Please sign in to post.

A Coruna Day Trip to Rias Altas area-Itinerary Feedback Please

Posted by (Seattle, WA, US) on

Working on a daytrip (with rental car) from A Coruna up along the Rias Altas coastline. Relied on some of the info on the RS travel forums, but also plugging in heavily to AI to help map it out. Was hoping for some "real" feedback on this day trip.

Leave A Coruna, drive up past Ferrol and make stops at Vixia Herbeira Cliffs, Cabo Ortegal, Loiba Cliffs, and maybe O Fucino do Porco, then lunch in Viviero. Drive inland back on the LU-540, onto the AG-64 through As Pontes (with rest stop at Mirador de Lago), and then back to A Coruna. Can cut out the O Fucino do Porco if we want to shave off some time.

It seems a lot of the stops are right off the roadside, so not a lot of walking to see the sites. Only exception is O Fucino do Porco, where it's about 1 mile walk each way, and another .25 miles if we want to walk along the wooden boardwalk out the peninsula.

Straight driving time according to Google Maps is about 4.5 hours with the first part seeming to be windy coastal two lane roads. Thinking about 8-8.5 hours total time with stops and lunch. Am I biting off too much with this? I had originally wanted to go out to Playa de Las Catedrales but with the added distance and crowds it seems too much.

As an aside, we are spending one full day exploring A Coruna and maybe Betanzos depending on how we feel. The transition day heading down to Santiago de Compostela we'll drive part of the Costa da Morte. Then 4 nights in SDC...more on thoughts on that later! :-)

Anyways, would love your thoughts on the above. Thanks!

Posted by
1638 posts

Take a look at the area around Muxia; we spent a few nights there last spring; it's gorgeous and not a very long drive from Santiago...four nights might be a bit long for Santiago....we spend either two or three.

Posted by
8617 posts

You are correct that the part from A Coruña up and over to Viveiro could be slow going once off the highway. I’ve been up to Cabo Ortegal, but that was years ago. I looked at street view and the road seems to be better now than it was in 2005. Viveiro to Cathedral beach is only an additional 45 minutes, but unless you arrive at low tide you wouldn’t get the full effect of the rock formations above the beach. Returning to A Coruña from either Viveiro or Cathedral Beach takes about the same amount of time.

The wild card is the amount of time you’ll spend at each stop. Invariably, you’ll spend more time at some spots and less at others. At least you can cut out some locations if you start running short on time. Time of year could play a part due to changes in sunrise and sunset times.

I agree that the area around Muxia is pretty and that four days in Santiago de Compostela is overkill.

Posted by
582 posts

Thanks all! We'll be doing some day trips from SDC, so probably devote a full day to exploring the town. More on that as I figure that out some more! :-) Also working on the Costa da Morte leg as we speak, and looking at Muxia.

That's what I was figuring, if we were running out of time, we could cut out or cut short one or more stops. Probably the biggest. time commitment is O Fucino do Porco, though it sounds pretty cool. It would be an on-site decision of walking out on the wooden boardwalk. Need to see it first! :-)

Add Reply

Please do not reply to violations of our Community Guidelines.