Norther Spain first Iteniary

Old Sep 23rd, 2017, 03:34 AM
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Norther Spain first Iteniary

Hello all. Looking for some help and your thoughts on our proposed trip to Northern Spain in April /May 2018. Hopefully all by train/bus combo. We havve already seen a ttiny bit of Spain this year when we visited Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Granada Cordoba.
We are slow travelllers and don't like to rush as we like to be on holidays and dislike packing and unpacking We like architecture, eating, and history with the odd Church (well I love them DH is a bit over them)and basically walking around a place.
We will arrive in San Sebastián from Paris on 26 April and will fly out to London on 30 May and spend maybe six days then return to Sydney. So that gives us a total of 34 days. In Spain.
My initial thoughts are
San Sebastián 7 nights with a day trip to Bilbao
Pamplona 4 nights ( no bullfighting)
Leon 6 nights ( day trip to Oviedo)
Salamanca 6 nights
Then ????
Fly to London from the nearest airport.possibly Salamanca or Madrid.
Nothing on the Spanish trip is booked as yet or set in stone. I would be really happy for any suggestions and your thoughts especially areas to read up on.
Thank you in advance.
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Old Sep 23rd, 2017, 04:10 AM
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Considering you have so much time, think about adding Santiago de Compostela and other places in the north, instead of going to Salamanca.
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Old Sep 23rd, 2017, 04:32 AM
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I visited all those places in 2015, but I think you are spending too long in all of them (and I am an advocate of slow travel). I would also recommend adding time in the French Basque country - although I would certainly not drop Salamanca.

I started the Basque part of my trip in Pau, but I had a lot of time, and I would suggest Bayonne or perhaps Biarritz.

Start here:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...omment-9383738

Or, with photos (links at the top of the page):
https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...ng-in-bayonne/
thursdaysd is offline  
Old Sep 23rd, 2017, 04:38 AM
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I would definitely include Burgos
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Old Sep 23rd, 2017, 05:49 AM
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I also recommend the Pays Basque, across the border from Spain. The small villages in the foothills of the Pyrenees are among the most beautiful in France( Ainhoa, Saré, Espellette, Ascain, etc.). And you can visit them easily from San Sebastian or move to St-Jean de Luz or Biarritz.
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Old Sep 23rd, 2017, 05:57 AM
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How lucky to have 34 days in Spain! My husband and I spent three weeks in northern Spain last year. If you click into my profile, you can read the report.

I second Aramis' suggestion to add Burgos. Good food, good wine, walkable. When we fly into Madrid and rent a car, Burgos is always our first overnight stop. I will also say that I enjoyed our one-night stay in Logroño. It was quiet when we were there, but the food was amazing! It was a much less stressful way of eating Pintxos than SS. (As an introvert, I find the crowded bar scene to be stressful. My husband has no such problems and I make him obtain the food! If there are foodies behind the bar, they recognize his love of food and he typically does really well, despite speaking no Spanish.) But I doubt it would be enough to sustain you for multiple days in Logrono, but maybe it could be a day trip from Pamplona?

I know you mentioned not having a car, but, man, the Cantabria and Asturia regions are stunning! Our trip up the mountain at the Fuente De parador was something I'll always remember. We only dipped our toes into Asturia, but I wished we'd planned for more. (Although, admittedly, that time of year might not be the best weather...)

I have not been to Salamanca, but did visit Toledo (you'll love the cathedral!), Avila (I'm not tempted to return), and Segovia (worth the visit for the aqueduct alone!) on a previous trip. Given the season, I might be tempted to head for warmer locals like these. (But coming from a cold place, I like heat on my vacations!)

Have fun planning!
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Old Sep 23rd, 2017, 05:59 AM
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Agree with : " too long " in each place ...
April/ May can be rainy in the north ....,
I would keep beautiful Salamanca on the list ( 2-3 nights).
(train from Salamanca to Madrid ..about 1/12 h.)
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Old Sep 23rd, 2017, 09:36 AM
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Should be a wonderful trip!

If you have any interest in prehistoric art, you might want to add a few days near northern Spain’s wonderful caves, perhaps Santillana del Mar or Santander.

My style of travel is quite different, but even so, you might find some useful information in my trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-catalunya.cfm

Salamanca is a gem – I agree with those who recommend retaining it in your plans.
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Old Sep 23rd, 2017, 11:16 AM
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I'd do 5 nights in San Sebastián and 2 in Bilbao.

Staying 4 nights in Pamplona is almost enough time to sample some of the best pintxos in the Basque country! (http://tinyurl.com/y967npgp)

I'd go with 4 nights in León and 2 in Oviedo. You'll be able to do a day trip into the El Bierzo wine region while in León. (http://tinyurl.com/nefk6vk)

I'd only allow 2 nights in Salamanca, the rest I would spend in Madrid and take a day trip to Toledo.
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Old Sep 23rd, 2017, 12:07 PM
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Thank you all. I did have Burgos in my head so will reinstate, and had Oviedo and Bilbao but thought it was too many short stays. Now to convince DH that a couple of short stays will be ok.

We visited Madrid for seven days last May and really loved the city, and the day trip to Toledo was fantastic. It was freezing in Madrid the first two days and then the rest of the month in Spain was warm weather.

kja I had already read your trip report (I have tried to read as many as I can) and while we all travel differently I gleaned some really good info.

We arrive in Paris on the 20th April as we will be going to Villers Bretonneux for ANZAC day (25April) and we are really excited about that part. We are expecting cool rainy weather for the first few weeks and that's ok as it won't stop us doing things.
Once again I really appreciate the input from you all. No doubt I will be back with more questions as the planning begins in earnest.
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Old Sep 23rd, 2017, 02:59 PM
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If you can convince DH to agree to a few short stays, I will wholeheartedly second Robert's recommendations for a few nights in Bilbao and Oviedo!

And I'm glad to know you found some good information in my report.
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Old Sep 23rd, 2017, 03:55 PM
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Thanks kja. DH has agreed to two short stays so that's good. We will leave Salamanca as is and travel to Madrid the day before our flight to London. Yippee I get to go back to that gorgeous city.
This is an unexpected trip as we were in Paris, Spain and Italy from April to July this year and we were planning for 2019 but the chance came up to visit France for April 25 so we are taking it. Then I promise faithfully that we won't travel overseas for two years. Lol
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Old Sep 23rd, 2017, 04:20 PM
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Old Sep 23rd, 2017, 11:37 PM
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Stay with your planned time in San Sebastián, but I also strongly suggest you add a couple of days in Bilbao, San Sebastián's wonderful and very different sister city. http://www.euskoguide.com/places-bas...ilbao-tourism/

There are also other fabulous small cities/villages here that you might take a look at, for example the old capital Tolosa just inland from San Sebastián or tiny Getaria with some out of this world fish and seafood restaurants, on the coast just west of San Sebastián:
Tolosa: http://www.euskoguide.com/places-bas...olosa-tourism/
Getaria: http://www.euskoguide.com/places-bas...taria-tourism/

And here's two short clips to wet your appetite for San Sebastián itself. Haven't been here in nearly two years and seriously start to feel the abstinence ;-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t50eHoBqu0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRWCdjw1C8Q

And a fun intro to the Basque food culture and going for the famous pintxos in San Sebastián: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwmBAvqa_0U
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Old Sep 24th, 2017, 05:57 AM
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I just had a 34 day trip to Northern Spain in July.

Just started the trip report today - http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-of-france.cfm

I posted a very detailed report and photos here: http://andiamo.zenfolio.com/blog

My trip did include a lot of one and two night stays which I normally don't really like but in this case it made sense. Driving (except in the major cities which we didn't do much of, most of that was by public transportation before we got the car) is really easy and a lot of places are great to spend the night (when the day trippers are gone) but don't really 'require' several days. So linking a few longer stays with some one and two nighters worked perfectly for this area.

San Sebastian was the highlight probably of the whole trip but I don't think you need 7 nights. I had 4 and did a day trip to Hondarribia which I highly recommend. I then spent 3 days in Bilbao but if you are trying to cut down on moving hotels then I'd add one more to San Sebastian (so 5 nights) and do Bilbao as a day trip.

I would definitely include both Burgos and Leon and they each warrant at least 2 nights.

From Pamplona you could do day trips to Laguardia, Puente La Reina, and Olite. Those would be easier if you had a car.

Another suggestion, especially if you don't have a car would be a few days in Santander, itself a nice city, but from there you could do a day trip to Santillana del Mar - or even better spend the a night as it's nicer in the morning and evening when the day trippers are gone. But maybe in May it wouldn't be crowded even mid day. Between the town itself and the Altamira Caves it's worthwhile.
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Old Sep 24th, 2017, 10:07 AM
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As for trains check www.renfe.com for train info and then compare to buses - Bilboa may be best by bus from San Sebastian- others by train. For help with Spanish trains - www.seat61.com - great info on discounted tickets you can book yourself online; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. Buses go everywhere but trains are as always more comfy and buses usually longer and cheaper.
Euskotren is a sweet narrow-gauge inter urban type railway that goes thru many Basque towns - great way to go to Hendaye, France and Pays Basque talked about above. Better than mainline trains from RENFe station often because those are so few compared to frequent Eusko Trains and a much nicer ride as the tiny train trundles right thru Basque towns, practically touching houses or so it seems.
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Old Sep 24th, 2017, 12:28 PM
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Wow thanks for the great information. I will make myself a coffee and sit and read your trip repot isabel. Has to be coffee as it is to early for wine.(7.30 am here) lol.
PalenQ thanks for the tip on Euskotren. seat61 has always been my first go to page.

Many thanks to you all as I really appreciate the time and effort you have put into the replies.
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Old Sep 24th, 2017, 10:01 PM
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I know I'm an outlier, but FWIW, San Sebastian is my LEAST favorite location in Spain, and that includes all the places covered in the aforementioned trip report for my time in northern Spain and Catalunya and the places I've visited in central and southern Spain. I found things to enjoy there, but was ready to leave after 2 days (3 nights). And while Hondarribia is often praised, I wouldn't have taken the time to visit it if I had the advantage of hindsight. I thought it nice enough, but I was not enamored. Obviously, many Fodorites have very different reactions, and vive la difference!
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Old Sep 25th, 2017, 01:55 AM
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kja I must admit SS wasn't high on my list either and I will cut it down to 5 days. I just thought that as the week in Paris will be on the go the whole time SS would be a nice place to relax a bit. My brothers, sisters and friends are encouraging us to go there as they think we will love it. I will give this some more thought.
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Old Sep 25th, 2017, 03:26 AM
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Donostia is relaxing if you want to sit on the beach -otherwise a fairly smaller nice city but with relatively little to do.
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