Exiting Santander

jetsonx

From looking at past trip reports exiting Santander on a bike is not fun...anybody know a good route out of the town heading southbound.

jetsonx

shameless bump...

Anybody? a good route out of Santander?

megilleland

Santander is indeed not very cycle friendly as some other cities in Spain, especially to the south near the airport. I have cycled south out of Santander on the N623 to Muriendas and then the S436 to El Astillero on my way to Santona. There is also a cycle track all the way round the airport, but to link it up to the city centre you have to pick your way through the industrial area next to the docks. The other route south is to use the N611 to Torrelavega via Arce.

From El Astillero you can pick up the Via Verde del Pas. You can link this up with the airport cycle track, through the housing estate at Maliano Alto - south of the airport terminal buildings
http://www.viasverdes.com/fichas_htm/pa ... escrip.htm

An unusual way to get out of Santander would be to take the ferry to Pedrena across the Bay of Santander.
Ferry details here (all day - every half hour - 30 mins)
http://www.losreginas.com/reginas/servicio.htm
Then cycle down to Astillero. A nice little family video of this route can seen here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVnu4I__7OE

There is plenty of detail of the area if you go to:
http://sigpac.mapa.es/fega/visor/
The site has maps and aeriel views of Santander and the rest of Spain in great detail. Just click on the home page and zoom in on the map and switch between ortofoto (aeriel view) and topografico (map).

jetsonx

megilleland, thanks for that info. - exactly what I was looking for - really appreciate that.

megilleland

I have come across this spanish website with cycle routes in Cantabria. One of the routes is an option (Ronda de la Bahia de Santander) as part of the Camino de Santiago.
http://cantabriaenbici.es/csantiago/csa ... la_Baha_de

You could use the western section of this route to get south of Santander and/or onto the Via Verde at La Concha (Villaescusa). You can follow the route by clicking on "Etapa Opcional en formato Google Earth (KMZ)" after the description of route.

The problem of getting out of Santander safely has been recognised by the City Council and on 21st April 2008 they announced a scheme to create a route in conjuction with the Port Authority. This route will start at the Grúa de Piedra in Santander and after crossing the docks will link up the municipalities of Camargo, Astillero, Villaescusa, Marina de Cudeyo, Medio Cudeyo and Ribamontán al Mar.

On a lighter note an ariel video of Santander with music by MIke Oldfield.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SjUmjHkwHko

MichaelW

A bit of feedback for the archives:
Santander airport has a bus service to the city center bus station. They take bikes for free, it is a low-loader style of bus with fewer seats and more floor/luggage space. The bus station is a few mins away from the main tourist info on Jardines De Pereda past the cathedral by the seafront.
The campsite for the city at Cabo Mayor is about 45mins from the bus station with some navigating trial and error, follow the main coast road around the city (not down to the docks or beaches). There are some quieter parallel backstreets for the first km. Past the Casino there are signs but it gets a bit hazy, generally, head uphill..
The local rail network Feve take bikes for free and stop avery few miles all the way along the coast.
Bikes flying from Santander airport need to fit through the scanner so the front wheel/mudguard must be removed.

If you want to ride over the Picos, there is a cable car at Fuentas De, west of Potes. It takes bikes up on the first car of the day (09:00). There is a trail to Sotres that is rideable by loaded touring bike with some care. The descent is one of the longest I have ridden and ends at the trailhead to the Cares Gorge.