Playa de Somo

This beach is nearly 2 miles of good waves and fine sand. You get to Somo (next to Santander), park the car in the garage, arrive at the beach and suddenly it's all surfboards, wetsuits, and waves.

The scenery is something right out of a postcard. There's a little wind and you're all of a sudden struck by a tremendous desire to get into the water and enjoy the play between the cool water and the hot sun. This is one beach that you can’t miss on your vacation to Cantabria.

If you want to learn to surf, it's perfect. I rode my first wave last week at this beach. You can rent a board for four hours for dirt cheap and, although the best thing to do is take a class, you can go try it out yourself if the waves aren't too fierce.

This beach is the perfect place to enjoy a great walk along the edge of the sea. You can start from the village of Loredo or from Somo. The beach is spectacular, especially on sunny days and at low tide. You can walk for more than 5 km. along the sandy beach or visit the dunes and see the beautiful views of the city of Santander.

If you like swimming, it’s worth bearing in mind that in some areas there are holes in the sand, not far from the shore and the currents are quite strong. Near the end of the point, the depth increases very quickly to let large ships dock in Santander. It’s a beach where you always see surfers.

Playa de Somo is located in the town of Somo in the area of Ribamontán on the Cantabrian coast. It has the distinction of being one of the longest beaches on the Cantabrian (2 miles long). Also, thanks to its location between Playa del Puntal and Playa de Loredo, it forms part of the Trasmiera coast, the longest sandy area along the Bay of Biscay with over 8 miles of shoreline.

The sand is fine and golden and the choppy Cantabrian Sea is perfect for surfing, the area's most popular activity. In fact, it's home to many surfing championships. This weekend, for example, they're celebrating

The first thing I should mention about Playa de Somo is that it’s enormous. During low tide, the beach connects with Loredo beach so you have the chance to take a long, relaxing walk along both. There’s normally a lot of wind so the beach is a Mecca for surfers. In fact, there are lots of little surf schools in the surrounding area.