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Have a look at Mapy.cz
The PR-GI-22 splits from the Norte after Deba and will get you to Ondarroa, where you'll transition to the GR123. That's still going to take you into Gernika eventually, though, and no way around that, unless you can find a friendly boater. Keep in mind that while this parallels the coast, it often still climbs the hills overlooking the coast.
Thank you very much for the Link. I think this is the way I Look for. For me it Sounds very good. So I can Go around Bilbao and visit the town at the Ende of my hike.
That is great, thank you.
We avoided it because there is no cheap accomodation.
The Boliña has always done for me. €40 - 50 a night and decent rooms
It'll depend on your dates. Early September is still holiday season. By mid-Sept prices are dropping. There are usually plenty of places between €30-40 if you don't mind shared bathrooms. Add another €10 for private facilities. Berking is showing 8 places under €50 for mid-Feb. Prices will be similar mid-September
Love Izarbide. There's some uphill in those 5km, so don't expect an easy stroll! But I love the view from the picnic benches across from the albergue, and have often found the evening to be quite convivial there. They've done a great job of making the albergue in Deba work for a lot of pilgrims, but my preference is to stay in Getaria instead of Zarautz and then Izarbide instead of Deba.
I did this year. I walked from Getaria, which made it a 22.6 km day. I made a reservation at Albergue Izarbide Aterpetxea via WhatsApp. This is a fairly difficult stage, especially if you take the coastal route which I recommend because it is stunning. An advantage of staying at Izarbide is that you will have a shorter walk to Markina the next day, and have already done some of the climbing.
Yah, you have to walk up the hill a bit past. 2 or 3 albergues on the way in the hills. But it's not next door.
thanks @trecile . I was thinking of walking on to Getaria, instead of stopping in Zarautz.. Did you stay at the Albergue in Getaria?
I stayed at the private Hostel Getaria, which was nice with a wonderful hospitalero.
Dave, or anyone else, were you there recently? Is Nerea still in charge? I also loved it back in 2017, but there was a bad period soon after that seems to have involved family medical emergencies, turning the operation over to someone who was not as committed as Nerea, and a slew of bad reviews.
I was there last May. I have no experience of what it was like previously, but I do remember reading negative reviews at one time.
The other good news is they are mentioned with full details and favourable comments, in the new Camino del Norte guide, which is where I got the details.
I wondered the same thing, too. I thought it a lovely, well maintained town, but of course it is "newer" than most. I have read the book of the same title, so possibly the reason has to do with the sad bombing it experienced in 1937.
I stayed at the Monastery on one of my very earliest caminos, my first Norte in probably 2005 or 6. It was one of those stops that I’m very glad I made, and it was a very nice experience to stay in the monastery. The church and cloister are gothic and baroque, I believe, so none of my favorite Romanesque, but it is always so special to have a big block of time to just sit inside a quiet church and contemplate the big questions. Though the albergue itself wasn’t as damp as the albergue in the Samos monastery, it was very damp. And the food offerings were not enough to sate most people’s hunger. Not a complaint, except that there were no other alternatives at that time in the town and we had been told all about our monk-prepared-dinner (kind of like the garlic soup lore of San Juan de Ortega). On a subsequent camino, I stopped outside the monastery for a break and had a nice chat with a monk who indicated that pilgrims were not like they used to be and that he was getting tired of the entitlement. And the low level of donations. I’m assuming they are still providing the evening meal, but I’m not sure. I would bring along more food as a backup, and make sure you have something to deal with chilly dampness, and with those caveats, I would say it is wonderful, just as you thought.
Is A Izarbbide in Ibiri open? I've tried two links and they are broken or listed as dangerous.
According to the Wise Pilgrim app they are closed until March 1st.
