By plane
One direct flight from Lugo
Cities with a direct flight from Lugo, with their day trips and short breaks. Flight times are approximate.
Day itineraries
There and back in a day
Monforte: Greco, trains and a tasting
Boat on the Miño and a winery at Belesar
Sil by catamaran and hot springs
Ourense: Outariz hot springs and a menu at Nova
Boat, low tide and lobster rice
Catamaran on the Sil and a tasting in Doade
Santiago: roofs, cathedral and Alameda
Santiago: the end of the Camino and the night
Las Médulas: viewpoint, tunnels and chestnut trees
Overnight itineraries
Overnight from Lugo
A weekend in the Ribeira Sacra, an hour from Lugo and Ourense
A thermal baths weekend in Ourense, an hour from Santiago
Two nights at the Illa Pancha lighthouse, with As Catedrais at low tide, Rinlo and the Ribadeo estuary
Two nights on the Costa da Morte, an hour and a half from Santiago: Fisterra, Muxía and the Vilán lighthouse
A deer-rut weekend in Sanabria and the Sierra de la Culebra
Rodelar · CC BY-SA 4.02 nightsA weekend at Lake Sanabria, an hour from Zamora
A Weekend in the Gerês, an Hour and a Half from Ourense
A weekend in Ribadesella and Covadonga, an hour from Oviedo: cave art, beach and the Holy Cave
From the centre of Galicia, in four directions
Lugo is in the centre of Galicia, and the roads leave in four directions. To the south, the LU-546 goes down to Monforte de Lemos, the gateway to the Ribeira Sacra, in a little under an hour, and the N-540 goes to Ourense. To the south-east, the A-6 crosses Pedrafita to Ponferrada and El Bierzo, where Las Médulas are, and continues towards León. To the west you go to Santiago de Compostela and the Atlantic coast. To the north, the A-6 links at Baamonde with the A-8, which leads to Ribadeo and the Asturian coast, with Cudillero a little over two hours away.
Without a car there is little to do: Monforte has a station, but there are few trains from Lugo on Sundays, and it is worth checking the Renfe timetables beforehand. For the Sil landing stages, the viewpoints and the wineries you need a car.
The Ribeira Sacra starts at Monforte
Less than an hour away is the Ribeira Sacra via Monforte, at 56 minutes: the Railway Museum, El Greco at the Antigua college and the Parador at the top of the hill, or, continuing south, the Sil canyons.
Between one and two hours fits almost all the rest of the Sundays. Ourense's hot springs are 74 minutes away; the A Abeleda catamaran and the Doade wineries, 85; Santiago, 86, and the Orellán viewpoint, in Las Médulas, 105. They are day trips there and back without rushing.
Beyond two and a half hours, the trip calls for a night. The Costa da Morte is 146 minutes away; Sanabria and its lake, 150; the Gerês, in Portugal, 160, and Ribadesella and Covadonga, 200. Oviedo is about two hours and three quarters away, and Guimarães and Porto, more than three.
Monforte has no mountain roads
In winter, plans under cover and hot water work. The Sunday in Monforte has no mountain roads and works in any month; Ourense's paid hot springs are open all year, in the Sunday with a bath at Outariz and a set menu at Nova or in the thermal weekend. The free outdoor public pools are closed until spring 2027.
In spring, the Sil and El Bierzo are green: the boat and wineries of the canyon are recommended in May and the Orellán viewpoint and the Valiñas trail, in April and May. From May you can climb to the glacial lakes of Lake Sanabria.
In summer, the coast: two nights on the Costa da Morte, with the Fisterra lighthouse at sunset and the Muxía sanctuary, or Ribadesella and Covadonga, with rock art and a beach.
Autumn is the best season around Lugo. In October and November the terraced vineyards of the Sil turn yellow, as seen on the autumn Sunday with boat and hot springs, along with the chestnut trees of Las Médulas. From mid-September to mid-October is the deer rut in the Sierra de la Culebra, with two nights in Puebla de Sanabria.
Trains, art gallery and tasting in Monforte de Lemos
- Close by, in a day: Monforte de Lemos. 56 minutes along the LU-546, with a train museum, an art gallery, lunch at the Parador and a tasting at the Wine Centre.
- Further away, in a day: Santiago from the cathedral roofs. An hour and a half for the Portico, the granite rooftops and the Alameda at sunset.
- With two nights: the Ribeira Sacra. Less than an hour away, with two boats through the Sil canyon, the Balcones de Madrid at dawn and Santa Cristina among chestnut trees.