Getting Around Santander
Getting around Santander is easy, there are frequent local buses around the city and up to the beaches of El Sardinero and beyond, bike hire, and even boats to further beaches.
Airport Bus/Taxi
From the airport there is a regular dedicated bus service which goes from outside the terminal building to the Santander Bus Station every 30 minutes (on the hour and half-hour) taking around 15 minutes to the centre (traffic depending). The return buses also depart every 30 minutes from the same drop-off point at the main bus station on Plaza Estaciones. There is also a taxi rank at the airport with plenty of taxis (there is one city taxi firm which is the only one allowed to wait at taxi stands). For travel further afield than Santander, the bus company ALSA also runs buses to Bilbao, Gijon, Oviedo etc.
Buses
Once in Santander the city buses are easy to spot, as are the bus stops. The main bus station is right in the centre, opposite the RENFE (for connections to Burgos, Madrid and beyond) and FEVE (for local trains east and west of Santander and Torrelavega) train stations. This bus station is where the airport bus arrives, and where regional, national and international buses leave from. A few local buses leave from outside of the main bus station on Plaza Estaciones, but for the majority of buses it is necessary to walk through the road tunnel outside the station (Pasaje de Pena) towards the town hall (Ayuntamiento), where there are bus stops both right and left of the exit of the tunnel on Calle Jesus de Monasterio. At every bus stop there is a clear map showing the bus routes and stops and many stops have information boards that indicate the time interval for each bus arrival. The bus numbers for each stop are clearly shown with coloured stickers on the glass panels of each stop. Most of the city buses now have automated information systems on board to inform you of the next stop (some of them also speak, but only in Spanish). Many stops are identified by a certain number on a certain street (eg : San Fernando 22) so knowing the address of the destination can be helpful in finding the correct stop. The TUS bus website is: www.tusantander.es
Taxi
There are marked taxi ranks all over the city, and at the main stations. The taxis (at the ranks) will not pick you up off the street, you have to either go to a rank or order one previously from a fixed address/point. See www.radiotaxisantander.es for more information and a map of taxi ranks. Taxis are relatively cheap in the city : for example, a journey from Paseo Pereda to El Sardinero costs approximately 5 Euros. The journey from the airport to the town centre costs approximately 20€.
Bikes
There is also a new system in Santander called TUSBic, run by the same company who run the local buses. There are now points all over the city streets, in the centre, suburbs and up at the beaches in Sardinero, where you can pick up a bike to use for a few hours or a day. Each point has stands for up to around 10 bikes, and a machine where you can put in your details (a credit card is needed), and release one of the bikes. Santander is also introducing more bike paths, such as along the promenade at El Sardinero, and some of the beaches now have boardwalks which you can ride along. The website is fairly comprehensive, but in Spanish: www.tusbic.es Again, if you are staying in the city for longer there is a card you can obtain which gives you regular use of the bikes.
Boat
There is also a boat service available to cross the bay of Santander and reach either Somo (for beaches, surf and restaurants) or Pedreña (for restaurants, golf and sailing) on the other side. This runs from the promenade close to the tourist office in Jardines de Pereda (in the centre of town). The company that runs it is called Los Reginas, and they also run excursions around the bay and up the river between Somo and Pedreña. Their website is: www.losreginas.com
