CherylP

Hi All:

We are Plannning a 10 day trip starting and ending in Barcelona. We like old beautiful towns, hiking, off the beaten tracks locations, great food, beach, art. We are a family of four with two teenage boys.

Here are some places we are interested in, but are open to suggestions

Carcassonne
Perpignan
San Sebastien
Bilbao
Provence (open to suggestions)

Could use some help figuring out the right order, route and locations to visit for a wonderful but manageable trip. Especially where to stop for the east-west trajectory (Carcassonne to San Sebastien)

We have a rental car and hotel in Barcelona. Other than that, open to suggestions!

Claudia

Egbert

10 days is not enough for all of those destinations. It will not be fun, most of your time will be spent driving. I would spend 3 nights in Barcelona, then take a train or fly to San Sebastian for the rest of the trip. Even that is two days of traveling. This is my opinion.

ira

Hi C,

>Carcassonne
Perpignan
San Sebastien
Bilbao
Provence (open to suggestions)<

You have 10 days, which will make a nice visit to Barcelona, San Sebastian, Bilb

ira

OOPS

You have 10 days, which will make a nice visit to Barcelona, San Sebastian, Bilbao and return.

OR

Do Barcelona and SW France.

CathyM

I'd agree. I'd allocate at least 5 days to Barcelona which would be enough to overcome jetlag and do a daytrip. The other 5 is up to you but you can't do it all. If you choose the Basque country I'd fly between Barcelona and Bilbao. Once there you could base your entire time in San Sebastian. Or you could spend a couple of days in Bilbao, then the remainder in San Sebastian. OR for a change of pace, since your other locations have been larger cities, you could spend a couple of days in a smaller fishing village and then move on to San Sebastian. You'd only need a rental car for this part of the trip and it really isn't mandatory if you want to take public transportation (it's easy for these places).

Alternatively as the poster above mentions you could visit Barcelona and SW France and Barcelona and Provence.

CherylP

Thanks for all the input! To clarify, we will have three days in Barcelona and then have an ADDITIONAL 11 days for the other destinations. How does that change recommendations?

Egbert

5 days in SS, 2 nights in Lekeitio, 2 in St. Jean de Luz, 2 more ?

uhoh_busted

Are you driving? I would suggest you drive from Barcelona to SW France. A night in Collioure would be wonderful (and a good target) although there are many places around Perpignan you could stay. In fact, if you can find a place for say, 3 nights, you could explore the area, visiting the Cathar ruins at Perypertuse and Queribus, the really neat little city of Perpignan, plus a more relaxing vllage on the Mediterranean (for example Collioure) or even more inland, the lovely town of Ceret. The whole area is quite lovely, and gives you a taste of SW France but keeps you in striking distance to head back into Spanish Basque country.

From there you could head over the Pyrenees toward Pau, or in the direction of Lourdes, and make your way into Basque Country. You could head for Pamplona (a fun place even if just for a night) and then on to the Atlantic coastal area to San Sebastian. Alternatively, you could head for St Jean de Luz, and then make your way down the Atlantic Coast.

You may want to base yourselves in San Sebastian, or split it between SS and Lekieto, for example. I'd suggest turning your car in and taking a train, or short flight back to in Barcelona.

uhoh_busted

As noted -- it is easy to see Bilbao as a day trip from SS, or visa versa. If you want a night in Bilbao, that would be sufficient. There are underground parking areas in the Basque cities (e.g., Pamplona, Vittoria, and Bilbao). We found it easier to park the car and then get the lay of the land, so to speak. Of course, you can easily take public transportation from SS to Bilbao, meaning you wouldn't need to worry about parking!

ira

Hey CP,

>we will have three days in Barcelona and then have an ADDITIONAL 11 days for the other destinations. <

That is different. Too bad you're starting and ending in Barcelona.

Try this:
Day 1rive the coast road from Barcelona to Perpignan
Day 2: Perpignan
Day 3: Drive to Toulouse via Carcassone
Day 4: Toulouse
Day 5: Drive Toulouse to San Sebastian via Lourdes.
Day 6: SS
Day 7: Daytrip to Biarritz or Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port,
Day 8: Daytrip to Bilbao
Day 9: Drive to Zaragoza via Pamplona
Day 10: See Zaragoza and drive back to Barcelona via Tarragona
Day 11: Fly home

Enjoy your visit.