We'll be in Santander in Sept. and would like to see Santillana del Mar with the Altamira Cave Museum, and also the Picos de Europa with Potes. I think it will be fairly simple to do the Santillana trip on our own using the public bus. I would like to take a guided tour of the Picos however, since I can't find convenient public buses. I have seen postings here from NEDSIRELAND referring to such tours, but can't find anything on the internet. What is the name of the tour company? Are they on the internet? Are they scheduled every day?

Thanks, Judy

Anyone?

Hi Judy,

I was in Santander this past August and did a guided group tour of Picos and Potes. This particular itinerary was offered I think twice a week ( I remember I went on a Tuesday).I don't remember the name of the company that organized it as I booked it through my hotel. They also offered tours to Santillana but I had gone to Santillana on my own on a prior trip.

I'm going to review stuff I saved from the trip and see if by any chance I saved the brochure of the trip so I can give you more details. But if you're staying at a hotel I'm sure they have this information ( maybe not yet for next year but at least they can give you last years info as an indication)

And you are right, doing Santillana on your own is very easy. I did it by public bus.

I don't know about a guided tour of the Picos de Europa. We took a Bus Tour from Santander: booked it thru our Hotel (although on a prior trip I booked one at a Travel Agency just behind Correos). Tours offered in September are:

San Vicente de la barquera, Santillana y Comillas (Sundays);

Cabarceno (Mondays);

Puente Viesgo Caves and Cabarceno (Wednesdays);

Covadonga and the Lakes (Fridays);

Picos de Europa (Tuesdays & Saturdays).

As I mentioned at the top, we went to Santo Toribio Monastery, continued to Fuente De and caught a Cable Car up the mountain; came back to Potes for lunch (we bought the 'lunch inclusive' package - bad idea! I visited Potes before * that meal was no bargain).

My brochure is several years old so some things may ave changed. My first visit was in April (before tours begin) and I took a la Palomera Bus from Santander's main bus station to Potes. Buses terminate in Potes until May 1; but I wanted to be in Potes for Santo Toribio (16 Apr).

Thank you both for the great info. I have been trying to finalize our itinerary and wanted to be in Santander for the Picos bus tour. I'll change things around so we are there on a Tues.
I know the schedule can change, but at least we will have done our best.

Thanks again, Judy