Surfing in Suances: Beach Los Locos and much more.

SUANCES, SURF FOR ALL TASTES IN CANTABRIA

It has never been a secret. Although it has always been known as The Mountain, Cantabria has one of the most beautiful coastlines in Spain and also one of the most fortunate when it comes to waves. Today we travel to Suances, one of the hottest surf spots on the Iberian Peninsula. Enjoy reading and happy waves.

Cover Photo: Biosurfcamp

Suances was the Portus Blendium of the Romans, who took advantage of the natural harbor of Punta del Dichoso, surrounded by cliffs and beaches. Today it is the tourist village par excellence of the Besaya region, which extends around the confluence of the Saja and Besaya rivers. And, thanks to its sandy beaches, it is also one of the best surfing destinations in Cantabria, a happy hideaway to spend hours and days on a board. Next, we talk about the best spots for surfing in Suances :

THE BEST BEACHES IN SUANCES FOR SURFING

LOS LOCOS BEACH

Without a doubt, it is the most famous spot in Suances. Its waves and landscape make an ideal setting for a good swim. Especially when the northeast wind blows. It only has one drawback: it is a too popular beach, and therefore crowded. It is not uncommon to see several surfers on the same wave and locals jumping waves over each other. On the other hand, you must be very careful with the currents, as they can give you a scare.

Three waves stand out: El Huerto, a long, fast right, perfect for turns and maneuvers; La Playa, in the central part of the beach, with variable peaks, the favorite of the surf schools in the area; and Sopico, a very hollow left, capable of producing incredible tubes.

LA CONCHA BEACH

It is the largest beach in Suances, with over a kilometer of sand, and a good option for days with rough seas, when Los Locos is too crowded. The locals here are occasional, depending on the performance of the other spots in the village. If the conditions are good, two waves stand out: La Ría, a fast left that breaks at the harbor jetty; and La Playa, a long and maneuverable right, perfect for turns.

If your level is low and you are still learning to surf, La Concha is your beach. And this is for several reasons: more space, less demanding waves, and also much less competition. However, watch out for the currents.

TAGLE BEACH

On this beach, we find quality waves in a beautiful setting. With the necessary conditions – strong sea, S, SW winds, low tide – you can enjoy fast rights and lefts and tubes. But beware! this spot is only for experts.

TABLÍA BEACH

If there is a beach in Suances that breathes rural airs, it is this one, undoubtedly the quietest and wildest in the area. The waves here are very consistent, but with high tide, they eat up the beach, breaking against the cliff, so the right time to surf coincides with low tide. It is not as competitive a spot as Los Locos, although, under ideal conditions, it usually has a strong presence of local surfers.

LA BARRA

And finally, La Barra, a spot located in the San Martín estuary, right next to La Concha Beach. It is not by any means our favorite, but if you are in great shape, have a good paddle, and can deal with strong currents and walls, you can find in La Barra an alternative to Los Locos. However, if it is very windy, better forget it. Best tide point to surf here: rising and high tide.

HOW TO GET TO SUANCES

Suances is less than 31 kilometers from Santander and very close to Comillas and San Vicente de la Barquera. To get there by car from Santander , take the highway to Torrelavega and take the Requejada exit (also signposted for Suances). From Madrid, Bilbao, Burgos, Palencia or Valladolid lo más sencillo es llegar hasta Torrelavega y desde allí acceder a Suances vía Barreda.

WHEN TO GO TO SUANCES FOR SURFING

The great variety of beaches in Cantabria makes it possible to surf all year round. Our recommendation: Winter in Laredo. In spring, Somo, and in summer, Liencres and Suances. On very specific days, San Vicente de la Barquera. All year round, Berria Beach.

Anyway, before traveling to Suances, we recommend you to take a look at the website of surf forecast suances and the locos webcam.

THE BEST SURFBOARDS FOR SURFING AT LOS LOCOS

✓ Ghost Pyzel

The Ghost from Pyzel Surfboards is a high performance board designed to surf hollow and powerful waves. Like the ones we have in the Cantabrian Sea in autumn.

PYZEL CATALOG

✓ Hot Knife Chilli

The Chilli Hot Knife is the board I usually use to surf in Laredo. Also a good option for the spot at Los Locos in Suances. You can read our complete review here .

CHILLI SURFBOARDS OFFERS

✓ Maguro Sharp Eye

If you like the twinfin style and a more retro surf, the Maguro from Sharp Eye is your board. This twinfin has captivated us this summer for its paddling power and acceleration.

SHARPEYE CATALOG

Anyway, before traveling we advise you to check the wave forecasts for those days and choose the most suitable board based on the forecast.

These are for us the 5 best wave forecast apps where you can check the wave forecasts in Cantabria.

Recommendation of boards for Beginner Level

✓ Ezi Rider Ocean & Earth

A foam board that we really like for beginner surfers is the model Ezi Rider from O&E . Also this year, the Australian brand has signed a collaboration with the illustrator Jack Irvine and comes with very attractive designs. The new Hippy Skull Ezi Rider 7’0 is one of the most demanded models by surfers from the Mediterranean. This model is already available in our online store.

✓ Beastie Mick Fanning Softboards

Another ideal softboard for surfers who want to keep evolving is the Beastie by Mick Fanning . It is the evolution model of the Australian surfer’s brand. Top Sales, it is undoubtedly one of the most demanded models by surfers from the Mediterranean. Excellent quality and finishes. Includes FCS2 fins.

Why do we think it is a good option as a beginner surfboard? Because thanks to its shape and volume, you will catch plenty of waves.

✓ Black Diamond Mick Fanning

And we finish with the Black Diamond. A board halfway between beginner and intermediate surfers. The Black Diamond is one of the most acclaimed models of the Australian brand DHD. It is one of the favorite surfboards of Mick Fanning (after the Fever by Al Merrick). That is why the Australian surfer has decided to release a replica of the Black Diamond from DHD in a foam board version. A board with great paddling power that will make it easier for you to catch the wave and then allow you to perform almost all kinds of maneuvers.

Buy MF Softboards

MORE THAN SURF. WHAT TO SEE IN SUANCES AND NEAR SUANCES

Some say that the greatest beauty of Cantabria lies in its interior. And it is true that the inland regions, with those oceans of mist that envelop the valleys and those winters that last for almost ten months, are perhaps the most genuine of Cantabria. But the coast and the coastal towns are no less beautiful and seductive. Think, for example, of the capital, Santander, undoubtedly one of the most beautiful cities in Spain. And what about San Vicente de la Barquera? There, from the beach itself, one can contemplate from a distance the Picos de Europa, snow-covered for most of the year.

Yes, the charm of the interior extends to the coast. Cliffs, beaches, rocks… Such is the magic of the Cantabrian coast that a stone’s throw from Santander, Altamira Caves appear to remind us of how the hunting peoples of the Paleolithic looked at the world, or Santillana del Mar, an astonishing outbreak emerged from the Middle Ages.

Next, we will talk about some essential visits to complete your trip to Suances:

SUANCES

Sunset is the magical hour of Suances. True, a sunset is beautiful anywhere: in the desert, when the air changes texture, in the sea, which seems to ignite over the horizon, in Madrid, true mauve, reddish, orange flashes… Yes, there are many sunsets and everyone has their preferences. But if one were to choose one among those that can be seen in Cantabria, I would opt for the one that can be seen from Tagle beach.

SANTILLANA DEL MAR

Any adjective falls short of the beauty of this town popularly known as the village of the three lies, because Santillana del Mar is neither ‘saintly’ nor ‘flat’ nor does it have the sea. Jean Paul Sartre wrote about it: ‘A true relic of human life’.

And it’s true. Santillana del Mar envelops the traveler like a fog from the time of the Crusades. Its medieval layout, its palaces and manor houses with old noble shields, its cobbled streets, the Parador Gil Blas, the Merino Tower, the Collegiate Church, the Borja Palace, with its magnificent ogival arch… Yes, one could think that they are actually in the Middle Ages if it weren’t for the fact that the town is clean, doesn’t smell of manure, and dozens of shops display their goods at the ancient doors to attract tourists’ attention.

What to see in Santillana del Mar

The best thing about Santillana del Mar is to lazily wander through the main street and its unequal arm-shaped bifurcation, the longest of which leads to the square of the Collegiate Church . And of course, the stroll must be completed with a visit to this beautiful temple that preserves its original Romanesque style.

The exterior is already dazzling. But the jewel of this old abbey is in the cloister, a space haunted by poetry, art, and meditation. The gaze must necessarily stop at the wonderful capitals of the columns that support the round arches. They are a marvel: scenes of the Calvary, martyrdoms, parties, and hunts, religious and profane matters, flowers, birds, steeds, friars, and warriors… A deep life escapes from them, as the poet and novelist Ricardo León said. The entire cloister, a magical place where death seems to have an expression of eternal life.

ALTAMIRA CAVES

But the journey continues. Just two kilometers from Santillana awaits us another surprise, another time tunnel: the Sistine Chapel of the Paleolithic, a cave where the bison, deer, and wild boars from fifteen thousand years ago are still grazing grass, the cave paintings of Altamira.

Access to the original cave is restricted to scholars to prevent the deterioration of the paintings, but a visit to the Neocave, a faithful reproduction that can be seen in the National Museum and Research Center of Altamira, is worth the detour.

Like in some novels, there one finds oneself immersed in two very distant temporal planes that end up constituting a single plot. The first of them lasts, amazingly, about fifteen thousand years, and corresponds to the moment when those vigorously drawn bisons on the rocky wall were painted. The second story is much closer: it begins in 1789, when a girl accompanying her father in the exploration of a cave looks up at the ceiling and sees something that the father has not noticed, some figures of reddish bisons. They say she exclaimed, “Look, cows!».

QUOTATION MARKS

Very close to Santillana del Mar, less than 20 kilometers away, lies the beautiful and stately Comillas. Known as the “town of the archbishops”, as up to five prelates were born there, Comillas owes its fame, however, to the whim of an ‘Indiano’, Mr. Antonio López y López, who dedicated his fortune amassed in Cuba to beautifying it.

What to see in Comillas

The Sobrellano Palace, the Chapel-Mausoleum of the Marquises of Comillas, and the Pontifical University are the most representative places of the effort of the first marquis to beautify his hometown.

To these modernist buildings we must add, of course, the Whim , a colorful mansion that Gaudí built for Mr. Máximo Díaz de Quijano, whose fondness for the piano inspired the name of the residence.

To finish the modernist route proposed by Comillas, one must visit the cemetery , beautiful as few, guarded by a sculpture of the Exterminating Angel, a work by Josep Llimona, and overlooking the sea.

THE GREEN RAY AND CURVE OF OYAMBRE

Before turning inland, towards the Cabuérniga valley, there are two unavoidable visits. The first one is the Green Ray, a hill located in Comillas, unique for its views of the Oyambre Natural Park and the beaches of San Vicente de la Barquera, with its castle and the Picos de Europa as a backdrop. The second one is the famous Curve of Oyambre, at the mouth of the winding Rabia estuary.

CABUÉRNIGA VALLEY AND BARCENA LA MAYOR

The Cabuérniga Valley, less abrupt than the Liébana and without its monumental peaks, is a true paradise full of beech and oak forests where deer and roe deer graze, and where birds of prey fly high and solemn. Here, as in general throughout the Mountain region, the villages are particularly fortunate in terms of the preservation of their popular architecture.

Cabezón de la Sal, Carrejo and Ruente are the endearing prelude to one of the most famous villages in Cantabria, Barcena Mayor, a place that sheltered Charles V and his entourage in 1517. Rare is the list of the most beautiful villages in Spain that does not include this historical ensemble of pure mountainous knowledge. Cobbled streets, balconies full of flowers, wide stone gateways… Yes, Barcena Mayor is a prodigy of rural architecture where time seems to have stopped.

TUDANCA

Less than fifty kilometers separate Barcena Mayor from another village declared a historical ensemble in the Mountain region, Tudanca, hidden among green meadows, full of literary memories. And it is there where the house of Mr. Celso is, the character from Peñas Arriba , the novel by José María Pereda: an 18th century mansion that belonged to José María Cossío in real life and through which, in the first half of the 20th century, the great writers of the 98 and 27 passed.

Here, in Tudanca, the Mountain region is, more than ever, elusive and beautiful. The meadows awaken amidst static waves of mist. And twilight arrives, like dawn, in the midst of a symphony of cowbells that the cows shake as they go up and down all kinds of slopes.

SAN VICENTE DE LA BARQUERA

The path we chose to go from Tudanca to San Vicente de la Barquera passes through some of the most beautiful landscapes of the Nansa River Basin. Cossío, adorned with noble stories and Indian houses; Puentenansa, crossroads where you can access the Carmona valley; the Cueva del Soplao, cave and mine accessed by an evocative mining train; and Pesués, with the extraordinary view of the Tina Menor estuary, the mouth of the Nansa.

What to see in San Vicente de la Barquera

San Vicente de la Barquera is less than 10 kilometers from Pesués. San Vicente de la Barquera is a delightful fishing village that is hard to leave, such is the charm of its streets and its magnificent arcaded square, the enchantment of its beaches and marshes, the quality of its restaurants, the majestic shadow of its castle and the beauty of the Church of Our Lady of the Angels . There is one of the most impressive tombs in Spain, the tomb of inquisitor don Antonio del Corro, in Renaissance style.

SANTANDER

And if none of the destinations already mentioned convinces you, you will always have the option of Santander, capital of the green Mountain, friendly, cosmopolitan and elegant city that overlooks the fierce Cantabrian Sea from the gray cliffs and fine sand beaches.

Josefina Molina said that if she were mayor, she would close the land entrances and force people to enter Santander by sea: “The boats would arrive full of people and a decree would stipulate that they sail at night, when its beauty impacts you and overwhelms you.” I agree Santander is a beautiful city both day and night, but its true charm is at dusk.

What to see in Santander

The Cathedral, Plaza Porticada, Calle de los Azogues, Paseo de Pereda, Reina Victoria Avenue, Sardinero Beaches, Magdalena Peninsula and Piquío Gardens are, on their own, essential reference points that endorse the beauty of the Cantabrian capital.

The Cathedral. From the 13th century in Gothic style. Azorín adored the simplicity of this temple. “The Cathedral of Santander,” he wrote, “is simple and small; but in its very smallness and austerity it has a powerful charm that those other sumptuous and wide cathedrals do not possess.” It’s true. Downstairs, in the crypt of Christ, you can also see the remains of Roman baths.

Plaza Porticada. It was built after the fearsome fire that, in 1941, devastated most of the old town. Terraces, old and modern shops, the Town Hall clock, which, rather than telling the time, seems to sing…

Paseo Pereda. It is named in memory of the 19th-century novelist José María Pereda. It is a high-quality promenade that runs parallel to the bay. There is the Casino, built in 1913 to compete with the great European casinos, and also the central headquarters of Banco Santander, a cathedral-like building, with a triumphal arch in the middle that surpasses those in Rome.

Queen Victoria Promenade follows Pereda towards the Magdalena. Strolling here without haste, as the evening falls, is one of the highlights of Santander.

And we arrive at the Magdalena Peninsula . As García de Cortázar says, the Magdalena is many things. It is a beach; it is a tiny peninsula that calmly plunges into the sea; a garden with memorable views; and an English-style palace that sums up an entire era, the era of Alfonso XIII and Victoria Eugenia de Battenberg summers. Today the palace is the headquarters of the Menéndez Pelayo International University.

El Sardinero y los Jardines del Piquío. The beaches of Sardinero are among the most prestigious urban beaches in Spain. There we also find one of the most evocative places in Santander: the Piquío Gardens, with its towering palm trees and centuries-old elms.

And since we are talking about landmarks, it is impossible not to mention the path that leads from Sardinero to Cabo Mayor Lighthouse , a walk between beaches and cliffs that is hard to forget. Next to the Lighthouse, a fabulous natural breakwater, there is a bar where you can end the day with a drink and sea views.

WHAT TO EAT IN CANTABRIA

The gastronomy of this land is already mentioned in the Book of Good Love, by the famous Arcipreste de Hita: “From Santander came the red lobsters”. Not in vain, fish is one of the main dishes of this route’s cuisine: hake in green sauce, fried anchovies, oven-baked sea bream or the backbone, seafood… But of course, we are in the Mountains, and here meat and garden products are not lacking, with a special preference for beans, white or speckled. And for dessert, two delights at odds with the diet: cheesecake and sponge cakes.

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