Cantabria has artisan ice cream parlours along almost the whole coast: El Artesano and Codium in Noja, Shaka in Santoña, three historic addresses in Santander (Vía Mazzini 43, La Polar and Regma), Helados de Luna in Somo, and the century-old Helados López in Ontaneda. The closest ones to Bareyo are less than twenty minutes away.
Picking eight artisan ice cream parlours out of the dozens across Cantabria calls for a clear criterion. Only shops that make their own ice cream are included here — with a workshop in view or just behind the counter, not ones that buy tubs from a distributor — and we've verified them by cross-checking reviews, local press and, where it exists, their listing on the official Cantabria Tourism website. The order follows proximity to Bareyo: first the Trasmiera coast, then Santander, and finally two inland stops worth the trip even though they're not on the way to the beach.
The result mixes young parlours that have only been open a few years with names that have been behind the counter for over a century. There's room for both: the one that opens for the season with flavours that change every week, and the family workshop still making the same cheese ice cream since their great-grandparents arrived from the Pasiego Valleys to sell milk in Santander.
Heladería El Artesano (Noja)
Fifteen kilometres from Bareyo, on Avenida de Ris in Noja, El Artesano lives up to its name: its own workshop and a menu of over one hundred and eighty flavours, with natural fruit sorbets and several options made with plant-based milks (lemon, green apple, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, mango). It's the best-rated parlour with its own workshop in the whole Trasmiera area, with a small terrace two hundred metres from Ris beach. It tops this list because it's the closest to Bareyo with a solid reputation — not just locally, but among the people who spend their summers in the area.
Codium (Noja, Isla and Santoña)
A few minutes from El Artesano, Codium spreads its production across three villages: workshop and shop on Plaza de la Villa in Noja, a stall on Paseo del Sable in Isla, and a presence in Santoña too. Behind it is Alejandro Ruiz, a native of Santoña who builds his ice cream around fresh, seasonal ingredients rather than a catalogue of standard flavours. The fact that a single artisan parlour covers Noja, Isla and Santoña — the three villages closest to Bareyo after Ajo — earns it second place almost by default.
Shaka – Helados Artesanos (Santoña)
In Santoña, right by the harbour, Shaka runs more on word of mouth than on street signage: the name comes from the surfers' greeting, the ice cream is made on the premises, and it's earned an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 from customers who come back every summer. It has no website to speak of beyond Instagram, so it's worth asking around in the village if you don't spot it straight away — word of mouth here is quite literal. We've placed it ahead of the Santander parlours because Santoña is still the essential stop for anyone heading east from Bareyo.
Vía Mazzini 43 (Santander)
In Santander, on Calle Castelar, Vía Mazzini 43 is the only parlour on this list with its own listing on the official Cantabria Tourism website, on top of two Soletes awards and the city's Creative Business Award in 2015. It pairs artisan ice cream with naturally roasted coffee, a crêperie and iced cakes, in a spot that's open all year round, not just in high season. Its institutional backing and verifiable recognition put it first among the Santander parlours on this list.
Heladerías La Polar (Santander)
A few metres away, on Paseo de Pereda, Heladerías La Polar is the parlour with the longest history in Cantabria: the Salas family arrived from the Pasiego Valleys in 1888 and opened their first shop in 1945; today it's run by the fourth generation, using Pasiego milk, fresh eggs and sugar as the base of the original recipe. One hundred and thirty-seven years add up to a lot, and the regional press still points to it as the region's most recognised parlour. We've placed it here, right after Vía Mazzini 43, because its strength isn't in recent awards but in a track record no other parlour on this list can match.
Regma (Santander)
Close by, also on Paseo de Pereda, Regma opened in 1933 and now has several branches across Santander, from Calle Burgos to Peñacastillo. Along with Helados López, it's one of the two names locals mention almost by reflex when asked where to get an ice cream in summer: generous scoops and old-fashioned flavours, no surprises. It comes right after La Polar for much the same reasons — Santander tradition, several branches, never a year without opening — and because between the two of them they cover almost every corner of the city centre.
Helados de Luna (Somo and Castro-Urdiales)
Across the bay, in Somo, and also in Castro-Urdiales, Helados de Luna is the youngest parlour on this list and the only one with a recent public vote in its favour: Diario de Cantabria named it the region's best ice cream in 2024. Its ice cream maker, Javier González, champions ice cream with no additives or colourings, with flavours that change according to what he finds at the market that week. It's further from Bareyo than the rest — you have to cross the bay or drive as far as Castro — but the popular vote, as opposed to the institutional recognition of the earlier parlours, earns it its place.
Helados López (Ontaneda)
The last stop moves away from the coast: in Ontaneda, deep in the Toranzo valley, Helados López has been making ice cream since 1895, with cheese flavour as its unmistakable signature and a less expected classic — honey with orujo. It opens Friday to Sunday between March and October, from eleven in the morning to half past eight in the evening, and every summer draws a queue of people who come just for the ice cream and nothing else. It's the furthest from Bareyo of the eight — more than an hour by road — but also the most cited by the Cantabrian press as a destination in its own right, and that earns it a spot at the end of the list.
What you need to know
Most of these artisan parlours only open for the season: from Easter to October on the coast, and only Friday to Sunday between March and October in the case of Helados López. In the height of August, the ones in Santander and Noja start queuing from six in the evening; if you're going with young children, mid-morning or right after lunch is a better bet. Almost none of them are guaranteed to take card payments in high season, so it's worth carrying cash, especially in Santoña and Somo. If you'd also like to learn how to make ice cream yourselves, Cantabria Tourism runs an artisan ice cream workshop at Granja Santa Ana, in the Santoña marshes, less than half an hour from Bareyo.
The best ice cream on the route isn't the one with the most awards: it's the one you eat with sand still on your feet, fifteen minutes after leaving the villa.
Eight parlours don't cover the whole list, but they do span the whole coastline you can see from a villa in Bareyo: Noja and Santoña a step away, Santander half an hour, Somo across the bay, and Ontaneda for anyone who wants to stretch the day with a trip inland. If you're after something more substantial than ice cream first, our guide to the best places to eat in Cantabria covers restaurants by area, from the Trasmiera coast to Liébana. And if you're already thinking about coming back, September 2027 still has availability at our villas.
