ozgirl

Good morning friends,
Having done lots of reading here and elsewhere I am still struggling with the above.
We will have come from France, spent 5 days between San Sebastian and Bilbao (undecided on the split yet?) then three nights near the Picos.

We will then have about seven nights before we arrive in Santiago de Compostela ((where I've allowed two nights so far.)

We are a 60+ couple. Enjoy walking, photography, food, architecture and exploring other cultures at a slower pace. Typically in France we would rent a gite for one week or more but time for the Spanish part of our trip does not allow that. I'm also conscious of time lost on 'moving' days.
Usually we prefer our accommodation to be somewhat rural or 'small charming village' rather than larger towns and we love coastal locations.

So, the mission is to find somewhere between our Picos rental (probably near Berovia) and Santiago where we can visit what lies between. If not from one base then possibly two... (As an outlier I would like to try and get to Leon as well )

Perhaps this is mission impossible but would be grateful to hear of any suggestions.
Thank you in advance.

yorkshire

I've never been but have done some scoping out for potential trips--I'd look at the coast between Oviedo and Llanes.

Michael

This hamlet might be a possibility, although we went there for the restaurant (highly recommended) and did not check out its accommodations.

natylou

Hi there, we did a trip like this but in reverse in September 2014. Did you mention what time of year you’re going? We spent 4 nights in Santiago and did some day trips south to small towns, and also to A Coruna, which is not terribly important to see but an easy drive. It has a Roman lighthouse Torre de Hercules, with a beautiful viewpoint over the ocean.

We like relaxed road trips. I had hoped to stop at Oviedo, but also wanted to see Leon. So we took a route from Santiago through Lugo (hot springs pools there) to Leon. It is truly worth a day or day or two. Then we drove through beautiful country to Potes, in the middle of the Picos. Stayed overnight and continued on to Llanes. It’s a small town on the water, and the days we were there included a festival with local dance and songs I believe from the Celtic roots. The weekend had rally races with some particularly famous really car drivers staying at the same hotel rural. My husband loved the parade of rally cars through town in the evening. It was so fun.

From Llanes it’s an easy drive to some stunning beaches. Also if you want to go to Cangas it’s possible. We stayed a couple of miles south of the town amongst the most impossibly beautiful pastoral scenery. Arpa de Hierba, and I see it is still operating.

I still want to see Oviedo one day, but I’m happy we drove inland to Leon to get a bit of variety and a close look at the mountains. So much beauty there!

This area has famously unreliable weather though, being on the north coast. We did manage to enjoy sunny weather nearly every day.

Hope these ideas are helpful.

ozgirl

Thank you everyone for your responses.
I should have mentioned this will be in late May.
natylou that Hotel looks gorgeous, thx for the reco and Michael for yours.

Any other suggestions welcome