Santender

am planning trip to Santander - 2 up!
any tips on ferry offers or places to stay etc
maybe camping maybe b&b
first timers
excited++

You won't get many offers on ferry crossings, mainly because Britanny Ferries have a monopoly.

Where are you going in Spain? What do you want to see/do? How long for?

1 week
no where in particular
want to ride through mountain passes and stay at local places with local food/wine etc

mabonygs said:

1 week
no where in particular
want to ride through mountain passes and stay at local places with local food/wine etc

Click to expand...

If you only have a week and have a return via Santander, stay in the immediate area. There's plenty of mountains with great scenery on the doorstep, the Picos De Europa's.

Alternatively, go south through the Picos to Salamanca then head South again and pick up the Western end of the Sierra De Gredos.

Follow the Gredos Eastwards to Madrid and then swing North-West, pick up the Western end of the Sierra De Guadarrama. You can follow the Guadarrama North East and then head North to Burgos. From there it's a quickish ride back to Santander if needs be.

Spain is the second most mountainous country in Europe. If you want mountains, there are lots. It's hard to avoid them.

Try to stay in Hostels (white H on a blue background). Basically these are hotels without restaraunts, they are excellent quality for not much money (mostly). Eat in the local bars, cafés. Many Hostels will either have secure parking or go out of their way to provide security.

Have fun!

thanks G'.
sounds fab.
any info on campsites?

Contact the Spanish Tourist Office here in the UK, (sorry no longer have the web address) they will send you a freebe and very useful map of Spain showing all the recommended sites and a book with contact details and facilities listed by region.

Alternatively try this site, you can search by region and see what the facilities are, even the prices. Note the prices usually work out cheaper than the calculator!

http://www.fedcamping.com

also worth a look,

http://www.travelinginspain.com

I hope the weather has settled down a bit since I was there