Late landing at OVD with a room in Salinas or Piedras Blancas?
Asturias Airport sits in the municipality of Castrillón, and Radio Taxi Castrillón is usually the dispatcher behind the “airport taxi” rank sitting right outside T1 arrivals from the first to the last daily flight. For short hops to nearby spots like Piedras Blancas (about 5–10 minutes) or coastal towns like Salinas, this is the default move when ALSA buses to Oviedo, Avilés or Gijón have stopped or would mean backtracking.
How it works from T1 arrivals
T1 is the only terminal at OVD, so after baggage claim you walk less than 100 meters straight out to the signed taxi rank where Castrillón-based radio taxis wait with meters on. Rides to close-in villages usually run under 15 minutes, while Avilés is roughly 15 km away if you do decide to head for the bus or train there. You normally don’t need to pre-book for regular daytime flights.
Typical fares and when it feels pricey
Forum posts put short trips from the airport to nearby Castrillón towns in the ~10–20 € range, depending on time of day and exact village; that stings if you compare it to a 5–7 € ALSA bus ticket into Oviedo or Gijón. Solo travellers doing only 6–8 km sometimes call it expensive, but split two or three ways it drops to bus-level per person while saving 20–40 minutes of detours.
Language, directions and how to brief the driver
Several Spain threads mention that some Castrillón taxi drivers speak minimal English, especially on late runs to small aldeas, so write your address down clearly with the local parish name and postal code, like “Coto Carcedo, 33459 Castrillón.” Having a Google Maps pin ready on your phone with offline maps downloaded for Asturias avoids confusion when your rural rental is 2–3 km off the main road.
What regulars do
Frequent visitors who land on FR or VY night flights swap WhatsApp numbers with the same Radio Taxi Castrillón dispatcher and pre-book both their arrival and a 4:30–6:00 a.m. pickup for early departures. Others exiting the same flight quietly team up in the baggage hall and share one cab to Salinas or Piedras Blancas, turning a 16–18 € fare into roughly 6–8 € each.
Step-by-step from plane to taxi
- 1. Land at Asturias Airport T1 and follow “Llegadas/Arrivals” signs to baggage claim on the ground floor.
- 2. Collect luggage and walk straight through customs into the public arrivals hall in under 2–3 minutes.
- 3. Exit through the main sliding doors signed for “Taxis / Parking,” about 50–70 meters ahead.
- 4. Join the taxi line at the marked rank; look for standard white taxis, often dispatched by Radio Taxi Castrillón.
- 5. Show the driver your written address or map pin and confirm an approximate price band, for example “Piedras Blancas, unos 12–15 euros?”
- 6. Check the meter is running, then pay in cash or card at drop-off; many local cabs take cards, but have at least 20 € in cash as backup.
Watch out for
Short local rides under 10 km feel steep if you compare them with ALSA bus fares into Oviedo, and language gaps can slow things down if you just say a house name without a village. One practical tip: write your full address on paper before you board at OVD and keep a 20 € note handy so you can jump straight into the first Radio Taxi Castrillón cab without hunting for an ATM.