LOTUS EATERS TRAVEL

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THE CAMINO DEL NORTE: WHAT WE LIKED + DIDN’T LIKE.

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The Camino del Norte was our first Camino. Since then we’ve walked several others across Spain and Portugal, but if someone asked me which route I’d recommend to someone looking for dramatic scenery, fantastic cities and just enough challenge to make the finish feel properly earned, the Norte would still be right near the top of the list.

That doesn’t mean it’s perfect.

Compared with the Camino Francés, there are more hills, considerably more road walking and a few longer stretches between accommodation. And while the quieter atmosphere is one of the route’s biggest strengths, it won’t suit everyone.

So after walking the full Camino del Norte, here are the things we loved about it and the few things we didn’t.

What we liked

Here’s everything we liked about walking the Camino del Norte.

A LONG ROUTE

The Camino del Norte is the first Camino we walked. For me, it came at a time in my life when I needed it most. I couldn’t quite believe I got to spend an entire month walking. And whilst I won’t say that I loved every second, there was something genuinely magical about waking up every day for 30 days and knowing that all I had to do was keep walking.

There are a number of longer Camino routes – the Francés, the Via de la Plata, the Mozárabe and, of course, the Norte. Whenever I have the choice, I’d always pick one of these longer routes.

There’s something that happens to your mind and body after a couple of weeks that I honestly struggle to describe. It probably sounds a bit cheesy trying to explain it, but if you’ve ever done a long-distance walk, you’ll probably know exactly what I mean. I just don’t think you ever quite reach that point on a shorter Camino, like the Portuguese.

CHALLENGING SECTIONS

Overall, the Camino del Norte is a harder Camino than something like the Francés. It’s hillier, there are a few longer daily stages and there’s considerably more road walking – I’d say that’s actually one of the biggest challenges.

That said, compared to something like the Camino Primitivo, which feels relentlessly hilly at times, I don’t think the Norte is that difficult. Most days are very manageable, with the occasional stage that reminds you who’s in charge. I actually loved that balance – enough of a challenge that you felt you’d earned your dinner, but never so hard that it stopped being enjoyable.

The climb from Deba to Markina is probably the day that gets mentioned most often, and for good reason. You leave the coast behind almost immediately and spend what feels like forever climbing uphill. Later on, the climb into Abadín also sticks in my mind as one of the tougher efforts on the route. They’re the sort of days where you’re very ready for a beer when you arrive, but they also end up being some of the most memorable.

CITIES ON ROUTE

On the Camino del Norte, the cities hit you almost as soon as you leave the starting gate. On day two we reached San Sebastián, and the view over La Concha beach is still one of my favourite memories from the whole Camino.

Next comes Bilbao, with its fantastic museums and brilliant food scene. Then Santander, which felt like a bit of an underrated gem to us. Later, you pass through Gijón before finally arriving in Santiago de Compostela.

All the Camino routes have great cities, but I think the Norte has the most showstopping line-up.

Over the years, I’ve met quite a few pilgrims who don’t particularly enjoy the city sections because they break up the journey. And I completely understand that. Personally though, they’ve always been one of my favourite parts of any Camino.

I love the feeling of arriving somewhere on foot, especially knowing that most other visitors arrived by train or plane. I also enjoy the break in routine. It’s nice to swap the albergue for a private room every now and then, wander around a museum, eat somewhere a bit different and just have a day that doesn’t revolve entirely around walking.

EXCELLENT ALBERGUES

One thing that really surprised us on the Norte was just how many good albergues there were. Obviously, like every Camino, there are some fairly basic places where you shower, sleep and leave first thing in the morning – usually the munipal albergues. But there were also loads that had real character.

There are some albergues on the Norte that I still remember years later, like the convent of Laredo and Albergue O Xistral which had a deli – and I don’t think you can say that about every Camino.

COLLEGIATE ATMOSPHERE

Less people walk the Camino del Norte, which gives it a totally different atmosphere to the Camino Francés. On the Francés, you might see some of the same people a few days in a row and you can definitely make a Camino family, but if you wanted to stay anonymous, you absolutely could.

The Norte felt much more collegiate.

We met some people during our first few days on the route and finished in Santiago with them. After a while, you could almost predict who would walk into the albergue that evening, and in what order.

That won’t appeal to everyone. If you like your own company, or prefer to drift in and out of different groups, it could feel a bit suffocating. There are definitely ways to avoid it though. There was one elusive pilgrim on our Camino called Tara who seemed to appear every few days, only to disappear again before anyone really got to know her. More power to you, Tara!

It’s also worth saying that this is mainly a summer phenomenon. Walk in spring or autumn and the Norte can feel wonderfully quiet.

LESS CROWDS THAN THE FRANCES

The Camino del Norte is far less crowded than both the Camino Francés and the Camino Portuguese.

On those more popular routes, it can sometimes feel like you’re walking in a pilgrim army, with one person following another all day long. Some people absolutely love that atmosphere, but for others it can make the experience feel a little less special.

The Norte never really felt like that.

For the most part, you can walk alone whenever you want to. You might not see another pilgrim for half an hour, then bump into a few people having a coffee in the next village. For me, that was pretty much the perfect balance.

COAST, COAST, COAST

Let’s be honest – if you’re choosing the Norte over the Francés, there’s a good chance it’s because of the coast.

And it absolutely delivers.

Some days you’re high on the cliffs looking back along miles of rugged coastline. Other days you’re down at sea level, walking through little fishing villages or along promenades with the Atlantic crashing away beside you. Just when you think you’ve had your fill of incredible views, another one appears around the next headland.

I actually wondered whether I’d get a bit bored of coastal scenery after a month.

I never did.

COOLER TEMPERATURES

We walked the Camino del Norte in July. Personally, there’s absolutely no way I’d choose to walk the Francés, or especially one of the southern routes, at that time of year. It would simply be too hot for me.

Because the Norte follows the coast, temperatures tend to stay noticeably cooler. There are still warm days, of course, but the sea breeze makes a huge difference. If you’re tied to school holidays, or you simply don’t enjoy walking in 35°C heat, I think it’s one of the biggest advantages of choosing this route.

VARIANT TRAILS

Of all the Camino routes we’ve walked, I think the Norte has the best selection of optional variants.

These are usually marked as blue routes on Camino apps, and more often than not they take you even closer to the coast. Sometimes it’s a cliff-top path, sometimes a beach, sometimes a quieter route that avoids a bit of road walking.

We almost always took the variants when we had the choice and I honestly can’t remember regretting it once.

If you’re ever standing at a junction wondering whether it’s worth taking the blue route, my advice would almost always be yes.

FANTASTIC FOOD & DRINK

The Norte travels through some fantastic foodie areas. Firstly, the Basque area – known for pintxos. Then through Cantabria – home to some fantastic wine. Before reaching Asutrias, where you can sample local cider and eat hearty dishes like stews and wonderful meaty things. Before reaching Galicia – where seafood and Albariño are the order of the day.

Don’t get me wrong – every Camino route has fantastic food. But I think the Norte has to be the best one for food lovers.

You can find our guide to the best food and drink to try on the Camino here.

What we didn’t like so much

No Camino is perfect, and the Camino del Norte is no exception.

The things we liked most about the route – the quieter atmosphere, the wild coastline and the feeling that you were walking a slightly less travelled path – also come with a few compromises. There are fewer pilgrims, but that means fewer services. There are incredible coastal views, but there is also more road walking.

None of these things would put us off walking the Norte again. But they are worth knowing before you go.

ROAD WALKING

The biggest criticism you’ll hear about the Camino del Norte is the amount of road walking. And it’s a fair criticism.

There are approximately 560km of road walking on the Camino del Norte, compared with around 300km on the Francés. If you take some of the coastal variants, you can reduce this slightly, but you won’t completely avoid it.

That said, I think the reality is a little more nuanced.

When people hear “road walking”, they often imagine walking along busy highways with cars flying past you. That wasn’t our experience at all. A lot of it is actually a mixture of quiet country lanes, village roads and paved paths. I don’t remember ever feeling particularly unsafe.

The bigger issue is your feet. Walking on asphalt is just harder than walking on a softer trail. After several weeks, you definitely start to notice the difference. There were days where my legs felt fine but my feet were complaining, and I think a lot of that came down to the harder surfaces (a lot of it was also because I wasn’t wearing the right shoes – more on that here!)

The funny thing is, road walking does have one advantage: it’s often much faster. You can cover distance much more easily on a road than on a rocky trail.

ACCOMMODATION GAPS

The accommodation on the Norte is generally excellent, but there are a few sections where the gaps between places to stay are more noticeable than on the Francés.

On the busier Caminos, you can usually stop whenever you feel tired because there will be another albergue, hostel or village around the corner. The Norte requires a little more planning.

Every now and then, you’ll look at the map and realise your options are either a shorter day than planned or a much longer one. It’s not a huge problem, but it does mean you need to think slightly more carefully about your stages.

During peak summer months, I’d definitely recommend checking accommodation availability in advance for some of the more awkward sections.

For us, though, this was also part of the charm. The route feels a little less built around pilgrims, and a little more like you’re passing through northern Spain rather than simply following a Camino infrastructure.

You can find more detail on this in our daily stages guide.

THE LAST 100KM

Unfortunately, the Camino del Norte doesn’t have its own unique route into Santiago de Compostela. Instead, for the final 100km, it joins the Camino Francés.

I’ll try and frame this positively first, because there are definitely some good things about this section.

The landscape is still beautiful. There are plenty of forest trails, lovely Galician countryside and some really enjoyable walking. It’s also interesting to suddenly meet a whole new group of pilgrims and hear about their experiences on the Francés or the Primitivo.

And, after weeks of coastal scenery, heading inland gives the Camino a completely different feel.

But, it doesn’t feel like the Norte anymore.

After spending hundreds of kilometres walking a quieter route, the sudden increase in people is very noticeable. You start meeting large groups of walkers, people who are only doing the final 100km, and occasionally some fairly noisy school groups.

For many pilgrims, this is their first Camino experience and they are having an amazing time – and that’s great. But after the quieter rhythm of the Norte, the contrast can feel quite dramatic.

The final approach into Santiago is still special, of course. There is nothing quite like walking into the city after a month on foot.

It just feels like the route changes personality right before the finish line.

The Camino Del Norte: Our Review

So, after all that, what’s our verdict on The Camino del Norte?

TRAIL MARKINGS + NAVIGATION: 10/10 – trail markings have been great on every Camino we’ve walked, and the Norte is no exception.

DIFFICULTY: 7/10 – difficulty increased compared to other Camino routes by some long stages, more road walking and hills.

ACCOMMODATION + AMENITIES: 8/10 – accommodation along the way is generally great, but there are a few longer gaps compared to other Camino routes. Amenities are plentiful.

VARIETY + LANDSCAPE: 9/10 – the coastal views are unbeatable, but it’s not just that – forests and some more rugged sections.

PLEASURE + LEISURE: 10/10 – with fantastic cities and so many different areas of Spain walked through, it’s hard not to be blown away by all the culture on route.

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Written by Emma

Wine Lover. Yogi. Hiker. Writer.

British travel writer and long-distance hiker, native to Kent. Emma has walked the Camino de Santiago more than ten times, completed trails across Europe from the Corfu Trail to the Fisherman’s Trail, and covered thousands of kilometres on foot. She always writes from first-hand experience. Her goal? Inspire just one person to go on their first long-distance hike.

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