Hi All,

I've been reading some of the Galicia threads on here, and am still not sure if there's a different option for getting to Porto when we are done in Galicia, other than driving back down to Vigo to take the train from Vigo to Porto?

Does anyone have experience with this?

We are planning on taking train from Madrid (since I'll be in Madrid already) to Vigo then renting car at Vigo and driving to Santiago de Compostela and using it as a base for 5 nights 4 days.

Our biggest interests are visiting Rias Albarino wineries (I can hook this up for us-but very happy to have more recommendations from anyone who's done this), doing outdoors/hiking, eating seafood and being in a town so we don't have to drive home after dinner and wine. I've found some good listings on Flipkey for Santiago but if anyone has stayed in an awesome place (cottage or house or 2 bedroom apartment is preferred as I'm traveling with a guy friend and we need separate rooms) I'd love recommendations!

this area is so much less accessible online, which I love, so it leads me to believe there are a lot of things I can' t find out, unless from other travelers.

I'm really excited to explore this unique area of Spain!

Cheers

Brooke

Maybe this place in Santiago de Compostela will work for you? They have 2 bedroom apartments.
http://catedralsuites.com/en/apartamentos.php

This place is nice too and there is more parking around.
https://www.homeaway.co.uk/p6194604

Also... For excellent seafood check out Abastos 2.0 adjacent to the public market.
www.abastosdouspuntocero.es

There's a bus from Vigo to Porto, but I haven't taken it. When are you going?

Hi Brooke, why don't you fly Ryanair from Madrid to Santiago de Compostela, cheap and fast? It's such a long slog otherwise.
Fodorite riberasacra lives in Galicia, check her profile for her website.

When did RS become "she"? I guess anything's possible in this day and age.

Robert2533 hopefully RS will forgive me, not just for the gender mistake but also the misspelling of his name, ribeirasacra.

rialtogrl- many thanks for apt and restaurant suggestions! There is an easy train from Porto to Vigo, I was just wondering if there were any other cities in Galicia to take the train from so we don't have to drive back to Vigo but it doesn't appear so

sundriedtopepo- it's a 5 hour plus a little train ride that costs only 22 Euros for us so to go from Madrid to Vigo that's honestly not bad at all and Ryanair isn't cheaper especially with checked bag (which of course I have since I've been here in Europe 9 months and we avoid the hassle of getting to the airport which is totally worth it for us

I will check ribeirasacra profile-thanks!

Brooke

You can fly Madrid to either. SdC, A Coruña, or Vigo.
But have you thought about flying to Oporto in the first place. You can hire a car there and return it there. Saves the hassle of bus or Train to the city from Galicia. It is said that you have a great choice of airlines, and cheaper car hire too. The later I have not proven.
Re accommodation. It is said that there is a crack down on illegal accommodation and tourist guides here in Galicia, this year.
http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia...02G25P6991.htm
http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia...2G26P10991.htm
So choose carefully where you rent.
2 websites to help plan your trip to the what you mistaking call the Rias Albarino wineries. (Rías Baixas)
http://turismoriasbaixas.com
http://www.rutadelvinoriasbaixas.com
As an alternative to SdC perhaps think about staying in or near the so called capital of the area Cambados.
At the bottom of this page is a list of some apartments, which one would hope are legal as they are on the city councils website. http://www.cambados.es/eportal/porta...?id_seccion=18
Why do you want to stay in SdC when the purpose of teh trip is to visit

Well we didn't really plan on renting a car in Porto. Only in Galicia. But it's a possibility to go straight to Porto rather than training into South Galicia. Thing is I'll already be in Madrid when we start our trip so I'd have to go through hassle of booking into a hotel I can't afford for just one night a dragging luggage there and back and paying for taxis, to get to airport. I actually wanted to fly out on an easy night flight to Porto originally,but the volunteer program I'm working with, doesn't get us back to Madrid until too late to catch any of the night flights.
I've asked them to tell me how to get back to Madrid on my own (we'll be out in a tiny village with no transportation connection but I'm sure someone could get me to nearest train station) so I could catch a 6:45 flight out to Porto (versus leaving the next day on a train which thanks to spending a night in Madrid, solo, I"d need to take to make up for the $ as the train is much cheaper)

I don't think the train is very complicated, from Madrid to Vigo, if that's how it has to be . Plus I'm broke and don't like to pay the luggage fees and taxi fees getting to and from airports. But we'll see!

I've been traveling Europe full time for 10+months, so I'm basically on a hostel-backpacking 20 year old budget, except I don't stay in hostels and I'm in my mid-30's (I've figured out ways to do house-sitting, volunteer programs, and finding other travelers to share apartments with for months at a time, etc as part of this year quest I've been on while working on my writing and website). On this particular leg of my trip, I'll finally have a travel partner who is a very good friend, and it was his idea to go places we would need a car (I simply suggested which areas when he described the type of thing he wanted to see-based on what I also want to do) so he's paying for the extras during this part of the trip as he is on vacation (which is very dif from my situation

Also- I do know the names of the wine regions.....LOL I'm in the wine industry! I was simply shortening writing out both Rias regions names, and both are known for Albarino....... I figured people know enough on this site, to understand

Everything I've read (including Fodors forums) says Santiago is a great base for exploring Galicia region. And our objective is not only tasting wine, it's equally split between visiting a few wineries, finding hikes and outdoor stuff to do (very much our interest to see great scenery), and just exploring villages and eating lots of fresh seafood. If we make it to two or three wine spots-that would likely be fine..

Both of us have been in the wine industry a very long time, so visiting wineries all day every day isn't something we like to do on vacation but we always like to mix a little of winery stuff in, if we are in a unique area where we admire the wine, and have the chance to!

Well pardon me for informing you about how things are.
You was the one who started the subject about visiting some bodegas. You also want to take walks ect. Parking in the city, any Spanish city coast €s.
You also suggested that you could not find anything on line. That is why I took time and suggested some changes to your itinerary.
If you are really broke and counting the cents. then you should look at the true coast of your travel plans. Taxis will be need ed several times, car hire coast could be cheaper, will save on train fares.

I hear you about getting to and from airports, but there are non-stop flights from Madrid that leave after 10pm that go either directly to Santiago de Compostela or to Vigo or A Coruna -- would that work? Granted, round trip tickets are usually much cheaper than one-ways for these types of flights, so it might not make sense if you are not going back to Madrid.

I found the Galician town of Tui (Tuy) on the border between Spain and Portugal to be a very rewarding place to visit, with an especially beautiful cathedral. So if you are driving in that area, I recommend it (along with Pontevedra and Lugo in Galicia, and also the site of Santalla de Boveda, near Lugo was a wonderful off the beaten path stop

http://www.european-heritage.org/spa...43;veda/galego

Hi all, thanks for all the great info so far.

We will spend 3 days in Porto and 5 nights/6 days in Galicia. Whether we take a train from Madrid to Vigo, or fly from Madrid to Porto and drive (and then back out of Porto back to Madrid) is something we wont' be able to figure out until my friend books his ticket, and I figure out my arrival time back in Madrid and which option is cheapest. But either way we are happy as we'll get the same amount of time each place

rialtogrl-your apartment recco is spot on-just the type of place my friend likes, and they have 2 bedroom options. I also found some great stone houses in center of Santiago, through Flipkey (I Have been loving this site lately for unique lodging in Europe that you can't find on other sites).

Sandralist- if we are driving from Porto to Galicia I'll definitely try to stop in the places you've suggested. I love a road trip with beautiful stops on the way! I've been really excited by the combination of nice little villages, beaches and rugged coastline, seafood spots, wineries, and even monasteries etc that all seem to be plentiful in this less discovered area of Spain. This may be the most exciting trip I've taken in a while in Europe! It combines all of my favorite things...

B

Sandralist- Santalla de Boveda looks amazing

ribeirasacra- yes thanks for the info!

Here's a very cool link that talks about the history of the monasteries in Galicia and how to reach them.... I'm fascinated by old abandoned monasteries!

http://www.spain.info/en/reportajes/...nasterios.html

Brooke, Santalla de Boveda is amazing. There are similar crypts in other distant parts of Europe, and I am not sure if it is known why they are so far flung.

I drove to the spot on my way to lunch in Lugo and, just as I was pulling up, I noticed a caretaker was opening up the doors of the crypt for a small group of tourists, and I simply tagged along. You might want to do some online research to see if there are precise hours. I believe there is a church buidling on the same site, where people live all the time, so maybe you just go there and ask to get the door unlocked.

I took my husband to Galicia as a kind of jokey birthday present because he loves pulpo a la gallega, and we made that our pilgrimage instead of the famous "camino". But even without visiting SdC (which was jammed during the days we were traveling) we found so much in Galicia that was fascinating, beautiful, and delicious -- and we were only wandering around a small corner of it for a few days. We very much enjoyed Porto too. Hope you enjoy your trip.

Maybe you have to be in Porto for work, but if not, maybe save that for another trip because I am sure you can find enough to do in Galicia for eight days. Another base closer to the Rias Baixas is Pontevedra - a lively and picturesque town with lots of great bars and good restaurants (including the fabulous wine bar Bagos.)

The wine region of Ribeira Sacra is pretty much a must if you like wine and monasteries.

sandralist and rialtogrl-
I'm sure I could spend a month happily in Galicia! If only I could afford it

I've now already booked a flight into/out of Porto from Madrid so I can't change that plan. I ended up having BA points that made it the cheapest option. ($40 in taxes and fees RT for 2 business class flights from Madrid non stop 1 hr 10 min).

It also turns out my budget is far far lower than expected so it's turning into a 'how do I find monasteries and convents' to stay at (since they are usually between 20 and 35 euros a night) but there is literally no specific info on line anywhere I look and I'm usually a wizard at finding tough to find info. I've checked these threads and no specific names of places are given. People simply recommend books that you must buy to find the names (which I don't want to do as most of the places might end up not even being in Galicia).

I've looked up every article written on this subject that I could find online, and nothing. other than the big famous monastery in Lugo that pilgrims on Camino go to, and the fancy big monasteries that are on the Paradores sites (like luxury lodging) I can't find listings anywhere for the regular little monasteries and convents that rent rooms out (and I know they are there! I'm staying in on in Italy and there are hundreds throughout the country that do this)

Even the small little Galicia sites that tell visitors the types of accommodation they should look for in Galicia and describe there being monastery and convent options, don't actually list any names

oy vay

Plus the rental car thing when you are on a 15-25 euro a day budget is pretty much impossible. Looking for ways to get a rental car with some BA points currently. Oh the joys of budget travel.

I'm sure something great will turn out. So far, I've been able to figure out how to live on a backpacker's budget, but at far higher quality so hopefully that trend continues and I find some great reccos for casa rurales or convents that cost within my budget in both Porto and Galicia