# Costa Quebrada and Liencres

The Liencres Dunes Natural Park, the coves of La Arnía and Portio and the broken coast of the Costa Quebrada Geopark, with surfing at Canallave. 15 minutes from Santander.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/cantabria/liencres-and-costa-quebrada · Revisado: 2026-11-12

Between the Magdalena peninsula, in Santander, and the sands of Liencres there are some twenty kilometres of broken coast: cliffs, islets, tucked-away coves and rock platforms that the tide leaves bare. This is Costa Quebrada, a UNESCO Global Geopark, and its western end is Liencres: a village in Piélagos with small coves beneath its houses and, on the way out, the Dunes Natural Park, a pine wood on shifting dunes that ends at the Pas estuary. It is so close to Santander that you can go to spend the afternoon.

## How to get there from Santander

Take the A-67 towards Torrelavega, exit 7, and then 4 km along the CA-203; or exit 9, towards Boo, and the CA-231. Allow about fifteen minutes to the village. From Torrelavega it is another fifteen, and from Bilbao, an hour and a quarter on the A-8. From Burgos or Palencia, on the A-67 to Santander, about two hours. The Hotel Calas de Liencres advertises itself as seven minutes from the capital.

## Where to park

The coves, La Arnía, Portio and Somocuevas, have small car parks at the end of the village road; in summer and on sunny weekends they fill up by mid-morning. For the dunes, Valdearenas beach and Canallave have parking in the park itself, with showers in summer. If you are going to both areas, move the car: it is about five minutes from one to the other.

## How long do you need?

Half a day is enough for La Arnía at low tide and a walk through the dunes to Valdearenas. With a whole day, add a surf lesson at Canallave in the morning or the climb to the bunkers on Monte Picota, with views over the whole coast. Check the tides before going: La Arnía and Portio change completely between high and low tide, and at low water the abrasion platform and the fossils appear.

## When to go

All year: the coast and the park never close. In July and August there are lifeguards and lots of people from Santander; Valdearenas and Canallave face the open sea, with strong currents and rip tides, so swim only where there is a flag and supervision. April, May, June, September and October are the best months for walking around the coves. In winter, with a groundswell, the spectacle is the waves against the cliffs. The tourist office opens daily from April to September and from Thursday to Sunday the rest of the year, except at Christmas.

## What to do

The walk through the Dunes Natural Park crosses the pine wood to Valdearenas beach, 2.8 km of sand to the Pas estuary. Next door, at Canallave, the local school's surf lesson costs €30 with board and wetsuit. In the village, go down to La Arnía, the cove that sums up Costa Quebrada, and climb up to the bunkers of Monte Picota, 21 Civil War structures above the coast. In summer, the town council and the Geopark organise guided walks up the Picota.

## Where to eat

In the centre, Burdo Restobar serves Cantabrian market cooking and a weekday set menu for under €35. The Hotel Calas de Liencres has a restaurant, cafeteria and a terrace over the coves. Neither publishes opening hours: call beforehand, especially on Sundays. Santander is fifteen minutes away if you want more tables.

## Where to sleep

The Hotel Calas de Liencres has 45 outward-facing rooms with views of Somocuevas, Portio and Cerrias, and free parking. Above Portio cove, the Posada La Venta del Mar has all its rooms facing the sea, from €77 for a double with breakfast when booking on its website; it does not accept pets.

## Dónde está
- Zonas: Cantabrian Coast
- Cerca: Cabárceno Nature Park (a 13.9 km), Santillana del Mar and Altamira (a 16.4 km), Comillas (a 30.4 km), Santoña and Laredo (a 38.2 km)

## Qué hacer
- **Surf Lesson at Canallave** (2 h · All ages; groups by age · Desde 30 € person, group lesson): Canallave is a 220-metre beach open to the north, with wind and currents, and the one most frequented by Liencres surfers. With a school, the open sea stops being a problem: two hours with an instructor, in a small group, with board and wetsuit. It is separated from Valdearenas by the Peñuescas rocks, and at low tide leaves a large expanse of sand between tides reaching as far as the Molinuco inlet, named after the remains of an old mill at the mouth of a stream.
The school
The Escuela de Surf Liencres has its module on Canallave beach itself. It gives surf and bodyboard lessons and courses, always with board and wetsuit included, in groups of 4 to 8 pupils per instructor, divided by age and experience.
Lessons and prices

Single lesson: two hours, €30 per person, in a group.
Five-day course: Monday to Friday, two hours a day, €130 per person.
Private lesson: two hours, from €50 for one person and €90 for two.

Sessions are from 10:00 to 12:00, from 12:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 18:00. The school also has passes and equipment hire, which can be asked about separately.
What you learn
The beginner lesson starts on the sand with safety and the priority rules in the water, and goes on to how to get into the sea, paddle, stand up on the board, catch and ride the wave, turn, fall safely and return to the beach. If you want to really progress, the five-day course repeats each step with more time in the water.
Before booking
The website does not publish a minimum age, required level, insurance or cancellation policy: ask when you book. The website's contact form does not work; they write that you should book by email, at escueladesurfliencres@hotmail.com, or by phone, on 607 450 442. Bring swimwear, a towel, sun cream and something warm for afterwards: the Cantabrian Sea is cold almost all year. The beach has showers and parking, according to the town council's listing.
Why here
Canallave is inside the Dunas de Liencres y Costa Quebrada Natural Park and is an open-sea beach, windy and with strong currents, which the town council rates as quite dangerous for bathing. That is why it is not advisable to go in on your own if you cannot read the sea; with an instructor, the group is always supervised and the lesson adapts to the sea of the day.
How to combine it
After the lesson, the walk through the Liencres dunes is next door, and Valdearenas beach is on the other side of the Peñuescas. For lunch, Burdo Restobar, in the centre of Liencres, has a set menu on weekdays.
- **Walk Through the Dunas de Liencres Natural Park** (1 h 30 · All ages; sand · Free): The Dunas de Liencres Natural Park was declared in 1986 over 195 hectares between Liencres and the Pas estuary. A maritime pine forest holds in place dunes that the wind still moves. Sand tracks cross it from the car parks to Valdearenas beach and El Puntal, opposite Mogro.
What it is
It is the largest dune field on the Cantabrian coast, according to the Costa Quebrada association. Since 2021, by law of the Cantabrian Parliament, it forms part of the Dunas de Liencres y Costa Quebrada Natural Park, of 1,753 hectares between Piélagos, Miengo and Santa Cruz de Bezana, which protects the dune system on the right bank of the Pas, the beaches of Valdearenas and Canallave and the pine forest, as well as the cliffs, islets and abrasion platforms of Costa Quebrada. The Pas estuary, next to it, is a Special Area of Conservation. All this coast has been, since April 2025, a UNESCO Global Geopark.
What you see
Pine forest, living dunes and the beach. In the sand and dunes grow plants adapted to loose, salty, waterless ground, such as sea holly, sea daffodil, pink, soldanella or spurge; on the beaches, sea beet, sea radish or sea rocket. Wildlife is scarce because of the sparse plant cover, but there are foxes, weasels, green lizards and skinks, and birds such as the little ringed plover, gulls and the common tern. At the end of the walk, at El Puntal, you see the mouth of the Pas and, opposite, Mogro.
The walk
It is an easy, flat walk along sand tracks, an hour and a half there and back to El Puntal if you stop to look. Sand is more tiring than it seems: with small children, go only as far as the beach and come back. With a pushchair it is hard, because the wheels sink; a baby carrier is better.
Rules
Do not leave the tracks: the dunes are fragile and every footstep on them helps the wind break them up. The park's law leaves the detail of public use to its management plan; the town council does not publish the rule for dogs in the park, so ask at the Liencres tourist office. Do not light fires or leave litter.
Getting there
From exit 7 of the A-67 motorway, in the direction of Santander, along the CA-203, about 4 km, or from exit 9, towards Boo, along the CA-231. In Liencres, follow the park signs to the pine forest car parks.
How to combine it
If you want more coast, La Arnía beach shows the park's other landscape, that of cliffs and islets, and from the Monte Picota bunkers you can see the whole sandy area from above. To sleep nearby, the Hotel Calas de Liencres is 9 km from Santander, above the coves of Somocuevas, Portio and Cerrias.
- **La Arnía Beach and the Costa Quebrada Cliffs** (1 h 30 · All ages; slippery rocks · Free): La Arnía is a cove of about 500 metres between cliffs of great geological interest: along its edge you can see marls and marly limestones full of fossils, and from it, the abrasion platform that runs from Soto de la Marina to the Liencres dunes. It is the image of Costa Quebrada, the twenty kilometres of broken coast between Liencres and La Magdalena.
What you see
A platform of flat rock that the sea has gradually cut, which is exposed at low tide, and in front of it the islets that give this coast its profile. The law that in 2021 extended the natural park to include Costa Quebrada protects precisely its coastal elevations, abrasion platforms, beaches, cliffs, tombolos and islets, among them the Urros de Liencres, the isla de Los Conejos and the isla del Castro. In April 2025 UNESCO declared Costa Quebrada a Global Geopark, the first in Cantabria. This coast already drew attention in the nineteenth century: the landscape painter Carlos de Haes painted in 1872 his picture Costa cántabra between the beaches of La Arnía and Liencres.
The neighbouring coves
Towards Liencres, Portio, a small beach of about 300 metres protected by large rocks, some out of the water, with no facilities at all. Beyond it, Somocuevas, about 100 metres long, protected by a rocky headland, nudist and with few people, with no services. Cerrias lies between them.
Tides and safety
Go down at low tide and in footwear with good grip: the rocks are slippery and, with a swell, the waves reach the platform without warning. Check the tide table before you go. Do not go near the edge of the cliff. The town council's listing records access and parking, but not lifeguards: if you swim, do so with a calm sea and without going far out. The beach is about 500 metres long and about 48 wide.
With children
At low tide, the pools on the platform are a good place to look for life among the rocks, always hand in hand and away from the water's edge. The fossils in the marls are to be looked at, not pulled out: it is a protected area.
Getting there
Liencres is reached from exit 7 of the A-67, in the direction of Santander, along the CA-203, or from exit 9, towards Boo, along the CA-231. From the village, the road towards Somocuevas leads to the coves.
How to combine it
Above Portio is the Posada La Venta del Mar, with all its rooms facing the sea. For a coffee or a meal with views of the coves, the restaurant at the Hotel Calas de Liencres. If you want to see the park's other landscape, that of the dunes and the pine forest, continue to the walk through the Liencres dunes.
- **Valdearenas Beach** (3 h · 2.8 km · Walk for everyone; swim with caution · Free): The longest and widest beach in Piélagos: 2,800 metres of fine sand with shell fragments, inside the Dunas de Liencres Natural Park, ending at El Puntal, at the mouth of the Pas, opposite Mogro. It is the easternmost of the municipality's beaches and faces north, to the open sea. It has access, showers and parking.
What it is
A great tongue of Holocene sand, mostly fine siliceous sands with shell remains, which together with the pine forest and the dunes forms the heart of the protected area. The park was created in 1986 with 194.55 hectares and in 2021 the Cantabrian Parliament extended it as the Dunas de Liencres y Costa Quebrada Natural Park, of 1,753 hectares between Piélagos, Miengo and Santa Cruz de Bezana. The law expressly mentions the dune system on the right bank of the Pas, with the beaches of Valdearenas and Canallave and the neighbouring pine forest. According to Costa Quebrada, the Liencres dune field is the largest on the Cantabrian coast.
Swimming
Swim with caution: the town council warns that it is open sea, has strong currents and eddies form. Do so only with a green flag, within the supervised area, and keep away from the mouth of the Pas. With children, stay at the water's edge.
For walking
Outside summer it is a good walk: almost three kilometres of sand to El Puntal, and as many back. From the car parks you reach the sand along the tracks that cross the pine forest; always follow the marked paths and do not climb the dunes, which are fragile and move with the wind. In the dunes live plants adapted to salt and lack of water, such as sea holly, sea daffodil or soldanella, and birds such as the little ringed plover and the common tern.
Bear in mind
The town council does not publish on the beach's listing the rule for dogs or the lifeguard calendar: ask at the Liencres tourist office, in the La Iglesia neighbourhood.
Getting there
Liencres is reached from exit 7 of the A-67 motorway, in the direction of Santander, along the CA-203, about 4 km, or from exit 9, towards Boo, along the CA-231. From the village, follow the natural park signs to the pine forest car parks.
How to combine it
On the other side of the Peñuescas rocks is Canallave, the surfers' beach. The walk through the Liencres dunes crosses the pine forest to this same sand. For lunch afterwards, Burdo Restobar, in the centre of Liencres, serves Cantabrian market cooking.
- **Monte Picota Bunkers** (2 h · Walkers; teenagers · Free): The summits of Monte Picota, between the Alto del Cuco, in Mortera, and the Pico del Castillo, in Liencres, hold one of the largest networks of twentieth-century fortifications in Cantabria: Civil War bunkers, anti-aircraft trenches, machine-gun nests and powder magazines, 21 structures preserved. From the top you have the Liencres coast, the dunes and the bay of Santander.
The mountain
La Picota is the coastal massif that Liencres shares with Mortera and Boo. According to the Piélagos town council, its summits of the Alto de San Andrés, at 159 metres, and the Castillo, at 174, close the horseshoe of La Picota and separate Liencres from Mortera. Hay meadows run up its slopes, and below lies the village, among the neighbourhoods of La Iglesia, La Portilla, La Cruz and Somacueto.
What you see
The structures are spread over the upper slopes of the mountain: concrete bunkers, remains of trenches and machine-gun nests. From above you can see the broken coast of Liencres, the sands and the pine forest of the natural park, the Pas estuary and, to the east, the bay of Santander. It is a good viewpoint for understanding why this coast is called Costa Quebrada (the Broken Coast).
The route
You can climb from the Liencres side or from Mortera. Allow about two hours for going up, going round the structures and coming down. The official sources we have consulted do not describe a waymarked path or a distance: bring the route downloaded on your phone or ask at the Liencres tourist office before setting out. Choose a clear day: in fog, there are no views and the paths are hard to find.
Safety
They are unrestored military remains. Bring a torch if you want to look inside, but do not enter structures with roofs or walls in poor condition, and watch out for the mouths of the trenches, which may be covered by vegetation. With children, keep them in sight at all times. Wear mountain footwear: in rain, the meadows and tracks turn to mud. Dogs may come, on a lead.
Who it is for
For teenagers curious about history and for anyone who walks confidently. There are no facilities at the top: bring water and something warm, because the sea wind blows on the summits.
Getting there
Liencres is reached from exit 7 of the A-67, in the direction of Santander, along the CA-203, or from exit 9, towards Boo, along the CA-231. Also from the N-611, at kilometre point 198, with a left turn of about 5 km.
How to combine it
From the top you will see the next destination: the walk through the Liencres dunes and the Valdearenas beach, or the cliffs of La Arnía beach. For lunch, Burdo Restobar, in the centre of Liencres.

## Dónde comer
- **Burdo Restobar** (Restaurant, Liencres, €€). Qué pedir: on weekdays, the set menu; the rest of the time, the market cooking on the menu, which they publish online
- **Hotel Calas de Liencres Restaurant and Café** (Restaurant, Liencres, €€). Qué pedir: a coffee or a portion on the terrace on the way back from La Arnía; see the day's menu on its website

## By car: By Car, Ten Minutes from Santander
Liencres is nine kilometres from Santander. The car takes you from the coves, in the village, to the dune car parks, Valdearenas and Canallave, a few minutes away.
Presupuesto orientativo: 65–120 € por persona y día.
### Dónde dormir if you're driving
- **Hotel Calas de Liencres** (Hotel): Above Costa Quebrada
A new building in the barrio de la Sierra in Liencres, 9 km from Santander, with views of the coves of Somocuevas, Portio and Cerrias. It is the base for doing the coast on foot and the dunes by car, in five minutes. From the door begins the stretch of Costa Quebrada that the hotel lists on its website: Pedruquíos, Somocuevas, Cerrias, La Arnía and Portio, and further west Valdearenas and Canallave, inside the Dunas de Liencres natural park, along about 8 km of coastline.
Getting there
From Santander you come by the CA-231 or by the S-20 motorway in the direction of Torrelavega, leaving towards the CA-303. In the centre of Liencres you turn right towards Somocuevas beach and carry straight on: the hotel is 200 metres away.
The rooms
45 exterior rooms, each decorated differently: 35 doubles, 8 superior doubles and 2 suites with jacuzzi. Twelve have a balcony. All have a full bathroom, flat-screen television, telephone and wifi. There are cots for babies and room service. The photos on the website also show triple rooms, although the text does not describe them: if there are three of you, ask when you book. The website does not publish rates openly; the price comes up in its booking engine depending on dates.
Services
Restaurant, café with breakfast service, bar, reading room and terraces, as well as a function room for about 200 people and a meeting area. Parking is free, on the surface, with no garage. Wifi covers the whole hotel. The website does not say whether pets are admitted or publish check-in and check-out times: ask before arriving.
From the hotel they organise nearby surfing, paddle surfing, canoeing on the Mogro estuary, horse riding, golf and paragliding. To start in the water, see the surf lesson at Canallave.
Who it is for
It suits those who want to sleep by the sea without being in Santander: couples looking for the suites with jacuzzi, families who need a cot and parking, and walkers who want to explore Costa Quebrada without moving the car. It is also handy for excursions the hotel suggests on its website: the Altamira neocave, Santillana del Mar, Cabárceno or El Soplao.
What is nearby
On foot, the coves of Somocuevas and Portio and La Arnía beach. By car, in five minutes, the walk through the Liencres dunes and the Monte Picota bunkers. For eating out, Burdo Restobar, in the centre of the village, or the hotel's own restaurant. Bookings on 942 588 093 or at info@hotelcalasdeliencres.com.
- **Posada La Venta del Mar** (Small hotel, desde 77 € / night): An inn above the Portio cove
La Venta del Mar is in the barrio de Portio, in Liencres (Piélagos), above the cove of the same name, one of those on Costa Quebrada. All its rooms face the sea, and a garden surrounds the house a very short distance from the beach. Portio is a small cove, about 300 metres long, protected by large rocks and with no services, and it changes a great deal with the tide: at low water the rock platform and the fossils appear. Check the tide table before going down.
From the door you can walk along the cliff edge to La Arnía beach, the next one to the west, and by car you reach the dunes and the pine forest of the natural park in a few minutes.
Double rooms and a junior suite
There are two types of room: the double, with a double bed or two beds, and the junior suite, which is larger. All have sea views. The inn assigns each room according to availability and the type you have requested, so you cannot choose a particular room.
What it costs, season by season
The website publishes fixed rates, including VAT, per room per night:

Low season (all year except the periods below): double, €77; junior suite, €115.50.
Mid season (June, September, long weekends, Easter and Christmas): double, €99; junior suite, €132.
High season (1 July to 31 August): double, €132; junior suite, €170.50.

Breakfast is included only if you book on its website; through other channels, ask. Check-in is from 12:00. The website does not publish check-out time, the cancellation terms or whether there is an extra bed for children: ask before booking.
House rules
Pets are not allowed and smoking is not permitted in the rooms or common areas. The website does not advertise a restaurant of its own: for dinner, the restaurant at the Hotel Calas de Liencres is on the same coast and Burdo is in the centre of the village.
Next door, the same house rents the Apartamentos Playa de Portio, with separate rates, for those who prefer their own kitchen.
From here, by car
The inn itself suggests outings to the Parque de Cabárceno, the El Soplao cave, the Alto Campoo ski resort and the golf courses of the area. For a rounded day without going far, the plan Coast and cave Sunday combines the coves, the dunes and the Altamira Neocave.

## As a family: Dunes, Fossil Coves and a Surf Lesson

Liencres is the beach of families from Santander: dunes to run on, pine forest for shade, and coves with fossils to search for at low tide.

### What works best
Walk through the dunes, flat and short, with pine forest

La Arnía at low tide, for looking at rocks and fossils

Surf lesson at Canallave, €30 with board and wetsuit

Valdearenas, for walking along the shoreline

### Where to sleep
Hotel Calas de Liencres, with cots for babies

Posada La Venta del Mar, above the Portio cove

### Where to eat
Burdo Restobar, with gluten-free options

### Bear in mind
Valdearenas and Canallave have strong currents: swim only with a lifeguard

At La Arnía the rocks are slippery

### Qué hacer as a family
- Surf Lesson at Canallave
- Walk Through the Dunas de Liencres Natural Park
- La Arnía Beach and the Costa Quebrada Cliffs
- Valdearenas Beach

## With teenagers: Surf, Bunkers and Cliffs

For teenagers, Liencres has three things: real waves at Canallave, a network of Civil War bunkers on Monte Picota and a coast of cliffs to explore.

### What works best
Five-day surf course, €130

Monte Picota bunkers, with a torch

La Arnía and Portio, at low tide

### Where to sleep
Hotel Calas de Liencres, within walking distance of the coves

### Where to eat
Burdo Restobar, weekday set menu

### Bear in mind
The bunkers are not restored: do not go in without light or alone

### Qué hacer with teenagers
- Surf Lesson at Canallave
- La Arnía Beach and the Costa Quebrada Cliffs
- Monte Picota Bunkers

## Consejos

### Go at low tide
La Arnía and Portio make sense at low water: check the tide table before setting out.

### Arrive early in summer
The car parks at the coves are small.

### Wear shoes with grip
The rock at the coves is slippery, especially with seaweed.

### Stay on the dune paths
The pine wood and dunes are a fragile natural park.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How do you get to the Liencres dunes from Santander?
By the A-67 towards Torrelavega, exit 7 or 9; about fifteen minutes.

### Can you swim at Valdearenas?
With caution: open sea, strong currents and rip tides. Only with a green flag and a lifeguard.

### What is Costa Quebrada?
The twenty kilometres of broken coast between Liencres and La Magdalena, now a UNESCO Global Geopark.

### Where can you learn to surf at Liencres?
At Canallave, with the Escuela de Surf Liencres: €30 for a two-hour group lesson.

### Can you go with a dog?
On Monte Picota, on a lead. For the natural park and the beaches, the town council does not publish the rule: ask at the tourist office. La Venta del Mar does not accept pets.