Hikes in Santander

A route that has become a Sunday or siesta walk for locals, so it can't be missing from your list of activities if you are on vacation in Santander, regardless of the season.

Coastal section with ferry ride across the Bay of Santander and magnificent views.

From the lively coastal town to the medieval idyll of Cantabria.

Hiking route along the Costa Quebrada near SantanderFrom Santander, this long tour always runs close to the Atlantic to the wide beaches at Parque Natural Dunas de Liencres and to Boo de Piélagos. We pass numerous cliffs and rock formations that offer interesting insights into the geology of the coast. Many beaches and restaurants along the way invite you to swim and stop for a meal. However, those who want to do the tour in one go will have no time for very long breaks. Alternatively, it can be done in two independent sections. The second half from Ciriego is the more scenic one. Start and end points of all route options (either continuous or each of the two sections) are connected to public transportation.

Galizano - Church of Our Lady of the Assumption - La Iglesia Park - Punta Canaluca - Punta Rodico - Cape of Galizano - Punta de Langre - Mirador de los Tranquilos - Somo - Church of Somo - Pedreña - El Muelle neighborhood - "El Montañés" Monument - Embarcadero Mansion - José María Pereda Gardens - Fuente de los Meones - Fuente de Concha Espina - Monument to José María de Pereda - Interpretation Center of the Old Docks of Santander - Monument to the Santander Fire - Velarde Monument - Parish of the Holy Christ - Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption - Interpretation Center of the City's History - Atarazanas Square - Bridge Street - San Francisco Street - Monument to the victims of Cabo Machichaco - Church of the Annunciation - Santander - Town Hall Square - Casa de Recogidas de Santa María Egipciaca - Amós de Escalante Street - Juan José Ruano Park - Miguel Artigas Street - Santander Municipal Library - Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Santander and Cantabria - Menéndez Pelayo Library - Rubio Street - Amnesty International Monument - Alameda de Jesús de Monasterio - Parish of Santa María Reparadora - Numancia Square - Cervezas Square - Perines - Parish of Santa María de los Ángeles - Alameda de Oviedo - Church of the Bien Aparecida - Cuatro Caminos - Benito Juárez Monument - To Félix Rodríguez - Mexico Square - Chapel - Our Lady of Sorrows - Doctor Morales Park - Cajo - La Remonta Park - Cañas neighborhood - La Peña neighborhood - Church of Our Lady of Loreto - Bezana - Santa Cruz de Bezana - Mompía - Hermitage of Our Lady of the Rosary - Boo de Piélagos - Church of San Juan Bautista

​As beautiful as the route to Santander had been, the first half of this stage doesn’t offer much in the way of positive highlights. Amid the urban bustle, the route—if you know it—is fairly easy to follow, yet the signage is very sparse and can easily be missed. But as soon as we leave the city behind, things quiet down, with good viewpoints and scattered little villages. Between Mar and Barreda, however, it’s once again very urban and industrial. The last 7 km to Santillana, on the other hand, are simply wonderful—rural and peaceful. Since the footpath across the extremely narrow railroad bridge from Boo de Piélagos has been officially closed since 2016, we take the train one stop to Mogro. We have to pay on the train itself, as there are no other options outside the train. Usually, there’s no conductor on board, so the two-minute ride ends up being very inexpensive for us.▶ From the cathedral plaza in Santander 01, the Camino continues to the left along “Calle Calvo Sotelo” (the main thoroughfare). At the next intersection, the path leads us left and then right uphill. We follow Calle Alta past a hostel 02, where a large roundabout begins. We cross the roundabout to the left at the crosswalk, see a sign pointing toward Santanilla del Mar, and from there continue straight down the street. As we pass the large hospital complex, we see yellow arrows here and there. After a while, we reach a large park 03 on our right. At the end of the park, we walk straight ahead for the next 2 km or so, passing under the railroad bridge. At the town sign for Peñacastillo 04, we cross the crosswalk and turn right onto the side street. Just past the railroad bridge, turn left across the meadow; at first, it seems like a dead end, but a small path runs directly under the highway bridge. Turn right at the next street (narrow!), then turn left at the upcoming meadow. After passing under the three highway bridges, we then turn left toward Santa Cruz de Bezana 05, which is still 1.7 km away. The arrows guide us perfectly to the church, where we walk straight past the cemetery and immediately find ourselves back in idyllic farmland. At the next left turn, it’s not far to Mompía 06. We continue straight ahead and, at the next street, turn right onto the crosswalk, heading directly down to the train station, where we take the underpass to the left to reach the other side. Following the arrows to the CA-304, we keep to the right. After a while, the trail turns right 07 toward the Boo de Piélagos hostel, while the new “official” route heads up toward Arce and runs south along the highway. After a short stretch of ups and downs, we cross the railroad tracks and follow them. Soon, a sign indicates that the local hostel is just a short distance to the left, and we arrive at the town’s train station. We take the train from Boo de Piélagos 08 to Mogro, which is just one stop away. There, on the station plaza, we find a sign directing us to the “Iglesia Virgen del Monte.” At the CA-232 road that follows, however, we do not turn left toward the church but instead turn right toward Mogro itself. As we walk slowly uphill, we see pastureland to our right and, beyond it, the Río Pas, which we had just crossed by train. Although the official route turns left at the roundabout onto Calle San Martín toward the church of the same name, this route offers us a few shopping opportunities.Behind the Iglesia de San Martín de Mogro 09, we follow the road and find ourselves back on the Camino. On the way to the cemetery, we enjoy beautiful views across the Ría de Mogro. To the right behind the cemetery, we see a few houses, toward which we make our way in a semicircle. Along the way, a signpost indicates that Bárcena de Cudón is still 1.7 km away—one of the alternative routes we can take, and we do just that. More farmsteads are scattered along the way, and as soon as we’re “over the hill,” the landscape opens up. At a fork 10, we continue straight ahead on the CA-325 and head directly to Bárcena de Cudón 11 (Bar), about 500 m away. At the next road, we turn right toward Mar 12. The small chapel forms the center of this little village (Bar). From there, the arrows point us to the left; behind the soccer field, there’s a fountain. At the train station, we continue straight ahead and follow the road to the right, passing by factory buildings. We then come to the N-611, which we follow from there on. Passing two hostels and going through the town of Requejada, we arrive at the clearly visible industrial site of Barreda at the edge of town. We stay on the N-611 for another full kilometer until, at the large roundabout on the right, we cross a bridge over the tracks, pass the Solvay factory, and cross the Río Saja. We then keep to the right, walk uphill across the crosswalk, and turn left at the pharmacy onto the CA-340, leaving the urban noise behind. As we pass a fountain, the landscape quickly opens up. The pedestrian path soon narrows to a strip again and leads us through the rolling countryside. We ignore the later turnoffs toward Puente Avios and Queveda.On the outskirts of Camplengo 13, we head toward a tunnel on the main highway but turn right before reaching it, go under the road, and walk downhill toward Santillana del Mar 14, which is now only 1 km away.The public hostel is quite hidden and is located behind the Jesús Otero Museum. The hospitalero is on the second floor of the museum (open from 4:00 p.m.). Other hostels are scattered throughout the town.

Iglesia de San Vicente Mártir - Güemes - Somo - Iglesia de Somo - Puertochico - Monumento "El Montañés" - Jardines de José María Pereda - Palacete del Embarcadero - Fuente de los Meones - Fuente de Concha Espina - Monumento a José María de Pereda - Museo de Prehistoria y Arqueología de Cantabria - Centro de Interpretación de la Muralla Medieval de Santander - Monumento a Velarde - Plaza de Pedro Velarde - Parroquia del Santísimo Cristo - Iglesia de la Anunciación - Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción - Calle de San Francisco - Centro de Interpretación de la Historia de la Ciudad - Plaza de Atarazanas - Calle del Puente - Santander - Plaza de las Estaciones

​Landschaftlich ist diese kurze, knackige Etappe ein wahrer Traum. Die angegebenen 20,9 km beinhalten die rund 5 km lange Überfahrt nach Santander, dem nunmehr zweiten Ballungsraum auf unserem Weg nach Santiago de Compostela. Die Fähren fahren Montag bis Samstag jede halbe Stunde und sonn- und feiertags stündlich für 2,90 € (Stand: Januar 2020).▶ Mit der Herberge von Pater Ernesto in Güemes 01 im Rücken wandern wir geradewegs bis zur Hauptstraße CA-443 und dort links Richtung Galizano. Sobald sich die Landschaft wieder öffnet, genießen wir einen wunderbaren Weitblick; wir sehen das Ballungsgebiet um Santander als auch bei guten Sichtverhältnissen das Kantabrische Gebirge mit dem Picos de Europa in der Ferne. Bei Erreichen der Hauptstraße gehen wir links auf dem Standstreifen, um an der kommenden Liberbank rechts in den Ort abzubiegen.An der Kirche von Galizano 02 vorbei halten wir uns rechts beim Hotel La Vijanera und dem Sportplatz. Hier nun immer geradeaus, an der Surfschule vorbei und durch die kleine Siedlung vor uns hindurch erhaschen wir erste Ausblicke auf die Steilküste und das Meer.Dieser Straße folgen wir bis zum letzten Haus hinab, anschließend geht es dann unmerklich (die Pfeile verblassen) rechts zu dem spektakulären Klippenweg 03. Wir kommen zu einem Aussichtspunkt 04 und gehen stets an den weiterhin ungesicherten Klippen entlang. Wenn wir die ersten Häuser erreichen, bleiben wir auf dieser Richtung. Über einen im Januar 2020 neu gebauten Rast- als auch Aussichtsplatz gehen wir anschließend zum Strand hinab, durchqueren den kleinen Bachlauf, suchen uns einen Weg durch das Felsenlabyrinth, wechseln entweder zwischen Dünen und Strand oder bleiben gleich am Wasser. Wir queren einen Fluss 05 und letztlich den gesamten Strand bis zum ersten Haus nach den großen Dünen. Dort hinauf, über den "Walk of Fame" des Surfens und der Tourist-Informa­tion von Somo 06 auf der Rückseite folgen wir der Straße am LuPa-Supermarkt vorbei und dann auf der nächsten Querstraße rechts ab zum Fährterminal 07. In Santander angekommen gehen wir links quer durch den einladenden Park und geradewegs in die Calle de Somorrosto, um zur Kathedrale 08 zu kommen.