16 days in Spain
 

Hi! My hub and I will be spending 16 days in Spain during the beginning of July. I want to spend 3 nights in Madrid . Other than that I need to go NORTH because I DIE of the heat and sweat ,sweat, sweat. I was thinking of flying from Madrid to Santiago and spending a few nights in Pontevedra, Baiona and then up to Santiago de Compostela(been there before). We then though we would drivve the coast through Asturias and then go to the beach in Santander and San Sebastian for a few nights. Thought we would then fly to Barcelona and spend a night or two on the Costa Brava and 2 nights in Barcelona. Do we have enough time to do it? Any suggestions other than these? Help! What about the Pyrenees? Is it hot there in summer? I speak Spanish so I am not worried about language problems in small towns. I would appreciate any help or suggestions! Thanks!

Well, Madrid in summer is hellishly hot - but perhaps not quite the 100 plus of the south. We did a trip across the north from San Sebastian across to Barcelona. the only pat I fond tolerable was San Sebastian. As soon as we got away from the Atlantic cost the temps went up - and it wasn;t bearable to me until we got to Nice. (Stopping at a couple of parking lots near Barcelona the heels of my shoes got stuck in the macadam because it was so hot it was half melted.) If it were you I would do earlier or later than July,

Thank you for sharing the proclivities of your over zealous pores.

I would consult a guide book and a map. For sixteen days you are doing far too much. Also remember that the north can get hot as well, even if it is not like Madrid or the south. Barcelona as well can get hot. Be sure whatever accomodations you chose that they have A/C.

For I know you will sweat the details.

mypyr
It looks at bit hectic but doable, if you do not mind changing hotel every day or almust then your plan is ok.
Of course you cannot stop in every little village between Galicia and San Sebastian, but you can combine Motor way and small roads and stop in a two or three places. I will suggest Ribadesella in Asturias and San vicente de la Barquera in Santander. Santander, city itself is also a good place.
One of the must beatiful bays in Europe.
Regarding your Barcelona end of the trip, once you come from the relatively empty beaches of the north you will find La costa Brava, busy and crowded. I will recomend you stay in town and maybe an afternoon-evening trip(train) to Sitges. In order to avoid car and traffic in-out of Barcelona. After your long north coast car drive. La costa brava needs car.

So 3 Madrid + 3 Galicia +5 trip to San sebastian+4 Barcelona,
make 15. You then have two big moves involving airport or long train-car ride. The Madrid to Pontevedra one. And the San
Sebastian to Barcelona one. So two fulls days for these ones.
The Galicia to San Sebastian, car drive I suppose, might
seem long for 5 days but it is a long ride with plenty of places to visit.
Have fun.
Rgds

mypyr writes: "... I want to spend 3 nights in Madrid. "

You're more likely to find air conditioned accomodations in Madrid.
" ...I was thinking of flying from Madrid to Santiago and spending a few nights in Pontevedra, Baiona and then up to Santiago de Compostela(been there before). We then though we would drivve the coast through Asturias and then go to the beach in Santander and San Sebastian ... "

I would terminate in Santander (el Sardinero Playa) and do daytrips to Picos de Europa, Santillana del mar, Comillas and maybe even to Bilbao or Limpias.

From Madrid you could fly into Vigo (Pontevedra) and later take a TRD Vigo-Santiago. Or you could even take a Talgo Tren from Madrid (Chamartin) Vigo has a nice Beach: playa Samil, just west of the port, on the way out to Baiona.

16 July is la Virgen de Carmen: kickoff for Peak Summer rates. It's more noticeable at the seaside resorts and probably on the Med Coast. Can you 'flip flop' your trip and terminate in Madrid??

You could spend just 16 days in Galicia and pop over the borders to Asturias and North Portugal.
Whatever you choose I would certainly advise you not to change location every night as this leaves little time for sightseeing.

I think it is too much. I would skip Barcelona and do it as another trip some other time. I would spend up to a week in San Sebastian at the end of the trip. Barcelona will be a letdown after San Seb in July.

Make sure you book hotels in the North - a popular destination with Spaniards.
We liked Santander a lot - easy day trips to Bilbao and Santillana del Mar ( the Museum of torture in SdM was excellent and chilling: Bilbao is worth a visit for the Museum and the Old town).
Barcelona is one of my favorite cities, but not sure how hot it gets in the summer. It is a place to spend more than a couple night is.

I have only been once during the summer and I was fortunate that it was not too hot. I do have a question for Catalans.

Years ago it was a source of pride to withstand the heat without the benefit of A/C. Is this still the case?