42.22° N · 8.90° W
How to request the Xunta authorisation, which boat to take from Vigo, Cangas or Baiona, the routes to the lighthouses, Rodas beach and the island campsite.
Part of Starry skies in Spain
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Boat · From Vigo, Cangas and, in summer, Baiona, Sanxenxo and Portonovo · Return from €27.50 · Xunta permit in high season
Beach · Almost 1.5 km of white sand between two islands, facing the lake · Free with your ticket · No dogs
Linear route · 7 km out and back · 2 h 30 · 175 m ascent · Medium difficulty · The highest point you can visit
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
June and September, with daily boats, long days and fewer people than in August. In July and August the authorisation sells out. Outside the season there are fewer boats and the campsite is closed.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
No cars go to the Cíes: you drive to Vigo, Cangas or Baiona, leave the car at the port and cross by boat. What decides the day is which port you choose and where you park.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
With children, the Cíes work if you choose a short route and stay on the beach. Under-5s do not pay for the boat, and ages 5 to 12 pay €12 for the ticket.
For teenagers, the Cíes offer a real challenge: sea kayaking from age 12, the climb to the lighthouse and sleeping in a tent on a car-free island.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: The only place to sleep in the Cíes: pitches for your own tent or rental tents among the pines, beside Rodas beach. Open at Easter and from 15 May to 14 September.
© ParadoresHotelWhy we like it: 122-room parador inside the Monterreal fortress, with three kilometres of wall above the Bay of Baiona and the Cíes opposite.
Services for this trip
Areas, for any way of travelling
| Area | Who it's for | Average night |
|---|---|---|
| Vigo | More boats all year; train and parking next to the port | |
| Cangas | Shorter boat trip from the other side of the estuary | |
| Baiona | Boats in summer only; Parador facing the islands |
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: pulpo á feira or in caldeirada, and grilled fish from the estuary; for something quick, the self-service
© ParadoresWhat to order: zamburiñas á grella, pulpo á feira and bakery empanada, to share
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
42.43° N · 8.71° W
By carCar-free
42.50° N · 8.87° W
By car
42.51° N · 8.81° W
By car
42.88° N · 8.54° W
By carCar-free
Tips
You have the island almost empty until mid-morning and time for a long route.
There are no bins on the island.
On deck the wind blows even if it is hot on land.
Plan the routes so you are at the pier with time to spare before the last boat.
The Cíes are three islands at the entrance to the Vigo estuary, within the Atlantic Islands National Park: Monteagudo and the Faro island, joined by Rodas beach, and San Martiño, further south. There are no cars, no hotels and no bins. You arrive by boat, walk along marked paths and go back on the last boat or sleep at the campsite. What you need to know beforehand is how the permit works.
Yes, in high season. At Easter and from 15 May to 15 September, each person needs a free authorisation from the Xunta de Galicia, which is requested at autorizacionillasatlanticas.xunta.gal. The order is this: first you request the authorisation and receive a pre-booking code; with that code you buy the ticket from the boat company; then the final authorisation arrives, a QR code per person, which you show when boarding. It cannot be requested more than 90 days ahead, and the park sets a maximum number of visitors per day. The rest of the year you don't have to request it yourself: the boat company handles it when it sells you the ticket. If you sleep at the campsite, the campsite arranges it.
By car to the port and then by boat. Vigo is about half an hour from Pontevedra, an hour from Santiago and a little over an hour from Ourense by motorway. From the Vigo Estación Marítima the Mar de Ons boat leaves all year round, with more sailings in season. It also leaves from Cangas, on the other side of the estuary, and in summer from Baiona, Sanxenxo and Portonovo. The return ticket costs €27.50 for adults and €12 for ages 5 to 12; under-5s do not pay.
In Vigo, the most convenient paid parking is at the Ribeira do Berbés, next to the port. In Cangas there is free space on the streets near the pier. In Baiona, the A Palma car park is next to the harbour.
You disembark at the pier, next to the park's information hut, and Rodas beach is right in front of you. Rodas beach is the start of all the routes, which are out-and-back: you return the way you came. The most complete is the Monte Faro route, 7 km there and back, two and a half hours and a 175 m climb to the Cíes lighthouse, the highest point you can visit. With children, the faro da Porta route, an hour each way with almost no climb. If you only have the afternoon, go up to the Alto do Príncipe, above the Monteagudo cliff.
A well-used day is: an early boat, a route in the morning, lunch and beach at Rodas, and the afternoon boat. In season, the first boat gets you there in time for the 12:00 sea kayak route, from age 12.
Yes. You can reach the Cíes without a ferry: on a sailing day from Vigo, with anchoring and a swim at San Martiño, or on a private boat from Baiona; or underwater, with a discovery scuba dive from the Bouzas pier. The park prohibits scuba diving without prior authorisation; snorkelling without weights does not need it.
On land, the Vigo estuary is good for another day. In summer there is a boat tour of the mussel rafts as far as the Rande bridge, with a tasting on board. In Vigo's Casco Vello, the oysters of rúa da Pescadería are opened on the street, and above, at O Castro, the viewpoint looks out to the islands. If the sea won't let you sail, the Museo do Mar de Galicia has an aquarium with the estuary's seabed. In Baiona, the Monterreal walk circles the wall with the Cíes opposite.
On the island, the main place to eat is the campsite restaurant, open to everyone in season, without reservations. Bring water and some food for the route anyway: there are no fountains on the paths. There are no cash machines either.
To sleep on the Cíes there is only the Camping Islas Cíes, open at Easter and from 15 May to 14 September, with pitches for your own tent or rental tents. Sleeping on the island is a different experience: dawn without boats and the park's stargazing, a Starlight destination. On the mainland, the Parador de Baiona has the islands in front of it.
Dogs and other pets may not be landed, except guide dogs. There are no bins: your rubbish goes back with you on the boat. It is forbidden to light fires, camp outside the campsite, leave the marked paths, fish and pick plants, shells or stones. The park asks you not to swim when the sea is rough and not to go near the cliffs.
In June and September: boats daily, long days and fewer people than in August. In July and August the water is still cold, but the daily quota fills up. Outside high season there are fewer boats and the campsite and its restaurant are closed, so bring food. Check the sea forecast: in bad weather, the boat companies cancel.
Questions
The authorisation is free. The Mar de Ons boat costs €27.50 return for adults and €12 for ages 5 to 12.
Up to 90 days before. In summer, the sooner the better: the daily quota sells out.
No. The National Park does not allow pets to be landed, except guide dogs.
Yes, with fewer boats, which handle the authorisation when they sell the ticket. The campsite and its restaurant are closed.
Only at the Camping Islas Cíes, at Easter and from 15 May to 14 September.
The Alto do Príncipe, 1.7 km from the pier, or the faro da Porta route, an hour each way.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/galicia/cies-islands
