Part of the Rías Baixas guide · Ría de Pontevedra

The Ría de Pontevedra is the inlet of the Rías Baixas between the O Salnés peninsula to the north and the Morrazo peninsula to the south, with the city of Pontevedra at its head where the Lérez river meets the sea. Its north shore runs from A Lanzada and Portonovo through Sanxenxo, Raxó, Combarro and Poio; its south shore from Marín to Bueu and Cabo Udra, with Ons Island closing the mouth. This guide covers each town in order around the ría, the beaches, what to do, where to base yourself, how to get there and a two-day route.

Updated 7 November 2026 · How CostaMap researches its guides

At a glance

• Where the ría between A Lanzada and Portonovo on the north shore, Pontevedra at its head, and Marín, Bueu and Cabo Udra on the south shore, with Ons Island at the mouth.
• Towns Portonovo, Sanxenxo, Raxó, Combarro, Poio, Pontevedra, Marín and Bueu, plus Ons Island and Campo Lameiro inland.
• Best for calm family beaches, a lively summer resort, hórreos and granite old towns, an island day trip and seafood.
• Getting there Vigo airport is about 30 km from Pontevedra and Santiago airport about 70 km; Pontevedra has a train station on the Vigo–Santiago–A Coruña line.
• On CostaMap guides to Sanxenxo and Silgar, A Lanzada Beach, Combarro, Poio Monastery, Pontevedra Old Town, Ons Island, Cabo Udra and the Campo Lameiro Rock Art Park.

Map of the Ría de Pontevedra

The map shows the places on the Ría de Pontevedra that have a CostaMap page. Tick a place type to filter, and click a marker to see the place in the panel.

Towns and villages

Around the ría: the north shore to Pontevedra, then the south shore out to Cabo Udra.

Portonovo

Portonovo is the fishing port at the western end of Sanxenxo, almost joined to it. Spain.info calls its traditional harbour one of the most charming corners of the Rías Baixas. It has the small town beach of Caneliñas, 100 m of fine white sand with calm water, lifeguards and amphibious chairs (Rías Baixas tourist board), and a small passenger quay used by the boats to Ons Island. The long beaches of Areas and Montalvo lie just west, and A Lanzada a little further on.

Sanxenxo

Spain.info calls Sanxenxo the tourism capital of the Rías Baixas: a small fishing village before the tourist boom, now a modern resort whose population grows in summer, known for its beaches and nightlife. The town beach, Praia de Silgar, is a busy, sheltered urban beach of calm water in front of the promenade, with a Blue Flag, lifeguards and amphibious chairs; the Rías Baixas tourist board gives it 800 m. Boats leave here for Ons Island in season. See our Sanxenxo and Praia de Silgar guide.

Raxó

Raxó, in the municipality of Poio, is a village with a small fishing port on the north shore, east of Sanxenxo. Its beach is 180 m of fine white sand in an urban setting, facing south, sheltered from the wind and with calm water, separated from Praia de Xiorto by a small quay (Rías Baixas tourist board). The 16th-century church of San Gregorio has a single rib-vaulted nave and a stone cross in its atrium. The fishermen’s guild of Raxó runs a food festival in the port based on the produce of the ría: razor clams, velvet crabs, mussels, clams and other shellfish.

Combarro

Combarro, also in Poio, is the village people come to see: a historic quarter of granite lanes, sailors’ houses and stone crosses with about sixty hórreos (raised granaries), about thirty of them by the sea, mostly built in the 18th and 19th centuries (Spain.info). It holds a sea procession for the Virgen del Carmen on 16 July and a Mussel Festival on 15 August. It is 5 km west of Pontevedra on the coast road, with free car parks on the edge of the old quarter. See our Combarro guide.

Poio

Poio is the municipality across the Lérez from Pontevedra; from Monte Castrove (667 m) you see both the Pontevedra and Arousa rías (English Wikipedia). The great sight is the Monastery of San Xoán de Poio, home to Mercedarian friars since 1890, with two cloisters, a 200 m² mosaic of the Way of St James and the largest hórreo in Galicia by surface area. On Monte A Escusa is the Bosque de Colón, about 2 ha of redwoods grown from 500 trees given by the United States in 1992. The island of Tambo has been open to controlled boat visits since 2022 (Rías Baixas tourist board). See our Poio Monastery guide.

Pontevedra

The provincial capital stands at the head of the ría, where the Lérez meets it. Spain.info describes one of the largest and most elegant historic quarters in Galicia: cobbled streets and arcaded squares around Praza da Ferraría, the 18th-century Sanctuary of the Pilgrim and the ruins of Santo Domingo. The centre is closed to most traffic, and the Museum of Pontevedra is free. On the Lérez, the Illa das Esculturas (1999) holds granite sculptures by twelve artists, which the tourist board calls Galicia’s largest open-air contemporary art museum. See our Pontevedra Old Town guide.

Marín

Marín is the town and port on the south shore. It is home to the Escuela Naval Militar, where officers of the Spanish Navy train; the school moved here from Cádiz in 1943, (Rías Baixas tourist board). Marín’s beaches are its main draw for visitors: Aguete, a 920 m half-shell of white sand with calm water and excellent water quality; Mogor, a 250 m cove sheltered by woodland; and Loira, with beach football and volleyball pitches. Above Mogor beach are the Mogor petroglyphs, known for their rare labyrinth carvings, with a free interpretation centre.

Bueu, Beluso and Cabo Udra

Bueu, on the north coast of the Morrazo, is a working fishing and mussel port, where the inshore fleet lands fish and shellfish from the ría and around Ons (Rías Baixas tourist board). Ons Island belongs to Bueu, and boats to the island leave from its port. West of town, Beluso has a sheltered 250 m port beach, and Lapamán, towards Marín, has 400 m of fine white sand and lifeguards. At the tip of the peninsula, Cabo Udra is a protected headland of granite boulders, coves, an old coastal battery and a nature classroom. See our Cabo Udra guide.

Ons Island

Ons closes the mouth of the ría and is part of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park. Unlike the Cíes it is still lived on, with a village at O Curro, a campsite and paths to the lighthouse and the Buraco do Inferno sea cave. At Easter and from 15 May to 15 September you need a free Xunta de Galicia authorisation before you buy a boat ticket, and day visitors are capped at 1,300. Boats run from Sanxenxo, Portonovo, Bueu and Marín, among other ports. See our Ons Island guide.

Campo Lameiro (inland)

About 15 km north-east of Pontevedra in a straight line, the Campo Lameiro Rock Art Park is the Xunta’s centre for the petroglyphs of Galicia, opened in 2011: paths through 22 ha of hillside lead to rocks carved with deer, riders, cup marks and circles, and a reconstructed Bronze Age village. It is closed on Mondays and admission is paid. See our Campo Lameiro Rock Art Park guide.

Beaches and coves

Lengths, conditions and services are as the Rías Baixas tourist board lists them, checked in November 2026.

Things to do

Where to stay by town

The towns we would base a trip in, around the ría.

Getting there and around

A two-day route

FAQ

Other areas of the Rías Baixas

Sources and freshness

Checked 9 November 2026. Official: Rías Baixas tourist board (Deputación de Pontevedra) listings for the beaches of Silgar, A Lanzada, Montalvo, Areas, Caneliñas, Raxó, Aguete, Mogor, Loira, Lapamán and Beluso; for San Gregorio de Raxó, the Raxó food festival, the Portonovo skate festival, the Portonovo passenger quay, the Poio redwood forest, Tambo island, the Illa das Esculturas, the Naval School of Marín, the Mogor petroglyphs, the port and market of Bueu, Cabo Udra, Hospedería Monasterio de Poio, the route of the monasteries and how to get there. Spain.info on Sanxenxo, Combarro, Pontevedra and the Rías Baixas; Turismo de Pontevedra, getting here; Concello de Sanxenxo, how to get there. Background: English Wikipedia on Poio, Marín and Bueu. Facts on Sanxenxo, A Lanzada, Combarro, Pontevedra, Ons, Poio Monastery, Cabo Udra and Campo Lameiro are from the sources listed in each linked CostaMap guide. Locations and distances: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Photos: Wikimedia Commons, licences as credited.