Bilbao to Santiago de Compostela
Bilbao is popular with people who want the Norte experience but not the full five weeks. The international airport makes it easy to fly in. Starting here gives you about 700 km and cuts out the toughest Basque Country hills while still giving you the full Cantabrian and Asturian coast.
Walking the Camino del Norte from Bilbao
From Bilbao it is 685 km to Santiago de Compostela along the Camino del Norte, walked here in 28 stages at an average of 24.5 km a day. Most pilgrims arrive the afternoon before, sleep in Bilbao and set off early on day one, so plan for 29 days plus any rest days you want.
Day one goes from Bilbao to Portugalete, 18.5 km with 600 m of climbing. The last day into Santiago de Compostela starts in O Pedrouzo, 19.5 km. The longest stage is Baamonde to Sobrado dos Monxes at 40 km, and the biggest climb is 1,060 m on the way to Abadín.
The walk passes through 4 regions: Cantabria (1 stage), Portugalete to Castro Urdiales (7 stages), Asturias (11 stages), and Galicia (9 stages). It covers more than the 100 km on foot the Pilgrim Office needs to issue your Compostela.
The walk from Bilbao in weeks
Each block on the strip is one stage, sized by distance. The cards below group the stages into weeks, with the climb and the time each day takes. Flip a card for that week on the map.
685 km of ups and downs
Move along the profile to read the height at any point.
Fewer days, or more?
Pick a start further along for a shorter walk, or earlier for the whole road.
Turn this route into your plan, night by night.
Reading about the Camino del Norte is the easy part. Build my Camino gives you a day by day plan with a bed to book for each night, so the only thing left is to walk it.
- Pick a start and a dateAny of the 6 starting points, or any town on the route. Day 0 is the night you arrive.
- Shape your daysShorten a long stage, add a rest day or split a hard climb in two. The plan redraws as you go.
- Book a bed for each nightLive prices for the dates you chose, in one tap. Walk-in albergues and donativos are marked, so you know where you can simply turn up.
Plan on the web. Walk with Camino Koala in your pocket.
Your saved Camino opens in the app with every town, date and stay exactly as you left it, and keeps working when the signal does not.
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