O Carreirón by boat: the wild corner of Illa de Arousa almost nobody knows

We rent out our boat with skipper from the port of Vilanova de Arousa, and there is one spot we take almost every client who asks for "somewhere quiet, away from the crowds". It's O Carreirón, the peninsula that closes Illa de Arousa to the south: a protected natural area, part of the Carreirón–Umia–O Grove nature complex, with a string of white-sand coves, pine woods that run right down to the shore and a lagoon where herons and migratory birds stop to rest. It's barely twenty minutes' sailing from our pontoon, and yet plenty of people who spend every summer on the ría have never set foot on it. Today we'll show it to you the way we see it: from the water.

What O Carreirón is and why it deserves a whole morning

O Carreirón is the southern tip of Illa de Arousa. While the north of the island holds the town, the port of O Xufre and the better-known beaches, the south was left practically untouched: a low, sandy arm of land covered in pines and Atlantic scrub, protected since the 1990s and designated a special protection area for birds. No roads cross it, there are no beach bars, no sunbed rentals. Just sandy paths, granite boulders polished by the sea and coves facing every point of the compass.

That last detail is the key for anyone arriving by boat: because the peninsula has shoreline facing both east and west, there is always a sheltered cove, whatever the wind is doing. If the north-easterly picks up, we anchor on the west side; if a south-westerly blows in, we move to the east. It's one of the few places on the ría where the plan almost never falls through.

The route we run from Vilanova de Arousa

We leave the port of Vilanova heading west-south-west. The first stretch takes us between the mussel rafts (bateas), the floating farms that are the symbol of the ría — if it's your first time, the skipper will explain how they work and why the Ría de Arousa produces a large share of Europe's mussels. Within fifteen or twenty minutes we're level with the tip of O Carreirón.

From there the coast opens into a succession of coves that we cruise slowly, engine at low revs, choosing where to stop depending on the day:

• Praia de Xastelas and the western coves, open to the sunset and perfect in an easterly wind.
• As Margaritas and the lagoon area, where at low tide sandbanks emerge that look almost Caribbean (with Galician water, mind you).
• The south-eastern coves, sheltered from the summer north-easterly, with a pale sandy bottom ideal for swimming and snorkelling.
• Punta Carreirón, the southern extremity, with its small lighthouse and open views towards the mouth of the ría, Illa de Rúa and, in the distance, Sálvora.

Along the way we pass the Con do Cocodrilo, one of those animal-shaped rocks scattered around the island — a granite boulder that, seen from the water, looks like a crocodile basking in the sun. Kids love spotting it.

Anchoring, swimming and keeping it quiet

We usually drop anchor in one of the coves, over sand, and from there everyone picks their own plan: swimming off the boat, paddling to the beach, stand-up paddle if you've asked for it, or simply doing absolutely nothing with a chilled bottle of Albariño. The water here is surprisingly clear: because the area is protected and there's hardly any traffic, you can see the bottom several metres down.

Two things we always ask of everyone who sails with us, because cruising a protected area is a privilege worth looking after:

1. Everything that comes aboard leaves with us. Not one can, cigarette butt or sunflower-seed shell stays behind on O Carreirón.
2. Respect the wildlife. Birds breed and rest in the inner lagoon and on the headlands. We keep a sensible distance, no loud music, and we never chase anything that swims or flies.

The lagoon and the birds, from the deck

The Lagoa do Carreirón, inside the peninsula, is a coastal lagoon separated from the sea by a sand bar. You can't enter it by boat — nor should you — but anchored near the eastern shore you'll see grey herons, little egrets, cormorants drying their wings on the rocks and, during the spring and autumn migrations, waders of all kinds. If you're into birds, mention it when you book: we keep binoculars on board and the skipper knows exactly where to look. In October, on top of that, the low autumn light makes the ría especially photogenic.

How to combine it: half day or full day

O Carreirón works beautifully as a half-day trip (4 hours, €300): departure from Vilanova, a run through the mussel rafts, anchoring and swimming in a couple of coves and a leisurely return. It's our most requested plan for families and couples.

If you book the full day (€500), we combine it with whatever appeals most:

• Carreirón + Areoso: the white-sand islet with its dunes and megalithic site. The ría's two natural jewels in a single day.
• Carreirón + Punta Cabalo lighthouse and a full loop around Illa de Arousa.
• Carreirón + Cambados, anchoring in the morning and lunching in the capital of Albariño wine.
• Carreirón + Illa de Rúa, if you fancy more open water and lighthouse photos.

In both options fuel is charged separately and the boat is exclusively for your group: maximum 6 people plus the skipper, with no group-tour timetables and no loudspeakers. We stop wherever you like and you set the pace.

When to go and what to bring

• Best season: May to October for swimming; the rest of the year O Carreirón is still gorgeous for cruising, photography and birdwatching, with the ría almost empty.
• Best time of day: mornings tend to bring less wind and calmer water; summer evenings deliver sunsets over the western shore.
• What to bring: swimsuit, towel, sunscreen, a light layer (it always cools down at sea), water and whatever you'd like to snack on. The boat's cool box is at your disposal.
• Tides: at low tide the most spectacular sandbanks appear; at high tide the swimming is better right up against the coves. We check the tide tables before every departure and adjust the route.

Book your trip to O Carreirón

If you want to discover the wildest corner of Illa de Arousa without depending on anyone else's timetable, drop us a line and we'll tailor it to you: departure from the port of Vilanova de Arousa, a local skipper who knows every rock in the area, and the whole boat for your group.

Message us on WhatsApp at +34 685 74 24 20 and tell us which day suits you. We reply the same day and advise you on the forecast and the tide so your O Carreirón trip turns out perfect.

Photos: Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez (Lmbuga) and Lameiro — CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.