Travelling Northern Spain from Santiago de Co.

Tigerandahalf

Has anyone travelled from Santiago de Compostela along the North coast towards Bilbao?
What is the route like? I believe there are no direct trains. We would have 7 days in August and would love to hear from anybody who might have done this.
Thinking 7 days is too short for the journey. We would like to stop off at different places along the way but I guess we would need a car for this. What is car rental like?
What places are worth stopping at along the way.

Thanks for any advice.

Dostoevsky

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

Has anyone travelled from Santiago de Compostela along the North coast towards Bilbao?
What is the route like? I believe there are no direct trains. We would have 7 days in August and would love to hear from anybody who might have done this.
Thinking 7 days is too short for the journey. We would like to stop off at different places along the way but I guess we would need a car for this. What is car rental like?
What places are worth stopping at along the way.

Thanks for any advice.

Hi,

I did that section last summer. We started in Hondarribia, although you could easily start in Hendaya on the French side of the border. Map here.

We arrived in Irún by train from Madrid, but others arrived from Ireland into Biarritz. Both of us got buses to Hondarribia. We stayed in an old watermill about 5km to the west side of Hondarribia in the countryside and, if you adore the sound of water as you sleep, you'll love it. This was it: Albergue Goikoerrota.

Positives of the Camino del Norte:

1) This part of the Camino del Norte, or rather the large sections of it which go along the coast, is absolutely stunning.

2) You get a real sense of Basque culture and language and how surprisingly strong it is.

3) If you're doing this on your own, I suspect the greater isolation would offer more fulfilment.

Negatives:

1) Albergue/Hostels were almost always more expensive when compared to the Camino Francés. This is because there are substantially fewer people on this route and thus fewer options. Expect to pay €15- €25 per night for accommodation, rather than €3-€7 you would pay for diocesan etc albergue on the Camino Francés. That money adds up.

2) For the same reason as above, getting your bag transported is a more expensive business if you're on your own, c. €17 each morning. Trust me, there will be some days you'd like to send it on or, at least in Camino tradition, its contents (and carry the bag).

3) We all found the Basques to be a less than friendly people. This is understandable given the position of their culture, but worthy of remark just the same.

4) Because its not as busy, many of the ancient religious churches etc along the Camino del Norte are kept closed most of the time. This is deeply disappointing if you have the grá for history.

Don't forget to get your Camino Passport from
Irish Society of the Friends of St.James/ Cumann Cáirde San Séamus i nÉirinn. I think it's around €10 and in order to get into an albergue you need to carry a camino passport, which the albergue/hostel person stamps each night. There may be another talk in Dublin on the Camino del Norte, just as there was in February 2013 so keep your eyes open.

I found walking the entire Camino Francés on my own was a much deeper experience spiritually than walking the Camino del Norte to Bilbao in a group (it took a leisurely week). I'm returning to complete the Northern Way this summer on my own. In particular, the first two weeks of the Camino were very tough physically, but the last two, when I knew I could make it and was walking up to 45km per day, were very liberating. Try and walk at least one day during the night (with the moon lighting up your path).

Tigerandahalf

Thanks for that but we dont intend to do the camino itself. We are more interested in just doing a normal tourist route. Stopping off at different places and having coffee, walking around different towns and cities.
I get the feeling that places could be pretty crowded and expensive to stay.
If anyone has more info re trains, buses or places to stay or things to see it would be great.

Tigerandahalf

Was hoping to go from Santiago to Gijon onto Santander then onto Bilbao and maybe as far as San Sebastian.
Would this be a good route? Thinking a car would be needed? Would it be expensive and are there a lot of hassles like tolls etc.

schemingbohemia

Have you looked at www.renfe.es/en or the sometimes easier to follow www.bahn.de for train information?

Tigerandahalf

Looked but no direct train. Think there are different operators.

Tigerandahalf

Is 470 eur a lot to rent a small car with GPS and no excess for 7 days?

schemingbohemia

Yeah that seems very expensive. But it is August. Are you adding in a one-way rental in that? ie starting in Santiago and dropping the car off in Bilbao?

Tigerandahalf

Ya it is a one way rental.
Id be wary of booking with someone outside of the main companies as dont know anything about rental there.
Buses and trains could be used but they restrict you a lot plus you could have a lot of pre booking to do. The car would be ideal as you could go off the beaten track and wouldnt be waiting around for buses and trains.
What would be a good route from Santiago? Upto A Coruna and on along the coast? Read that Oviedo was worth seeing.