Norte from Santander

[@Ditts]

Hi and thanks in advance for advice.
I did the CF last year and this year am hoping to do the Norte from Santander ( catching the ferry from Plymouth) and then joining up with the primitivo.
One question, I hear walking out of Santander is not brilliant, is there somewhere that I can start from near to it and catch a bus/ train too cheaply? I’m not hugely keen on tarmac, I’m sure I’m not the only one?
Second question. I don’t really have a huge desire to go to Santiago again, too busy for me, where is a good place on the primitivo to get off it or maybe go straight to muxia or something? I have about a month to do all this bar about 4 days for travel by ferry.

 

[michal.don]

There's an absolutely stunning coastal variant from Santander to Boo de Pielagos, one of the highlights of the whole Norte for me. The path is a bit rugged in a few places, and it's quite a long one, but you can cut it a bit short by walking through the city of Santander to the northern coast and following the path from there. Pack a lot of water though, not many places to refill your bottles.
Michal

 

[@Ditts]

There's an absolutely stunning coastal variant from Santander to Boo de Pielagos, one of the highlights of the whole Norte for me. The path is a bit rugged in a few places, and it's quite a long one, but you can cut it a bit short by walking through the city of Santander to the northern coast and following the path from there. Pack a lot of water though, not many places to refill your bottles.
Michal

Sounds good. Thank you. Will investigate

 

[Flog]

The lovely family run donativo, 8km or so out of Santander, in Santa Cruz seems to be closed now, a shame.. I had two wonderful stays there..

If you want to stop short of Santiago, then Lugo would be a good place. It's a beautiful walled city with lots to see, and with good transport options for further travel. Beyond it, towards Melide, there is a fair amount of asphalt and of course, beyond that, a lot more pilgrims.

 

[trecile]

Here are a couple of good threads about walking the coast from Santander instead of the official Camino route. If you choose not to do this I would suggest that you take the train out of Santander to Mogro and start walking from there.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/following-the-coast-from-santander-to-boo.42660/

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/walking-from-santander-on-the-coast.79679/

 

[michal.don]

there is a link to the track in this wonderful thread, along with more coastal alternatives on the Norte:

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

or you can have a look at mapy.cz (and their app), the path is marked there, as well....

 

[Damien Reynolds]

I've never actually stayed in Santander. I take the ferry and then just walk straight through it. I tend to walk until Boo. I think that's what it's called (de Pielagos). The walk is not so pretty, but whatever. Nice albergue there. The lady can be grouchy, But always a good time had for all.

 

[Joe Macky]

I took the coastal variant from Santander to Boo, July ‘22. Agree with Michal it was a wonderful experience! Strongly recommend it. Much of the way is not well marked, gps navigation earned its keep.
Buen Camino!

 

[@Ditts]

I took the coastal variant from Santander to Boo, July ‘22. Agree with Michal it was a wonderful experience! Strongly recommend it. Much of the way is not well marked, gps navigation earned its keep.
Buen Camino!

Thank you