If you are looking for a vacation in Cantabria that allows you to discover this beautiful land in its entirety with scheduled excursions but with enough free time to rest and discover the land without stress, this 7-day plan is perfect for you. This experience includes 6 nights of accommodation in a central hotel in Santander and five excursions to the most essential places in Cantabria: Santillana del Mar and the Altamira museum; El Soplao cave; Cabárceno Nature Park; Picos de Europa, Monastery of Santo Toribio and Potes; Comillas and Capricho de Gaudí. All these excursions are organized so that a vehicle will pick you up at your hotel and a person will accompany you during the visit. If there is an excursion that you do not fancy, you can deselect it at the time of booking. If your body is asking for more vacation days, you can also lengthen your dates in the search engine. Also, if you travel by plane, you have the option of including transfers from the airport to the hotel and from your hotel to the airport. As you can see, everything is designed so that you don't have to worry about a thingand can plan your trip to measure. You suggest it, Nativics can do it 😎.

7 Days / 6 Nights
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Experience Details

  • Accommodation in a central hotel in Santander
  • Excursion to Cabárceno Park
  • Excursion to Santillana del Mar and Altamira Museum
  • Excursion to the Picos de Europa and Potes
  • Excursion to Comillas and Gaudí's Capricho
  • Flights (only included if they have been selected in the search engine)
  • Rental car
  • Other tickets, excursions, transfers and services not mentioned

Comfortable shoes

Umbrella or raincoat if you travel in the winter months

  • The order of the excursions may change
  • If you want to remove or add an excursion to your trip, contact Nativics

If you want to add transport to get to Santander, if you need a rental car in Santander, if you want to add or remove days from the proposed experience or if you want to customize your trip, do not hesitate to contact us and we will find the option that best suits you.

Travel guide of Full tour of Cantabria with excursions included

Day 1:

Arrival in Santander and first contact with the city

If you arrive by plane, a vehicle will pick you up at Santander Airport and take you to your hotel in the city center. Once you've settled in, it's time to explore

the city. Start with a walk through Puertochico where you will see the famous statues of Los Raqueros. Continue walking through the Jardines de Pereda until you reach the Centro Botín, where you can climb the external staircase to admire the views of the bay. Today is also a good day to do some shopping in the small shops in the center and go to Plaza Porticada, Plaza del Ayuntamiento and Santander Cathedral. When lunch or dinner time approaches, in the surroundings of the Plaza de Cañadío you will find a wide variety of restaurants and bars where you can have tapas.

What will you see today?

Altamira Museum, Cantabria

Entrance to the inside of the Botín center

If you want to go inside the Botín Center to see its temporary and permanent exhibitions, let us know and we'll arrange your ticket.

Rabas ration in Santander

Santander has a great gastronomic offer, from avant-garde restaurants with a Michelin star to traditional restaurants with a daily and alternative menu, as the Cantabrians call going from one place to another to eat portions and have a drink. "to alternate"

Avant-garde restaurants: Dear Margarita, with a tasting menu at a reasonable price. El Serbal, a Michelin star restaurant.

Tapas restaurants in the center of Santander: in the Plaza de Cañadío and in Hernán Cortés, Daoiz y Velarde and Santa Lucía streets. These streets are interconnected and full of lively bars and terraces with a wide gastronomic offer. Do not miss their seafood dishes, among which the squid and anchovies stand out. To finish, some good Cantabrian cheeses and a quesada.

Day 2:

Excursion to El Soplao cave

During the morning today you will have free time to walk around Santander, have tapas or visit a point of interest, if you didn't have time yesterday. After eating, you will have the option at 3:30 p.m. to take the excursion to the El Soplao cave. A vehicle will pick you up at your hotel or at the agreed meeting point and will take you to the most beautiful cave in Cantabria where your guided tour of the different galleries of the cave will begin. When finished, you will be transferred back to Santander.

What will you see today?

Why is it called Cueva del Soplao?

El Soplao cave owes its name to mining jargon. It is called soplao to the current of air that is created when a mining gallery cuts a natural cave gallery. By drilling, the two galleries are connected and that blowing is created. This only happens once. Once this air current is out, it doesn't happen again. This cave was discovered by miners in the area who exploited it and kept it secret for decades.

Day 3:

Excursion to the Cabárceno Nature Park

The excursion to the Cabárceno Nature Park starts at 9 in the morning. The pick-up is at your hotel and you will enjoy the park until 2:00 p.m., where the driver will make the corresponding stops at the viewpoints of the park and will tell you some curiosities. On this visit, you will be able to see semi-free animals from five different continents: African elephants, giraffes, bears, pygmy hippos, lions, gorillas... In addition, the ticket includes a cable car ride where you can enjoy the park from the air. You will surely take hundreds of photos!


In the afternoon you will have time to walk around Santander, lose yourself in the city and enjoy its cusine.

What will you see today?

Pygmy hippopotamus in Cabárceno, Cantabria

Cabarceno Park

The Cabárceno Park is neither a zoo nor a traditional park, but rather a large space of 750 hectares where 1,000 animals live in semi-freedom. This means that apart from being fed by park staff, the rest of their instincts remain free so it is not unusual to see males fighting during mating season or to see pups that have been born in the park. Did you also know that this beautiful park full of animals was an old mining operation? The beauty of the karstic landscape will surprise you during your visit

Day 4:

Excursion to the Picos de Europa and Potes

At 9 am you will be picked up at your hotel or at the meeting point to take you to Fuente Dé where you can enjoy the landscape of the Picos de Europa. At the end, you will be taken to the Santo Toribio de Liébana Monastery where you can admire the fabulous Lignum Crucis relic, the largest preserved piece of wood from the cross of Christ As icing on the cake, you will end the excursion in one of the most beautiful villages in Spain: Potes. There you will have time to eat and do some shopping for typical local products before returning to Santander.

What will you see today?

Day 5:

Excursion to Comillas: Capricho de Gaudí and Palacio de Sobrellano

Your route will start early today. The driver will pick you up at 9:30 a.m. and from there he will take you to the beautiful town of Comillas where you will visit the famous Capricho de Gaudí and the Palacio de Sobrellano. The visit to this municipality will take up half a day as it has a lot to offer. During the guided tour of the Palace, you will discover the details of the interior of the building and the exciting history of the Marquis of Comillas. you will learn the history of the entire municipality and the great milestones that were achieved. The visit lasts about 40 minutes. When leaving the palace, be sure to observe from up there the fantastic views of the Pontifical University and the giant Angel that the Marquis of Comillas ordered to be sculpted, which is located in the town's Gothic cemetery.


The next essential visit, is the Capricho de Gaudí, a modernist building by the great architect Antonio Gaudí, one of the few he built outside of Catalonia. A guide will explain all the curiosities of the home of the Marquis's lawyer, which stands out for its green tower that looks like a fairy tale. A complete folly


Finally, before returning to Santander, you will be able to admire the beach and the port of Comillas.

What will you see today?

Quotation marks

The first town in Spain to have electric light in its streets was Comillas, in 1881. The reason? The visit of King Alfonso XII to inaugurate the chapel-pantheon of the estate of Sobrellano, of the Marquis of Comillas, who had a very good relationship with royalty.

Day 6:

Excursion to Santillana del Mar and Altamira Museum

At 3:00 p.m., you will be picked up at your hotel to start the excursion to Santillana del Mar and the Altamira Museum. On this tour, you will visit the beautiful town of Santillana del Mar and its Collegiate Church of Santa Juliana, where you will discover its beautiful interior and its cloister. In Santillana, you will also have free time to shop or stroll at your leisure. Once you have toured this town, labelled as one of the most beautiful towns in Spain, you will be transferred to the Altamira Museum where you can enjoy a guided tour of the Neocueva, an exact replica of the original cave that is no longer open to the public in order to preserve it. This replica shows the Upper Paleolithic cave paintings that were found in Altamira, the first place in the world where they were identified. Once the visit is over, you will be transferred back to your hotel.


During the morning, take the opportunity to have some good sobaos for breakfast and take a walk through the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, the Plaza Porticada and see Santander Cathedral.

What will you see today?

Pygmy hippopotamus in Cabárceno, Cantabria

The interior of the Collegiate Church of Santa Juliana

The façade and the entrance to the Collegiate Church of Santa Juliana are one of the most widespread images of Cantabria and it is not unusual as it is imposing and of great beauty. But, did you know that its interior houses very important elements and great history? To begin with, it has the relic Lignum Crucis, that is, pieces of wood from the cross on which Jesus Christ could have been crucified. These pieces of wood are protected in a medieval silver cross that protects them from theft and allows them to be seen through its glass interior. Although there are unbelievers, the truth is that science has confirmed that these small pieces of wood belonged to that time and place. This relic was donated by the abbot of Santo Toribio in 1425 so that pilgrims from Santillana del Mar did not have to travel to the Santo Toribio Monastery, where there is a larger relic of the Lignum Crucis.


Furthermore, upon entering you will see the tomb of Santa Juliana, a martyr who gives the name to the Collegiate Church and, probably, to the town of Santillana del Mar since the old name of the monastery was in Latin, Sancta Iuliana, which would eventually lead to Santillana. Inside you will find information about his life and his ruthless end. As to whether his remains are really there or not, is a mystery because many churches claim to have them in their possession. In the same way, the history of the saint is very interesting and the interior of the collegiate church is a marvel that you will discover on your visit to Santander.

Day 7:

Farewell from Santander and return home

On this last day in Santander, take the opportunity to have a good farewell sobao for breakfast and make some last-minute purchases in Santander.

If you wish, a vehicle will pick you up to take you to Santander airport.


Have a good trip home!

Did you know...

Post Office Building, in Santander

Curiosities of Santander

Under the Cathedral of Santander there are Roman remains.

In February 1941 there was a great fire in Santander that devastated the city center leaving only two relevant buildings intact: the Post Office building and that of the Bank of Spain. This fire is known as the Andalusian fire, because it started on Calle Cádiz and ended on Calle Sevilla.

In the Pereda Gardens there are specimens of each of the tree species that can be found in Cantabria.


If you travel by plane...

If you travel by plane, remember to arrive at least 2 hours in advance at the airport. If you have to return the rental car, you should even earlier in case you find a traffic jam or queues. Better not risk it!

Activities

Contact an expert

If you have any questions about this experience, if you want more details or if you want to customize your trip, don't wait any longer! Contact us and we will help you tailor your trip.

Contact us if you need to add flights, rental cars, transfers or events to your trip. We will solve all your doubts and we will help you finalize your reservation.