El Castillo Caves and Paleotithic Art- small groups

The airport opens at 5am. We had a flight at 6:30am. Because it was an international flight, we decided to go 3hrs before. The hotel never mention to us. We were 3 sets of couple outside the airport, freezing for almost 2hrs. They were not informed either.

Gabriela was incredibly dedicated and knowledgeable — she shared fascinating insights about the caves and the surrounding landscape throughout the tour. El Castillo cave allows only 7 visitors per hour, which made the experience feel intimate and special. When seeing the row of handprints dating back 15,000–20,000 years , I felt like our ancient ancestors were reaching out to us through a wormhole in time. Highly recommended!

I'd been in two minds about signing up for this tour because we had a rental car and I thought we could get to the caves ourselves. This is how we saw Altamira ( the wonderful replica cave). But tickets for Castillo and Monedas were sold out. So I booked a tour instead and I'm so glad I did. Rafa was our guide and while he said his English "wasn't complete" it was certainly enough for us to understand the significance of the caves. He gave interesting, wonderful commentary en route before we entered the caves with the allotted Spanish guides. Once inside, Rafa quietly interpreted for us. The caves are truly, truly special. I hadn't realized how remarkable the art in both of them is, especially in Castillo. I was transported! Rafa was especially thoughtful and gave me his arm every time we had to move through the cave across a somewhat slippery, potentially dangerous floor. (My husband and I are in our early 70s and I have a palpable fear of falling!) Rafa was by my side to prevent that. We learned so much from him and have come away with new respect for those who lived in the Paleolithic era and for what they achieved artistically. If you find yourself in Cantabria, sign up for one of Rafa and his company's tours! Utterly memorable.

Very knowledgeable and personable guide. Was able to add a pick up close to my hotel which was great. I learned a lot from this tour, and it made my experience in the area very special

Very dedicated guide, Interesting caves, but compared to the French less paintings

So many things to do and see, not to mention the beautiful beaches, I couldn't begin to describe the joy we had discovering this jewel of northern Spain. So much more relaxing and low-key compared to the constant roar of Barcelona. We've already begun plans for a return trip and a longer stay. A beautiful relaxed city like Santander should definitely be on any travelers list.

A great day out, our guid, Maria, was great, she was engaging,friendly and extremely knowledgeable on the caves and art work. Well worth the money.

Amazing experience of relatively unchanged caves. Is slippery- be sure to wear good shoes for walking/wet surfaces. Cave art from 40,000 to 10,000 years ago together with impressive stalagmite and stalagmite formations. No photos allowed. The associated information center is also interesting with art and 360 virtual views of caves. Our guide Jaido knew alot about the art as well, helping out the docents!

Fantastic tour and well worth the trip to see the caves and art. The columns of stalagmites and stalactites made it feel like we were in a natural cathedral and the many ancient drawings simply added to the experience. Definitely wear good footwear as the floor is slick and request an English guide who will translate alongside the Spanish guide. Our guide was fantastic and answered all of our questions!

Wonderfully passionate and informative guides for some spectacular snippets of prehistory. An absolute privilege to get to see these works of art in person and in situ.