cariño begins.
Camino del MarFerrol is the port where the Camiño Inglés begins: from the Curuxeiras quay it is 114 kilometres to Santiago, just enough for the Compostela. In the Middle Ages pilgrims from England, Ireland and Scandinavia landed here by ship; today almost every Inglés pilgrim starts in this naval town. An afternoon is enough, so plan it before day one.
Camino del MarCamiño InglésFoz lies where the Masma flows into the sea; the name comes from the Latin word for a river mouth. Once a whaling port with one of Galicia's great shipyards, today a small town with beaches, a fishermen's quarter and a church of Saint James right on the path. Nearby: the "oldest cathedral in Spain" and the legend of the bishop who sank a fleet.
Camino del MarO Porto do Barqueiro has the ferryman in its name: until 1901 a barqueiro carried people across the ría. Today you cross the iron bridge, have a coffee at the harbour under colourful houses and look over to the Bares peninsula, the northernmost tip of Iberia.
Camino del MarOrtigueira belongs to Santa Marta: the church in the old Dominican convent is dedicated to her, the old town is named after her, and around her feast day one of Europe's biggest folk festivals has been held since 1978. Add a ría full of wading birds, cockles Ortegana style and a cake that keeps for days.
Camino del MarTop rated
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