From Santiago to Ribadeo

[Alan Pearce]

I am looking to get from Santiago to Ribadeo and walk the del Nrte from there. Does anyone know the best way of doing this please?

Thanks

Alan

Be brave. Life is joyous.

 

[Tincatinker]

Alan, one possible route is Bus to Ferrol and the marvellous FEVE railway http://www.renfe.com/viajeros/feve/index.html to Ribadeo. It won't be the quickest but, if you like trains / narrow-gauge railways and would enjoy a pre-view of your walk its a great way to go.
Buen camino

 

[ivar]

There is a possibility to take a bus as well. You need to change in Lugo.

From Santiago to Lugo, have a look here:
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/bus-times-from-santiago-to-lugo.11324/

From Lugo to Ribadeo have a look here:
http://www.arriva.es/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=167&Itemid=55&lang=en

Schedule (looks like it is from 2013.. but just for your reference)
http://www.arriva.es/documentos/horarios/2012-2013/5-Lugo-Ribadeo-Viveiro.pdf

Buen Camino!
Ivar

 

[Tia Valeria]

We have followed Ivar's route several times now. We took the 11.00am bus to Lugo - make sure which one you take as 2 left together when we did it. One is direct and the other winds around more villages. We bought the tickets in the bus station. After sightseeing and a night in Lugo we then took the morning bus again to Ribadeo. Most days you get the ticket in the bus station but sometimes on the bus and the times given were not always correct so it is good to arrive about 10 to 15 minutes before the bus is due to leave Lugo. The bus station in Ribadeo is on teh outskirts of town and with easy access to the Camino. As you approach Ribadeo do watch out for the motorway sign 'No donkey carts' with a symbol. Wish we had been able to find it again to take a photo.

 

[ivar]

We have followed Ivar's route several times now. We took the 11.00am bus to Lugo - make sure which one you take as 2 left together when we did it. One is direct and the other winds around more villages. We bought the tickets in the bus station. After sightseeing and a night in Lugo we then took the morning bus again to Ribadeo. Most days you get the ticket in the bus station but sometimes on the bus and the times given were not always correct so it is good to arrive about 10 to 15 minutes before the bus is due to leave Lugo. The bus station in Ribadeo is on teh outskirts of town and with easy access to the Camino. As you approach Ribadeo do watch out for the motorway sign 'No donkey carts' with a symbol. Wish we had been able to find it again to take a photo.

I love Lugo old town... worth a visit if you have the time.

 

[Tia Valeria]

We spent 3 nights in Lugo on our way home in 2012 as we wanted to visit the museums we had missed on previous occasions and also walk the walls again. It is quite something when a York born pilgrim (T) says that the walls of Lugo are better than the walls of York. As well as the regional museum we loved the House of the Mosaics.
(Ed -addition) We also spent 2 nights in town and walked down to visit the Roman baths - hot springs, under the hotel near the bridge, on our rest day on our way to Santiago. Interesting but they do smell overpoweringly of sulphur.

 

[Tia Valeria]

@Alan Pearce - if you want an overnight stop we can recommend the Hotel Metropol as pilgrim friendly, located outside the walls and not far from the main Correos.

 

[Castilian]

Alsa has two direct buses from Santiago de Compostela to Ribadeo. But they take longer than the non-daily options offered by Arriva changing buses in Foz or in Vilalba. Take a look at the webs of both bus companies for info about schedules and pick your choice.

http://www.alsa.es/en

http://www.arriva.es

P.S.: If you are an absolute train fan, you can take a train from Santiago de Compostela to A Coruña, another one from A Coruña to Ferrol (both of them with RENFE) and, finally, the narrow gauge train from Ferrol to Ribadeo operated by RENFE FEVE. Take a look at the web of RENFE for info about schedules (look for each leg separately and don't forget to go to the FEVE area on the web to look for the schedule of the narrow gauge trains between Ferrol and Ribadeo).

http://www.renfe.com

If you don't bother to stay overnight in Ferrol, you can take the direct train from Santiago de Compostela to Ferrol (daily except Saturdays but verify the schedule on your travel dates as it might change), overnight in Ferrol and take next day one of the narrow gauge trains from Ferrol to Ribadeo.