Need to cut 7 days from Norte route

[rickster]

I only have 28 days to walk the Norte route and was planning on starting in Irun and ending in Santiago. My understanding is that it typically takes 35 days. I like to take things in and enjoy vs rushing, so was wondering if anyone would have some recommended stages or sections that I could skip and not be missing a
lot. Plan to walk the month of September.

 

[lettinggo]

Hola

Best answer I can think of is just to get yourself to Irun and start your walk.
After a week you will know more about your walking speed and how many days you may need to complete the camino.
Once you feel ready to skip a part, just jump a bus and go for as long as you want.
There are plenty of public transportation on Norte.

Buen Camino
Lettinggo

 

[Tincatinker]

The rather wonderful FEVE railways http://www.renfe.com/viajeros/feve/horarios.html shadow the Norte route from Bilbao onwards making a leap forward both possible and, especially for those who enjoy leisurely rail travel, pleasurable.

Buen Camino

 

[Tia Valeria]

The section between Santander and Santillana is mainly through industrial areas with a lot of road walking. Last year we caught the FEVE (cercania - half hourly) from Santander to Barreda and then walked the 6+kms to Santillana and onward. Other options would be by FEVE train (2 per day) :- go as far as San Vicente (request stop?) on the FEVE and walk into San Vicente de la Barquera itself missing out some road walking; stay on the train to Pendueles or even Llanes and then continue your walking - beyond here it would be a shame to miss the old camino and the scenery by using transport. Which option you choose probably depends on how many days you need to walk to the places I mention and how much you need to miss to save your 7 days
Buen Camino

 

[jpflavin1]

I only have 28 days to walk the Norte route and was planning on starting in Irun and ending in Santiago. My understanding is that it typically takes 35 days. I like to take things in and enjoy vs rushing, so was wondering if anyone would have some recommended stages or sections that I could skip and not be missing a
lot. Plan to walk the month of September.

Rickster:

I walked, this April, from San Sebastian to Santiago in 29 days. So it is possible to walk this route easily in less than 35 days. That said, the beginning of this route is the toughest, imo.

If I were you, I would start in Irun and adjust as needed. If I was to recommend a section to skip over, It would be from Villaviciosa to Aviles. Going into Gijon and afterwards to Aviles was the least attractive section of this route.

The last third of the Norte provides an opportunity to walk longer days as the route become gentler and you are better conditioned.

Ultreya,
Joe

 

[rickster]

thanks to Joe, Tia, Tincatinker and Lettinggo for your most helpful feedback!

 

[OzAnnie]

Rickster
I'm hoping/planning to get there in September too, so soaking up all feedback you're getting.
Buen Camino

 

[MKalcolm M]

I agree with the advice above, including skipping the section from Santander to Santilla del Mar and between Gijon and Avilles. Starting in Irun will give you time to see how much walking you are comfortable with each day, and to let your camino evolve as you walk. I planned to walk the whole route, but became very close with a fellow walker and we decided to arrive in Santiago together, but her ticket home was several days earlier than mine, so in the end we took a bus from Luarca to Baamonde, which allowed us to still qualify for the compostella, and arrive in santiago together. I intend to go back and walk the section I missed when time and money allow. Just be open to what comes along and the camino will unfold in front of you. The Norte is a great route, you will have a wonderful walk.

 

[angulero]

¡Hola!.

Si vas a dormir en albergues públicos, para mí tienes dos opciones:
Empezar en Irún y llegar hasta donde puedas para, en otra ocasión, acabar el camino, o si quieres acabar en Santiago, comenzar unas etapas más adelante de Irún. Si vas a saltar etapas porque no son interesantes o bonitas, para mí estarías haciendo turismo en vez de peregrinar por lo que no estaría bien que utilizaras los albergues públicos. Si duermes en hostales o albergues privados, entonces no digo nada. Es mi opinión, seguro que hay gente en el foro que piensa de forma diferente y lo respeto.

Buen Camino.

¡Hola!.

If you intend to sleep in public shelters, to me you have two choices:
Beginning Irun and to help you get to where, on another occasion, to finish the camino, or if you want to end up in Santiago, beginning a few steps ahead of Irun. If you're going to skip stages because they are not interesting or pretty, for me you'd be doing instead of pilgrimage tourism so it would be wrong to be using public shelters. If you sleep in hostels or private shelters, then do not say anything. It is my opinion, I'm sure there are people on the forum that think differently and I respect that.

Buen Camino.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Terry started in Santander, having arrived there by ferry from the UK. We started in Barreda last year, rather than Santander so as to make the number of days workable. One way to plan is to work out how far you can walk in a day on average, count back the days from Santiago plus at least a couple of spare days and then see where it is sensible to start.

 

[Phaedrus]

Hi,

I set off from Santander on May 1st to walk Norte route in a month. Unfortunately I had to abort at Gijon (after an X-ray diagnosed tendonitis rather than the Doctor's feared broken ankle). I rested up in various beautiful coastal villages along the coast, then got the FEVE to Ferrol & walked (limped) the English camino in 6 days, so still completed a compostela. I met many of the camino friends I made on the Norte route in Santiago, so Santander to Santiago IS realistic in a month for some people ;-).

Santander has good transport connections (I arrived at the airport in the evening got easy connecting bus to town centre, crossed road to FEVE then train to Mogro to get out of the city & avoid walking the railway bridge). I would recommend getting this guide book: The Northern Caminos: Norte, Primitivo and Ingles (Cicerone Guides) by Dave Whitson ISBN 978-1852846817. I found the book to be helpful, all though signposting is largely good. It give's you a good guide to the options, including the Primitivo if feeling fit or the English route I ended up taking as a bail out option. Remember you can always use intermediate accommodation options to shorten, or lengthen, a day's stage & as with using any guide this also often provides quieter overnights too.

Buen camino

 

[rickster]

Thanks so much for all the suggestions. I'm getting excited!

 

[shefollowsshells]

I only have 28 days to walk the Norte route and was planning on starting in Irun and ending in Santiago. My understanding is that it typically takes 35 days. I like to take things in and enjoy vs rushing, so was wondering if anyone would have some recommended stages or sections that I could skip and not be missing a
lot. Plan to walk the month of September.

Rickstar,
I walked the Norte with 29 walking days...BUT did add one extra day when I made the detour to Oviedo so my actual walking day of the Norte would have been 28 days had I not taken that route.

That is a three day detour and by doing that you miss what would have been a two day walk thru Gijon.

That was starting in the town before Irun, Hendaye which is a stones throw from Irun.

With that said towards the end I was able to walk longer days...BUT one of those 28 days I literally walked one hour and another of those 28 days I walked only a few hours as my body really didn't want to move so I did what would have been 1/2 or 3/4 of a normal walk. I took a rest day in Bilbao which is not considered in one of those "walking days".
I started minutes before Irun in Hendaye and could never recommend to anyone to skip any of those first few days, though I understand why many have to. Those days challenged me so much but they were my Norte and I needed each and every step of those days...

I'm not encouraging you to do the Norte in 28 days as much as sharing it can be done if you find you are someone who can walk and enjoy longer days. I do prefer to walk longer days for the most part.

If I cut anything I would try to walk from Irun to Tapia (the auberge on the water)...I would enjoy the E9 routes going in and coming out of Tapia.
I would walk to Ribadeo on that day and enjoy lunch and take a Feve (if offered) or transportation to Baamonde and go from there. This would give you a "walking day" and transportation all in one day. Maybe even walk to Ribadeo and do lunch, catch transportation shy of Baamonde and finish the day with a walk into Baamonde.
I have lent my book to someone or could share how much this cuts off...but by doing this you do secure the Compostella.

I hope that once in Ribadeo you will have a better idea of what you can and can't do...
This leaves you to then determine what days need to be cut, how many days need to be cut. Once I have my book in my hand I can shed my advice on which stages I would cut from there.

Buen Camino!
You are in for a wonderful experience!
Neve

 

[rickster]

Thank you so much, Neve. I have learned so much from your posts and it has served to get me even more excited about this camino!
Rick