I am in the early stages of planning a trip to Spain in late-May/early-June. On my only previous trip to Spain, I visited Madrid and Sevilla. This time I want to spend the majority of my time in Barcelona and San Sebastian. I am going to have 10 full days in Spain. I have a few questions about logistics:

1. My initial thought is to spend 6 days in Barcelona and 4 days in San Sebastian. Is this enough time to get a good overview of both cities and perhaps to take a few day trips?

2. If I were to shave a day off both cities and spend 3 days in San Sebastian and 5 days in Barcelona, where would you recommend spending the other two days?

3. I would like to book an open jaw flight, flying into BCN and out of either Bilbao or Biarritz. I live in New York. Am I better off flying out of Bilbao or Biarritz?

4. Putting cost aside, what is the best way to travel from Barcelona to San Sebastian? Flight? If so, which airline? Drive? Bus? Train?

5. If you recommend driving from Barcelona to San Sebastian, are there any cities you would recommend stopping in along the way? Bilbao? Pampalona?

6. Finally, is late-May/early-June a good time of year to visit Barcelona and San Sebastian?

Many thanks in advance for all your help.

I would do 4 days in Barcelona and 6 in San Sebastian-Donostia only because the extra two days allows you to explore the surrounding area of Donostia, including Hondarribia. You also have the possibility of taking a day-trip to Bilbao.

The only flight available from Barcelona to San Sebastian-Donostia is on Iberia. The plane lands in at the airport (San Sebastian Airport) in Hondarribia. You can take a taxi or bus from there into San Sebastian (20 minutes away). You can also fly into Bilbao.

If you decide to drive, then you can stop in Zaragoza, Logroño and Pamplona, but only if you want to spend a night or more in each location.

Barcelona is a fantastic place with a lot to see if you like art architecture, museums, people watching. It is a large city with population of over 1.5 million (metropolitan over 3 mill)
day trips from Barcelona : Girona, Sitges, Tarragona Montserrat.
I have been twice and looking forward for a third visit next week.
We visited Bilbao on a day trip from Santander , it was worth it. Bilbao about an hour bus ride from SS.
I have not been to SS,it seems to be a place loved by many here. The population is about 180.000. It is considered the "food capital" of Spain by some people.
The weather should be nice and warm ( warmer in Barcelona than SS)
If you like cities and what they offer more time in Barcelona would be better.

Maribel's guide to Spain might be of help

http://www.maribelsguides.com/

I have been researching how to get from Barcelona to San Sebastian for our October trip. A flight to San Sebastian is expensive but flying to Bilbao and then taking the bus to San Sebastian is very reasonable.

Thank you very much for your replies.

I was under the impression that one needs at least 5 days in Barcelona. Is that not true? Perhaps there are fewer things to see than I thought.

Also, any thoughts on whether I should fly out of Bilbao or Biarritz on my way back to the United States?

Again, many thanks for all your insight.

Pintxos (Basque tapas) in San Sebastian, "the food capital":
http://www.todopintxos.com/home/home.php?lang=en

There is so much to see and do in Barcelona, and it is an amazing city! I was not expecting to like it as much as Madrid, but I found it to be even more interesting and diverse. In 3 days, we were able to visit the Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarter), Picasso Museum, Las Rambles, Church of Santa Maria del Mar, Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila, Block of Discord, Castell de Montjuic, Eixample, and Fundacio Joan Miro, and the Boqueria Market. We spent one of those days visiting Monestir de Montserrat (we took a train; defintiely worth a day). We thought we could cover more in three days, but we didn't get to several recommended sites. We felt rushed, but it was the beginning of our trip, so we were energized (fortunately, no jetlag). I haven't been to San Sebastion, but I would say 5 nights in Barcelona would be great, and the rest of the time in San Sebastian.

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