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Spain Road trip Barcelona to San Sebastian June 2017

Spain Road trip Barcelona to San Sebastian June 2017

Old Aug 1st, 2016, 05:18 PM
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Spain Road trip Barcelona to San Sebastian June 2017

Very excited to be planning our first trip to Spain from Australia - we are in our early 60s.

We plan to fly into Madrid for a few days, train to Granada for a few days, then Barcelona for a few days before hiring a car to embark on road trip.

From research, places of interest are (obviously this list is not in driving order): Zaragoza, Montserrat,Torla, Ainsa, Huesca, Pamplona and Jaca, but would welcome suggestions.

We are keen to experience the beauty of the Pyrenees and dont mind a few windy/twisty roads.

Help with "must see" places between Barcelona and San Sebastian and driving routes would be fabulous.

After San Sebastian we plan to go to Bordeaux.

This is my first post so very excited to get feedback.
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Old Aug 1st, 2016, 05:34 PM
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Should be a great trip!

Do you have a copy of the Michelin Green Guide? I found it an invaluable resource.

And FAR less valuable -- you might want to check my trip report, which included a car trip from San Sebastian to Barcelona. Just click on my screen name to find it.

If your purpose in visiting Granada is to visit the Alhambra, note that you will almost certainly want at least 2 nights there (and more if other parts of Granada are of interest to you), and I strongly recommend both day and evening visits. I was glad that I began with a day-time visit -- during the day, you can visit the entire Alhambra, but you will do so with MANY others, so be prepared for crowds, and consider starting as early as you find reasonable. In the evening, you can visit the magnificent Nasrid Palace (only) with just a few other visitors. When I was there, everyone who was there spoke very, very quietly, and I found it absolutely magical! I didn't need to learn about what I was seeing -- I had done that during the day. But I got to see this incredible palace with very different lighting, and to smell the flowering shrubs, and hear the fountains, and … well, I'm sure you get it. Since I was there, I believe the Alhambra also offers evening visits to the Generalife during some times of year, and if I had the chance, I would snag one of those reservations, too -- for the night before my main visit. Do be aware that advance reservations for the Alhambra are critical.

Hope that helps!
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Old Aug 4th, 2016, 08:34 AM
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You should also visit Seville. I can't think of any must see places in between Barcelona and San Sebastian. Zaragoza is good for an overnight.
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Old Aug 4th, 2016, 05:22 PM
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Obviously, "must sees" are a matter of personal opinion. For me, the Vall de Boi was a "must-see," for some, Pamplona is, etc.
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Old Aug 4th, 2016, 11:09 PM
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Zaragoza, Montserrat, Torla, Ainsa, Huesca, Pamplona and Jaca are all "must see places" for different reasons.

Huesca, Zaragoza, Torla and then Pamplona before going down to Donostia-San Sebastián could be a spectacular road trip, and I've driven around in the area many times since 1987.

Huesca: http://www.spain.info/en/que-quieres...as/huesca.html
Zaragoza (César Augusto): https://www.lonelyplanet.com/spain/a...varra/zaragoza
Torla: http://hitchhikershandbook.com/count...spain-2/torla/
Pamplona: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/spain/a...varra/pamplona

and San Sebastián...
http://www.euskoguide.com/places-bas...stian-tourism/
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Old Aug 28th, 2016, 11:57 PM
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We did a 15 day trip to Spain in May 2015 with driving from Barcelona to Girona then San Sebastian.
You may find our itinerary useful.
We drove from Barcelona to pleasant Girona-stayed 3 nights, visited Dali museum and drove around Costa Brava as day trips. Visited quaint towns Ullastret, Pals, Peratellada, Aiguablava, Begur and La Bisbal(ceramics town). In particular Peratellada and Aiguablava are the most beautiful.

We then drove from Girona to Salardu in Val d'Aran(stayed overnight) passing castle town Besalu along the way. The drive to Salardu is quite long (about 5 hrs driving time) and winding in parts but very scenic. Besalu is very nice and Salardu is absolutely beautiful like out of a fairytale.

We then drove to Val de Tena staying at Aparthotel Piedrafita lodge at Piedrafita de Jaca. There you can go for a short hike and admire the incredibly beautiful Pyrenees scenery.
Departed the next day to San Sebastian but not before we took a short detour to Banos de Panticosa (hot spring resort by a lake). The moment we arrive we regretted not spending another night there. Its just so gorgeous. Gran Hotel is just by the lake(with spa and thermal swimming pool). En route to SS we drove by castle town Olite(worth a visit), Pamplona-SS.
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Old Aug 29th, 2016, 12:17 AM
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Agree that Panticosa is something special, and you can do fabulous walks from here: http://www.granhotelpanticosa.com/es/
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Old Aug 29th, 2016, 02:59 AM
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HIf I were you, Zaragoza and specially Huesca would be out of my rute for sure. Jaca or Ainsa are nice, but the second one is really small. If oyu want to go for a hike and see green mountains, then is a good place. If you could go to Pmaplona, that would be a great option. Have fun
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Old Aug 29th, 2016, 04:52 AM
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Go to www.maribelsguides.com for information on the Basque country in France and Pais Vasco Spain. She has an excellent pdf to print out on San Sebastian. We used her guides daily on our trip to those areas which we loved.
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Old May 9th, 2017, 01:48 PM
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Hello. I assume that since you are heading out to San Sebastian and then Bordeaux, you are inclined for delicious food and great wine.

Under that assumption, I would say that you want to spend a day in the area around Valladolid and visit some wineries of Ribera del Duero, and then another day or two around Haro and Laguardia for Rioja wineries.

While touring around the incredible wine coutries in Spain, make sure you stop by Asados Nazareno in Roa. In the central and inland area of northern Spain, roasted baby lamb is one of their specialties, and Asados Nazareno is the best place to try it. When ordering, make sure you order the front leg cut that includes the ribs. The default wine pairing is always Ribera del Duero in that area when eating roasted baby lamb or suckling pigs.

There are a lot of incredible fine dining restaurants in San Sebatian, but out of all the fine dining restaurants in Spain, my favorite has always been Asador etxebarri. I would fly to Spain just to eat in that restaurant. You need to make a reservation and they open their reservation 120 days in advanced. It is about an hour drive from San Sebastian. Currently, it is ranked #6 restaurant on the World's Top 50 restaurant list (2017), and within Spain, #2, behind El Celler de Can Roca.


Hope you have an incredible experience there. Spain is amazing.
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Old May 9th, 2017, 06:03 PM
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