Santiago to Finisterre: 85.0 km, three days or four, and 1,431 m of climbing on the way down to the sea

By August Frederik Kramer, who has walked the Camino twice · Last updated 18 September 2026

Santiago de Compostela is 248 m above the sea and Finisterre is on it, so the walk between them is downhill: it finishes 212 m lower than it starts. On our track it climbs 1,431 m in 85.0 km to get there, 16.8 m for every kilometre walked, and descends 1,646. That is steeper per kilometre than the Camino Francés as a whole, at 13.6, and steeper than the 114.4 km from Sarria that most of the people setting out from the cathedral have just finished, at 16.2. The epilogue is harder walking than the finale.

It is not a coastal walk until the end, either. The track does not come within 20 m of sea level until km 72.9, on the descent into Cee, with 12.1 km left. The days before that are Galician hills: the route climbs out of Santiago to its high point of 475 m on day 3, between A Corna and Mollón, and then drops 472 m to the water.

Three days, four, or five

The question everyone asks about this route is the day count, and the answer is where you sleep. Nearly every itinerary uses the same three stops, Negreira, Olveiroa and Cee, and differs only in how many it skips. Here is each version measured on the same track, with our own planner’s five-day split underneath for comparison.

The three-day version puts 33.3 km and 585 m of climbing into its middle day, Negreira to Olveiroa. That is longer than any single day between Sarria and Santiago and climbs more than any of them: the biggest of those 5 is 28.3 km and 512 m. If you have just walked from Sarria, the second day to Finisterre is bigger than anything you did to earn the Compostela.

The four-day version splits the last 30.6 km at Cee, and the first two days are the same in every plan: nobody has found a better stop than Negreira, and nobody skips it. Our own planner makes it five by stopping at A Corna and Mollón, which are hamlets. It is the only version that keeps every day to 21.1 km or less and every climb to 429 m or less, and it is the one on the route page.

Leaving Santiago is the hard part

Day 1 to Negreira climbs 429 m in 21.1 km, 20.3 m per kilometre, and then gives 519 m back on the way down. Against all 214 stages we measure across ten routes it ranks 44, ahead of 79% of them. By the threshold the Camino del Norte guide uses, a day that climbs 20 m or more per kilometre is a climbing day, and the second day is one too, at 23.5. Between them the first 36.2 km carry 55% of the route’s climbing in 43% of its distance. From there on the descents are bigger than the climbs, which is a problem for feet rather than lungs: why is in our guide to the ten worst descents.

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Where the sea is

From Cee the route is at the water and stays near it: the last 11.8 km, Cee to Finisterre, climb 222 m and finish at 36 m in the town. The cape and its lighthouse are beyond the end of our track, which stops in Fisterra itself.

Muxía, and what this page does not measure

At Hospital, 59.5 km from Santiago, the waymarked route forks: one branch continues to Finisterre, the other turns north to Muxía, and many walk both by continuing along the coast from one to the other. We hold a track for the Finisterre branch only, so nothing on this page measures the Muxía leg, and the table above is silent about it rather than wrong about it. The same goes for albergues, which change every season, and for the weather at the cape, which we do not measure. What we publish is height, and height is the input.

The Fisterrana, and the Compostela

This walk has its own certificate, the Fisterrana, issued in Fisterra for the road from Santiago. It is not the Compostela, which is for arriving in Santiago and has its own rules; those are in our guide to the Compostela. If you are choosing between routes rather than reading about this one, our comparison of all ten routes puts all ten side by side.

The full Camino Finisterre route page: every stage, the elevation profile and the app

Common questions

How far is it from Santiago to Finisterre?

85.0 km along our own track, from the cathedral to the town of Fisterra. The route climbs 1,431 m and descends 1,646 on the way, finishing 212 m lower than it starts.

How many days does Santiago to Finisterre take?

Three, four or five, and the stops are the same in every version: Negreira, Olveiroa and Cee. Three days means a 33.3 km middle day with 585 m of climbing; four splits the last 30.6 km at Cee; our five-day plan keeps every day to 21.1 km or less.

Is the walk to Finisterre hard?

Per kilometre it climbs 16.8 m, more than the Camino Francés as a whole (13.6) and more than the 114.4 km from Sarria (16.2). The first day is the hardest: 429 m of climbing in 21.1 km, which ranks 44 of the 214 stages we measure.

Is Santiago to Finisterre downhill?

Net, yes: Santiago is at 248 m and the walk finishes at 36 m. But the route climbs to 475 m on day 3 before it drops to the sea, so it climbs 1,431 m and descends 1,646 to lose 212.

Where does the route to Muxía split off?

At Hospital, 59.5 km from Santiago. We measure the Finisterre branch only; the Muxía leg is not on this page.

When do you first reach the sea?

Not until km 72.9 of 85.0, on the descent into Cee. The days before that are inland hills, with the high point of 475 m on day 3.

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