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Santander · Spain

Car hire and driving in Santander

Driving distances to the cities around, the rules that change at the border, and where to compare rental prices.

OverviewFlightsHotelsTrainsBusesCar rentalTours

In Spain traffic drives on the right. Picking up at BIO means 75 km (47 mi) into the centre before the trip starts. The emergency number is http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1061257 / http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q25648909 / http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q25648910.

Drives from Santander

Car rental from Santander: distances and estimated journey times
RouteCountryDistanceEstimated time
Santander to BarakaldoSpain69 km (43 mi)about 1 h 3 min
Santander to BilbaoSpain75 km (46 mi)about 1 h 8 min
Santander to Gasteiz / VitoriaSpain115 km (71 mi)about 1 h 45 min
Santander to BurgosSpain125 km (78 mi)about 1 h 55 min
Santander to Donostia / San SebastiánSpain149 km (92 mi)about 2 h 16 min
Santander to GijónSpain150 km (93 mi)about 2 h 17 min
Santander to LogroñoSpain156 km (97 mi)about 2 h 23 min
Santander to OviedoSpain165 km (103 mi)about 2 h 31 min
Santander to LeónSpain173 km (107 mi)about 2 h 38 min
Santander to PamplonaSpain190 km (118 mi)about 2 h 54 min
Santander to ValladolidSpain215 km (134 mi)about 3 h 17 min
Santander to BordeauxFrance299 km (186 mi)about 4 h 34 min
Santander to LondonUnited Kingdom936 km (581 mi)about 14 h 16 min
Santander to BerlinGermany1,623 km (1,008 mi)about 24 h 45 min
Santander to MadridSpain339 km (211 mi)about 5 h 10 min
Santander to RomeItaly1,343 km (835 mi)about 20 h 29 min
Santander to ParisFrance763 km (474 mi)about 11 h 38 min
Santander to HamburgGermany1,508 km (937 mi)about 23 h
Santander to ViennaAustria1,644 km (1,021 mi)about 25 h 4 min
Santander to BarcelonaSpain541 km (336 mi)about 8 h 15 min

Distances are straight-line; road and rail routes run about 15–25% longer. Times are estimates from distance and typical speeds, not timetables.

Where to compare car hire

ExpediaCar hire from the major suppliers, and the one to look at if the flight or hotel is already booked there. Part of Expedia Group.Check car hire on Expedia (opens www.expedia.com in a new tab)
DiscoverCarsCompares local and international suppliers. Read the counter reviews before you pick.Check rental cars on DiscoverCars (opens www.discovercars.com in a new tab)
Auto EuropeA broker specialising in Europe, often with clearer all-in pricing for US renters.Get European rates on Auto Europe (opens www.autoeurope.com in a new tab)
Rentalcars.comBooking.com's car arm, with wide airport coverage worldwide.Compare suppliers on Rentalcars.com (opens www.rentalcars.com in a new tab)
Every link above leaves this site.

We take no bookings for these providers and hold no reservation with them. The provider you choose handles payment, confirmation, changes and refunds. How that works.

Common questions

Which side of the road do they drive on in Santander?

The right, as everywhere in Spain.

How are the journey times on this page worked out?

From straight-line distance and typical speeds for each mode, so they are estimates for planning, not timetables. Road and rail routes run 15–25% longer than the straight line.

Where these facts come from

  • GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
  • Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
  • OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
  • Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines

Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.