The northern Spanish provinces are known as Green Spain. This is a land of long sandy beaches, bordered by the Atlantic, popular with Spanish holidaymakers in summer but with none of the crowds of the southern costas. Away from the coast, misty mountains tower over rolling hills and valleys and villages of stone houses where Celtic traditions remain strong.

Budget airlines have opened up the region — you can fly to six airports, including Santiago de Compostela and La Coruña, or take the ferry to Bilbao or Santander. More British travellers are discovering the delights of the region — helped by a peace dividend in the Basque Country since the March 2006 ceasefire.

Active trips

Take a guided walk along the Camino de Santiago, the medieval pilgrim’s route to Santiago de Compostela, sleeping in paradors and enjoying picnics along the way.

The walk costs £3,150 for 14 nights, including all food, wine, transport where necessary, guides and entrance fees, but not flights. Ryanair flies from Stansted to Biarritz for the start of the walk and returns from Santiago. Departures on May 20 and September 9. Maximum group size is 16. ATG Oxford (01865 315678, www.atg-oxford.com). For DIY options see www.santiago-compostela.net, www.caminosantiago.com or www.caminodesantiago.me.uk

Fly to Santander or Oviedo and pick up a car for the journey to Posada del Valle, a 100-year-old farmhouse in the Sueve nature reserve, where Englishman Nigel Burch cooks using local organic produce. Maps and notes are provided for walks along the rugged Costa Verde and in the foothills of the Picos de Europa mountains. From £425pp for seven nights, including car hire and some meals, but not flights. Inntravel (01653 617920, www.inntravel.co.uk).

Take the ferry to Santander for three days of cycling in Asturias and Cantabria, together with rest days on the Atlantic coast. The cost is £799 for adults and £649 for children under 12, including bike hire and seven nights’ accommodation in family-run hotels. Ferries or flights are extra. Available on Saturdays from May 26 to September 8. Freewheel Holidays (01636 815636, www.freewheelholidays.com).

Long, sandy beaches

Take the flight or ferry to Santander for a seaside holiday at Vista del Mar, on the top floor of a large house overlooking Cóbreces beach. It sleeps six in three bedrooms and costs £470-£790 a week. Book through Casas Cantabricas, which has an interactive website. Casas Cantabricas (01223 328721, www.casas.co.uk).

Take the teenagers surfing at Mundaka to ride some of the biggest waves in Europe. Urresti is a 17th-century Basque farmhouse that sleeps 12, making it ideal for large family groups. There is a DVD player for bored teens. The house, which costs from £2,009 a week, is 5km (3 miles) from Mundaka and 8km from the Basque spiritual capital of Gernika. The nearest airports are Bilbao and Vitoria. Spanish Affair (020-7385 8127, www.spanishaffair.com).

Rural retreats

Fly to Santiago and drive to Casa Pedriña do Barral, a lovingly restored stone cottage in rural Galicia, near the spa town of Mondariz. It sleeps up to four in two bedrooms, with a garden of fruit trees and vines situated on a hilltop and a small private pool. The house is fully booked through to June; a week’s rental costs £950 in August and £595 in September, excluding flights and car hire. Vintage Travel (0845 3440420, www.vintagetravel.co.uk).

Leave the 21st century behind in the Old School House in Asturias, in a remote valley without mobile phone coverage. The converted school sleeps six and has original features, including a wooden balcony, spiral staircase and open fire. An orchard garden slopes down to a mountain stream, and a short stroll leads to a country restaurant serving venison and wild boar. The house costs £525-£795 a week. www.holidaylets.net.

Search for Cantabria on www.holiday-rentals.co.uk and you find a house called “Little villa with patio and barbecue in the Picos de Europa”. This stone cottage in a mountain hamlet near Potes makes an ideal getaway, with views of high peaks from the garden. It sleeps six and costs from £282 to £587 a week, plus flights or ferry to Santander.

Chic hotels

Frank Gehry’s futuristic Hotel Marqués de Riscal has landed in the vineyards of Rioja Alavesa in the Basque Country. Opened last October on an old wine estate, it is all stainless steel, titanium and wavy lines. Take a winery tour, relax in the spa, or visit the hill town of Laguardia. A three-night break costs from £764pp, including flights and car hire. Kirker Holidays (0870 1123333, www.kirkerholidays.com).

Take the easyJet flight to Asturias for a break in Oviedo, a city of stone plazas and preRomanesque churches, plus restaurants and tapas bars. Hotel Fruela is a remodelled 19th-century building close to the old town. A two-night break costs from £86pp plus flights. Inntravel (01653 617920, www.inntravel.co.uk).

Stay at the five-star Sheraton Bilbao, which has a ten-storey lobby and a design inspired by the late Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida. The hotel is close to the Guggenheim Museum and the old town. A three-night break costs from £424pp, including flights to Bilbao and entrance tickets to the Guggenheim. Kirker Holidays (as above).

Something different

Explore the prehistoric cave paintings of Cantabria with the archaeologist Paul Bahn, seeing images of mammoth, bison and rhino painted more than 10,000 years ago. Stay in a parador in a 17th-century house in Santillana del Mar. The trip, from September 4-9, costs £1,400, including most meals with wine, or £1,180 if you book your own flights. Andante Travels (01722 713800, www.andantetravels.co.uk).

Look out for wolves in the wilds of the Cordillera Cantabrica, which has one of Europe’s largest surviving wolf populations. Spend four nights in a village inn and three days wolf-tracking, plus birdwatching for great bustard, red kite and golden eagle. Leave in March or October for £595, including flights. Naturetrek (01962 733051, www.naturetrek.co.uk).

Brush up your Spanish while walking in a remote valley at Casa Latxaberria, a restored farmhouse in the Basque Pyrenees. The owner, Georgina Howard, operates an informal house-party atmosphere — all meals are included and you help yourself to wine and patxaran (sloe gin). Courses run at three levels from beginner to advanced, from £625 a week in June and September. Pyrenean Experience (0121-711 3428, www.pyreneanexperience.com).

Need to know

Flights: EasyJet (0905 8210905, www.easyjet.com) flies from Stansted to Bilbao and Asturias. Ryanair (0871 2460000, www.ryanair.com) flies from Stansted to Santander, Santiago de Compostela and Vitoria, and from Liverpool to Santander and Santiago. It also has flights to nearby airports, including Biarritz, Oporto and Valladolid. British Airways (0870 8509850, www.ba.com) flies from Heathrow to Bilbao. Iberia (0870 6090500, www.iberia.com) flies from Heathrow to La Coruña.

Ferry: Brittany Ferries (0870 5360360, www.brittany-ferries.co. uk) has two sailings a week from Plymouth to Santander, with a journey time of about 20 hours. P&O Ferries (0870 5980333, www. poferries.com) has two sailings a week from Portsmouth to Bilbao, with a journey time of about 30 hours. AT Ferries (0871 7206445, www.atferries.com) has two sailings a week from Portsmouth to Bilbao. Compare ferry timetables and prices on www.directferries.co.uk

Reading: Northern Spain (Footprint, £13.99).

Further information: Spanish National Tourist Office (020-7486 8077, www.tourspain.co.uk).

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