Booking fee
The booking fee includes the costs of booking your tickets such as charges for payment processing. It also covers the provision of our customer care center for processing your order, and all charges imposed by our suppliers.
* This tour requires at least one of the following per booking: Adult, Senior
HIGHLIGHTS
• Visit the caves of El Castillo and Las Monedas, both world heritage caves for their cave paintings
• Walk around the cozy village of Puente Viesgo
• Enjoy the views over the Pas River
• Visit the new Cave Art Centre in Puente Viesgo
SUMMARY
After picking you up at your hotel, we will travel to Puente Viesgo to visit the famous caves of "El Castillo" and "Las Monedas", both World Heritage Sites by UNESCO, 2008.
The "El Castillo" Cave has paintings considered among the oldest preserved in the world. The silhouettes of hands in negative are famous, which according to archaeologists belong to more than 50 different people. Las Monedas cave will offer us beautiful silhouettes drawn in charcoal from the Magdalenian period. This cave also has a high geological value.
Our next stop will be to visit the new Rock Art Interpretation Center to better understand the origin and development of rock art.
Finally, we will take a short walk through the village of Puente Viesgo
See more
Entrance fees to visit El Castillo and Las Monedas Caves (regular visit)
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Driver/guide
Transport by private vehicle
Food and drinks
Departure Point
Traveler pickup is offered
We will pick you up at your hotel in Santander.
If your accommodation is outside the city, please contact us to agree on a meeting place.
Cave of El Castillo, Puente Viesgo, Spain This has has been declared World Heritage by Unesco and it is one of the most important caves in the world for its cave paintings. Please notice that the regular visit is in Spanish. Please contact us if you want to have a private tour in English or someone translating the visit for you into English. 60 minutes
Cueva Las Monedas, Puente Viesgo, Spain This cave had been declared World Heritage by Unesco in the year 2008. Please notice that the regular visit is in Spanish. Please contact us if you want to have a private tour in English or someone translating the visit for you into English 60 minutes
Puente Viesgo, Puente Viesgo, Spain We will do a short visit to this village famous for its Hotel and Spa of Puente Viesgo. 15 minutes
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Public transportation options are available nearby
Specialized infant seats are available
Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
A maximum of 8 people per booking
This tour has a minimum of 4 people for final tour confirmation
Tour request approval depends on cave entrance tickets availability
Children must be accompanied by an adult
The visit into the cave is only in Spanish available, your guide access with you to translate
Tour may be operated by multi-lingual guide
Temperature into the Caves is 12ºC all year
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.
Kristin_A
14 Apr 2023
Big thank you to Mercedes for coming along on the tours and quietly translating for us when she realized that the cave tour guide was not going to be able to repeat everything in English. This was a longtime dream of mine, to see the cave paintings, and she made it possible!
kris-goes-places
13 Apr 2023
I am so happy that we booked our tour through Exploring Cantabria. Our tour guide, Mercedes, was fabulous. She was friendly and knowledgeable, and came along with us on the tour of both Las Monedas and El Castillo and translated for us because the cave tours were only in Spanish.
The caves themselves are amazing. Las Monedas has only a few paintings but the cave formations are stunning. El Castillo has more paintings - the tour goes quite far down which means that you’ll be climbing four or five flights on your way back out. I am saying this not as a complaint but as a middle aged woman on the larger side, I was definitely out of breath at the end. It was worth every step though - it is mind blowing to realize we were looking at some of the oldest artwork in human history. I don’t think I can do them justice in a review. It is really fascinating to see.
After the caves, Mercedes took us into a nearby town for a few photo ops before heading home. I cannot recommend her highly enough for helping us access this unique and amazing experience.
JOHN_M
07 Apr 2023
Thoroughly enjoyed the experience and being able to see these ancient paintings. The tour guide who drove us to the caves was very helpful and gave us enough time to visit the village close to the caves afterwards. She arrived at the pick up point on time.
This tour in
Santander
is organized by
EXPLORING CANTABRIA
We always double-check the availability with our local partners for each booking. Even though this is usually a swift process, it can take up to 24 hours. Once this process is completed you will receive your voucher or ticket by email. If our local partner is not able to confirm your booking we will offer you the best possible alternative. If the new date and/or time doesn’t fit your itinerary, we will reimburse the full amount paid.
How great that you want to share your experience! Your feedback helps other travelers to make a better choice.