Cantabria, Spain · From Plymouth and Portsmouth
Santander Ferry Port
You dock in the middle of the city, not on an industrial estate outside it. The terminal at Muelle de Mali&antilde;o is ten minutes from the centre and you sail in past the beaches to reach it.
What arriving actually looks like
After twenty hours at sea, this is the part that makes the ferry worth it. You do not taxi to a stand and wait for a bus.
1. The coast appears
Cantabria comes up out of the water well before you dock. Cabins are vacated 30 minutes before arrival anyway, so you may as well be outside.
2. Sailing in
3. The terminal
4. Driving off
You are driving on the right within minutes of the ramp
There is no gentle run-in here. The port exit puts you straight into city traffic, which catches out drivers who have just spent a night at sea. Work out your first two junctions before you disembark rather than at the barrier, and remember that everyone else on the road is doing the same thing at the same moment.
Address and the city
Santander is the capital of Cantabria, a city of around 170,000 people on the Bay of Biscay, and the port sits right in it. The Renzo Piano-designed Centro Botín art museum is on the waterfront a short walk from the terminal, and the Magdalena Palace peninsula is a twenty-minute walk the other way.
| Detail | Puerto de Santander |
|---|---|
| Address | Muelle de Mali&antilde;o s/n, 39009 Santander |
| Region | Cantabria, northern Spain |
| Operator | Brittany Ferries |
| Port authority | Puerto de Santander, puertosantander.es |
| To city centre | About 10 minutes by road, walkable in good weather |
| Check-in | 45 minutes before departure, 90 with a pet |
The terminal has waiting areas, food and drink, toilets and showers, free wifi, luggage lockers, shops and information desks, with step-free access, lifts and designated parking for travellers with limited mobility.
Parking at Santander
Two public car parks serve the terminal, both monitored around the clock and both at the port, so there is no shuttle to factor in.
Opposite the dock
- Covered
- First hour free
- Monitored 24 hours
- Closest to the terminal building
Right of the ferry terminal
- Open air
- Monitored 24 hours
- Useful when the covered car park fills in peak season
Useful if you are leaving a car in Spain, or if you are meeting someone off a sailing. The first free hour covers a normal pickup comfortably.
Driving on from Santander
Santander is the better arrival port if you are heading for central Spain or on into Portugal. The A-67 runs south towards Burgos and Madrid, the A-8 runs east to Bilbao and the French border and west along the Asturian coast.
| Destination | Approximate road distance | Rough driving time |
|---|---|---|
| Bilbao | 62 miles (100 km) | 1 hour |
| Burgos | 96 miles (155 km) | 1h 45m |
| Oviedo | 118 miles (190 km) | 2 hours |
| Madrid | 242 miles (390 km) | 4 hours |
| Portuguese border | — | 4 to 5 hours |
| Algeciras, for Morocco | ~620 miles (1,000 km) | ~10 hours |
If you are not driving straight out, Santander is worth a day. See things to do in Santander, which also covers a day trip into Cantabria to Santillana del Mar, Altamira and Comillas.
Ferry routes to Santander
Two of the four direct crossings between the UK or Ireland and Spain arrive here. Across all four routes, Brittany Ferries carried around 340,000 passengers to Spain in 2025, up five per cent on the year before.
| Route | Crossing | Nights at sea | Ship |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plymouth to Santander | 20h 30m | 1 | Pont-Aven |
| Portsmouth to Santander | ~33 hours | 2 | Salamanca |
Plymouth runs from late March to early November. Portsmouth runs year round, with fewer sailings over the winter. Sailing home, departures leave Santander on Monday and Thursday for Plymouth, and Wednesday and Sunday for Portsmouth. Full times on our Spain to the UK page.
Getting to the port
By car
Follow signs for Puerto de Santander from the motorway network. The port is well signposted and roughly ten minutes from the city centre.
By train and bus
Santander station has regular services from Madrid and Bilbao. From there it is a short taxi ride, or TUS bus line 15, which links the city centre and the station with the port.
By air
Seve Ballesteros-Santander Airport is about ten minutes from the port by road, with taxis and a shuttle bus into the city.
On foot
Unusually for a ferry port, walking into the centre is realistic. It is roughly a twenty-minute walk along the waterfront to the Jardines de Pereda and the Centro Botín, which makes Santander a genuinely viable foot-passenger destination.
Common questions
How far is Santander ferry port from the city centre?
About ten minutes by road and roughly twenty minutes on foot along the waterfront. Unlike Bilbao, where the terminal is 21 km out at Zierbena, you arrive in the city itself.
Is there parking at the port?
Yes, two car parks, both monitored 24 hours. The covered one opposite the dock gives you the first hour free.
Which UK ports sail here?
Plymouth, 20 hours 30 minutes on the Pont-Aven, and Portsmouth, around 33 hours on the Salamanca.
How long to Madrid?
Around 390 km, roughly four hours on the A-67.
Can I walk into town from the ferry?
Yes, about twenty minutes along the waterfront in good weather.
Sailing to Santander?
Direct from Plymouth in 20h 30m, or Portsmouth year round.
Book your tickets →Port authority: Puerto de Santander, puertosantander.es
