Last year, we passed through Santander when we brought our dog to Portugal! We took the Portsmouth to Santander ferry. But the plan was for my husband to drive us straight to Braganca. So, previously I only had a fleeting sight of the port! I was left wondering ‘Is Santander worth visiting?’
This week I took a trip to the north of Spain to attend TBEX (the travel bloggers exchange conference) and I travelled from Donostia-San Sebastián to Santander via Bilbao. I made sure this time that I had a spare day in Santander before my flight home so that I could check it out.
I’ve heard a lot of people say bad things about Santander — it’s smelly, it’s dirty and there is nothing there! Now Santander is a port city so it’s certainly not as clean and beautiful as San Sebastián. But still, in my opinion it is a pleasant city and worth the visit.
How long should I spend in Santander?
You don’t need to spend more than one or two days there to see everything. This makes Santander an ideal stop off for travellers passing through Santander airport or port.
You might like to stay for 3 or 4 days if you plan on doing tours to surrounding areas. There are some interesting things on the Cantabria coast and the buses connect other main cities such as Bilbao and Oviedo.
