Somo Beach, Cantabria, Spain
Do you know that the city of Santander in Cantabria, Northern Spain is only a two-hour flight from Dublin? How about the fact that only 20 minutes from Santander airport you’ll find the beautiful Somo Beach. Here you can sunbathe, swim, surf, get in touch with nature or just chill?
Followers of The Life of Stuff blog and those on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat know that I was recently on an action packed trip to Cantabria.
This brilliant experience included everything from snow shoe trekking over the Picos de Europa Mountains, kayaking down the River Asón, to Michelin starred dining at Solana Restaurant.
Our trip from Santander City to Somo Beach by boat to explore nature, and later by car to surf were also highlights of the trip.
In this post I have included some information and website links you should find helpful should you decide to explore the Bay of Santander, Somo Beach or go surfing.
Getting to Somo Beach
Driving from Santander City to Somo Beach takes about 30 minutes, however my preferred way to visit the beach is to take the Los Regina ferry.
For a few euros the ferry is faster at about 20 minutes. It is also a prettier way to arrive, especially when the sun is shining and there’s fun sailing activity on the water.
For a full list of ferry times and rates you can visit the Los Regina’s website here.
The Bay of Santander
When we visited we were introduced to the nature and history of the Bay of Santander.
Our guide from Bahía de Santander Eco Tourism guided us on our ferry trip explaining the nature around us.
Do you know that as per the “Atlas of the Breeding Birds” of Spain there are 148 species of birds in Cantabria? Now you do!
From the birds in the sky and the plants of the sea, to the flora and fauna of the ground.
We even saw where the local mussels came from.
Our eco tour and environmental masterclass led us from the ferry stop over land to …
… the gorgeous sandy Somo Beach, where visitors played, walked and bathed in the fresh sea air.
It looked so romantic as the sun began to set.
For more information on The Bay of Santander and for a full list of the tours available visit the Bahía de Santander Eco Tourism website here.
Then it was back to Santander City by ferry.
Surfing at Somo Beach
The last afternoon of my adventure trip in Cantabria was spent in a wetsuit practicing my surf moves on Somo Beach. Then I tried to put said moves into action in the Bay of Biscay’s waters of the Bay of Santander. I didn’t win but had fun trying.
It all started off at the Surf Café.
There we met Damien our experienced English-born instructor from La Curva Surf School.
Damien guided us through the rules of the sea, safety always comes first.
Then he showed us the moves we’d need to get standing up on our boards. We practiced and stretched, then it was into the sea.
It was great to have an instructor who was encouraging and supportive.
It was easy to see who was ‘Surfer’ material and who needed more time. I have to admit I have a lot of practicing to do.
You can visit the La Curva Surf School website here for more information on lessons.
After our surf lesson it was into the local café for some crispy fried calamari and lots of chatter about our Somo Beach experience.
For more info on visiting Cantabria visit the Spain.info page here or the CantabriaSpain.co.uk page here
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She's a mother, wife, dog and home owner - a travel writing, creative, design and imagery driven, art and music lovin', sustainable living, coffee (and sometimes whiskey) drinking Irish woman.
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Yeap ! , both La Curva and Latas Surf House Surf Schools ( and accomodation) are within the best and real Surf teaching teams in Somo and Loredo spots. Great prices, real surfer accomodation, pro multilingual teachers and amazing atmosphere. Check photos at their website and judge yourselves. Specially recommended for those surfing in family :)))
Thanks for sharing Amber 🙂