Santander

Currency budget Spain

Cards everywhere. Some of the old bars round the market still prefer cash for a round of rabas and a glass. Refuse the conversion when a terminal offers to charge you in your own currency.

ATMs & cards

Banco Santander started here and its machines are everywhere, alongside Unicaja, CaixaBank and BBVA. Avoid the independent machines near the ferry terminal.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety all of Spain

Very safe, including late. The sea is the thing to respect: this is the Atlantic, and El Sardinero and Somo get real surf and currents — swim between the flags. Rain comes in at any time of year, so a jacket goes in the bag even in summer.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa Spain visa rules

Health & emergencies all of Spain

Required to enter

No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.

Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

Rabas — strips of squid fried in batter — are what the city eats at the bar, and Cantabrian anchovies from Santoña are the best in Spain. Cocido montañés, a bean stew with cabbage and pork, is for cold days; quesada pasiega and sobaos, both from the valleys inland, for afterwards. Dinner is at nine thirty or ten.

Nightlife

A late, northern-Spanish evening of small bars packed into a few streets, spilling out into a square in summer.

• Plaza de Cañadío — the square, with drinks outside in summer
• Calle Río de la Pila — a steep street of bars, for later
• Calle Santa Lucía — bars close to Cañadío
• El Sardinero — the beachfront in summer

Closing: Nothing gets going before eleven, and Río de la Pila runs to the early morning at weekends.

Getting around

• On foot — the centre, the Paseo de Pereda and the Centro Botín are flat and close together; El Sardinero is a long walk along the bay
• Bus — the city buses run out to El Sardinero and the Magdalena peninsula every few minutes
• Boat — the small ferries across the bay to Somo and Pedreña, for the surf beach on the far side
• Train — Madrid in about four and a half hours; the narrow-gauge line along the coast to Bilbao and Oviedo is slow but scenic
• Ferry — Brittany Ferries to Portsmouth and Plymouth, from the terminal in the middle of town
• Airport: Santander (SDR), about 15 minutes by bus

eSIM

A data eSIM for Spain, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:Works hereWorks hereRevolutIn the app

Must-see

Nearby day trips

Say a few words

Spanish

• HelloHolaOH-la
• PleasePor favorpor fa-VOR
• Thank youGraciasGRA-thyas
• Yes / NoSí / Nosee / no

Religion

Catholic

Nominally Catholic and deeply secular in practice. Churches are working buildings as well as sights, and Semana Santa is taken seriously even by people who never attend Mass.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Eat late — lunch from 14:00, dinner rarely before 21:00
• Greet with two cheek kisses, right cheek first, between women or a man and a woman
• Stand at the bar to drink; it is cheaper than sitting and more sociable
• Say buenos días on entering a small shop, and adiós on leaving

Don't

• Do not expect anything to be open between 14:00 and 17:00 outside the big cities
• Do not order sangria in a serious restaurant — it is a tourist drink; ask for tinto de verano
• Do not tip heavily; rounding up or a euro or two is normal
• In Barcelona, do not assume Catalan and Spanish are interchangeable — the distinction matters to people