A short tour taking in the best of Cantabria & Asturias where the Picos de Europa mountains come down to meet the sea. Discover the lovely seaside villages of Santillana del Mar, Comillas & Lastres, to name but a few, and the medieval charms of Potes nestling in the Liebana valley. Take a trip to Santander, Oviedo or even Bilbao, get out and get active in the mountains or the surf-washed beaches, or just relax and enjoy the breathtaking scenery…

  • Tour Highlights:
  • Two faces of the Picos de Europa
  • Medieval Santillana & the Cantabrian coast
  • Dinosaur coast – Jurassic Museum & fossil footprints
  • Seaside charm; Comillas, San Vicente & Lastres
  • Santander, the city on the bay & Oviedo with its pre-romanesque architecture
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£675 p/p

* Indicative mid-season price for 7 nights (including car hire – flights not included) in our suggested hotels. Ferry-drive based on 2 people from £825p.p. for 7 nights.

Full details (PDF)

Day 1 & 2 – Asturias: Picos & Dinosaur Coast

  • Picos de Europa soaring directly above the coast
  • Mirador del Fito – the best view of the Picos & the coast
  • Jurassic footprints by the beaches
  • Canoe down the Sella or get out on a fishing boat
  • Oviedo’s fine Pre-Romanesque architecture
Accommodation options

Day 3 & 4 – Picos de Europa – Liebana Valley

  • Breathtaking mountain scenery, walks & activities for all
  • Wildlife, butterflies to birds of prey, bears too!
  • Make a pilgrimage to Santo Toribio
  • Cable car at Fuente De whisks you up to 1800m
  • Medieval Potes, historic yet full of life
  • Local mountain gastronomy, cider & orujo
Accommodation options

Days 5 to 7 – Western Cantabria

  • San Vicente, Comillas or Santillana del Mar, historic seaside villages
  • Sandy beaches and craggy protected coves
  • Carmona, Barcena Mayor in the beautiful valleys
  • World heritage cave paintings at Altamira
  • Wonderful walks along the coast or in the rolling hills
Accommodation options

& why not?

  • Add a stop in Bilbao, La Rioja or both!
  • Explore the western highlands of Asturias
  • or the rugged west Asturian coast
  • Ask about superior rooms, a larger rental car or better cabins on the ferry
  • or more economical options if you're on a budget...
  • Call us to talk through all the options - we'd love to hear from you!
Accommodation options

The itinerary includes the following:

  • Accommodation in our listed hotels – 2 sharing 1 std. double ensuite, B&B
  • Economy 4dr car hire
  • or ferry crossings with Brittany Ferries (car + 2 berth interior cabin)
  • Guide book to Northern Spain
  • Personal Travel App including highlights, weather forecast and restaurant suggestions for all areas en-route
  • Instructions to find all accommodation

Not included:

  • Flights – but we are able to advise
  • One-way car hire charges, where applicable (see your quote email)
  • The following car hire extras – these can be added at pick-up point
    • extra driver
    • child seats
    • GPS
  • Garage parking where applicable (mostly city stops) – please ask us about parking charges

Getting there

A circular route, this itinerary has excellent access by air and sea:

    • Flight connections from-to:
      • Stansted: Santander with Ryanair
      • Gatwick: Bilbao or Asturias with Vueling –Easyjet
      • Dublin: Santander with Ryanair / Bilbao with Aer Lingus
      • Manchester: Bilbao with Easyjet / Santander with Ryanair
      • Edinburgh; Santander with Ryanair

 

  • Ferry: if you wish to bring your own car, classic car or motorbike we can include the ferry crossings as part of the package

 

Getting around

For passengers travelling by air we will include a hire car as part of the package. Normally we include a 4 door economy class car but please let us know if you would like something different.

For those coming on the ferry you will use your own vehicle but in either case we will provide full instructions to arrive at each hotel, complete with GPS, as well as a map of the area

AITO reviews

Want to travel across Northern Spain? These are the guys!
From beginning to end - the guys (especially Andy) at Casas Cantabricas made the planning of this holiday a doddle. We were afraid that, as we wanted to travel through Northern Spain, that it would mean long tiring road journeys or not enough time to explore the surrounding regions – but Andy and team are experts on the area and that made it much easier to plan. Their local knowledge and guidance meant we could focus on what we wanted to see and do.
I would thoroughly recommend them!

Client 2019

Excellent. Made booking a motorcycle tour very easy and very good value for money.
..... If you’re touring by motorcycle the best roads in the Picos de Europe mountains are all well publicised on the BBR (Best Biking Roads) app or on the motorcycle magazine websites. What you need is great hotels and easy ferry bookings. Casas Cantabricas do a great job of delivering this part of the holiday.

Client 2019

The scenery in Northern Spain is stunning and with good road links between our hotels, we where able to visit many of the recommended places of interest during our holiday. The itinerary and hotels where spot on and we can’t wait to visit this beautiful part of the world again, with Casas Cantabricas planning another touring holiday for us.
Excellent customer service, provided a personalised itinerary with delightful historic properties to stay in. Loved the Vamoos travel app with all our travel arrangements, and guides to the different regions we where visiting.
Thank you Casas Cantabricas for a perfect holiday.

Client 2019

A well balanced holiday with good variety of mountains and historic villages.
Everything was exactly as described. Hotels were very good, with helpful staff. Directions to get to the hotels with one exception were accurate and helpful. Altogether a well presented service and certainly would recommend Casa Cantabricas for anyone wanting to experience Northern Spain.

Client 2019

We loved every minute of the holiday the three places we stayed were perfect, spotlessly clean,very welcoming and good food. The flowers and scenery were better than I had expected and the sea food at Tazones and San Vincent de la Barquera were excellent. We covered 1,100klma so saw a lot of the place it was just so unspoilt.

Client 2019

Beautiful scenery both in the beaches and in the hills of this stunning area of Northern Spain

Very efficient service and cabin upgrade arranged during holiday. Three centred holiday went without a hitch.

Client 2019

Stopped in lovely hotels and saw a huge variety of places which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Client 2018

Knowledgeable, friendly personal service.

Client 2018

Enjoyed the regions in respect of scenery, dining and people. Would certainly recommend both the area and Casas Cantabricas.

– client 2017

We had a brilliant week in northern Spain, discovering an area previously unknown to us and a world away from the Costas and heavily developed islands.

– client 2017

A wonderful way of seeing different regions of northern Spain.

-client 2017

What a great holiday. This area of Northern Spain, Cantabria and Asturias, was unexpectedly beautiful and easy to drive around. Anyone we met was pleasant and welcoming, the food and wine very good and relatively inexpensive.

-client 2017

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