2 weeks Norte -which section?

[Dagobertinchen]

Hi, within a 5-week-trip to Spain we would like to hike 2 weeks on the Norte. Which sections would you suggest? We are not dependent on cheap accommodation, would love to see nice coastal scenary, walk by Camino standards shorter days, ie 15km max. Regardless of the section we walk, we will definitely spend time in San Sebastian, Bilbao and Santiago on top of these 14 days. We are fit, but not necessarily hiking fit and will carry our backpack. No tents.
Thanks.

 

[Former member 99290]

Hi there.

Lots of options and I’m sure you will get plenty of ideas from the forum. To kick things off … some thoughts.

The first section from Irun to Bilbao is right up there in terms of coastal scenery especially if you choose some of the coastal variants where it would otherwise veer inland. And takes you via San Sebastián.

That section is about 150 kms and may take some ‘research and logistics’ with accommodation to fit in with your 15km max. After Bilbao you could make your way by transport to Castro Urdiales and then walk to Santander - this includes a couple of boat crossings which add to the adventure.

If leaving from a Irun, I highly recommend you take the time to visit Hondarribia a couple of kms away. The Norte is also marked from there so you can start there if you wish. The two paths merge very soon after the start.

If you prefer to avoid Irun to San Sebastián (it’s a pretty tough section) - a San Sebastián start is pretty easy logistically with airport etc.

I guess another consideration for your final hiking destination is how you will travel on from there.

Best wishes. Buen Camino.

 

[peregrino_tom]

Honestly? The Norte is not (yet) a 15km-a-day camino. I'm pretty sure there's not one 14 day section where you can do this, if you plan to walk the whole time.
If you include the option to hop on a bus for part of a stage, then that's different.
I suggest you start by going through the Norte pages on Gronze, where you can see the distances between the accommodation options, and get a feel for what is and isn't practical. When you've done that you'll have an idea of groups of stages that look viable and we can tell you more about what they are like. That way you might arrive at a group of options which are perhaps 4-6 days long, and then can pick a cluster that look right and fit with your other plans.
Cheers, tom

 

[peregrina2000]

My reaction is similar to @peregrino_tom. It seems to me that you are looking for a two week coastal hike. That is a wonderful idea, but it’s not the official Camino del Norte. The camino is freqently alngside the road, a km or two in from the coast. There are spectacular coastal segments on the official Norte, don’t get me wrong. But I don’t think you will find a continuous 2 week segment that stays on the coast. And the 15 km consideration also complicates things. I started a thread years ago suggesting various coastal alternatives to the official Norte and it might be a good place to start.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/coastal-alternatives-to-the-nortes-asphalt.49578/

I don’t know how important the “camino aspect” of this walk is, and maybe I misinterpreted what you wrote. If you want to get a sense of what the camino is like, I would go to gronze.com as @peregrino_tom suggested and see if you can find a good stretch with the distances you like, knowing that you are not going to be on the coast the whole time and will have a fair amount of road walking. But if it’s the coastal aspect that is pulling you, I’d suggest looking at the thread and looking around for more coastal sections to add.

Good luck, let us know what you are thinking! Buen camino, Laurie

 

[ItAintARace]

Good morning, recently completed the Norte and may have some food for thought. Between Irún and Bilbao the local train system parallels you more or less. It is therefore possible to stay in San Sebastián and use the train and it’s several stops to adhere to your 15k. For instance, awake in San Sebastián and take the train to your starting point, walk the available coast line to the next chosen train station and if there are no available hotels, use the train to return to San Sebastián. Have to say that San Sebastián was my favorite city during our 34 day, 512 mile walk.

 

[jpflavin1]

Hi, within a 5-week-trip to Spain we would like to hike 2 weeks on the Norte. Which sections would you suggest? We are not dependent on cheap accommodation, would love to see nice coastal scenary, walk by Camino standards shorter days, ie 15km max. Regardless of the section we walk, we will definitely spend time in San Sebastian, Bilbao and Santiago on top of these 14 days. We are fit, but not necessarily hiking fit and will carry our backpack. No tents.
Thanks.

Based on the criteria listed above, I would suggest starting in San Sebastián and finishing in Santander. The 15 km guideline might not be possible but you can extend a few days. It also allows you to spend time in one of your key stops early on.

Other than the Challenging day from Deba to Markina you can put together a two week walk that meets most of your wants list.

 

[Tincatinker]

You might find that the 120 km stretch from Comillas to Colunga ticks most of your boxes and you can use https://www.renfe.com/content/dam/r...Cercanias/Mapas/feve/map_oviedo_santander.png to facilitate access & egress.

As suggested above https://www.gronze.com/camino-norte is your friend

 

[Former member 99290]

Between Irún and Bilbao the local train system parallels you more or less.

Here’s a link to the Euskotren site which may help your deliberations

home | Euskotren

www.euskotren.eus

 

[Dagobertinchen]

Thank you for all the interesting replies- I will need some time to look through the different links.
The camino aspect is less important than the coastal aspect - and I wouldn’t shy away from bus/train sections either. The 15 k is not hard in stone either.

 

[ThreeCaminos]

Hi, within a 5-week-trip to Spain we would like to hike 2 weeks on the Norte. Which sections would you suggest? We are not dependent on cheap accommodation, would love to see nice coastal scenary, walk by Camino standards shorter days, ie 15km max. Regardless of the section we walk, we will definitely spend time in San Sebastian, Bilbao and Santiago on top of these 14 days. We are fit, but not necessarily hiking fit and will carry our backpack. No tents.
Thanks.

Santander to Oviedo. Take the train out of Santander to the station across the River to the west and start there. Beautiful coastal view along this route. Have fun

 

[Former member 99290]

Santander to Oviedo.

And Oviedo is another Spanish gem

 

[Vacajoe]

You may want to consider Bayonne as a starting point (the cathedral there is lovely!). The walk from there to Biarritz is mostly cityscape, but it makes a nice first day of travel, then from Biarritz to St Jean de Luz and onward to Bilbao. Those first days would be short to get your “walking legs” in order and the overall distance would be around 170km or so depending on which routes you chose. You could even walk from the airport to the Bayonne cathedral - again, not so picturesque but definitely interesting to just disembark the airplane and start walking while everyone else waits for the city bus or takes a taxi.