Help and feedback most welcome! Please know that this is Plan B, having just cancelled a trip to China. I’ve just gotten tickets flying into Barcelona at the end of March, flying Bilbao to Lisbon in mid-April, and returning home at the beginning of May.

This thread will focus on the Spain portion of the trip. I’m not quite ready to focus on Portugal and will start another thread for that. We have a total of 13 nights.

So far, my priorities are beginning in Barcelona (have been there before), so will probably stay for 4 nights. We end in Bilbao and will be there over the Easter weekend. So far I have 3 nights scheduled and may add a 4th night. When do the Easter processions occur here and are they worthwhile?

I’d like to stay in one of the lovely coastal towns and not sure which one, though so far, I’ve been intrigued by San Sebastiαn or Honnoribia - 3 nights?

i had seen HappyTravlr mention driving through the French Pyrenees between Barcelona and Hondorribia, but i see that April might still be very snowy. Am I right in thinking this is a poor time to drive there? If so, should we fly across or drive another way?

My very initial itinerary looks like this:
April 1-5 (4 nights) - Barcelona
April 6, 7 - Drive through Pyrenees?
April 8 -10/11 - San Sebastiαn/Hondorribia (3/4 nights?)
Bilbao April 10/11- to April 14 - Bilbao (booked 3 nights at Hotel Conde Duque)

Thanks! After planning a 5 week trip to China, I’m trying to keep it as easy as possible.

You΄re going to love Holy Week processions...itineraries and timings not published yet, but it΄s so lively and so intense that it΄s really worth it.

As always, progol, it depends on your interests, but here are some thoughts:

• I wanted 5 full days for Barcelona, not counting anything that many people would visit by daytrip from that city (e.g., not counting Montserrat or Girona or Figureres). And as you probably know, I travel HARD -- on the move every possible moment.
• I love driving. I found the drive through the Pyrenees taxing. Granted, a large part of the problem I had was a car that was not suitable for the roads, but what I remember most is a LOT of switchbacks. I mean, a LOT, up and down and up and down and around and down and up and around and down and up. You get the idea! I would NOT want to be on any of those roads in bad weather. YMMV.
• If you drive through the Pyrenees, consider stopping in Taull.
• Unlike any number of Fodorites, I was not enamored of Hondorribia.
• I loved Bilbao!
• My experience with the Conde Duque included some problems, which i can describe, but I stayed there in 2015, so things could easily have changed. Let me know if you want details.

Here's my trip report:
Trip Report Four Awesome Weeks in the North of Spain and Catalunya - Fodor's Travel Talk Forums

Whatever you choose, Catalunya, the Pyrenees, and Spanish Basque country include some wonderful places, so I'm sure you'll have a great time!

That seems a bit short for Barcelona to me too, especially if you're starting with jet lag. For my last visit see (links at the top of the page): https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...s-the-ramblas/

I was surprised by Pamplona on that trip, which you could reach by train as you go north see: https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...with-pamplona/. Some time back I enjoyed a one night stay at the Hondarribia parador, but I suppose I would pick Donostia in preference, although I wasn't that keen on it.

How are you getting to Portugal? If doesn't sound like you have time for more than Lisbon, although it is possible to travel along the north coast of Spain and down to Porto by rail.

We have a total of 13 nights in Spain and 20 nights in Portugal. Spain is our “extra” but I’m having a hard time figuring out the plan.

Originally we were only going to Portugal, but I was itching to return to Barcelona (we’ve been before) as well as finally getting to visit Bilbao. My husband is keen on seeing the museum and I understand Bilbao has a lot more to offer, too.

thursdaysd, we are flying from Bilbao to Lisbon and then we will fly hime from Porto almost 3 weeks later.

I am now inclined to stay 5 nights in Barcelona. If we end (the Spain portion) in Bilbao for 4 nights, what would you recommend for the other 4 nights? Stay in San Sebastiαn and do day trips? Visit another area in Northern Spain? I’m curious why both of you, kja and thursdaysd, weren’t that keen on SS.

kja - what were your problems with the hotel Conde Duque? Was the location good or should we remain closer to the museum and old part of town?

My latest thoughts in keeping the Spain portion of my trip simple:
Barcelona - 6
Fly to San Sebastiαn (?) or other town
SS - 3
Bilbao - 4

We fly to Lisbon from here; tickets are purchased.

I’m pretty burned out from planning our trip to China, which we just canceled, and I want to keep this part of the trip simple. The more I look at Barcelona, the more I see places I want to explore. I think 6 days will be good. So my current thinking is dividing the remainder of the trip time (7 days) between Bilbao and SS. As we will be in Bilbao over Easter, that looks like a good place to base for the last 4 days.

If we didn’t stay in SS for 3 days, is there another place you’d recommend? As of now I don’t see any reason to rent a car.

Bilbao makes a fantastic base for the Basque Country, no doubt, and you΄re coming when there are lots of processions and street activities, it΄ll be very interesting to watch and to enjoy. By the way, Hotel Conde Duque is quite centrally located and it should be a fine place to stay.

Thanks, mikelg! I’ll stick to Hotel Conde Duque. It’s convenient and well-priced.

I didn't see SS under the best of circumstances (see my blog for why), but it just isn't my kind of town. I much prefer Bayonne on the other side of the Pyrenees. But if you are going for the food you should be happy (although there is no shortage of good food anywhere in the Basque country).

If it were my trip I would probably go Barcelona - Zaragoza - Pamplona - Bilbao by public transport, and do SS as a day trip from Bilbao.

Thanks, thursdaysd,
I’m still pondering the 3 days between leaving Barcelona and arriving in Bilbao. I’m now pretty sure we will fly from Bcn to either SS or Bilbao, and I’d be happy to spend time in a smaller town in the region for all 3 nights. We might then rent a car and either stay outside of a city or stay in a smaller village. It could be on the coast but doesn’t have to be.

Hondarribia sounds nice, but I see there are mixed feelings about the town.

Any suggestions?

The Conde Duque's location is excellent. The problems I had were with other aspects of my experience, and again, I would emphasize that I was there in 2015 and things can change! Here's the review I wrote at the time:

Progol, another place you could consider staying for 2 or 3 nights is Girona. It's about an hour from Barcelona. Very easy to get to. Girona is a wonderful medieval walled city. We spent 2 nights there. If you had 3 nights, you might be able to take a day trip to Figueres to see the Dali Museum. I think the Dali Museum is doable as a daytrip. But I understand why you want to keep the trip and the planning simple, so not sure if this appeals to you, but thought I would mention it anyways.

Thanks kja and KarenWoo!

kja, as it turns out, I ended up canceling the reservation at Conde Duque as the price went up steeply when I added the 4th night. I’ve now got a reservation at the Barcelσ Bilbao Nerviσn. It looks okay and pretty close to the Conde Duque.

KarenWoo, thanks for the suggestion. For now, I’d like to focus on the Basque area and deciding how to allocate the days there.

So, I’ve now got reservations in Barcelona (5 nights) and Bilbao (4 nights), leaving me 4 nights in between.

I’d love feedback as I’m considering the options. It looks like we can fly into San Sebastiαn-Donostia airport, but the flights are either very early or late afternoon. We would never make a 6:30 am flight (!) so we would arrive late in the day. With 4 nights, I’d consider staying 2 places, but would prefer one.

1) Should we stay in SS- Donostia for all 4 nights? We could do day trip or perhaps rent a car for the last day.
2) Should we go to Honorribia for perhaps 2 nights? I don’t think there is a car rental agency here (or one where I can drop off at another location).

3) if we stay 2 night in Hondorribia, where else would you recommend for 2 nights that is different - perhaps inland?

This part of the trip is shaping up, I think!

Hondarribia is just 30min away from SS by public transport, or 20min by car. It΄s a beautiful town, with lots of great places to enjoy wonderful food and pintxos, and it΄s right across the French Basque Country, on the other side of the river. I΄d make my decision based on hotel availability and price. Of course, Hondarribia is smaller, but worth either the visit or the stay (Hotel Obispo is a clear option, as well as the magnificent Parador/castle).

Hotel Barcelσ Nerviσn is very well located and you΄re going to like it. Prices are going up as you΄re arriving on Holy Week...and that΄s a big vacation period for us!!

We stayed at the parador in Hondorribia several years ago. We had a car so did a few day trips from there.

Thanks again, mikelg! Your suggestions are really helpful in making decisions. I will figure that portion of our trip tomorrow.

Judy, did you like the parador there? I’ll look into both that hotel and Hotel Obispo, and compare to those in Donostia-San Sebastiαn.

Hotel Obispo was a nice small hotel, views of river. Two problems were they only have three parking places and we watched airplanes taking off and landing. The river view included the runways and some noise.
We enjoyed Hondarribia, medieval town on hill top and fishermen’s houses on lower level of the town. Lots of good places to eat.Pinxtos bars.
If gave us easy access to both Pais Vasco , Spain, and Pays Basque in France.