Asturias is one of the destinations in Europe that positively surprised me. Before visiting, I wasn’t even familiar with Asturias by name. However, after a search for cheap flights in Europe, Asturias popped up. After researching the best things to do, I realized that Asturias is worth visiting. Following extensive research, I managed to craft a 7-day Asturias Itinerary where you explore the region on a road trip. Moreover, I believe this is the perfect travel route for a week in Asturias, where you can explore the full diversity of the region.
The number of days to spend in Asturias is all based on your travel preferences. If you live in Europe, I highly recommend spending 7 days in Asturias, as there is plenty to explore in the area. However, when visiting from outside Europe, Asturias might be combined with other Spanish regions and you might want to speed up your journey. You can see all the highlights in about 3 to 4 (packed) days.
Nevertheless, in this blog post, I’ll focus on the most optimal itinerary of 7-days, including an elaborate day-to-day description of the best activities and places to visit.
The main airport of Asturias is called Oviedo. There are direct flights from multiple cities in Europe. Next to the main airport of Asturias, cities such as Bilbao and Santander are also close by. When flying into Madrid, you can take a 4-hour direct train to Oviedo.
The best way to get around Asturias is to rent a car (search for Asturias Airport). Distances are quite close, but there are so many great places to visit that you need the freedom of a car to get the most out of your trip. If you don’t have a car available, find some day-tours and excursions to explore the area below.
Day Trip from Gijon or Oviedo to Somiedo National Park
Day Trip from Oviedo to Aviles, Cudillero and Luarca
Day Trip from Oviedo to Covadonga, Cangas de Onis and Lastres
Asturias is located in the north of Spain and is one of the greenest areas in the country. Furthermore, there are several mountains in the Picos de Europa. Therefore, the best time to travel to Asturias is between May and September, as the temperatures are not too high throughout the year. As Asturias has many beaches, this will also allow you to enjoy the sunny weather at the beach.
Before travelling to Asturias, the main thing we couldn’t figure out was the best place to stay during a 1 week Asturias trip. Especially, because we wanted to explore as much of the region as possible, without changing accommodation daily. Eventually, we decided to stay for 3 nights in Luarca, 2 nights in Llanes and 2 nights in Arenas de Cabrales (Picos de Europa). This allowed us to make day trips from various locations and fully explore the region. The exact hotels we stayed at and alternative villages to stay in are mentioned in the itinerary.
Day 0 || Arrival at Oviedo Airport and drive to Luarca
1 || Playa de Silencio, Mirador Cabo Vidio, Cudillero, Luarca
2 || Somiedo National Park (Lagos de Saliencia)
3 || Aviles, Gijon, Lastres and Llanes
4 || Gulpiyuri, Playa de Santolin de Bedon, Ribidesella, Playa Torimbia
5 || Cangas de Onis, Covadonga Lakes and Arenas de Cabrales
6 || Explore the Picos de Europa: Hike the Ruta del Cares or visit Sotres and Bulnes
7 || Beach day on your way to the airport (La Vega)
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To facilitate your trip as much as possible, I’ve put all my recommendations for Asturias – the north of Spain – on a travel map.
Bear in mind that this itinerary doesn’t include the first travel day. We arrived in the evening in Asturias and drove directly to Luarca, where we went for dinner. This itinerary skips day 0 and starts by describing our first full day.
On the first day, we started with breakfast in Luarca at an amazing bakery called Confiteria Ancomar. Afterwards, we were ready to start our day and explore the Western coast of Asturias. Firstly, it is time to drive towards Playa de Silencio where you park your car and walk to the viewpoint before walking down to the beach. I was amazed by the beauty of the coastline on this first day!
After we visited Playa de Silencio, we continued our trip (15 minutes by car) to Mirador del Sablon and Mirador Cabo Vidio. You can park your car at “Aparcamiento mirador de Cueva”. From the parking lot, it is a 15-minute walk to Mirador Cabo Vidio. At the mirador, there is a bar called Restaurante La Soluneta, the perfect place for a drink to enjoy the view.
Last up for the first day, is the fisherman’s town Cudillero (a 15-minute drive, you can park at the public car park). This small village is one of the most popular places to visit in Asturias and therefore can’t miss during a road trip around the region. When in Cudillero, it is best to stroll around, enjoy the famous view from the harbour and have lunch at casa Julio. Furthermore, it is worth climbing up to a viewpoint to admire Cudillero from above.
After our visit to Cudillero, we drove back to Luarca for a drink at Ceveceria Mont Blanc and dinner at La Perla Negra.
Read more about the best beaches in Asturias here.
Hotel Villa de Luarca (around €65 in shoulder season) or Hotel Baltico (around €70)
The second day in Asturias shows the perfect reflection of the diversity in the region. While you were exploring beaches, viewpoints and cute villages on day 1, the second day focuses on nature. A 2-hour drive from Luarca brings you to Somiedo National Park. The key thing to do in Somiedo National Park is to hike the Lagos de Saliencia loop hike. You can park your car at the Alto La Farrapona car park.
The Lagos de Saliencia hike is 2,5 to 3 hours long, covering a distance of 8 kilometres including an elevation gain of 400 meters. During the hike, you’ll explore the 3 main lakes: Lago Cueva, Lago Cerveriz and Lago de la Calabazosa.
After the hike, we drove back to Luarca. However, we had dinner at Restaurante Arbichera, where you can get the most impressive steaks you’ve ever had.
Read more about the Lagos de Saliencia hike here.
After 3 nights in Luarca, on the 3rd day, it is time to move towards the eastern end of Asturias: Llanes. However, on the way, there is plenty to explore. We started our day with a stroll around Aviles, one of the ‘larger’ towns in Asturias. Strolling around and enjoying a coffee on the main square, are some of the best things to do in Aviles.
After Aviles, we continued to Gijon. Next to Oviedo, Gijon is the main city in Asturias. What makes Gijon special is that you can find a beach in town. We parked our car close to the beach, at a car park called El Arenal. Gijon is the perfect place to have lunch on day 3 of your Asturias trip. Also, don’t forget to check out the old part of town.
Next up today is the Lastres viewpoint called San Roque, one of the most beautiful places in Asturias. As we visited in the lower season (September), there wasn’t much to do in Lastres. However, the viewpoint is still well worth it.
Lastly, we continued our drive to Llanes, where we checked into our amazing apartment. In Llanes, we visited Sidreria La Amistad to enjoy the famous Sidra, followed by dinner at La Covadonga.
My ultimate recommendation is to stay at Apartamentos Calle Mayor 23, which has the most amazing view for around €110 per night for an apartment. Alternatively, you can stay at Don Paco (€130), Miraolas (€120) or Hotel La Palma de Llanes (€135).
Llanes is the perfect base to explore the western coastline of Asturias. There are plenty of great places and beaches on the coast!
Firstly, we drove to Playa Gupiyuri, a special beach not located directly on the sea. Sea water comes in through an opening, meaning the ‘pool’ gets filled with sea water especially when the tide is high. Although it’s a special place, we thought it was quite underwhelming when the tide was low. Therefore, you might also choose to visit the beach later during the day.
After Gulpiyuri, we continued our drive towards Playa de Santolin de Bedon. We drove past the beach a couple of times and it looked wonderful from the car. As it is very close to Gulpiyuri, it is your next best stop.
Next, it was time for another cute village called Ribidesella. Many visitors name Cudillero and Ribidesella as the most beautiful towns in Asturias. However, I felt that Ribidesella can’t be compared in any way to Cudillero. Nevertheless, it is an easy stop for lunch (try Ristorante Arbidel) and a quick stroll.
Lastly, we enjoyed the remainder of the day at the beach at Playa Torimbia. The beach attracts many surfers, especially when the sun sets. Furthermore, the Torimbia viewpoint offers a nice view over the beach and area.
Read more about the cutest towns in Asturias here.
On the 5th day of our road trip through Asturias, it was time to put our bags in the car and drive towards the Picos de Europa. In the evening, we checked in at the Picos de Europa hotel in Arenas de Cabrales. However, prior we had a full day to explore part of the region.
We started our day with the drive to Cangas de Onis, famous for its roman bridge which made me think of the bridge in Mostar. After visiting the bridge, we had lunch at La Sifoneria.
After lunch, we continued our day driving to Covadonga to visit the Basilica, before continuing to the Covadonga Lakes. At the lakes, we opted for the shorter loop hike around the lakes which is 3 kilometres.
Finally, we drove to Arenas de Cabrales, where we enjoyed dinner at La Soldreria.
Read more about visiting the Covadonga Lakes here.
Hotel Picos de Europa (my top pick!, €135), Hotel Torrecerredo (€110), Arcea Mirador de Cabrales (€70)
When in the Picos de Europa, one of the main activities is to hike the Ruta del Cares. Unfortunately, we couldn’t do the hike when in Asturias. Nevertheless, for the perfect 1-week itinerary of Asturias, this is an activity that can’t be missed.
As I haven’t done the hike myself, I would recommend you to read the detailed hiking guide of Money & Honey Travel here. The hike starts from Poncebos and takes 24 kilometres out and back and is therewith a full-day hike.
Alternatively, and this is what we did, you can explore parts of the Picos de Europa by car. We drove to a cute village called Sotres in the morning. Furthermore, I would recommend adding Bulnes (you can take the funicular up to Bulnes) and have lunch here.
In the afternoon we enjoyed a relaxed afternoon back in Arenas de Cabrales including some of the famous local blue cheese at Cafe Bar Los Guias.
Depending on when your flight is on the final day, you might still have sufficient time to head to a beach. We decided to chill at La Vega beach during our final day on our way to the airport, which was a perfect decision.
As you can see in this itinerary, it is possible to squeeze the main sights in 6 days and include a final beach day. Therewith, this 1-week itinerary to Asturias allows you sufficient travel time for a 7 to 8-day trip.
In summary, Asturias is a destination I would highly recommend to everyone. Especially, when you are from Europe and are looking for a slightly off-the-beaten-track destination. Even though, I believe Asturias needs more attention, the main charm of the region is the lack of mass tourism. Therefore, as always, be mindful when travelling somewhere and respect the locals and environment.
