Santander Travel Forum

I am thinking of going to Santander for about a week in August, can you recommend a hotel or would it be better to rent an apartment for a family of 5.We want to be close to beach and the town Prices etc would be appricated ,I am coming from Ireland so I would fly with Ryanair. Is Santander a good place to go with a family all views appricated , thanks

I only can give you my opinion to the last question: Yes, Santander is a great place for a family. The surroundings are very beautiful and, if you have kids (or een for adults), you can go to Cabárcena Park, it's like a zoo.

I did not stay overnight in Santander but spent a day walking there, and it's beautiful! It has tree-lined parks paralelling the beach, nice are for a family. It think it even had a casino! (If you don't mind looking thru my Transcantabrico journey, I have some photos of Santander).

If you have a car, you could do a couple of day trips to:
1. Santillana del Mar, and perhaps to
2. Covadonga (Covadonga is a little farther, but it's a very important and holy place for Spain because this is where the first battle to regain christian rule was won). Cova = cave. Donga = our lady - so this is our lady's cave. Covadonga is a bit farther but we went from Bilbao and it was fine. If you go, leave early, no later than 7 AM as the parking gets full.
3. Altamira cave. You don't go into the actual cave but a replica, but it is *extremely* realistic. Kids may really enjoy it.

As far as hotels, I would start with hotels.com and enter Santander, Spain. I do not like to book via hotel.com - if I find a hotel I like I usually look for the hotel's direct site. I looked and it has quite a few listings, just a matter of seeing proximity to the beach, price, etc.. Also check what VT has listed.

I doubt that you will be able to rent an appartment in Santander for only one week. Usually summer appartments are rented for a month or half month, so the option for a hotel seems easier.
August is high season so prices might be expensive.
Internet hotel search is a good idea: www.hotels.com or www.bookings.com will show you available hotels and info about them including map.

I posted a hint about cheaper hotels sometime ago at:
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/6051d/3e1cb/3/

The tourist information pages of Santander and Cantabria might also be helpful for the accommodation:
http://english.turismodecantabria.com/
http://www.ayto-santander.es/concejalias/turismo/Turismo_principal_presentacion2.htm

Santander is a nice place for a family hollidays , but do not forget that this is not the "sunny" Spain . Weather is milder than in the South . You may have rain some day but the temperatures will be very nice
You may go to the beach or to the mountain as you please and you may visit Cabarceno , that is a kind of zoo where animals live closed in a very big and natural areas and the Soplado caves that are interesting and good to visit with children
August is an expensive month as it is the peak season and hotels and apartments are expensive and and not easy to book
If you are interested I may ask some hotels or appartments , but i need you tell me which is your target budget
Buen Viaje !!!!!

We would like a place to stay that is not to far from Santander airport and is close to a nice town and beach within walking distance as we have 3 children, all under 8 years old.I would hope to pay around 100 euro -150 euro a night, Can you name town that you would recommend so I could check internet, Is Santander city a good place to stay for our needs, ie close to beach,or to far from airport, thanks

Santander , has beaches and it is in the West side of a bay and at the end of it is the airport ( 20 minutes by bus ) . On the East side of the bay is a small village called Somo (20 min by taxi)with nice beaches and good atmoaohere in Summer time
It depends if you prefer Summer Town hollidays or Summer village hollidays , you may enjoy both alternatives
For that price , probably , you may get an apartment ( second half is cheaper ), Somo will be cheaper
If you do not find any agency , please let me know and I will check inthe news paper
Buen viaje !!!

I would second the choice of staying in Somo, especially with kids. There's a 8 kms long beach there and several hotels and rural inns that are great.
Hotels include http://www.hotelesdesomo.com/ or
http://www.hoteltorresdesomo.com/ and rural inns maybe searched at
http://www.cantabriarural.com/,
e.g. La Posada de Somo.
August is peak season so book right away. There are fine restaurants (La Caracola, Rompeolas, etc.) and bars-cafes and instead of the taxi mentioned, you may take the bus-boat to Santander, every 15 minutes, takes you to the heart of Santander. Somo is fine surfing beach too in some of its areas.
Cantabria has a lot of things to do, lovely beaches and towns in Santander, Langre, Galizano, Oyambre, San Vicente de la Barquera, cliff walks, etc. Weather is cooler than the South.
Cabarceno is fantastic, the now natural zoo is an old iron mining area since Roman times and the landscape and views are not to be missed. All Cantabrian valleys are worth exploring: Valle de Pas, Valle de Miera, Valle de Cabarniga with the village of Barcena Mayor at the end, Valle de Nansa, and the roads that cross the mountain ranges go through some fantastic scenery and villages, Palomberas pass is lovely and Puerto de La Lunada and Sia are not for the faint-hearted driver! There are a lot of rambles, and one of our favourites is to park the car in Barcena Pie de Concha, go up two stops in the Renfe train, get off at Pesquera (stops only if you tell the conductor!), and walk the old Roman and medievial route back to Barcena. It is well-signaled from the station itself, and you go through some abandoned villages and the Roman road is really intact in some places, right down to the rut-marks. An easy 2-3 hours walk.
Another part of Cantabria is Potes and the Liebana valley, drive of about 1 and half hrs from Santander, with the Picos de Europa and Fuente De Cable Car.
The village of Santillana is a must despite the tourism, and the caves of Altamira and Soplao are essential, but you must buy tickets in advance (any branch of Banco Santander will sell them): you have to go at the fixed time you select.
Santander and everywhere abouds in restaurants, both fine-end like the
http://www.cenadordeamos.com/restaurante.html near Somo or
family run places serving excellent everyday fare.
You won't regret your visit