Comillas & Around

The three big monuments (El Capricho, Palacio de Sobrellano, Seminario Mayor) sit within a few hundred meters of each other, 2–3 km from Trasvía. Important: Sobrellano and the Seminario do not sell same-day tickets online — book the day before at centros.culturadecantabria.com, or take your chances at the box office.

Free tours · Plaza de la Constitución

Free walking tours

Three tip-based tours cover the town's golden triangle — El Capricho, Sobrellano, the Pontificia — from different angles, all departing from around Plaza de la Constitución. Free to book; tip the guide in cash.

English: still no guaranteed English departures — the live Civitatis calendar offers exactly one modality, "Tour en español", and every GuruWalk slot is listed as Spanish. Elia's tour is "occasionally bilingual" per its Civitatis page: if you need English, book hers and message ahead.

Elia's tour — live seats left	Mon 17	Tue 18	Wed 19	Thu 20	Fri 21	Sat 22	Sun 23
11:30	33	20	15	20	38	32	40
17:30	28	31	36	29	40	32	34
19:30	—	—	40	—	31	40	—

• Numbers are seats still free, read straight off the Civitatis booking calendar on 16 Aug — nothing is close to selling out, so you can decide the day before. Wed 11:30 is the tightest at 15.
• The 19:30 departure only runs Wed, Fri and Sat this week. Thu 20 advertises a 19:30 in the schedule but returns no seats — treat it as not running Engine disagrees with listing.

Elia	11:30 · 17:30 daily, plus 19:30 on Wed/Fri/Sat · 1 h 30 · meets at the Fuente de los Tres Caños, Plaza de la Constitución · 4.79★ (608 reviews) · Spanish, occasionally bilingual · min 4–5 people to run · book on GuruWalk or Civitatis (same physical tour) Times & seats confirmed
Moncho	11:30 · 18:00 · 1 h 30 · meets under the new Town Hall arcades next to the tourist office (Plaza de la Constitución 2) · 4.81★ (421 reviews) · Spanish · max 25 per departure · book on GuruWalk Times confirmed
Emilio	10:30 — a 2 h storytelling tour on the Marqués de Comillas and his money · meets in the meadow below Sobrellano Palace, by the children's playground · 5.00★ (38 reviews) · Spanish · book on GuruWalk GuruWalk shows no per-date calendar — message the guide

• All three guides run every day, Sunday included — no thin day to plan around.
• The 11:30 departures end around 13:00, which clashes with the 12:30 English tour at El Capricho — pair a morning walk with the 16:30 Capricho slot instead. Emilio's 10:30 (2 h) clashes with it too.
• Booking is free and cancellable — but do cancel if you can't come; tours need a minimum group to run.

Verified 16 Aug 2026 via the live Civitatis calendar API (per-date seat counts) and the GuruWalk city listing, itself last updated 15 Aug · civitatis.com · guruwalk.com/comillas

Monument · 3.0 km · 5 min

El Capricho de Gaudí

Gaudí's 1883–85 orientalist summer villa — minaret tower, sunflower tiles, Persian and Mudéjar flourishes. One of only three Gaudí buildings outside Catalonia, and 2026 is officially "Gaudí Year".

Hours (Aug)	Daily 10:00–21:00, last entry 20:30 Confirmed
English tours	Daily 12:30 and 16:30 Confirmed · advance booking recommended (official notice)
Spanish tours	Roughly hourly 11:00–18:00 Unconfirmed — confirm at +34 942 720 365
Price	7 EUR with audioguide (5 reduced, 3 child 7–12, under 7 free) · 10 EUR guided tour (8 reduced, 6 child) Confirmed
Booking	tickets.elcaprichodegaudi.com
From Trasvía	3.0 km · ~5 min drive, or ~30 min on foot

• Allow ~1 h: the visit itself is ~30 min with audioguide (~45 min guided) plus the gardens.
• Quietest windows: right at 10:00, or 18:30–20:00 when the coach crowds are gone and the evening light hits the sunflower tiles.
• The English tour slots are the scarce item in August — book before you arrive.
• Evening slots are the ones to take: after ~18:30 the coach crowds are gone, and the last entry is 20:30.
• Minor caveat: some third-party sites list a 10:30 opening; the official municipal August schedule says 10:00.

Verified 16 Aug 2026 · comillas.es August 2026 monuments PDF · comillas.es monuments page (Agosto 2026) · elcaprichodegaudi.com

Monument · 2.5 km · 5 min

Palacio de Sobrellano

Joan Martorell's neo-Gothic palace (1888) for the first Marqués de Comillas — marble staircase, polychrome stained glass, and Gaudí-designed furniture. Right next to El Capricho.

Hours (Aug)	Tue–Sat 10:00–18:30 · Sun 10:00–17:30 · closed Monday Confirmed
Visit	Interior by guided tour only, ~45 min, max 25 people
English	No — tours in Spanish only Per visitor reports; not stated officially
Price	7 EUR (5 EUR reduced / groups from 11 people) Confirmed
Booking	centros.culturadecantabria.com/reservas · +34 942 59 84 25 · no same-day online sales
From Trasvía	~2.5 km · ~5 min drive Estimate

Monday 17 is out. The live booking calendar offers 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 August but not the 17th or the 24th — the weekly Monday closure, confirmed in the engine itself rather than just the printed schedule. Your first chance at Sobrellano is Tuesday 18.

• Closed The Capilla-Panteón is closed for restoration until further notice (confirmed on the official August 2026 schedule and in the booking engine).
• Tickets are date/time-fixed, no changes or refunds; arrive 20–30 min early — the guide collects tickets 5 min before the start.
• Per-session seat counts aren't exposed without completing a booking Not machine-readable — mid-week August afternoons are usually the easiest; treat Sat 22 as the day to book first.

Verified 16 Aug 2026 (bookable dates read from the live reservation engine) · comillas.es (Agosto 2026) · centros.culturadecantabria.com

Monument · 1.5 km · 4 min · nearest to the house

Seminario Mayor — former Universidad Pontificia

The monumental hilltop seminary (1883, Martorell) whose facade and doorway are by Lluís Domènech i Montaner — one of the great Catalan-Modernisme ensembles outside Catalonia, with sweeping views over Comillas and the coast.

Hours (Aug)	Mon–Sat 10:00–19:00 · Sun 10:00–18:00 · grounds daily 09:30–19:00 Confirmed
Visit	Interior by guided tour only, ~45 min, max 40 people per session
English	No — tours in Spanish only Per visitor reports; not stated officially
Price	7 EUR (5 EUR reduced / groups from 11) Confirmed
Booking	centros.culturadecantabria.com/reservas · same rules as Sobrellano (no same-day online)
Parking	On-site, 2 EUR cash (1 EUR back if you visit; free with blue disability card) Confirmed
From Trasvía	~1.5–2 km · ~4 min drive Estimate

Open all seven days — the live engine lists 16 through 24 August without a gap, Monday included. That makes the Seminario the Monday-17 monument, the one thing bookable on your first day while Sobrellano is shut.

• Official rule for combining with Sobrellano: online bookings must leave at least 90–120 min between the two start times. From Tuesday on, a 10:1x Seminario + ~12:4x Sobrellano pairing (or the reverse) satisfies it comfortably.
• Sessions run roughly 10:15–17:40, Sunday 10:10–17:00; capacity is 40 per session against Sobrellano's 25, so this is the easy one to slot around everything else.
• Even without a tour, the grounds (09:30–19:00) and the view over town are worth the stop.

Verified 16 Aug 2026 (bookable dates read from the live reservation engine) · comillas.es (Agosto 2026) · centros.culturadecantabria.com

Around town · mostly free

Smaller sights & the Friday market

The in-between stops that make the town: a marble angel over a Gothic ruin, an indiano mansion now open for the season, and Domènech i Montaner details scattered through the streets.

San Cristóbal	Parish church, interior open daily 10:00–13:30 & 16:00–19:00 · 2 EUR (under-12 and pilgrims free) Confirmed
Cemetery & Ángel	Josep Llimona's marble Ángel Exterminador (1895) crowning a walled Gothic church ruin redesigned by Domènech i Montaner — free, daylight hours (formal gate times unpublished)
El Espolón	Cultural center, exhibitions daily 10:00–14:00 & 17:00–21:00: "Veneno que cura, veneno que mata" (450-piece history of poisons, ticketed, price Unconfirmed) plus two free painting shows (Eduardo Pisano; González–Castañeda) Hours confirmed
La Portilla	One of the best-preserved indiano mansions, attributed to Oriol Mestres · now open daily through 31 Aug — five slots a day: 10:00 · 11:35 · 13:10 · 16:30 · 18:05 · ~70 min guided visit, max 15 · 12 EUR (9 reduced) · booking obligatory: laportilla-comillas.com · +34 605 127 849 Dates & slots confirmed
Friday market	Fri 21, ~09:00–14:00 at the Campa de Sobrellano — 30+ stalls of local food, textiles and flowers Confirmed
Always free	Fuente de los Tres Caños (Domènech i Montaner) · Puerta de los Pájaros (replica of a 1904 Gaudí gate) · Monumento al Marqués on its seafront hill · Mirador de Santa Lucía — the sunset viewpoint over the bay

Practical: zona azul paid street parking runs daily 10:00–20:00 (EasyPark app). Tourist office: Mon–Sat 09:00–21:00, Sun 09:00–15:00 · +34 942 722 591 · oficinadeturismo@comillas.es. The old Town Hall exhibition "Los colores de Julio de Pablo" (Tue–Sun 19:00–21:00, free) closes Mon 17 — your first evening is the last chance.

Verified 16 Aug 2026 · comillas.es agenda · August 2026 monuments PDF · laportilla-comillas.com

Comillas waymarks ten local footpaths (SL — sendero local), and five of them fit inside an afternoon. Every one starts within a few minutes of Trasvía, needs no booking and costs nothing; each route page has a downloadable KML/GPX track. Distances and times below are the town's own published figures.

Official municipal routes · waymarked SL

Five that fit in an afternoon

From a 45-minute loop you can do before dinner to a 2½-hour beech-and-oak climb behind the coast. All are circular unless noted, and all are signed on the ground.

Route	Distance	Time	Difficulty	What it is
Comillas Familiar	2.5 km	45 min	Easy Not graded	The town loop — pushchair- and child-friendly, links the plaza, the beach and the main monuments. The pre-dinner option.
Comillas marinera y monumental	5 km	1 h 30	Easy	Harbour, seafront and the Modernisme ensemble in one circuit · only 100 m of climb. Best single walk if you want the town explained by its own geography.
Ruta Costera	7 km	2 h 22	Easy	The clifftop coast path from the new Town Hall out past the Mirador de Santa Lucía — this is the parallel escape route above the low-tide rock platform.
Ruiseñada	8 km	2 h 30	Easy	Inland through hamlets and meadows to the village of Ruiseñada — shade, and no crowds at all in August.
Monte Corona	8 km	2 h 30	Moderate	From Rioturbio into the Monte Corona forest — Cantabria's most notable coastal oak wood and its lowest-altitude beech stand, down to the banks of the Ría de La Rabia. ~160 m of climb.

Flat alternative	The Comillas–Ría de La Rabia greenway (8 km, 2 h, easy) is signed as a cycle route but is level and perfectly walkable — the estuary birdwatching route. Herons, spoonbills and cormorants at the water.
If you want longer	De la costa al Monte Corona (13 km, 3 h) · San Esteban y Valle de Río Mato (13 km, 3 h 30, moderate) · Las ermitas del Monte Corona (15 km) · Tres Colinas Distance/time unpublished
Tracks	Each route page has "Descargar KML" and "Descargar GPX" buttons — load them onto a phone before setting out; some junctions in the Monte Corona woods are lightly signed.

• This week specifically: low tide is in the afternoon all week, so the Ruta Costera pairs naturally with the rock-platform walk below it — do the clifftop path out and drop onto the platform on the way back. See the tide table.
• Sunset is 21:17 on Monday, 21:08 by Sunday, so even a 2 h 30 route started after an 18:00 dinner-hour beer finishes in daylight. Take water: there are no fountains on the Monte Corona or Ruiseñada loops.
• Discrepancy The town's older route-description page gives the Ruta Costera as 9 km / 2 h 30 rather than the 7 km / 2 h 22 on its current route database. Budget for the longer figure.
• Guided interpretive coastal walks run through Red Cambera / PROVOCA (+34 608 137 582) — a ~5.5 km circular version of the coast route with the geology explained.

Verified 16 Aug 2026 · comillas.es — senderismo · distances, times and difficulty read from each route's official page · provoca.cantabria.es

All reachable by car in 30–90 min. No public holidays fall in this window, so crowds should be milder than the 15 August weekend — but Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 are still August weekend days at the headline sights, and Altamira is closed Monday 17.

Cave · 19.4 km · 30 min

Cueva El Soplao

One of Spain's most spectacular show caves — an extraordinary density of "eccentric" helictite formations reached through old mining galleries, with coastal views from the 540 m entrance.

Hours (Aug)	Open every day · tourist visits until 21:00 Confirmed · first tour ~10:00 Unconfirmed
Tours	Turística: ~55 min, 1.2 km, wheelchair-accessible — 15 EUR (12.50 child 4–16, 12 reduced) · Espeleológica ("adventure"): ~2.5 h in original galleries, suit/helmet/boots provided — 36 EUR, age 12+, departures 10:00/11:00/15:00/16:00 · Ferrata minera: 45 EUR, age 14+, Thu–Sun 11:00 & 16:30
English	No — tours in Spanish (other languages only for groups by prior arrangement)
Booking	Tourist · Adventure · Ferrata — advance purchase officially recommended; this week's availability Unconfirmed
From Trasvía	19.4 km · ~30 min drive · free parking

• It is 12–14 °C at ~90% humidity inside all year — bring a fleece even in August, plus non-slip shoes.
• Max 47 people per tourist session; the site warns published times are indicative, so re-check when booking.

Verified 13 Aug 2026 · elsoplao.es hours · prices · FAQ

Town + museum · 20.1 km · 25 min

Santillana del Mar + Museo de Altamira

One of Spain's best-preserved medieval towns — cobbles, Romanesque Colegiata, stone manors — with the museum of the "Sistine Chapel of cave art" 2 km up the hill: the Neocueva is an exact replica of Altamira's painted ceiling.

Museum hours	Mon 17 closed — the museum shuts every Monday of the year · Tue 18 – Sat 22: 09:30–20:00 · Sun 23: 09:30–18:00 (an August extension; the standard Sunday close is 15:00) · ticket desk closes 30 min before Confirmed
Price	3 EUR (1.50 reduced) · free for everyone Sat 22 from 14:00 and all day Sun 23 — free tickets are desk-only, first-come Confirmed
Booking	Paid advance tickets (timed Neocueva slot included) via the official Santander ticketing platform — must be bought at least one day ahead, never same-day; arrive 15 min early or lose the slot
From Trasvía	20.1 km · ~25 min drive (town and museum are 2 km apart)

The real cave: the old Friday lottery no longer exists — original-cave access is limited to a long-closed waiting list, so the Neocueva replica is the visit (and it's excellent).

• The museum itself recommends booking ahead online in summer; August slots sell out. The free windows are the two weekend days at the end of your stay — but free tickets can't be booked online, so queue at the desk early (tickets from 09:30). Sun 23 free-all-day is the best value; Sat 22 before 14:00 costs 3 EUR.
• Neocueva entry reportedly runs in groups of ~20 every ~25 min Third-party.
• Santillana town is free to wander but pedestrianized — park at the edge (paid lot at the entrance; free options at the bus station ~500 m and polideportivo ~1.5 km).

Verified 16 Aug 2026 · museodealtamira — hours · prices · tickets · real-cave policy

Mountains · 82.3 km · 1 h 20

Teleférico de Fuente Dé (Picos de Europa)

A 3 min 40 s cable-car leap up ~750 m of vertical rock to El Cable at 1,823 m — instant high-mountain scenery, with walks into the Áliva meadows from the top. The drive there through the La Hermida gorge is a highlight in itself.

Hours (Aug)	Daily 08:00–19:00 · last ascent 18:45 · last descent 18:50 Confirmed
Price	Return 30 EUR adult / 15 EUR child 4–12 (one-way 17 / 8, station-only) Confirmed — ignore the widespread outdated 17–20 EUR figures online
Booking	entradas.telefericofuentede.com — dated tickets with 30-min entry slots, online sales close 24 h ahead; same-day only at the base ticket office
From Trasvía	82.3 km · ~1 h 20 (A-8 to Unquera, N-621 through the gorge, Potes, CA-185)

August queue reality: walk-up waits of 2–3 h are routinely reported, and online slots sell out days ahead — book now for the earliest slot you can get (it opens at 08:00; mornings also beat the afternoon cloud). The descent has no timed slot — it's a first-come queue, so start heading down well before the 18:50 last cabin.

• From the top: stroll the El Cable viewpoint, or walk down through the Puertos de Áliva to Espinama and back to the car park (~13–14 km, mostly downhill track).
• It's typically 10 °C cooler up top — bring a layer. Wind closes the cable car with no notice: call +34 942 736 610 or check the site that morning.
• Stop-offs: Santa María de Lebeña (9th-c. Mozarabic church, 1 km off the N-621) on the way in; Potes (Torre del Infantado, orujo shops) for lunch on the way back.
• Possible N-621 roadworks with traffic cuts this summer Unconfirmed — check infocar.dgt.es and pad your slot time.

Verified 13 Aug 2026 · telefericodefuentede.com FAQ · tarifas · official tickets

Wildlife · 57.1 km · 50 min

Parque de la Naturaleza de Cabárceno

A drive-through wildlife park in a vast former open-cast iron mine: ~20 km of roads winding between semi-free-roaming elephants (one of Europe's leading herds), a basin of 60+ brown bears, gorillas, rhinos and giraffes among red-rock karst.

Hours (Aug)	09:00–18:00 (ticket-window close; you may stay until sunset) · in-park cable car 09:30–18:30, last ascent 18:00 Confirmed
Price	High season: 45 EUR adult (13+) / 25 EUR child 4–12 / under 4 free Re-verify at checkout (official price page blocks robots; figures from the official sales portal as of 3 Aug)
Cable car	The 8-station telecabina is included in the general ticket
Booking	entradas.parquedecabarceno.com — dated day tickets, online up to 1 day ahead; same-day tickets at the gate
From Trasvía	57.1 km · ~50 min (A-8 east past Torrelavega, exit for Obregón)

• It's a full day — realistically 4–6+ hours. Arrive for the 09:00 opening in August; midday brings single-file traffic at the popular enclosures.
• Birds-of-prey flight demos in Jul–Aug: 12:00, 15:45 and 17:30; reptile house 09:30–19:45.
• Picnic areas and cafeterias inside; entry by ticket QR at the Obregón gate.

Verified 13 Aug 2026 · official ticket shop · hours · 2026 timetable

Bonus · ~12 km · 15 min

San Vicente de la Barquera

The working fishing port just past Oyambre — medieval Puente de la Maza, the Castillo del Rey on its ridge, and harbor-front seafood restaurants, with the Picos de Europa as a backdrop on clear days.

From Trasvía	~12 km · ~15 min drive Estimate
Price	Free to wander; combine with Oyambre/Gerra beaches on the way

General suggestion — check restaurant/castle hours locally.

Trasvía sits on the coast road between Comillas and Oyambre — both beaches are minutes away. Coefficients fall from 69 to 29 across the week, so these are neap tides. Less rock platform on show, but calmer water and a gentler flood — and the daytime lows land in the afternoon rather than at lunchtime.

Beach · 2 km · 5 min

Playa de Comillas

The town beach: ~900 m of fine golden sand with a promenade to the harbor, gentle beginner-friendly waves.

From Trasvía	~2 km · ~5 min by car (or walk down through town)
Lifeguards	Cruz Roja daily 11:30–19:30 (until late Sep) Confirmed
Facilities	Blue Flag · toilets, showers, sunshade/lounger rental · fully adapted access (amphibious chair available) · no dogs
Price	Free (paid parking lot adjacent)

• El Capricho de Gaudí is only ~700 m away — easy to combine.
• The parking lot fills very fast in August; arrive before ~09:30 or walk from town.
• Sheltered, gentle surf — experienced surfers head to Oyambre instead.

Verified 13 Aug 2026 · playas.es · aytocomillas.es (lifeguard service)

Beach · 3–4 km · 7 min

Playa de Oyambre (& Playa de Gerra)

Nearly 2 km of wild sand backed by live dunes and the La Rabia estuary marshes, inside the Parque Natural de Oyambre — a designated World Surfing Reserve, with the Picos de Europa on the horizon.

From Trasvía	~3–4 km · ~5–7 min by car Estimate
Lifeguards	July–August only
Facilities	Seasonal beach bar + portable toilets at the main access · adapted access · otherwise unspoiled
Price	Free · parking lots off the CA-236 (last stretch partly unpaved); full by mid-morning in August

• Birdwatching in the La Rabia estuary: herons, spoonbills, cormorants.
• Playa de Gerra is the quieter western continuation of the same sand (access at La Gerruca, km 2.5 of the CA-236).
• Never walk on the dunes — the system is protected and actively eroding.

Verified 13 Aug 2026 · verplayas.com · playas.es

Four fixed points shape the week: Monday closes both Sobrellano and Altamira, so day one is the Seminario, the coast and the town; the rasa mareal is strongest on Mon–Tue and fades to nothing by Friday; and the free Altamira windows land on the final weekend. As before, Sobrellano and the Seminario sell no same-day online tickets, and the 11:30 walking tours clash with El Capricho's 12:30 English slot — so take the 16:30.

One of you is working days. Items marked ☾ start before 09:00 or after 18:00, so they work around a normal working day — every day has at least one. Use the toggle to strip the plan down to just those.

This edition was rebuilt for 17–23 August on 16 August 2026: tides, tour departures and seat counts, monument opening dates, events, Altamira's hours and the walking routes were all re-queried against the sources below. Cards still stamped "Verified 13 Aug" — El Soplao, Fuente Dé, Cabárceno, the beaches and surf schools — carry August-wide hours and prices that were not re-checked for this window; their stamps are left honest rather than refreshed. Times and availability change: recheck the booking link before setting out.

1. comillas.es — Horarios monumentos (Agosto 2026)
2. comillas.es — Visiting hours of monuments in Comillas, August 2026 (PDF, English)
3. comillas.es — events agenda · weekly tourist bulletin index (Semana 34, 17–23 Aug, not yet published as of 16 Aug — latest online is Semana 33)
4. comillas.es — senderismo (the ten official SL routes), with per-route distance, time, difficulty and KML/GPX downloads
5. elcaprichodegaudi.com — plan your visit · tickets.elcaprichodegaudi.com
6. centros.culturadecantabria.com — Palacio de Sobrellano · Seminario Mayor · booking engine
7. civitatis.com — Free tour por Comillas (plus its live calendar API)
8. guruwalk.com/comillas — walks 41658 (Elia), 35713 (Moncho), 64666 (Emilio) (plus live availability API)
9. elsoplao.es — hours · visitor info · FAQ · booking
10. Museo de Altamira — hours · prices · tickets · cave-access policy · official ticket platform
11. telefericodefuentede.com — FAQ · tarifas 2026 · entradas.telefericofuentede.com (official tickets)
12. entradas.parquedecabarceno.com — official ticket shop · hours · 2026 timetable
13. tablademareas.com — Comillas tide table · tides4fishing.com — San Vicente de la Barquera
14. oyambresurf.com — prices & timetables · escueladesurfh2o.com — tarifas · northoceansurf.com
15. playas.es — Playa de Comillas · Playa de Oyambre · aytocomillas.es — lifeguard service
16. provoca.cantabria.es — guided coastal outings · unican.es — Oyambre coastal route
17. laportilla-comillas.com — guided visits and live slot calendar · velasycandelas.com — candlelit concert series · giglon.com — its sole ticket seller
18. spain.info — Gaudí outside Catalonia · Wikipedia — El Capricho
19. Photos: Wikimedia Commons — author and license credited on each image, linked to its file page.
20. Driving distances/times: OSRM routing (router.project-osrm.org), queried 13 Aug 2026; entries marked "Estimate" were not live-routed.