Camino del Norte stages
The stages from Irún to Santiago grouped by region, including what really complicates this route: not the climbing, but competing for beds with beach tourism.
- Starts at
- Irún
- Distance
- 815 km
- Classic stages
- —
- Pilgrims in 2026
- 11.000
Figure checked Pilgrim Office, January–July 2026.
Basque Country
| Stage | Section | Distance (km) | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Irún → San Sebastián | 25,0 | Opens with Cantabrian views over Mount Jaizkibel. Up and down from the first kilometre. San Sebastián in summer is expensive and full. |
| 2 | San Sebastián → Zarautz | 22,0 | Coast and cliffs. A fine stage, with the option of stopping short at Orio. |
| 3 | Zarautz → Deba | 22,0 | Inland and hills. Deba is the start of the flysch, the geological formation of the Basque coast. |
| 4 | Deba → Markina | 24,0 | The hardest Basque stage: almost 1,000 m of cumulative ascent through hills, with few services. |
| 5 | Markina → Gernika | 25,0 | Green and full of farmsteads. Gernika deserves time: the Peace Museum and the oak. |
| 6 | Gernika → Bilbao | 30,0 | Long, with the climb to Alto del Morga. A long urban approach into Bilbao. |
| 7 | Bilbao → Portugalete | 19,0 | Follows the estuary out. You can cross on the Vizcaya Bridge, a World Heritage Site. |
| 8 | Portugalete → Castro Urdiales | 26,0 | A good deal of tarmac and industry until you leave the metropolitan area. It improves entering Cantabria. |
| Total | 193,0 |
Cantabria
| Stage | Section | Distance (km) | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Castro Urdiales → Laredo | 26,0 | Coast and beach. Laredo in August is full of holidaymakers, not pilgrims. |
| 10 | Laredo → Güemes | 29,0 | Includes the boat crossing to Santoña, with limited timetables: check the day before. |
| 11 | Güemes → Santander | 16,0 | Short, with another boat crossing from Somo. The Güemes albergue is among the most remembered on the Camino. |
| 12 | Santander → Santillana del Mar | 37,0 | The longest stage on the route. Worth splitting at Boo de Piélagos or Requejada. |
| 13 | Santillana del Mar → Comillas | 22,0 | Two of the prettiest towns in northern Spain in the same stage. Expensive accommodation in season. |
| 14 | Comillas → Colombres | 28,0 | You enter Asturias. Meadow landscape with the Picos de Europa behind on a clear day. |
| Total | 158,0 |
Asturias
| Stage | Section | Distance (km) | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Colombres → Llanes | 23,0 | Asturian coast, with the blowholes and the beaches. Llanes fills up in August. |
| 16 | Llanes → Ribadesella | 31,0 | Long and undulating. Splittable at Nueva or Cuerres. |
| 17 | Ribadesella → Sebrayo | 32,0 | Another long day, more inland. Sebrayo is a small isolated albergue. |
| 18 | Sebrayo → Gijón | 32,0 | A transition towards the city, with industrial stretches. The link to the Primitivo leaves at Villaviciosa. |
| 19 | Gijón → Avilés | 25,0 | Urban and industrial, the least pleasant stage of the Asturian section. |
| 20 | Avilés → Soto de Luiña | 38,0 | Very long. Almost everyone splits it at Muros de Nalón or El Pito. |
| 21 | Soto de Luiña → Cadavedo | 23,0 | The coast returns. Two variants: inland via Ballota or the coastal one. |
| 22 | Cadavedo → Luarca | 16,0 | Short and pleasant. Luarca is one of the prettiest fishing towns in the north. |
| 23 | Luarca → Ribadeo | 50,0 | Nobody does this in one go. It splits into two or three days, usually stopping at Navia and La Caridad. |
| Total | 270,0 |
Galicia
| Stage | Section | Distance (km) | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Ribadeo → Lourenzá | 28,0 | You leave the coast for good and head into inland Galicia. |
| 25 | Lourenzá → Abadín | 25,0 | Climb to the Alto da Xesta. Mondoñedo, halfway, has a cathedral and is worth the stop. |
| 26 | Abadín → Vilalba | 21,0 | Comfortable, across the Terra Chá. A gentle profile for the first time in weeks. |
| 27 | Vilalba → Baamonde | 19,0 | Short and straightforward. The final 100 km start counting here. |
| 28 | Baamonde → Sobrado dos Monxes | 40,0 | Long: almost always split in two, stopping at Miraz. The Sobrado monastery is Cistercian and you can sleep in it. |
| 29 | Sobrado dos Monxes → Arzúa | 22,0 | At Arzúa it joins the Camino Francés. The change of atmosphere is abrupt. |
| 30 | Arzúa → O Pedrouzo | 19,3 | Now on the Francés, with all its services and all its people. |
| 31 | O Pedrouzo → Santiago | 19,4 | Entry via Monte do Gozo, shared with every other route. |
| Total | 193,7 |
Route total: 814,7 km. Stage distances are general references. We have not recalculated them against the official track yet, which is why they are underlined.
The problem is not the climbing: it is the beds
The Norte has no great mountain passes, but it does have a constant roll between estuaries that adds up to more cumulative ascent than the Francés.
Even so, that is not the main problem. The main problem is that this route competes for accommodation with beach tourism. In July and August, crossing San Sebastián, Laredo, Santander, Llanes or Gijón without a booking is risky and expensive.
It is the one Jacobean route where booking stops being a convenience and becomes close to compulsory in high season — and where room prices are set by holidaymakers, not pilgrims.
The stages you have to split
The published split for the Norte includes several days almost nobody walks whole:
- Santander to Santillana del Mar, 37 km. Split at Boo de Piélagos or Requejada.
- Avilés to Soto de Luiña, 38 km. Split at Muros de Nalón or El Pito.
- Luarca to Ribadeo, around 50 km. Two or three days, stopping at Navia and La Caridad.
- Baamonde to Sobrado dos Monxes, around 40 km. Split at Miraz.
Counting those splits, the real Norte is around 34 or 35 walking days, not the 30 of the theoretical split. Worth knowing before you request leave.
Linking to the Primitivo
At Villaviciosa, in Asturias, a link heads inland to Oviedo to continue on the Camino Primitivo.
It is a classic combination: the Cantabrian coast as far as Asturias, then mountains inland to Santiago. It also skips the industrial stretches around Gijón and Avilés.
Common questions
How many stages does the Camino del Norte have?
Around 30 in the theoretical split, but counting the divisions almost everyone makes it works out at 34 or 35 walking days.
Which is the hardest stage of the Camino del Norte?
Deba to Markina for climbing, and the 35 km-plus days in Cantabria and Asturias for length.
Do you have to book accommodation?
In July and August, yes. You compete for beds with beach tourism along the whole northern coast.
Can you link the Norte with the Primitivo?
Yes, from Villaviciosa towards Oviedo. It is a common combination.