Santander Airport to La Rioja transfer

If your flight lands in Santander, La Rioja is about two and a half hours away by road. Our Santander airport to La Rioja transfer meets you in arrivals and drops you at the door of your accommodation.

Seve Ballesteros-Santander Airport, in Maliaño (Camargo), isn't usually the first airport people think of for a trip to La Rioja, but more and more travellers choose it for its low-cost flights to several European cities and its fares. The problem comes after landing: there is no simple, direct public transport link from Cantabria to the DOCa Rioja wine region. Here we explain how the private transfer works, how long it takes to each destination and when it makes more sense than other airports.

Why fly into Santander to visit La Rioja?

Our clients usually choose Santander for one of these reasons:

• Flight price or availability: sometimes the route you need from your European city only operates to Santander, or is much cheaper there.
• Combined trip: a few days on the Cantabrian coast followed by a few days of wine in Haro or Logroño.
• An alternative to Bilbao: if flights to Bilbao are full or have awkward times on your dates.
• Arriving by ferry: Santander port receives ships from the United Kingdom, and we can pick you up there too.

If you're deciding which airport to fly into, take a look at our overview of airports serving Logroño and La Rioja and, if you're travelling from outside Spain, our English-speaking driver service in La Rioja.

How long does the Santander airport to La Rioja transfer take?

The usual route leaves the airport on the Cantabrian motorway (A-8) towards Bilbao and, before entering the city, joins the AP-68, which runs down the Ebro valley. That's why Rioja Alta comes before the capital. These are approximate times:

These are rounded figures: they vary with the time of day, traffic around Bilbao and the exact address. When we quote, we'll give you the specific journey time for your trip.

How does pick-up at Santander Airport work?

Seve Ballesteros is a small, easy airport with a single terminal, which makes meeting your driver very straightforward. This is the process:

1. Book with your flight number, date, number of passengers and destination address in La Rioja.
2. We confirm the fixed price and vehicle type; if there are more than four of you or lots of luggage, we'll suggest the Rioja Group van.
3. We track your flight on the day; if it's early or late, the driver adjusts their time.
4. Your driver waits in arrivals with a sign bearing your name, at the exit from baggage reclaim.
5. Straight to your destination: hotel, rural cottage, winery with rooms or private address, with no stops you haven't asked for.

Is it better to land in Santander or Bilbao?

This is the most common question. Bilbao (Loiu) is considerably closer to La Rioja: around 1 h 30 to Logroño and 1 h 15 to Haro. If you find an equivalent flight to Bilbao, the transfer will be shorter and the quote lower; you'll find the details on our Bilbao Airport to Logroño transfer page.

Santander makes sense when the difference in flight price is large, when the only direct flight from your city is to Santander, or when you want to include Cantabria in your trip. In that last case, you can spend a few days on the coast and book just the journey to La Rioja with us. It also works the other way round: do La Rioja first and fly home from Santander at the end.

What to do when you arrive in La Rioja from Santander

As the route comes in from the north, many travellers take the chance to start in Rioja Alta. A few ideas that suit this airport:

Start your trip in Haro

Haro is the first major stop. You can stay there and, the next day, tour the wineries of the Barrio de la Estación with our Haro winery visit with a driver, or book a private driver in Haro to get around the area.

Rejoin the Camino de Santiago

Pilgrims who fly into Santander to pick up the Camino Francés (French Way) again often ask us to take them straight to Santo Domingo de la Calzada or Nájera. If that's you, have a look at our private driver in Santo Domingo de la Calzada service.

Base yourself in Logroño

If you prefer the capital as your base, we'll drop you at your hotel in the centre and you can plan the rest of your stay from there. To combine your arrival with other destinations in the north, see also the Logroño to Bilbao city transfer.

What should you bear in mind before booking?

A quick checklist for a perfect transfer:

• Flight number: this is what lets us track your arrival in real time.
• Special luggage: golf clubs, boxed bikes or cases of wine; let us know so we can assign the right vehicle.
• Child seats: tell us the ages and number of children.
• Early-morning or late-night flights: we work 24 h, so you don't depend on bus timetables.
• Return: if you're also flying out of Santander, book both journeys; for the return we time the departure with plenty of margin for check-in.

For the return journey, we usually suggest leaving Logroño about four hours before take-off on European flights: two and a half hours on the road plus margin for check-in and security. If you're leaving from Haro, departure can be a little later.

Bear the time of year in mind too. During the grape harvest months and spring bank holiday weekends there's more demand for transfers to the wineries, so it's best to book a few days ahead. In winter, with heavy rain or fog on the Cantabrian coast, we add margin to the departure time so you reach security without stress. And if your plans change, for example because the airline changes the schedule, let us know on WhatsApp and we'll rearrange the pick-up.