El Camino del Norte - The Northern Way by Boat

• THE NORTHERN WAY BY BOAT INCLUDES

  • 7 days / 6 nights aboard "the Français 3 Mats" staying in a shared 4 bed dorms
  • 7 breakfasts and 7 three-courses dinners
  • Emergency support from our local team
  • A professional crew of 1 Capitan, 1 Second and 8 seamen to assist with the navigation
  • All port, energy, communication, provisioning and insurance charges for the boat
  • Individual Passenger and Ship Insurance (in case of emergency while offshore a radio connection with a doctor at the Sea Emergency Services in Toulouse will be arranged before a emergency recovery)
  • Excursions and scheduled tours as mentioned in the program with multilingual cultural and hiking guides
  • Outside lunches and picnics as mentioned in the program

  price & dates

  2 departures scheduled for 2019 plus private departures on a luxury Catamaran on request:

  Departure 1 - Leaving Bayonne on Tuesday 3rd of September 2019 to arrive in La Coruña on Monday 9th of September 2019
  Departure 2 - Leaving Bayonne on Monday 16th of September 2019 to arrive in La Coruña on Sunday 22nd of September 2019

  Contact us for updated pricing, availability, further details or to plan a private departure on a catamaran.

• •   fact file

    Accommodation  in the shared dorm or in private cabins in the superb sailboat "Français 3 Mats"

    Duration  7 days / 6 nights

    Starts  Bayonne

    Stops  Pasaïa, San Sebastian, Bilbao, Santoña, Santander, Ribadesella, Gijon, Avilés, Cudillero, Navia, Ribadeo

    Ends  La Coruña

  • highlights

    A unique opportunity to join the 54 pilgrims who will travel back in time in September 2019.

    Stay on a traditional three-mast wooden bark boat

    Discover the best of the Camino del Norte and Northern Spain in only 1 week

    Eat delicious Gourmet food on-board and on land

Looking for a different journey? Ask us about our great Spanish train journeys including the Transcantábrico and the Express de la Robla in Asturias.

what to expect on this tour?

On the Camino del Norte / Northern Way by Boat you will enjoy the trip itself, where the most important thing is not the destination but the journey and the enchanting way of moving. Being a guest on the Français 3 Mats is like traveling back in time and to go discover a new world, in which you will enjoy the constant attention of our crew, the elegance and comfort of a historical vessel. Leave the worrying to us and instead seize every moment and every destination. During the journey the sailboat will become a hotel in motion, where you will be rocked by the mighty Atlantic Ocean to sleep every night and discover a new adventure every day, resulting in a travel experience unlike any other.

Note: The stops and activities detailed in the tour itinerary have been put together by Renfe Luxury Tourist Trains and can be subject to change. Ask us for a final itinerary and dates!

Stay on a spectacular three-mast wooden bark boat

LE FRANÇAIS, formerly Kaskelot "sperm whale" in Danish, is a three-mast wooden bark boat, built in Denmark in 1948, for the Royal Greenland Trading Company, bought in 1983 by Robin Davies it was completely renovated in 1983 to be used to shoot period movies. It then passed under the flag of "Square Sail" and undergone several facelifts to keep it modern. It was acquired in 2018 by Bob Escoffier Maritime to join the French flag in Saint Malo and renamed "Esprit of France".

Onboard during the cruise, you will find 1 Captain, 1 Second and 8 seamen sailors. The beautiful Cale of the upper deck has been completely renovated for this trip and converted into a dormitory for 27 pilgrims as would have been standard in the Middle Ages. The boat includes 2 cabins for 2 guides + 1 Cabin for the organization + 5 private cabins for the Pilgrims (there are no ensuite bathrooms).

Vessel characteristics: Overall length: 47 m.  -  Length of hull: 37 m.  -  Length at the waterline: 32 m.  -  Width at the main beam: 8.50 m.  -  Draft: 3.80 m.  -  Tirant-d'air: 32 m.  -  Surface of 17 sails: 882 m²  -  Displacement: 450 tons  -  Armament: Escoffier Maritime   Home port: Saint Malo

the Bob Escoffier Armement Maritime Company

Bob Escoffier is known as one of the great French navigators. The famous skipper has an impressive chart under his name: he completed a dozen transatlantic journeys and and traveled tens of thousands of miles all over the 7 seas. In 1990, he became the first owner of heritage vessels in France (Français 3 Mats being his most prized possession). Bob also enjoys a good challenge and has participated is some of the most prestigious offshore races, such as the Transat Jacques Vabre (a yachting race that follows the historic coffee trading route between France and Brazil) and The Route du Rhum (transatlantic single-handed yacht race between Saint Malo, Brittany, France and Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe) in 1994, 1998, 2002 and again in 2018.

For more than 20 years, the Bob Escoffier Armement Maritime Company ships have been present on the biggest French and foreign races (Vendée Globe, Transat Jacques Vabre, Barcelona World Race, Volvo Ocean Race, America's Cup ...) and helped organise big festivals and maritime gatherings (Armada of Rouen, Brest, Week of the Gulf of Morbihan ...). Year-round they offer day tour or weeklong tour in the bay of Saint-Malo, the bay of Cancale, the Channel Islands, South Brittany and offer their expertise in looking for a character ship for movie sets and consulting, shipbuilding projects and technical assistance. But now they have a new pet project which is to revive the Camino de Santiago by boat.

A historic way of traveling on the Camino de Santiago

Traveling on the Northern Way by boat, with stopovers from port to port, is like boarding a sea adventure which started in the year 843, with the discovery of the tumb of the Apostle Saint James in Santiago de Compostela. Dive into History by discovering a rich cultural maritime heritage: a harbour, a city, its population, a culture, its identity, its life. In the Middle Ages, it was easier and safer for pilgrims going to pay their respect to the Apostle Saint James, to travel by sea than to embark on the land paths. For many pilgrims arriving from the North (Ireland, England, Scandinavia) sailing was even the only option to reach Santiago. So like we suggest you do on this trip, many sailed to La Coruña and travelled on foot the 75 km to Santiago.

Although this tradition has mostly dissapeared, many harbours on this route keep traces of those sailing pilgrims. In Laredo, the San Marcial tunnel had been excavated in the rock to allow pilgrims who had come by sea to reach the Santa Maria de la Asuncion Church directly from the wharves. Amazing towns like Santander, Santillana del Mar, San Vicente de la Barquera or Ribadesella even thrived thanks to the sailing and walking pilgrims.

Today, embarking for the Way of Saint James by the sea, it is a maritime historical journey in sixteen ports of call, from Bayonne to La Coruña across the maritime provinces, Labor, Guipuzcoa, Vizcaya, Cantabria, Asturias , Galicia, an extraordinary slideshow of the history of Northern Spain and these regions.

a luxurious experience on-board and on land

You will start each day by enjoying a delicious à la carte breakfast, before the guided tours. Each day you will walk 8 to 14 km along selected section of the Camino del Norte always accompanied by our multilingual guide. Several other activities will be planned during the day and you will have free time to discover the cities you will be stopping in.

Most of the navigation will be done during the night with an average of 4h sailing per day. You are welcome to give a hand in the boat maneuvers, the crew will be glad to teach you these traditional techniques. All dinners are included, some will be on board and other in the towns, all will be prepared by gourmet chef and rooted in the culinary traditions of each region.

Proper walking clothing and gear is recommended for the walks. At night you can opt for more formal attire, although no particular dress code is required at any time. We recommend bringing warm items as it can get cold offshore. No toiletries or bedding items are included.

We cater for vegetarians, vegans and any special dietary requirements or allergies. Just let us know beforehand so we can advise the chefs.

Add extra days or activities for an unforgettable adventure

Why not take advantage of the fact you are in France and Spain to do some tourism and visit the wine regions of Bordeaux, Paris, more of the Basque Country or any Spanish city on your bucket list? Your closest arrival airport is Biarritz and International airport is Paris, the departure airport being Santiago de Compostela or La Coruña but you might want to opt for other airports to visit another region or add nights somewhere on your stopover.

We can help you choose and book those extra nights before or after your tour. We recommend in particular walking in 5 days to Santiago from La Coruña. Check out our selection of Day Tours in Spain and European Stop-Overs or let your imagination run wild and let us know let us know how you would like to make this tour unique.