Hello.
Husband and I are spending our honeymoon in Spain this coming spring.

Flying into Barcelona 4/19 - 4/22. Thoughts for these 3 days are welcome.

We plan to leave Barcelona the morning of the 22nd and make our way to wine country - ending in Madrid for flight out on the 30th.

Our initial thought is to head north west through the Pyrenees stopping for 2-3 nights along the way and ending up in San Sebastian??? Then heading south through wine country?

We would like to keep driving to less than 2 hrs per day.

Not sure if this is realistic or not - and we would hate to miss any great little towns along the way.

We welcome your input.

Cheers.
missy

Two hours a day may be a little unrealistic considering the distance you want to cover, although it's about as much as much time as I like to spend behind the wheel at any one time. Based on the number of days you have set aside to travel (8 days total) and the distance, I'd head directly for the Rioja (Alta and Alavesa). Using this area as a base, you can visit San Sebastian-Donostia, Bilbao, Vitoria on day trips and get to enjoy the your stay without having to move every couple of days.

If you leave Barcelona the morning of the 22nd, you can be in Tudela in about 4 hours, not including a stop for lunch around Zaragoza. The AC hotel in Tudela would be an excellent place to spend the night. It also has a great restaurant.

Tudela to Laguardia will take less than 2 hours. My recommendation for staying in this area is the Villa de Abalos, centrally located north of the River Ebro and just west of Laguardia.

You can download a copy of Maribel�s Guides to Barcelona, La Rioja and the Basque Country for a little more information on what to see and do in these areas. (http://maribelsguides.com)

I picked up a wine brochure in May from the Costa Daurada area near Barcelona that lists 21 vineyards. If you decide to take that route, let me know and I will post the ones with websites. The brochure was for DOQ Priorat and DO Montsant vineyards.

That makes a lot of sense.
Do you think that we are missing anything if we skip a day or two in the Pyrenees?

We are planning a similar honeymoon for June. 3 nights in Barcelona, 14 nights total.

I've been thinking lately about heading from Barcelona to 1-2 nights near Girona, 1-2 nights in the Pyrenees, 4-5 nights somwhere where we can spend time in San Sebastain, Bilbao, Birritz, and Honneberia (sp?). A night or 2 in Laguardia, then somewhere back close to the Barcelona airport.

I need to find a detailed map to see if this plan works.

You will miss some great scenery by skipping a day or two in the Pyrenees, but with only 8 days, you have to make some sacrifices. As great as the Vall d'Aran is, the landscape of the Basque Country is equal in everyway and when you add the Atlantic, even more so.

To whichway: One you find a good map, you should decide to take a connection flight out of Bilbao and save the time of traveling by car back to Barcelona.

Is it a problem to drop a car off at another airport in Spain? I am assuming no, thanks. Also, where is Laguardia? I can't seem to find it on my new map!

There's not problem dropping the car off at a different drop-off point, airport or city, you should just let them know ahead of time.

Laguardia is in the Rioja Alavesa, the Basque Country, a few kms northwest of Logroño. It sits on a rise overlooking the valley and the River Ebro.

Being the way things work with different government agencies, you will not find any reference to Laguardia on a web site set up for La Rioja (Alta). They are two difference provinces and do not work together to promote tourism, at least not yet.

http://www.laguardia-alava.com/
http://www.lariojaturismo.com/

We keep hearing/reading (Mirabel's etc.) wonderful things about Laguardia and are considering making that home base for our time in Rioja.
Then moving further southwest to Aranda de Duero.

Anyone work with Madrid and Beyond? We are considering them to help with planning our wine time - tastings/lodgings etc. It just seems as if you need an "inside" way into the bodega's etc. Not as easy to navigate as US wine country.

If you've read Maribel's Guides, then you may have read her recommendation regarding the Hotel Villa de Abalos (http://www.hotelvilladeabalos.com/), which is located just west of Laguardia. The have a program set up to visit the bodegas and can help you arrange a visit to just about any bodega in La Rioja (Alta).

I'm not personally familiar with Madrid and Beyond, but there is another company working in Labastida (Alava) that can set up a private or group tour. They work with The Scarlet Macaw "Adventures in Travel" (now Iberian Traveler).

SERVICIOS TURÍSTICOS THABUCA-VINO Y CULTURA
LABASTIDA, ÁLAVA
www.thabuca.com