# Two nights at the Illa Pancha lighthouse, with As Catedrais at low tide, Rinlo and the Ribadeo estuary Two nights in an apartment in the 1857 Illa Pancha lighthouse, with As Catedrais at low tide, the coast on foot to Rinlo and soupy rice at its port. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/galicia/ribadeo-and-as-catedrais/itineraries/two-nights-on-an-islet-illa-pancha · Revisado: 2026-11-13 Dónde: Ribadeo and As Catedrais Beach At the mouth of the Ribadeo estuary there is an islet joined to the land by a bridge, and on top a lighthouse from 1857 that went out in 1983. Today its old house is a guesthouse of two apartments, and this getaway uses it to have close at hand the most visited sights of the Mariña lucense: the arches of As Catedrais, which can only be walked at low tide, and the coast to Rinlo, where you eat the soupy rice. Everything is under ten kilometres away. ## What the lighthouse is like inside The Faro Isla Pancha has two apartments for four people, each with a double bedroom, a sofa bed in the living room, its own bathroom, kitchen and garden. There is private parking and wifi. Its bar with a terrace over the estuary is open to everyone from 12:00 to 19:30, so by day the islet has strollers; when it closes, it is left almost solely to the two apartments. Pets are not accepted. Prices only appear in its booking engine when you choose a date, and with two apartments, summer weekends go quickly. ## At the pace of the tide ## The cost of two nights Between €180 and €320 per person as a couple: two nights in the lighthouse apartment, two lunches, a dinner and the estuary boat. As Catedrais, the Senda Azul and the Rinlo route are free. If four of you share an apartment, the accommodation drops a lot per head. ## Four in one apartment The apartment has a sofa bed, so it works for a family of four. Under-14s do not need ID for the As Catedrais authorisation. The Rinlo route is easy, but the cliffs are not fenced along every stretch: with small children, hold their hand. ## El plan ### Friday · 18:00 · Arrival and the Senda Azul Leave the car at the lighthouse and set out on foot along the Senda Azul towards Ribadeo: 5.7 easy kilometres past the San Damián fort, O Cargadoiro and the estuary shore. You can do just one stretch and come back for dinner at the islet with what you buy in the town. ### Saturday · Morning · From Rinlo to As Catedrais on foot Drive to Rinlo and walk the beaches route, about 6 km by the sea, about two hours, to reach As Catedrais at low tide. The Xunta advises going down between two hours before and two hours after low tide; go first to the right, to the arches, which are the last to be uncovered. ### Saturday · 14:00 · Soupy rice at A Cofradía de Rinlo In Rinlo port since 1992, with a terrace in summer. If low tide falls in the afternoon, reverse the order: rice first, then the beach. Book ahead; closed on Tuesdays outside July and August. ### Saturday · 21:00 · Dinner at La Solana Fish and seafood by Ribadeo marina, with a bar for nibbles. ### Sunday · 10:30 · Old town and the estuary by boat A free stroll through Ribadeo's historic centre, with the Torre dos Moreno and the San Roque viewpoint. From the port, the 30-minute boat trip along the Eo estuary, between Ribadeo, Figueras and Castropol, costs €7. Lunch in the town and the drive home. ## Consejos ### Ask your accommodation for the As Catedrais pass In the booking season, Ribadeo Tourism notes that Ribadeo accommodation can give you a pass if the Xunta's quota runs out. ### Look for a spring tide With a full or new moon low tide leaves more sand exposed and you reach all the arches. ### Shop for the apartment in Ribadeo Each apartment has a kitchen; a dinner at the lighthouse looking over the estuary is part of the getaway. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### Can I sleep in the Illa Pancha lighthouse? Yes, in one of its two apartments for four people. ### Do I need a permit for As Catedrais? At Easter and from 1 July to 30 September, yes: a free Xunta authorisation, up to 30 days ahead. The rest of the year, no. ### Does the lighthouse accept dogs? It does not accept pets. ### How far is As Catedrais from the lighthouse? About 8 km; Rinlo, about 4 km. ## Dónde dormir if you're driving - **Parador de Ribadeo**: A manor house facing the ría The Parador occupies a Galician casona (manor house) at the mouth of the Eo, two minutes from the centre of Ribadeo and beside the N-640, which skirts the ría. From the rooms with views and from the dining room you see the whole ría and, on the other bank, the Asturian villages of Figueras and Castropol. The decoration is nautical in style. Rooms and services There are three types: standard double, with views of the inner courtyard; superior double, with sea views; and suite, also with sea views. If you come for the landscape, ask for the superior. It has a lift, free wifi, room service, laundry and breakfast in the room. The outdoor parking is free and there is a paid garage. Pets are allowed: Paradores asks you to check its conditions before booking. The restaurant Galician seafaring cooking with fish and seafood from the Cantabrian Sea, and dishes such as empanada, lacón (cured pork shoulder), soupy rice with lobster or Cebreiro ice cream, with the ría in front. For As Catedrais The beach is about ten kilometres away. If you stay here, at reception they give you the access pass for the days when the Xunta requires authorisation, so you don't depend on the website's quota. The Parador also suggests the Ruta de los Miradores, of 11.5 km, via the chapel of San Miguel, O Cargadoiro and the Illa Pancha lighthouse, and the boat trip on the ría leaves from the port, a walk away. - **Hotel Rolle**, desde 60 € / night: The Rolle is a small hotel in an old mansion on Rúa Ingeniero Schulz, a quiet street between the marina and the pedestrian streets of the centre of Ribadeo. The port is about a hundred metres away and the municipal park next door. The house grew out of a traditional restaurant in the town and was restored with exposed stone and wood. On the balconies it keeps the cast-iron railings from the Sargadelos period, of the 18th and 19th centuries, and each room is named after a district or corner of Ribadeo. Double beds and street-facing windows All the rooms are doubles with a double bed, and all, with their own bathroom, face the street; the hotel says they are soundproofed. They have air conditioning and individual heating, a 26-inch television, free wifi and cable connection, a fridge and a safe at no charge. The bathrooms have a hydromassage shower and hairdryer. The furniture is modern within the old structure. There is a lift to the rooms. If you are travelling with children and need two beds or an extra one, the website doesn't cover it: ask before booking. Nor does it say anything about pets or the hotel's own parking. Breakfast, in the café downstairs Breakfast is included in all rates and served in the hotel café, which during the day also offers raciones, tapas and pinchos. For lunch or dinner at a more leisurely pace, La Solana is in the port area, a few minutes' walk away. Four price seasons The 2026 rates, with breakfast and VAT, are by season. The double costs €80 in low season; €95 in mid season, from 19 June to 9 July, 1 to 19 September, on the Pilar long weekend and on some days in December; €130 in high season, from 2 to 6 April, 10 to 31 July and 23 to 31 August; and €150 from 1 to 22 August. Occupied by one person, it drops to €60 in low season; in the others it costs the same as the double. The hotel asks you to call 982 120 670 for the direct booking price, and it has a rate for sales reps from Monday to Thursday. If you cancel up to three days before arrival there is no charge; after that, or if you don't show up, they charge the first night. They accept Visa, Mastercard and Maestro. As Catedrais with a direct booking The hotel guarantees access to the As Catedrais beach to those who book directly with it, on the days when the Xunta requires authorisation: Easter and from 1 July to 30 September. The beach is a little over ten kilometres by car; in the town, on foot, you have the port, the Blue Trail and the old town with the Torre dos Moreno. - **Hotel Mi Norte**, desde 78 € / night: A hotel of films in the countryside Mi Norte is in A Devesa, in the rural surroundings of Ribadeo, between the town and As Catedrais, also near Rinlo port. It opened in 2004 and presents itself as Spain's first cinema-themed hotel: each of its thirteen rooms is decorated after a film, from All About My Mother or Breakfast at Tiffany's to Out of Africa, and in the garden house are the suites The Blue Lagoon, The Great Wednesday and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Film professionals worked on the decoration: designers, directors of photography and decorators. Rooms and prices There are eight doubles with a double bed, two with two beds and three suites; some admit an extra bed or sofa bed, and there is a cot. All are exterior, with heating, full bathroom, television and internet, and some have a terrace. In low season the double costs €78 for one person and €80 for two, or €85 and €90 with a terrace. In high season (July, 1 to 15 September and Easter), the double for two costs €99, or €119 with a terrace, and in August, Christmas and New Year's the rates rise from €140. The extra beds are for under-12s. Breakfast is paid separately, €12. What to know There is no 24-hour reception: you must arrive before 20:00. If you book with them they give you a free pass for As Catedrais, useful at Easter and in summer. For dinner, Rinlo is nearby, with A Cofradía at the port. - **Illa Pancha Lighthouse**: The old lighthouse of the estuary Illa Pancha is the islet that marks the entrance to the Ribadeo estuary, about 2 km from the centre of the town, joined to the coast by a bridge. The old lighthouse, a square-plan building, was built in 1857 and worked until 1983, when the new black-and-white striped tower was built next to it. The island was closed to the public from 1984 until the 2013 state plan to turn lighthouses into accommodation allowed this one to open. Inside there are two different apartments, each for four people and with its own garden area. They have a double bedroom with television, a living room with a double sofa bed, a spacious bathroom and a full open-plan kitchen: fridge, microwave, induction hob, coffee machine, juicer and toaster. There is free wifi, a safe, private parking and local guides. What it is like to spend the night By day the island is not only yours. The accommodation has a bar with a large terrace over the mouth of the estuary, open also to people who are not staying there, from 12:00 to 19:30, and it is a stopping point for people walking out to the lighthouse. When the bar closes, the islet is far quieter. In spring and summer the water of the estuary is calm; in autumn and winter what you hear is the sea breaking on the rocks, and it is a good season for birdwatching, because the estuary is a stopover and wintering area. It is a comfortable place for a family or two couples: the living room becomes a second double bed. There is no restaurant outside; you have the kitchen, a menu of products that they leave in the fridge if you ask for it, and a picnic made to order for days out. Bear in mind that washing the kitchenware is up to you. Pets are not allowed. Booking and surroundings You book on its own website's engine, which does not publish a fixed rate: the price appears when you choose dates. To redeem gift cards or resolve queries, call or write. With only two apartments, summer and long weekends fill up well in advance. The As Catedrais beaches are about 8 km away, Rinlo 4 and the FEVE station, in the centre of Ribadeo, 2. From the door sets off the Blue Trail to the harbour and As Aceas, and for the As Catedrais beach at low tide you will need the car.