Which section of the Norte?

DLLenehan said:

Hi veterans and previous walkers!.

I have only one week. which would you walk:
San S to Bilbao or Bilbao to Santander?
Which is the nicer route?
thanks
DL

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Just my opinion of course, but the two most spectacular stages are Irun to San Sebastian and Guemes to Santander.

if you were starting in Irun I might agree that Irun - Bilbao beats Bilbao - Santander but the awesome beach walking and boat rides in Laredo & Somo, plus the inclusion of Castro Urdiales makes the second option my personal choice.

DLLenehan said:

Hi veterans and previous walkers!.

I have only one week. which would you walk:
San S to Bilbao or Bilbao to Santander?
Which is the nicer route?
thanks
DL

Click to expand...

DL:

I guess it depends on what you want from your walk. If you plan on walking the entire Norte, it make sense to walk from Irun to Bilbao. This section, imo, is the toughest part of this Camino. If you want to finish in Santiago, I would start in Tapia de Casariego. This is the gentlest part of the Norte but only one day of coast walking.

If I only had a week to walk, I would walk the San Salvador. Start in Leon and then after Oviedo would continue to Gijon on the Coast. The San Salvador has it's own Credential (in Leon Albergue) and Compostela ( in Oviedo Cathedral). This is a beautiful but more sparsely traveled Camino, though recent posts have said it's popularity is growing.

Ultreya,
Joe

I agree with Joe, if you plan on coming back to complete it then you should definitely start at the 'beginning'. However this is indeed a very tough stretch, you'll develop the calf muscles of an Austrian goatherd after a week! But I think you'll also enjoy a week in the Basque country, with its distinctive culture and pintxos, and after a day over the basque mountains you'll definitely have earned that first cerveza!