The Baiona is selected in Top 100 Sustainable Good Practice Story 2021.
Noja
Why visit Noja
Noja is a beautiful coastal town in Cantabria located between Santander and Bilbao. It has two spectacular beaches, Ris and Trengandín, with fine golden sand. Between these beaches there is a coastal walk of about 2.2 km called Ruta de la Costa. 75% of the territory lays within the Natural Park of the Santoña, Victoria and Joyel Marshes, and the beaches have ISO 14001, the Q for Tourist Quality, the Ecoplayas Flag and the Universal Accessibility award in the case of Trengandín.
Destination’s sustainability performance
Culture & Local Life
Berguedà has been able to maintain old traditions, recipes and unique culture. The region is well-known as a gastronomic destination in Catalonia. There are many restaurants that use local and organic products coming from local producers.
There are three museums which tell the story of Berguedà’s recent history to thousands of students each year. The collection includes and explains the history of coal mining, cement and textile factories which grew out of small hydropower and migration of colonies at the time.
There are also two famous traditional festivals: La Patum and La Fia-faia. They have been declared as World Heritage by UNESCO. Aside from that, plenty of Romanesque churches are also declared as World Heritage. These churches allow visitors to enjoy the magic of the ancient paintings and architecture.
Susstainability
Baiona shows a long standing commitment to quality tourism and it actively supports certification of local touristic enterprises. Being a coastal destination, it has two first beaches in Galicia (Os Frades and A Ribeira) that became smoke-free. Currently, all of its beaches are declared smoke –free. Many resources are destined for the improvement of garbage collection and waste management, protection of nature and urban impact, and we are working in constant communication with citizens, the business sector, groups and associations. Tourism management is based too on the control and monitoring of the opinion of visitors and residents.
Getting there
SICTED certification, implemented in more than 40 companies in Baiona, has launched a specific guide to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the different trades, with advice and individual evaluations. In addition, the Spanish Institute for Quality has also produced free guides and the regional government of Galicia has created a telephone and online information office to help companies in the implementation of security measures and solve doubts. Local Government has established the pedestrian one-way street on the Paseo Monte Boi to avoid the meeting of people in narrow places. Other actions are planned in different sensitive areas in anticipation of a future increase in the influx of people.
Getting around
Due to the climate in the destination seasonality became a big issue with a big crowd concentrated mainly in one area. Furthermore, in recent years only the coastal features have been actively promoted to tourists but not the beautiful nature assets the destination has to offer. To combat this problem and to furthermore emphasise the importance of the wild horses (Garrano) living in Baiona, visits were implemented in which small groups can observe the Garrano in it’s natural habitat. These visits are taking part before the high season to diversify the times of tourists visiting the destination. The feedback for these trips has already been very good. The demand turned out to be higher than the destination expected, enabling them to implement more visits throughout the low season and therefore minimise the issue of seasonality in the destination.
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GOOD BUSINESSES
Discover accommodations, restaurants, shops and attractions that are commited to responsible development
Historic and cultural heritage
In addition to the beaches, take the opportunity to visit the Casa de Taipa Museum and the Church of São Miguel do Arcanjo.
PROMO CODE:
Historic and cultural heritage
In addition to the beaches, take the opportunity to visit the Casa de Taipa Museum and the Church of São Miguel do Arcanjo.
PROMO CODE:
Historic and cultural heritage
In addition to the beaches, take the opportunity to visit the Casa de Taipa Museum and the Church of São Miguel do Arcanjo.
PROMO CODE:
Historic and cultural heritage
In addition to the beaches, take the opportunity to visit the Casa de Taipa Museum and the Church of São Miguel do Arcanjo.
PROMO CODE:
Nature & Wildlife
In Baiona, nature becomes one of the most important pillars of our city, which is composed by sea and mountain landscapes. Visitors can travel around our 14 km of coastline by walking or cycling.
On one hand, the sea offers different kind of activities, such as walks parallel to beaches or several water sports: sailing, windsurf, paddle surf, rowing, diving. On the other hand, you can also experience the wonderful mountain, from where you can find some great viewpoints over the bay and where wild horses live in total freedom. Furthermore, Baiona has routes and paths which allow tourists to enjoy not only both nature and our ethnographic heritage, but also mill trails or the rock art site Outeiro dos Lameiros.
Getting there
To begin on your green holiday in Baiona, there is a public bus service which connects Baiona with other cities at their disposal. One of the most important destinations is Vigo. In order to encourage people to use public transport, a regional transport card has been created. With this document, people over the age of 20 can obtain significant discounts in each trip. To the contrary, teenagers younger than 20 years old travel for free.
Getting around
Additionally, Baiona has a promenade with a cycle path along its entire length. Such paths were built so that people park on the outskirts of the village and, by doing this, try to reduce traffic congestion of the city centre. Similarly, our historical centre constitutes a totally pedestrian area and certain semi pedestrian streets in which traffic is controlled.
Travel tips from our editors
Typical Baiona
Before lunch or dinner drink a wine (or whatever you want) and eat a “tapa” in our old town, mix with our people and enjoy our traditions.
The Virgin of the Rock
Don’t miss one of the most peculiar monuments of the country located in Baiona: the Virgin of the Rock. The 15-meter-high statue representing the Virgin Mary holding a boat in her hand. Through a stone staircase inside, you can access this viewpoint from where the views towards Baiona, the bay and the Atlantic Ocean are spectacular.
Enjoy the Sunset
From the beaches of A Concheira and Frades, from the Paseo Monte Boi or from the Fortress, stop and watch the sun go down. The colors of the sky projected into the ocean will surprise you.
Sustainability Recognitions
In 2013 and 2016 & 2022 Baiona received the first QualityCoast Gold Award in Galicia. In 2014 and 2016, Baiona was awarded the third best destination in tourism quality in Spain.
What does it mean?
- They have shown at least 60% compliance with the Green Destinations Core Criteria.
- They have submitted a story that was selected to the list for its innovative, effective and / or transferable good management practice.
Torroella de Montgrí-l’Estartit Good Practice Story
Torroella de Montgrí-l’Estartit submitted a Good Practice Story. It was about combining various tactics sustainability became the departure point for tourism development. Read the full story here.
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