Northern Spain, San Sebastián, Galicia and Sanxenxo
Lost a ring or other jewellery in San Sebastián, Santander, Gijón, Sanxenxo or elsewhere on Spain's north coast
San Sebastián, Zarautz, Sopelana, Plentzia, Santander, Comillas, San Vicente de la Barquera, Llanes, Ribadesella, Gijón, Ribadeo, A Coruña, Sanxenxo and Vigo.
On Spain's north coast the tide does much of the deciding. The Port Authority of Bilbao gives a maximum tidal range of 4.60 metres, so a ring dropped at the water's edge on La Concha or San Lorenzo can be well under water a few hours later and on open wet sand again at the next low tide. A ring lost here can often still be found. What decides it is how closely you can place the spot and where the tide stood at that moment.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch or phone in northern Spain with a metal detectorist who can search there. We have searched in Spain before.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach that town, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
How a search works on the Bay of Biscay and the Galician coast
Fix two things before you leave the beach, the place and the time. Drop a pin on your phone, then take one photo towards the promenade and one towards the sea, with a staircase number or a lifeguard post in the frame. Write down the time, because with it we can work out where the tide stood and when that strip of sand will be uncovered again. Tell the lifeguards, then send us the pin and a picture of the item on WhatsApp. A search can go ahead after you have flown home.
We find a detectorist who can reach your beach, and brief them with your map, your photos and the time. The search is planned for low water.
Places we cover in northern Spain
- San Sebastián (Donostia), La Concha
- San Sebastián, Ondarreta
- San Sebastián, Zurriola
- Zarautz
- Bilbao area, Sopelana (Sopela), Arrietara and Atxabiribil
- Plentzia
- Santander, El Sardinero first and second beaches
- Santander, La Magdalena, El Camello and La Concha
- Comillas
- Oyambre natural park, Oyambre beach and its dunes
- San Vicente de la Barquera, Merón beach
- Llanes, Toró beach
- Ribadesella, Santa Marina beach
- Gijón, San Lorenzo beach
- Ribadeo, Playa de las Catedrales (As Catedrais)
- A Coruña, Riazor and Orzán
- Sanxenxo, Silgar beach
- A Lanzada, Sanxenxo and O Grove
- Vigo, Samil beach
- Cíes Islands, Rodas beach
Where rings and jewellery go missing from La Concha to Samil
City bays, surf beaches, a natural park and an island national park, from east to west.
San Sebastián, La Concha, Ondarreta and Zurriola
Tourism Euskadi gives La Concha 1,350 metres of fine golden sand in the middle of the city, facing Santa Clara island, with lifeguards from 10am to 8pm in summer. Ondarreta, 600 metres of the same sand, lies at the west end of the bay under Mount Igeldo. Zurriola is the beach the surfers use. A ring that comes off in the shallows is soon under the rising tide, so note the time.
Zarautz, Sopelana and Plentzia
Zarautz is the longest beach on the Basque coast, 2,500 metres of fine golden sand open to the sea and long known for surfing. In Sopelana (Sopela), near Bilbao, Arrietara and Atxabiribil share one stretch of sand below the cliffs with no line between them. Plentzia is the calm one, fine golden sand in a bay beside the mouth of the estuary. In surf, a wave can pull off a watch or an Oura ring, and the best marker is where you stood when you noticed.
Santander, Comillas and San Vicente de la Barquera
The Piquío gardens separate the First and Second beaches of El Sardinero. Santander's tourist office notes that at low tide you can walk from La Concha beach to the First beach, and the regional tourist board describes the Second as joined to both at low water. Further west, Oyambre natural park lies between Comillas and San Vicente de la Barquera, with dune systems at Oyambre and the broad fine sands of Merón beach inside it.
Asturias, Llanes, Ribadesella and Gijón
Toró, very close to the town of Llanes, is 220 metres of sand broken by jagged pinnacles of rock. Santa Marina in Ribadesella is around one kilometre long, with a promenade and waves that are usually strong. San Lorenzo in Gijón is one and a half kilometres of golden sand between the Cerro de Santa Catalina and the mouth of the River Piles. Its numbered staircases are the best landmark you will get.
Galicia, A Coruña, Sanxenxo and Vigo
In A Coruña, Riazor and Orzán are city beaches listed by Galicia's tourist board at 600 metres each. Silgar, the town beach of Sanxenxo, is 600 metres of fine sand with a promenade and a Blue Flag. A Lanzada, shared between Sanxenxo and O Grove, is an open beach of 2,300 metres. Vigo's tourist office calls Samil the largest beach in the city. Offshore, boats from Vigo, Baiona and Cangas land at the northern tip of Rodas beach on the Cíes Islands, 1,300 metres of fine white sand joining two of the islands, with dunes behind it.
What Ring Seekers does for a loss on Spain's north coast
One person on WhatsApp
You explain it once. The same person replies from your first message to the last.
Your map and the time go to the detectorist
Your pin, your photos, the time of the loss and a picture of the item reach the detectorist before anyone sets out.
Plain about poor odds
A ring lost a week ago in the surf at Zurriola is a hard case. You will hear that from us at the start.
We know how this tide behaves
We work from the time of your loss and the tide table for the nearest port to pick the low water worth searching on.
Costs explained first
We explain the costs before any search is booked.
Tides, sand, surf and parks from the Basque coast to Vigo
How far the sea moves and what it does to a lost item.
A tide measured in metres
With a maximum range of 4.60 metres at the port of Bilbao, and two tides a day, the waterline on a gently sloping beach moves a long way. An item dropped in shallow water at high tide may lie on open wet sand at the next low tide, which is the best time to look. An item left on the low-tide sand will be under water for hours. We plan a search around the tide table for the nearest port.
Fine sand, surf and rock
Most of the beaches named here are fine sand. A ring on wet sand tends to settle a little deeper with each tide that crosses it. Zurriola, Zarautz, Sopelana and Santa Marina in Ribadesella are surf beaches, where waves move sand and small objects, so speed matters more. At Toró a ring can drop between the rock pinnacles, where a detector is worked close to the rock and the gaps are checked by eye.
Questions about northern Spain, San Sebastián, Galicia and Sanxenxo
I lost my wedding ring on La Concha or Ondarreta in San Sebastián. What can be done?
Pin the spot, photograph it against the promenade railing, and write down the time, because the tide moves the waterline a long way. Tell the lifeguards, who are on La Concha from 10am to 8pm in summer. Then send us the pin and the time. A search for a lost wedding ring here is planned for low water.
My Oura ring or watch came off in the surf at Zurriola or Zarautz. Any chance?
Some, and less with every day that passes. A lost Oura ring or a watch gives a detector a clear signal, but both beaches are open to the sea, and Zarautz is 2,500 metres long. Tell us the time and how deep you were standing. If that depth is uncovered at low tide, a search on wet sand has a fair chance. If it never dries, the odds are poor and we will say so.
I lost a ring at El Sardinero in Santander. What should I do?
Report the loss to the lifeguards and the Policía Local, and write down the time. Photograph your spot against the promenade, not the waterline, because the sea moves a long way here. At low tide the First and Second beaches are joined, so sand that was under water when the ring came off can be open a few hours later. Message us with the pin and the time of the loss, and we work out when that strip of sand is uncovered.
I lost a ring on San Lorenzo beach in Gijón. What should I note down?
Note the nearest numbered staircase and the time you lost the ring. Lifeguards work the beach from 1 May to 15 October and are the first people to tell. Then send us the pin and the time, and the search is planned for low water.
I lost a ring on Silgar beach in Sanxenxo or at A Lanzada. Is a search possible?
Yes, and the two beaches are very different. Silgar is 600 metres of fine sand, which keeps the search small. A Lanzada is 2,300 metres and open to the ocean, so a pin and a landmark matter far more. Send us the pin and the time of the loss, and we tell you plainly how the odds look.
I dropped my phone or sunglasses on the Cíes Islands or at Playa de las Catedrales. Can you help?
On the Cíes Islands, say how far along Rodas beach from the jetty you were, and whether it was on the sand or in the dunes behind. At Playa de las Catedrales in Ribadeo, drop a pin where you were and note the time. A phone or metal-framed sunglasses suit a detector. Plastic frames are found by eye.
I lost an earring or a bracelet at Riazor or Orzán in A Coruña, or at Samil in Vigo. Is it worth a search?
It can be. Riazor and Orzán are city beaches of 600 metres each, and Samil is the largest beach in Vigo, so the first question is how closely you can place the spot. A bracelet is a fair target for a detector. A thin earring is a hard one anywhere, and we will say so before anything is booked.
Northern Spain, San Sebastián, Galicia and Sanxenxo
Lost something between San Sebastián and Vigo? Note the spot and the time, then message us
Which town and beach, which landmark or staircase, what time, dry sand, wet sand or water, and a photo of what you lost.
Report the loss to the lifeguards or the local police, and then send us the details on WhatsApp.