The Cies Islands

The Cies sit across the mouth of the Vigo estuary; they became a natural park in 1980 and part of the Atlantic Islands national park in 2002. Two of the three are joined by a sand bar that encloses a lagoon, and the beach on its inner side, Rodas, is the image that sells Galicia. There is no road and no hotel, only a campsite and a few restaurants, and the number of people allowed ashore each day is capped, so you book a free permit from the Galician authorities before buying a ferry ticket. Four walking routes cross the islands, the best of them climbing to a lighthouse above cliffs on the exposed Atlantic side, where some 22,000 pairs of yellow-legged gulls nest, the largest colony of the species in the world.

What's there

• Praia de Rodas - the sand bar beach enclosing the inner lagoon.
• The lighthouse walk - the climb to the cliffs on the ocean side.
• The seabird colonies - large gull colonies on the western cliffs.
• The permit system - a daily cap on visitors, booked before the ferry.

When to go

Ferries run from around Easter to the end of September, with the full timetable in July and August. Book the permit as soon as your date is fixed, because summer allocations go within days. June and September are warmer in the water than they look and far quieter on the sand. Last boats leave in the early evening.

Before you go

The Atlantic here is cold, whatever the sand looks like in photographs. Everything depends on two bookings, the permit and the ferry, and losing either kills the day. Food is limited to the campsite and a few restaurants, so many visitors bring their own. Sea fog and swell cancel sailings at short notice, and the paths are exposed with no shade.

Nearby

Vigo's old town and the Rias Baixas estuaries; Baiona sits at the mouth of the bay.

Key facts