Traveling

By Air

Santander Airport, located about five kilometres from the town hall, has daily connections with Madrid and Barcelona. A flight to and from Madrid takes about 40 minutes, and from Barcelona about 60 minutes. Please consult with your travel agency for further details; alternatively you can check the flights of Iberia Airlines or Spanair.

The only connection between the Santander airport and the town is by taxi, at a price of 10-15 EUR. Phones:
Radio Taxi:(34)942 33 33 33
Tele Taxi:(34)942 36 91 91

Bilbao Airport (Sondika) has some international conections (London, Milano, Frankfurt, Brussels, Paris) and is located at 60 minutes driving distance from Santander. The bus company serving the route Bilbao-Santander is Turytrans (phone in Santander 942 22 16 85 or 942 22 65 08 and in Bilbao 944 21 03 63). If you arrive to Sondika airport, you must take a bus or taxi to the Turytrans-downtown Bilbao stop (plaza Amezola).

By Train

There are several daily connections from Madrid, operated by RENFE and from Bilbao and Oviedo, operated by FEVE. Trains from Bilbao and Oviedo, operated by FEVE arrive at a station next to the Estacion de autobuses.

By Bus

All buses arrive at the Estacion de autobuses. International buses, e.g. from Brussels, London, Paris, Zurich and Prague) are operated by ALSA, phone (34) 902 42 22 42 or (34) 942 2 16 85. An extensive number of national bus connections, operated by ALSA, Turytrans and Continental Auto.

By Car

If you drive a car, you can arrive at Santander:

From the South You can take the free highway A1(N1) from Madrid to Burgos, then take A73(N627) to Aguilar de Campoo and finally, connect to A67(N611) to Santander. It takes about four hours. An alternative route is the free highway A6 from Madrid till the crossing with E80(N620) at Tordesillas (for a small part you will have to pay) and then drive on the E80(N620) towards Palencia (passing Valladolid by). At Palencia connect to the free highway A67(N611) to Santander. This takes about five hours.

From the South (alternative) If you dislike mountain roads follow free highway Madrid-Burgos, then the toll highway A1 till it crosses A68. Then take the toll highway A68 towards Bilbao and finally the free highway A8 to Santander. This route takes about 100 Km more than the routes above.

From France (East) Take the toll highway A63 from the French border to Bilbao, then the free highway A8 form Bilbao to Santander. It takes about 60 minutes from Bilbao to Santander, and two/three hours from the French border to Santander.

From the West (Galicia, Asturias and Portugal) Take the free highway A8 from the center of Asturias (Oviedo, Gijon) or the road from Galicia to Santander.

You might want to plan your route with the excellent free service of the Royal Automobile Club (it is recommended to enable Java in the browser for the interactive map).

By Sea

There are two sailings a week between Plymouth (UK) and Santander, each one is a 24 hour cruise operated by Brittany Ferries. See their Website for schedule and fares:
Phone:(34)942 360 611
Email: santander@brittany-ferries.com