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Camino de Mar - sea path along the Atlantic

bagi10. 06. 2026 18:27:44

After two years of break we went to Spain again this year, this time on the coastal path Camino de Mar. This is an official pilgrimage path that starts in the town of Ribadeo and ends in the town of Ferrol. There are two variants, the shorter, more inland one, which is about 190 km long. We walked the longer, more coastal one, which runs along the Atlantic and we covered a good 280 km. Both are located in Galicia, a beautiful and mystical land jezik

.

We decided on Camino de Mar after a wonderful experience with Camino dos Faros on our previous visit to Galicia and on the recommendation of an acquaintance. There was not much written about this path on the internet, I could barely find GPS tracks. But we really needed them. I have never encountered such a poorly marked Camino, and I have been visiting Spain for 12 years. Nor such a lonely one, although I have walked in many places. On the entire path we were completely alone, not even daily hikers were to be seen.

There are no pilgrim accommodations like albergo anywhere, except at the beginning and end of the path, and even those are there because of Camino del Norte or Camino Inglese. We stayed in various hotel rooms, which are very cheap and of quite adequate quality nasmeh

. Breakfast was often included in the price. For two people many private albergues on more visited Camino paths would be more expensive, and we would sleep on bunks and crowd in shared bathrooms. So we have no complaints about accommodation, but it is wise to book accommodations at least a day in advance.

Expectations were high, so what are the impressions ???

According to the rare descriptions this should have been a super experience walking along the mighty Atlantic, but it turned out quite differently. Camino dos Faros from previous years simply set too high standards that will be hard to surpass. Even after longer consideration and time distance this year's Camino de Mar cannot even approximately be equated with the previously mentioned one. There was simply too much asphalt and hard surfaces of coastal promenades. On the entire path this is at least 70% or rather more, often also most of the day. The path does not only run by the sea, but often goes quite far from it, even very high. We climbed highest even over 600 m and then we looked at the sea deep below us.

Because of all this I place Camino de Mar alongside the northern path Camino del Norte. In fact together with Camino Inglese it is also its alternative to Santiago, but lonely and almost not marked. In short …. whoever likes Norte, may also like de Mar. Whoever is looking for the experience of Camino dos Faros, should look for it elsewhere. More about our trip follows later …

A few more links for comparison …

Camino del Norte … KLIK
Camino dos Faros … KLIK

Camino de Mar - sea path along the Atlantic Fully loaded, waiting to depart. Each has about 90 different pieces of equipment, some in greater numbers

Camino de Mar - sea path along the Atlantic Zagreb Airport. From here we got the cheapest tickets to Ovieda. We will change planes in the Balearics with minimal waiting

Camino de Mar - sea path along the Atlantic This will go like a rocket, we are flying with Laudo :)

Camino de Mar - sea path along the Atlantic Boarding is standardly slow, which is quite understandable with so many suitcases

Camino de Mar - sea path along the Atlantic A little turbulence is tossing us around, but we are not worried. Everyone has arrived safely so far :)

Camino de Mar - sea path along the Atlantic Final destination, Asturias Airport. Right next to it is the bus that will take us to nearby Oviedo

Camino de Mar - sea path along the Atlantic Only a walk from the bus station to the hotel remains. We will continue early in the morning with a drive to Ribadeo

Camino de Mar - sea path along the Atlantic A wonderful hotel for 60€ per night. At home we can only dream of such prices

Camino de Mar - sea path along the Atlantic Evening view from our window …

Camino de Mar - sea path along the Atlantic … and the night view too. Good night

Camino de Mar - sea path along the Atlantic Map of the entire route we will hike. In total it will be 283 km and 7200 meters of elevation

(+8)

bagi11. 06. 2026 13:30:42

DAY 1 ...

First we had to get from Oviedo to the starting point. A local carrier Alsa runs to Ribadeo, luckily early in the morning. The ride is a full three hours long and so we still had quite some time left for walking. We needed that after the long ride, especially since the day before we had mostly been on our butts rolling eyes

.

In Ribadeo we found the tourist office and stamped the first stamp in the pilgrim's document. That wouldn't even have been necessary, since we slept everywhere else but in albergues. But tradition demands its own and a stamped booklet is a nice memory for other times big grin

. Then came the obligatory coffee, and finally we set off on the path. First we followed the signs for Camino de Norte, which soon turned one way, while we went the other. We looked in vain for the yellow signs for the turnoff, and later it wasn't any better. Instead of official Camino signs, brown signs for Ruta del Cantabrica are everywhere. They are really clear and matched our direction perfectly.

The first day was one of the most beautiful on the entire Camino. Most of the time we walked by the sea along coastal promenades and pleasant paths. We saw a bunch of interesting things, from an attractive lighthouse, flowering coasts, fishing villages to the very visited natural attraction Praia das Catedrais. In plain words … cathedral beach. Here visitors can walk on the sand under giant stone arches carved by the raging Atlantic, explore sea caves and numerous passable tunnels. But here the tide got in our way ... sniff, sniff. We arrived exactly at the highest water level, when viewing this beach is impossible. Even at low tide the visit time is limited to a maximum of 4 hours, before the sea takes over the main word again.

Then came the final part, continuation to our accommodation right on the coast. I had already reserved that in advance, so there were no problems with that. The friendly owner gave us a room with a view of the Atlantic and because of the pleasant roaring the terrace doors stayed open all night. A wonderful day and an even more beautiful night smile

Late morning in Ribadeo. We look for the tourist office and stamp the first seal

Then we follow the signs for Camino del Norte, which we walked in full a few years ago

Soon after this sign the paths diverge. Camino de Mar goes its own way, de Norte in another

We have no idea how important the signs for Ruta del Cantabrica will be later on

Former iron ore warehouses, which was transferred to ships with carts

This is how it went ... the ship was parked below, and from above the ore was poured into its belly

The location is at a key point, because right next to it is also the fortress San Damián

We go on. The route is shared further on by road, cycle path and footpath

Beautiful lighthouse. There were plenty of these on the Camino dos Faros

It stands on a small island, where there are both old and new lighthouses. The old one also has accommodation

Fully blooming coastal flower Carpobrotus edulis, also called cat's claw

Old and new. At the old one there is also some kind of tavern, but this time still closed

Besides the pink claw there is also a yellow one, which we occasionally also track

We like this, the crashing of waves against the coastal rocks. Soothing, meditative …

Seen several times already. In the foamy coastal waters they mainly catch sea bass, striped bream and baile

The heat is pressing, but fortunately a pleasant coastal breeze cools us

Surprise, my jaw almost drops. There are extremely few yellow markings, although Camino de Mar is an official pilgrimage route

Mandatory church, although in the countryside they are of a poorer sort

Here the sea cuts so deep into the land that they built a bridge over it

First we visit the village inn, where everything is pleasantly homely

Translated … two large white coffees, Coca Cola and this large draft beer. All together 8€

We are already across the bridge. Looking back …

Here they used to farm mussels, today of course it is completely different

Interesting, the paved footpath stretches for kilometers and kilometers

Today we will spend most of the time right by the sea. The coming days will be a little different

Here you can clearly see how the sea is undermining the coastal road

The weather has gone a bit wrong, which is also forecast for the following days. But there probably won't be rain

Playa de las Catedrales is one of the most visited attractions both in Galicia and in Spain

Unfortunately it is only accessible at low tide, and we happen to hit high tide. The water level between the two extremes fluctuates up to 5 meters

Looking back at the submerged cathedrals

The nearby guesthouse doesn't have much traffic. Partly because of the early date, partly because of the high tide

This is a classic, steep stairs to the shore. There will be many more along the entire route

We too descend almost to the sea. The end of the day is approaching

Our hotel right by the Atlantic. On top of that we get a room with a sea view and wonderful sound accompaniment all night :)

This time we started walking only around noon. We covered 24 km and a full 400 meters of elevation :)

(+11)

bagi12. 06. 2026 13:49:05

DAY 2 ...

In the morning we got up at the usual time as at home, but it was still pitch dark outside. Spain has a 1 hour delay compared to Slovenia, although it is in the same time zone as us. General Franco is responsible for this discrepancy in geographical zones, who wanted to align with his allies with this. For us, this meant that we set off on the journey significantly later than we otherwise would. No problem, at least we had breakfast in peace nasmeh

.

For a good morning we continued along the coastal promenade and much later turned into the forest. In these areas there are extensive eucalyptus plantations, which smell intoxicatingly with their aroma. This is especially pronounced just before rain and we are always happy about these forests. Eucalyptus is also a real stripper velik nasmeh

. It constantly undresses and thus creates an extremely flammable base in case of fire. In addition, an abundance of essential oils is available for fuel. That's why the trees are planted in rows in many places, and in between the owners occasionally clear the undergrowth and fallen bark.

Soon we came back to more populated areas, this time at low tide. This revealed numerous dunes and stranded boats and thus showed how shallow the sea is in some areas. This is especially pronounced in the area of the coastal town of Foz, where we could hardly believe our eyes. Here tourists can only swim at high tide, and fishing boats can only set sail then. Incredible. If we had come at high tide, we would have had a completely different picture.

Then came a rest in one of the many cafes. We usually choose one where we can take off our shoes and air our feet. Almost everywhere they serve you pastry with coffee, and with beer already concrete snacks, the so-called tapas. First time, second time, no problem, all sorts and all free. Many times we ate something of our own from the nearby bakery in addition to what we ordered, and no one ever looked at us badly. Prices are generally lower than at home and we also got full nasmeh

.

After a longer break we continued along the stone promenade. For some time we walked by the sea, moved more inland and returned to the coast again. The weather deteriorated according to the forecast, but it remained dry. This suited us quite well, as it was pleasantly breezy by the coast, while inside it was damn humid. The day passed and we finished in the town of Burela. Here too I had previously reserved a wonderful room, which was already ridiculously cheap. This time we walked all day and after dinner we went to bed quite soon. Good night ...

This morning we are earlier, as we do not need to transport ourselves to the starting location

The sea is calm, the day so far is of a darker sort. This is OK too, we really do not want rain :)

The path is similar to yesterday's, except that the cobblestones have been replaced by more comfortable wooden panels

No, this is not painted. These are real ceramic tiles, made to order. There is a lot of that in Spain

After a long, long time we are on a forest road

Ruta Cantabrica. Its markings are everywhere, but there are almost none specific for Camino de Mar

Eucalyptus. An aromatic tree that constantly changes its clothes :)

Apparently there is a very strong low tide :)

This one is a bit better, but still not very usable

We are arriving in Foz, a larger coastal town

Its characteristic is an extremely shallow sea, where during low tide numerous dunes appear

At that time all boats are safely parked in the fishing harbor. There is namely no exit to the sea at low water level

On the retaining walls the traces of the sea's fluctuation are clearly visible

We climb through the old part of the town and look for a place to rest

We quickly park on the outdoor terrace of the local inn. In enclosed spaces it is namely a bit harder to air out shoes and feet :)

Hundred-kilometer hikers prefer to go on the grass :)

For some time we are high above the sea, then we descend back to the coast

This will become a regular occurrence. Endless sandy beaches, a surfer's paradise

A thousand and one variants of the paved path

I compare the signs with the GPS track and the directions overlap in 95 percent

An unplanned detour that turned out to be a much better choice than the original route

This one runs above over the bridge right next to the main road

Now the path is already more inland. We sense the sea more than we see it

There are very few new houses. Mostly they are old, worn, but almost always inhabited

Village church with characteristic dampers on the bells. Also the ropes for ringing are usually just outside in the open

Nasturtiums are a self-seeding plant here, widespread everywhere. The same with calla lilies

Hmm, I don't know how to describe the owner of this fence. The most appropriate word is patient

Even if it weren't there. Whoever knows how to get here without the yellow markings doesn't need these either

The sea is tireless. Constant waves undermine the coast and the road above it

We are arriving in the more industrial Burelo

These two huge halls are a covered shipyard

This night's accommodation, quite solid and above all clean. Price an incredible 45€

Today we took our time and weren't in a hurry to get anywhere. We walked 34 km and 500 meters of elevation

(+3)

miri12. 06. 2026 15:40:26

Well, it's enough for one day. Path of memory and comradeship.

(+2)

lino12. 06. 2026 16:01:05

This is an excellent pilgrimage route. Full of experiences, impressions and memories. Good luck further on! nasmeh

(+1)

bagi12. 06. 2026 18:56:42

Thanks, thanks nasmeh

. We adjusted the lengths of the stages to the accommodations, so some days were a bit less, some quite a bit more. There was never any crisis, because we had quite solid weather for the entire Camino.

(+2)

turbo12. 06. 2026 21:03:09

Mateja & Emil
where there's quite a lot of asphalt, get some rollerblades. It'll be much easier for you, and you'll be quite a bit faster too velik nasmeh

(+2)

Janez5213. 06. 2026 11:18:49

About 14 days ago I was at low tide at Praia das Catedrais. And I'm attaching a few pictures of what this beach looks like at low tide. Mainly it's full of us tourists so it's hard to take a picture without it being full of people.