Cantabria · Northern Spain
Costa de Cantabria travel guide: the coast of Cantabria
Surf beaches and estuaries, Gaudí in Comillas, the bay of Santander and the cave art of Altamira, between Asturias and the Basque Country.
Comillas · Photo: Luis Fermín TURIEL PEREDO, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Costa de Cantabria is the coast of Cantabria in northern Spain, between the Costa Verde of Asturias to the west and the Costa Vasca to the east. Spain’s tourism portal says it offers over 60 beaches (Spain.info). Along it are the seafaring town of San Vicente de la Barquera, Gaudí’s El Capricho in Comillas, the bay of Santander and the anchovy port of Santoña, and just inland the Cave of Altamira, whose art was discovered in 1879 (UNESCO). This guide covers the three stretches of coast, the beaches, the caves you can visit, campsites, weather and routes.
At a glance
- Where the coast of Cantabria in northern Spain, between Asturias to the west and the Basque Country to the east; Spain’s tourism portal counts over 60 beaches.
- Cave art the Cave of Altamira, World Heritage since 1985, is seen through the Neocueva replica at the museum near Santillana del Mar.
- Fly to Seve Ballesteros-Santander Airport (SDR) at Maliaño, five kilometres from Santander.
- On CostaMap One campsite on the coast (one inland).
- Climate an annual mean of 14.5 °C and 1,129 mm of rain at Santander Airport (AEMET, 1981–2010).
- Surf Somo, Los Locos and Valdearenas have strong waves, and Santander says El Sardinero is where surfing in Spain began.
Map of the Costa de Cantabria
The map shows the places on this coast that have a CostaMap page, from Comillas and Santillana del Mar to Santander and Castro Urdiales. Tick a place type to filter it, and click a marker to see the place in the panel. The areas below follow the coast from west to east.
Place type
Area · next level
Coast mapCosta de Cantabria
Click a marker to see the place here. Three areas from San Vicente and Comillas to Santander and Castro Urdiales, with Altamira just inland.
Choose your areaChoose your area
We split the coast into three stretches, from the Asturian side in the west to the Basque side in the east. Only places on or near the sea are in the lists; the caves of Puente Viesgo and the Liébana valley follow under Things to do and in the itineraries.
West: San Vicente to Suances
The estuary town of San Vicente de la Barquera, the dunes and marshes of Oyambre, Gaudí’s Comillas and the surf at Suances.
- San Vicente de la Barquera – a seafaring town between the sea and the Picos de Europa, with a charter from 1210 and the sands of Merón.
- Oyambre – a natural park of 57 km² with estuaries, cliffs and dunes, and a beach popular with surfers.
- Comillas – a historic-artistic site with El Capricho by Gaudí, the Sobrellano Palace and a 900 m town beach.
- Suances – the Roman Portus Blendium, with Los Locos for surfing and the kilometre-long La Concha beach.
Centre: Santillana to Somo
Medieval Santillana del Mar and the Altamira Museum, the dunes of Liencres, the city beaches of Santander and the surf of Somo.
- Santillana del Mar – a National Monument centre around the Collegiate Church of Santa Juliana, 2 km from the Altamira Museum.
- Liencres – the 2,800 m Valdearenas beach inside a nature park, with dunes that reach the sand.
- Santander – El Sardinero, the Magdalena Palace and Centro Botín on one of the Most Beautiful Bays in the World.
- Somo – 2,000 m of beach in the most extensive area of sand in Cantabria, much appreciated by surfers.
East: Noja to Castro Urdiales
The long beaches of Noja and Laredo, the anchovy port of Santoña and the Roman and Gothic harbour of Castro Urdiales.
- Noja – the 3,700 m Trengandín and the surf and canoe beach of Ris.
- Santoña – the major canning port of the coast, known for anchovies in olive oil, with the 2,000 m Berria beach.
- Laredo – the Puebla Vieja and La Salvé, which Spain.info calls an immense five-kilometre sandbank.
- Castro Urdiales – the Roman Flavióbriga, with a castle-lighthouse and the most significant Gothic church in Cantabria.
Explore by interest
Pick a theme. Each tile opens the part of this guide that covers it.
Best beaches and coves
The selection below is ours, from west to east. Lengths are as given by Spain.info, the national tourism portal, and the local tourist offices, checked in October 2026. Several of these beaches have strong waves, so swim where there is a lifeguard.
Oyambre
1,800 m of golden sand, 40 m wide (Spain.info); San Vicente’s tourist office calls it more than 2 km long and popular with surfers (San Vicente de la Barquera). It lies in the Oyambre Natural Park, 57 km² of estuaries, cliffs and dunes (San Vicente de la Barquera).
Comillas
An urban beach of golden sand, 900 m long and 40 m wide, below the historic town (Spain.info).
Los Locos
350 m of sand and pebbles with strong waves (Spain.info), and in Spain.info’s words ideal for surfing (Spain.info).
Valdearenas
2,800 m long and 50 m wide, with strong waves, inside the Liencres Nature Park, where the dunes reach the beach (Spain.info).
El Sardinero
The Segunda Playa is Santander’s largest beach and, says the city’s tourist office, the first place in Spain where people surfed (Santander Tourism).
Somo
2,000 m long and 80 m wide with strong waves, part of the most extensive area of sand in Cantabria and much appreciated by surfers (Spain.info).
Trengandín
3,700 m of golden sand, 200 m wide (Spain.info); with Ris, the other beach of Noja, it is the town’s main attraction (Spain.info).
La Salvé
Spain.info’s beach sheet gives it 4,250 m by 120 m (Spain.info); its page on Laredo calls it an immense five-kilometre sandbank (Spain.info).
Also worth knowing: El Sable de Merón at San Vicente stretches for more than 3 km (San Vicente de la Barquera). Suances’ La Concha beach is a kilometre long (Spain.info). Berria in Santoña is 2,000 m long and 150 m wide, and surfing is possible (Spain.info), and Ostende in Castro Urdiales is 800 m of dark sand (Spain.info).
Where to stay by town
CostaMap has no town guides for Cantabria yet, so these are the towns we would base a trip in, from west to east, with what each one is known for.
San Vicente de la Barquera
A seafaring town between the Cantabrian Sea and the Picos de Europa, with a charter from 1210 and the long sands of Merón and Oyambre close by.
Estuary and beaches
Comillas
A historic-artistic site 50 kilometres from Santander, with Gaudí’s El Capricho, the Sobrellano Palace and the Pontifical University.
Architecture
Santillana del Mar
A medieval centre declared a National Monument around the Collegiate Church of Santa Juliana, 2 km from the Altamira Museum.
Base for Altamira
Santander
The capital on its bay, with the beaches of El Sardinero, the Magdalena Palace and Renzo Piano’s Centro Botín on the waterfront.
City and beach
Santoña
The major canning port of the Cantabrian coast, known for anchovies in olive oil, with the long beach of Berria on the open sea.
Food and forts
Castro Urdiales
The Roman Flavióbriga, with a castle-lighthouse visible from all over town and the Gothic church of Santa María above the harbour.
Harbour townCampsites
These campsites have a CostaMap page. Camping Santillana is at Ctra. a Comillas km 6 in Santillana del Mar (Camping Santillana) and says it is only 5 minutes from Playa de Suances (Camping Santillana) and four kilometres from Ubiarco beach (Camping Santillana). Camping San Pelayo is inland, at km 5 of the road from Potes to Fuente Dé, a few metres from the river Deva (Camping San Pelayo); the regional rural tourism portal lists it in Baró, in the municipality of Camaleño, Cantabria (Cantabria Rural).
Camping Santillana del Mar
At Ctra. a Comillas km 6, next to the historic centre and, by its own account, 5 minutes from Playa de Suances.
See the campsite →
Camping San Pelayo
At km 5 of the Potes–Fuente Dé road, a few metres from the river Deva, with the Picos de Europa in view.
See the campsite →Things to do
Altamira and the Neocueva
The Cave of Altamira was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1985, and in 2008 seventeen more decorated caves were added; UNESCO now lists the site as the Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain, in Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country (UNESCO). Cuevas de Cantabria says nine of the caves added in 2008 are Cantabrian (Cuevas de Cantabria).
The original cave is not a visit you can plan: access is capped at five people a week, through a waiting list that is currently closed to new requests (Museo de Altamira). What visitors see is the Neocueva, a three-dimensional reproduction of the cave whose highlight is the ceiling of polychromes with bison, horses, deer and goats (Museo de Altamira). The museum building, by Juan Navarro Baldeweg, opened in 2001 (Museo de Altamira); it is 2 km from the centre of Santillana del Mar, off exit 234 of the A-8 (Museo de Altamira). General admission is €3, and entry is free on Saturday afternoons from 14:00 and all day on Sundays (Museo de Altamira).
Caves you can still enter
At Puente Viesgo, Monte Castillo, beside the river Pas, holds four caves with Paleolithic art; two of them, El Castillo and Las Monedas, are open to the public, and they hold evidence of human graphic activity from 38,000 to 11,000 years ago (Cuevas de Cantabria). In Ramales de la Victoria you can visit La Cullalvera and Covalanas, known as the cave of the hinds (Cuevas de Cantabria). El Pendo, at Escobedo de Camargo, was excavated in 1878 by Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, the man who went on to find the Altamira paintings (Cuevas de Cantabria, Museo de Altamira). Chufín is at Riclones, in the municipality of Rionansa (Cuevas de Cantabria).
Comillas, Santillana and San Vicente
Comillas, a designated historic-artistic site, has El Capricho, designed by Antoni Gaudí and known for its portico and ceramic wall decoration, the Neo-Gothic Sobrellano Palace, and the Pontifical University above the town (Spain.info). Santillana del Mar, whose origins go back to the 8th century, grew up around the Collegiate Church of Santa Juliana on the northern Camino de Santiago, and its centre has been declared a National Monument (Spain.info).
In 1210 King Alfonso VIII of Castile granted San Vicente de la Barquera its charter, and in the 13th and 14th centuries it belonged to the Brotherhood of the Four Towns of the Coast with Santander, Laredo and Castro Urdiales (San Vicente de la Barquera). Suances was known to the Romans as Portus Blendium (Spain.info).
Santander and its bay
Santander’s beaches, especially the Primera Playa de El Sardinero, were promoted for therapeutic sea bathing from 1847 (Santander Tourism). The Magdalena Palace on its peninsula was completed in 1912, and the royal family summered there until 1930 (Santander Tourism); it was the summer residence of King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenia (Santander Tourism). In 1941 a fire left the city almost in ashes (Santander Tourism).
Centro Botín, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, opened on 23 June 2017 (Santander Tourism) in the Jardines de Pereda (Centro Botín). Since 1997 the Bay of Santander has been a member of the Most Beautiful Bays in the World association (Santander Tourism).
Santoña, Laredo and Castro Urdiales
Santoña is the major canning port of the Cantabrian coast, known for anchovies in olive oil, and its forts of San Martín, San Carlos and Mazo are still in good condition (Spain.info). Laredo’s Puebla Vieja was declared historic-artistic in 1970, and its Battle of Flowers is held on the last Friday of August (Spain.info).
Castro Urdiales is also known as Flavióbriga, after the Roman settlement there; its centre was recognised as a Historic Site in 1978, and the church of Santa María, from the 13th to 15th centuries, is the most significant example of Gothic architecture in Cantabria (Spain.info).
When to go
Average temperature and rainfall at Santander Airport (AEMET station 1109, Camargo, 3 m), for 1981–2010 (AEMET).
The annual mean at the airport is 14.5 °C, with 1,129 mm of rain on 123.6 days and 1,649 hours of sunshine; July has 52 mm of rain and 187 hours of sun (AEMET). In summer the Altamira Museum recommends buying tickets online in advance, and it is closed every Monday (Museo de Altamira). Laredo’s Battle of Flowers is on the last Friday of August (Spain.info).
Itineraries
We plan both by car, because the caves and many beaches are away from the railway. The first three days work from Santander or Santillana del Mar; the rest move west and east along the coast.
Three days
Day 1
Santander
Start on the Magdalena Peninsula, where the palace completed in 1912 was the summer residence of King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenia. Walk on to El Sardinero: the Primera Playa was promoted for sea bathing from 1847, and the Segunda, Santander’s largest beach, was the first place in Spain where people surfed, says the city’s tourist office. In the afternoon, Centro Botín, designed by Renzo Piano and open since 2017, and the Jardines de Pereda on the waterfront. The airport is five kilometres from the city, with a bus line to the bus station.
Day 2
Santillana del Mar and Altamira
Begin at the Altamira Museum, 2 km from the centre of Santillana del Mar, which has free supervised parking. The Neocueva reproduces the cave and its ceiling of polychromes with bison, horses, deer and goats; the original cave admits only five people a week. The museum is closed every Monday; from May to October it opens Tuesday to Saturday 9:30–20:00 and Sundays 9:30–15:00. General admission is €3, free on Saturdays from 14:00 and all day Sunday. Spend the afternoon at the Collegiate Church of Santa Juliana and in the old centre, a National Monument.
Day 3
Comillas and Oyambre
Comillas is 50 kilometres from Santander. Spend the morning at El Capricho, designed by Antoni Gaudí and known for its portico and ceramic decoration, then the Neo-Gothic Sobrellano Palace, with the Pontifical University dominating the village. After lunch, the urban beach of Comillas, 900 m of golden sand. In the late afternoon, continue to the Oyambre Natural Park, 57 km² of estuaries, cliffs and dunes, where Oyambre beach runs for 1,800 m and is popular with surfers.
Seven days
Days 1–3: as above.
Day 4
San Vicente de la Barquera
San Vicente de la Barquera is a seafaring town granted its charter by Alfonso VIII in 1210. Walk the old town in the morning, then the Sable de Merón, more than 3 km of sand. In the afternoon, the cave of Chufín at Riclones, in Rionansa, one of the nine Cantabrian caves inscribed by UNESCO in 2008. Apart from Easter week it opens only from 15 June to 15 September, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, with six people per session. The visitor centre is in the old schools of Riclones, and one stretch is done on your knees.
Day 5
Puente Viesgo
Puente Viesgo lies beside the river Pas under Monte Castillo, whose four caves hold traces of human graphic activity from 38,000 to 11,000 years ago. Two are open to the public: El Castillo and Las Monedas, one for the morning and one after lunch. Sessions take at most seven people, so buy tickets online in advance and validate them at the Centro de Arte Rupestre de Cantabria in Puente Viesgo 45 minutes before the visit. The caves are closed on Mondays; from 15 June to 15 September they open Tuesday to Saturday 10:00–14:00 and 15:00–19:00.
Day 6
Santoña and Laredo
Santoña, about 48 km from Santander, is the major canning port of the Cantabrian coast, known for anchovies in olive oil. In the morning, see the Romanesque church of Santa María del Puerto and the forts of San Martín, San Carlos and Mazo on Monte Buciero, then Berria beach, 2,000 m long. From the pier on the seafront promenade a boat crosses to Laredo. Spend the afternoon in Laredo’s Puebla Vieja, declared historic-artistic in 1970, and end on La Salvé, 4,250 m of sand.
Day 7
Castro Urdiales
Castro Urdiales, the Roman Flavióbriga, has a town centre recognised as a Historic Site in 1978. Start at the harbour with the church of Santa María (13th–15th centuries), the most significant example of Gothic architecture in Cantabria, and the castle-lighthouse beside it, first lit on 19 November 1853. After lunch, Ostende beach, 800 m of dark sand. The municipality borders the Basque province of Biscay: the nearest airport is Bilbao, 45 km away, and a direct bus line runs to Bilbao.
Getting there and around
By air
Seve Ballesteros-Santander Airport (SDR, ICAO LEXJ) (OurAirports) is five kilometres from the city, at Maliaño in Camargo (Aena). Aena lists 25 destinations served by 9 airlines (Aena), among them Dublin, Edinburgh and Manchester (Aena).
By bus
A bus links the airport with Santander bus station according to the flight programme, and ALSA links it with Bilbao, Gijón, Oviedo and Laredo, stopping only for travellers with tickets bought in advance (Aena). La Cantábrica runs buses from Santander and Torrelavega to Santillana del Mar (Museo de Altamira).
By car and train
The A-8 runs along the coast from Asturias and the Basque Country, with exit 234 for Santillana del Mar, and the A-67 arrives from Castilla y León (Museo de Altamira). The nearest Renfe station to Altamira is Tanos–Torrelavega, and the former FEVE line stops at Puente de San Miguel (Museo de Altamira).
Practical and safety
- Strong waves: Spain.info lists strong waves at Los Locos (Spain.info), Valdearenas (Spain.info) and Somo (Spain.info); these are surf beaches, so swim with care.
- Altamira: the original cave takes five people a week and its waiting list is closed (Museo de Altamira); plan on the Neocueva in the museum. Under-18s and over-65s enter free with proof (Museo de Altamira).
- Opening hours: from May to October the Altamira Museum opens Tuesday to Saturday 9:30–20:00 and on Sundays and holidays 9:30–15:00 (Museo de Altamira).
- Airport buses: ALSA buses only stop at Santander Airport for travellers who have bought tickets in advance (Aena).
- Mountains: the Picos de Europa National Park, which reaches into Cantabria as well as Asturias and León, covers 66,030.36 ha (MITECO); Camping San Pelayo is on the road up to Fuente Dé (Camping San Pelayo).
FAQ
Where is the Costa de Cantabria?
In northern Spain: it is the coast of Cantabria, between Asturias to the west and the Basque Country to the east, with Santander on its bay in the middle.
Can I visit the Cave of Altamira?
Not the original: access is capped at five people a week and the waiting list is closed. The museum’s Neocueva reproduces the cave and its painted ceiling.
Which airport is closest?
Seve Ballesteros-Santander Airport (SDR), five kilometres from Santander at Maliaño, with a bus to Santander bus station.
Which caves with cave art can I enter?
El Castillo and Las Monedas at Puente Viesgo, La Cullalvera and Covalanas at Ramales de la Victoria, and El Pendo and Chufín, among others.
Is the Costa de Cantabria good for surfing?
Yes. Somo, Los Locos in Suances and Valdearenas at Liencres have strong waves, and Santander’s tourist office says El Sardinero is where surfing in Spain began.
Are there campsites on the Costa de Cantabria?
Camping Santillana is in Santillana del Mar, 5 minutes from Playa de Suances by its own account; Camping San Pelayo is inland in the Liébana valley, on the road to Fuente Dé.
Neighbouring costas
Costa Verde
West of Cantabria: the coast of Asturias, with fishing villages such as Cudillero and Lastres and the Picos de Europa behind.
Costa Verde guide →
Costa Vasca
East of Castro Urdiales: the coast of the Basque Country, the third region with caves in the Altamira World Heritage listing.
Costa Vasca guide →Sources and freshness
Checked 5 October 2026. Spain.info on Cantabria, Comillas, Santillana del Mar, Suances, Noja, Santoña, Laredo and Castro Urdiales, and the beach sheets for Oyambre, Comillas, Los Locos, Valdearenas, Somo, Trengandín, Berria, La Salvé and Ostende. San Vicente de la Barquera tourist office on the town, the Oyambre Natural Park, Oyambre beach and Merón. Santander Tourism on the city, its beaches, its history and the bay; Centro Botín. UNESCO on Altamira and the Paleolithic cave art of northern Spain. Museo de Altamira on the cave, the Neocueva, Sautuola, its history, opening hours, prices and getting there. Cuevas de Cantabria on the World Heritage caves, Monte Castillo, Covalanas, El Pendo and Chufín. MITECO on the Picos de Europa. Transport: OurAirports (LEXJ), Aena (airport, history, buses, destinations). Climate: AEMET normals 1981–2010 for Santander Airport. Campsites: Camping Santillana (home, location, surroundings); Camping San Pelayo (home, contact); Cantabria Rural and Campercontact on San Pelayo’s municipality. The regional tourist board’s site, turismodecantabria.com, could not be read when we checked, so it is not cited here.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, not altered except for cropping: Comillas by Luis Fermín TURIEL PEREDO (CC BY-SA 4.0); San Vicente de la Barquera by Pacodonderis (CC BY-SA 4.0); El Puntal, Somo by Luis Fermín TURIEL PEREDO (CC BY-SA 4.0); Helgueras, Noja by Luis Fermín TURIEL PEREDO (CC BY-SA 4.0); El Puntal, Somo by Luis Fermín TURIEL PEREDO (CC BY-SA 4.0); Puente Viesgo by Thilo Parg (CC BY-SA 4.0); Comillas by José Luis Filpo Cabana (CC BY 3.0); El Sardinero, Santander by Carlos Cunha (CC BY-SA 3.0); Santoña by Tiia Monto (CC BY-SA 3.0); Fuente Dé, Picos de Europa by Adrian Farwell (CC BY 3.0); Oyambre by Falk2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); Comillas by Luis Fermín TURIEL PEREDO (CC BY-SA 4.0); Playa de Los Locos, Suances by Daniel Escudero (CC BY-SA 3.0); Valdearenas, Liencres by www.webcamsantander.… (CC BY 3.0); El Sardinero, Santander by Carlos Cunha (CC BY-SA 3.0); Somo by Luis Fermín TURIEL PEREDO (CC BY-SA 4.0); Trengandín, Noja by rpacho (CC BY 3.0); La Salvé, Laredo by Tiia Monto (CC BY-SA 3.0); San Vicente de la Barquera by Ignacio Pérez Anguio (CC BY-SA 3.0); Comillas by José Luis Filpo Cabana (CC BY 3.0); Santillana del Mar by Luis Fermín TURIEL PEREDO (CC BY-SA 4.0); Centro Botín, Santander by Zandcee (CC BY-SA 4.0); Santoña by Ignacio Pérez Anguio (CC BY-SA 3.0); Castro Urdiales by Edmundo Sáez (CC BY-SA 4.0); Santillana del Mar by Luis Fermín TURIEL PEREDO (CC BY-SA 4.0); Valle de Liébana by Manuel Velazquez (CC BY 3.0); Neocueva, Museo de Altamira by User:MatthiasKabel (CC BY 2.5); Monte Castillo, Puente Viesgo by Thilo Parg (CC BY-SA 4.0); El Capricho, Comillas by Emilio Gómez Fernández (CC BY-SA 4.0); Palacio de la Magdalena, Santander by Carlos Ramón Bonilla… (CC BY-SA 3.0); Castro Urdiales by Giorgio Galeotti (CC BY-SA 4.0); Palacio de la Magdalena, Santander by José Ibáñez (CC BY 3.0); Santillana del Mar by Luis Fermín TURIEL PEREDO (CC BY-SA 4.0); Palacio de Sobrellano, Comillas by Manuel1964 (CC BY-SA 3.0 es); San Vicente de la Barquera by Sergio Segarra (CC BY-SA 2.0); Cueva de El Castillo, Puente Viesgo by Emilio Gómez Fernández (CC BY-SA 4.0); Laredo by Tiia Monto (CC BY-SA 3.0); Castro Urdiales by Giorgio Galeotti (CC BY-SA 4.0); Cudillero, Asturias by Wamba Wambez (CC BY-SA 3.0); San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, Basque coast by Fernando Vázquez (CC BY 3.0).