Depart from Santander and head toward Liébana. You will love this region of Cantabria where the landscape is dominated by mountains, forests, and rivers. On the way, prepare to be impressed when crossing the Hermida Gorge, one of the longest gorges in Spain. The first stop will be to visit the Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana, a holy place for Christianity that houses the Lignum Crucis, the largest preserved piece of wood from the cross of Jesus. After this very special stop, continue the trip towards Fuente Dé, where there is the cable car station to go up to Picos de Europa. Enjoy at least 1 hour and 30 minutes of free time there to enjoy the place, take the cable car, or embark on a horseback riding experience around the area (optional). If you take the cable car, the trip will only last 4 minutes and will take you to a height of 1,823 m above sea level. The views from there are just breathtaking. Finally, arrive in Potes, the capital of Liébana and considered one of the most beautiful towns in Spain, with its cobbled streets, bridges, and medieval tower, Torre del Infantado. Take a short walking tour of the town and you enjoy free time for lunch and for shopping in one of its many souvenir shops.

Visit Cabarceno Natural Park with a guide to understand and see what makes this park so unique. Once an open-cast iron mining operation, the park was reclaimed and turned into a conservation and also provides environmental education. The park is home to almost 150 species of animals from the five continents that live in a semi-freedom and are distributed in large enclosures. Explore the park by minivan and also have the opportunity to see it from the air as you take a short trip on a cable car. During your visit, see a large variety of animals including, but not limited to gorillas, tigers, bears, and elephants. Depending on the season and weather conditions have the chance to see flight demonstrations of raptors, as well as a demonstration of sea lions.

Asturias is the region that has it all. Find out why they say that paradise is in Asturias on a full-day trip that takes you past its blue lakes, green hillsides, and stunning coastline. Marvel at the mountains of Covadonga and learn the secrets that they hold. The tour starts from Santander and takes you past many Asturian and Cantabrian treasures. Learn about the history of this region as you drive into Covadonga Mountain National Park and up to Mirador de Entrelagos – the viewpoint between 2 lakes – where you'll take in Ercina and the Enol below. After visiting the Lakes of Covadonga, venture down to the Royal Site of Covadonga, home to the Virgen of Covadonga. Popularly known as La Santina, this site has a majestic Basilica built from stones from the surrounding mountains. The next stop is Cangas de Onís. Once the capital of the Kingdom of Asturias, this small town is home to a charming bridge with an incredible history. Learn all about this town from your guide and snap a picture of the famous victory cross.

You will leave Santander towards Santoña by van. It will take us 40 minutes to arrive at this small fishing village famous for its anchovy manufacturing industry. On your way to Santoña, you will drive along the marshes of Santoña, Vitoria and Joel. This natural bay is one of the best places in Cantabria for birdwatching and is listed as a protected natural park. Our first stop will be to visit the anchovy factory "Conservas Lavin", where you will learn about the process of anchovy production and savor this popular product. Next, you will enjoy a one-hour boat trip along the bay up to the famous lighthouse of "El Caballo". You will love the views over the bay, the cliffs, and the Cantabrian sea. Before leaving we will take a short scenic drive to see the port, the fort of Saint Martin, and the sea promenade. This is a quiet excursion for all ages, and especially for lovers of seafaring cities.

In this half-day tour, you will learn about history, caves, and paleolithic art. In fact, this is an awesome opportunity to visit an authentic cave with paintings from the Paleolithic era. After picking you up at your hotel, we will drive towards Puente Viesgo to explore the famous Caves of El Castillo and Las Monedas, both World Heritage Sites by UNESCO since 2008 for their cave paintings. It will only take us 40 minutes to arrive at El Castillo Mount where these famous caves are located. The visit to the caves is done on foot and by a local guide of the caves (the visit is in Spanish, so should you don't understand Spanish, your tour leader will join you during this visit to translate it into English for you). Each cave visit will take about 50 minutes, you will be surprised by the art legacy our ancestors left us thousands of years ago. Next, we will visit the recently inaugurated Paleolithic Art interpretation center in Puente Viesgo to learn more about cave art. We will also enjoy a nice walk along the village of Puente Viesgo, you will love the views over the Pas River and the Pasiego Valleys.

At 9:00am leave Santander for Potes, the capital of Liébana region. To get there you will cross the impressive gorge of the Hermida, part of a set of narrow gorges along the river Deva. Once in Potes, you will have the opportunity to do a short walking pilgrimage to the Monastery of Santo Toribio, 3 km from the village. This walk is roughly 45 minutes. The Monastery of Santo Toribio is, along with Santiago, Rome and Jerusalem, one of the holiest Christian sites, as it is host to the longest piece of the cross on which Jesus Christ died. The Monastery is also well known for celebrating the Jubileum regularly (the next Jubilee Year will be in 2023). It was Holy Toribio of Astorga, custodian of the relics of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, who transferred a piece of the Cross to Astorga, city of which he was Bishop. This relic was transferred then to Liebana by Christians who wanted to keep it safe from the Muslims who had started the invasion of the peninsula. This place was also a place of pilgrimage, with its own identity due to the curative and miraculous powers attributed to the remains of the Saint of Astorga and to the Relic itself. Once you arrive in Potes, you will have the opportunity to walk the last part of the Lebaniego Way, this is the 3 km route that separates Potes from the Monastery, and attend the Pilgrim's mass at 12:00pm. After the mass, visit the chapel of San Miguel from where you will enjoy beautiful views of Picos de Europa before going back to Potes for lunch. The menu includes a “Cocido Lebaniego”, a stew of chickpeas and meat. This is the perfect local dish to recharge your energy. However, should you prefer another menu, please advise upon booking this tour. In the afternoon you will visit San Sebastian de Garabandal, a small village in the mountains where there were appearances of Virgin Mary from 1961 to 1965. You will have the opportunity here to walk up to the "Sanctuary of Los Pinos", the main place where the Virgin appeared. After the tour, enjoy comfortable transport back to Santander.

Organize the best route to explore Cantabria with your trip planner after booking. Create your own private tour proposal that is tailor-made for you. The tour will be adapted to the limits of the region and agreed duration. Choose and personalize your visit from one of the following routes: - Eastern Coast (Santoña, Laredo & Castro Urdiales) - Western Coast (Santillana, Comillas & San Vicente de la Barquera) - Picos de Europa & Potes - The Pasiego Valleys and Liérganes On the tour's date, you will have a driver/guide at your disposition all day. He/she will explain to you about all the places you visit during your tour and will make sure you get to each stop on time for the arranged visits. This is a highly personalized tour for 2 - 8 people.