Somo

Right now in Somo (as of October 2026)

• Boat: The service to Santander runs all year, but departure times change with the season, the tides and the weather. At very low tide the boat does not call at Somo (pilgrim report, May 2025); then you walk over the bridge to Pedreña and board there.

How long to stay?

A break is enough. Somo has hotels and surf hostels but no pilgrim hostel, and Santander is just a boat ride away. Coming from Güemes, you walk along the beach, have a drink by the water and take the next boat. Half an hour to an hour is enough to take your shoes off and feel the sand before the next boat leaves.

Somo in Ninja numbers

• 12.3 kilometres from Güemes to here, with 335 metres of ascent and 398 metres of descent. The last part is flat: beach.
• About 5 kilometres of the way after this are on water. You sit, and you still make progress.
• 570 kilometres are still left from here to Santiago.
• 1970 saw Spain's first surfing championship on Somo beach.

Arriving: along the beach to the boat

From the stage town of Güemes the Camino del Norte leads via Galizano and Loredo down to the sea. If the weather is good and you take the coastal variant over the cliffs near Langre, you get the best views of the day, but also uneven ground and plenty of wind. From Loredo you walk along the beach to Somo. The pier is at the western end of the village near the bridge and is signposted.

In brief: where Spain learned to surf

Somo calls itself the cradle of surfing in Spain. In 1963 the first surfer rode a wave across the bay at El Sardinero in Santander, and soon afterwards Casa Lola in Loredo became the country's first surfboard workshop. In 1970 the first Spanish championship was held on Somo beach. Surf schools still teach right on the beach today.

West of the village the beach pushes into the bay as a long sand spit, El Puntal. Behind it lie dunes and the mouth of the Miera, a protected estuary. Since 1978 a bridge has linked Somo with Pedreña.

By the water: what to see

You don't need much of a programme. Somo is beach, bay and view.

• The beach: From Loredo the way runs right along the water. For pilgrims it is the calmest stretch of the day, after the cliffs and the tarmac before. If there is no storm, it is worth walking a stretch barefoot.
• The view of Santander: From the pier you see the city on the other side of the bay. You rarely arrive in a big city like this: you see your stage destination ahead of you for a long time before you set foot in it.
• Santa María de las Latas in Loredo: The sanctuary just before Somo stands on the foundations of an 8th-century monastery and has a Baroque high altar. The area celebrates its feast, the Virgen de Latas, on 8 September. We have not found opening hours.

Honestly

• No pilgrim bed. There is no pilgrim hostel in Somo. The surf hostels cater for holidaymakers; during a surf event week in August 2025 one pilgrim paid around €85 for two bunks and was not happy. The hostel in Santander is cheaper and just a boat ride away.
• Beach prices. Bars and restaurants by the water are considered expensive. Fine for a break; for dinner, Santander is the better choice.
• The boat is not guaranteed. At low tide or in bad weather crossings may be cancelled.

Ninja tips

• Take the boat. The way round the bay goes via Solares and El Astillero and is long and urban. Crossing the bay is the better choice. A ticket costs a few euros (one pilgrim paid €3.50 in April 2024) and can be paid by card at the machine.
• Plan B: Pedreña. If no boat calls at Somo because of low tide, walk over the bridge to Pedreña. The boat to Santander stops there too.
• Coastal variant only in good weather. The cliffs near Langre are beautiful, but in rain and storms the official route via Loredo is the safe choice.

Onward: across the water to Santander

The boat docks in Santander at the Paseo de Pereda, from where it is only a few minutes' walk to the cathedral and the pilgrim hostel. According to our data it is 7.2 kilometres from Somo to Santander, about five of them on water.

Deep dive: A way with a boat in it

A short read, in case you want to learn more about Somo. About two minutes' reading.

Where the waves arrived

For a long time Somo was a small place at the end of a sand spit, looking across at the city opposite. Then the waves got people talking. In the early sixties the first Spaniard stood up on a surfboard in Santander, and shortly afterwards young men in Loredo built the country's first boards. In 1970 the surfers met for the first Spanish championship on Somo beach. Since then people have come here for the sea, not for the village.

A boat on the Way of Saint James

For pilgrims Somo is something else. Here the way stops being a way for a while. You stand at the pier, buy a ticket and sit down. Your legs rest, and still you come closer to Santiago. On the other side of the bay Santander is waiting, a city that has survived a devastating explosion and a great fire.

What Somo gives you

The crossing reminds you that nobody has to walk every metre in order to arrive. Sometimes something else carries you for a stretch. The surfers here know that: you paddle out, you wait, and then the wave takes you with it.