N634 / N1 : Santander - Bilbao - San Sebastian - Irun ( North coast of Spain )

August 18, 2008 - 4.0

The N634 and later the N1 tracks east from Santander to the fortified border town of Irun. It dips in and out of the Atlantic and wanders through many seaside villages and also takes in Bilbao and San Sebastian both worthy visits. We detoured a little off this route to see more of the coast and managed to travel through Bermeo, Lekeitio, and Ondarroa, but still ended up back on the 634.

The road itself basically follows the Autoroute (that's a swear word in biker talk) and is very well surfaced as you would expect. There are superb bends of all flavours with lots of elevation changes especially into and out of the bayside towns. It's a favourite for bikers on weekends but also for police so go easy. Thankfully everyone warns you of imminent speed traps so you shouldn't have a problem.

Any part of this road is well worth a visit and it's great to get into the scenery and twisty roads fresh off the ferry. It was a memorable first day to our holiday. Just stay off the A route!

Not many photos sorry.