Full Camino Norte Cycle - Bilbao to Santiago

Bilbao is a wonderful city filled with art, history and flavour of Northern Spain. Spend time walking the old city exploring the cobbled streets filled with fashion, food and charming shops. For art lovers a visit to the Guggenheim Museum is not to be missed. Sample the renowned Basque cuisine, walk through the old town and along the river at the center of the city as you prepare for your Camino and do not forget to collect the first stamp in your pilgrim’s passport!

Today you start cycling in Bilbao towards Portugalete through urban areas. From there a long cycle path leads you to the beach of La Arena, where you will meet the Cantabrian Sea. Following a path along the cliffs, this is a very beautiful stretch where you leave the Basque Country to enter Cantabria. The coastal trail leads you to Castro Urdiales, a town with a beautiful harbor and a rich history. Take some time to explore its historic streets and taste the local seafood. Castro Urdiales is a long-inhabited town, with human remains dating back to 12000 BCE. Be sure to visit the Gothic church of Santa Maria de la Asuncion with its strange iconography on the main entrance's frieze, which dates from Templar times.

Leaving Castro Urdiales behind, the journey continues along the northern coast, with the Gulf of Biscay as your backdrop. An interesting stage with beautiful scenery including several beaches, cliffs and stretches through forest, alternating with green inland valleys. The route profile is a continuous up and down, but with moderate gradients. Laredo, your destination for the day, is known for its golden sandy beaches. This is a great place to relax, recharge, and enjoy the refreshing sea breeze.

Your day starts and ends with two short boat crossings. The first from the Puntal de Laredo to Santoña and the last from Pedreña to Santander, leaving you right in the centre of the city and a few steps from the modern art museum Centro Botín. In between the Camino winds through lush countryside and charming villages, passing three long beaches: Salvé (in Laredo), Berria (after Santoña) and Helgueras-Trengadín (Noja). The route then turns inland to San Miguel de Meruelo and Güemes to finalize the day with an almost flat section with again two sandy beaches within reach: Langre and Somo. Santander offers a blend of culture, history and natural beauty, making it a perfect ending point for your day of cycling.

It will take you some time to leave behind the urban environment of Santander, because the city is built on a stretch of land surrounded by water and can only expand in one direction. The route takes you away from the official Camino, through hilly and often surprisingly serene countryside, ending in the enchanting medieval town Santillana del Mar, one of the prettiest towns in Cantabria.

Today's route is long and interesting alternating rolling green hills with some brief stints by the Cantabrian coast. In Comillas, you'll be captivated by the buildings which are in the modernist style - our art nouveau - such as El Capricho, one of Antoni Gaudí's first works. Continuing your route toward Unquera you will cross several bridges over marshes and estuaries, the largest just before entering San Vicente de la Barquera, an interesting fishing village. The second part of the route takes you inland. Although the gradients of the continuous ascents and descents are moderate (with a maximum of 100m of ascent in one go), the total sums up 1125 m, so you get the feeling that the mountains are very close.

The first village en-route today is Colombres, where the outstanding villa Quinta Guadalupe catches your eye as you approach the town. It's one of several houses built in the 19th century by so-called Indianos, emigrants who returned wealthy from their stay in America and imported a whole new (and very flamboyant) lifestyle. As you leave Colombres, the gentle sound of the ocean accompanies your journey as you pass through idyllic fishing villages, immersing yourself in the culture of Asturias and ending in Llanes. This medieval town has a lively centre full of traditional cider houses and a fishermen's port with artistic breakwater. When leaving Llanes you will cross some beaches such as Palombina, Torimbia and San Antolín, all of which are quite busy in summer. The route then turns inland once again, through rural areas. The days cycle ends in Ribadesella, a coastal town famous for its prehistoric caves among other things.