Can anyone help with information on the easiest and fastest way to travel from Barcelona to Bilbao (train or bus???). Any advice on how many daily departures etc. would be welcome. Going in October and will then train it down to Madrid.

Ditto the request -- how long does it take?

i would be interested in this yoo as i will be driving from barcelona to san sebastian.

Steve, <BR>It's slightly more than 600 kms (360mi+) from Barcelona to Bilbao by auto. Figure six hours driving time minimum.

Hi, Marilyn. <BR>The easiest way will be to get the bus. Right now there are 4 daily departures from Bilbao to Barcelona, and I think there should be the same number from Barcelona to Bilbao. Think about 7 to 8 hours travel, depending if the bus stops in Zaragoza or not. I donīt have right now the timetable and the prices, but I could have a look. About going to Madrid, I really recommend you to opt for the bus. The train takes too long, and itīs more expensive than the bus. Depending on the day of the week, you can have from 1 departure every two hours to 1 departure each hour. It takes around 4 1/2 hours to 5 hours, depending on the traffic jams in Bilbao and Madrid. The ticket costs only 3000 ptas. <BR> <BR>To Steve. If you are driving, your best bet will be to get the motorway until Zaragoza, and from there to Bilbao. When you arrive to Vitoria, take the N-I towards Irun, it will take you to San Sebastian. There will be a lot of traffic on this road, itīs the main way for the portuguese trucks into Europe, but at least itīs gratis. Remember that motorways in Spain are toll-roads, and they are expensive. <BR>Regards, and enjoy your time in Spain

<BR> thanks covadonga, <BR> <BR> i was thinking of driving from barcelona to pau, france through the pyrenees to catch a stage of the tour de france. i didnt realize it was gonna be so close to where i'll be or should i wait and drive fron san sebastian to bordeaux..my plans change by the day, do you think this drive would take a ridiculous amount of time.

Hi, Steve. <BR>If I was going to choose a Tour etape, I certainly would choose one of the mountain etapes. Bordeaux is nice, but probably there will be a sprint, and if Cipollini is not there, who cares? (just joking). If I were you, I would try to be at one of the mountain passes, letīs say Tourmalet, on the Lannemezan-Pau etape. There are always plenty of people that go there the previous day, and this year the race goes the right way to go camping. If you want to do it, remember that in order to get a nice place you have to arrive during the morning, early afternoon of the previous day, that the road is usually closed during that day, and that the traffic is chaotic afterwards. But it is good fun, there are parties all over the places. <BR>I wouldnīt drive straight from Barcelona to La Junquera, I might try to pass over to France through Andorra or the Vall dīAran, and afterwards drive in the backroads. <BR>Check the Tour schedule on www.letour.fr. Maybe you can find them on your way to Pau (or better, the Tourmalet). <BR>Keep an eye on the goodies they throw previous to the race arrival. IGN (the Institute Geographique Nationale) used to be an sponsor, and they gave away very good France maps. If you can get one of their maps, they are quite good for France. Now it looks as Michelin is a new sponsor, so they should also have good maps. <BR>Enjoy your travel. <BR>

<BR> covadonga..you da bomb!! thanks for all the info. i will print it out. <BR> as i planned my trip the tour de france wasnt in my mind. been following racing for years now and when i saw the route and Lance Armstrong back, as i wiped the tears from my eyes, i said i gotta go. cipollini cant win any more, must be that cannondale bike. he would never be there that late in the race anyway and this is about the flattest route i've seen. wish i could have seen indurain. been up close to lemond as i live in san diego california and he is here doing exhabitions sometimes. enough racing stuff thanks again!

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Hi Covadonga, <BR> <BR>Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it and will now plan on bussing it. Thanks again.