Basque Country
 

Help. We are going to Spain to celebrate my husband's 50th birthday. I have promised him this trip for five years and would like to make it as easy, romantic and memorable as possible.
We are planning to arrive and depart from Madrid and tour the Basque region for the majority of a 8-10 day trip.
Do we need to rent a car or can this be done with public ransportation?
I'm assuming we will go from Madrid to Bilboa. How long will it take us to travel this route? How many days should we stay in Madrid and Bilboa? Which are the best small towns to stop and stay.
We will be travelling in August and I would like to avoid the towns which maybe the most crowded this time of the year.

You should plan on spending the first night in Madrid to recover from your flight. There isn't much happening in Madrid in August, but you can have a nap before heading out for Madrid's night life. If you're hungry, dinner is served around 11 pm.

You can easily spend a week exploring and enjoying the Basque Country during August when the coast is at its best. Public transportation is doable, but if you really want to see a lot and have a little better time, then I'd suggest renting a car. You can pick one up at the airport in Bilbao and drop it off there before heading back to Madrid for your flight home. I'd suggest downloading a copy of Maribel's Guide to the Basque Country for a little more information on the area.

In addition to the PDF at www.maribelsguides.com I would recommend http://www.sansebastianturismo.com and especially http://www.sansebastianturismo.com/ingles/haci.htm (the Chillida Museum in particular is a must-see in my opinion).

See posts from lincasanova (and from me) on http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34636742 and also http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34635072 regarding the Guggenheim and the Museum des Bellas Artes.

Consistent with how I like to travel, I would encourage having a car. We did <u>not</u> find driving in Bilbao difficult - - see mixed info on this at http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34622839 - - and we especialy enjoyed the &quot;Balkon de Euskadi&quot; (aka Balcon de Bizkaia), for example, from Iruzubieta to Gorozika (take a look on the viamichelin.com website to see where I mean), or similarly, from Urrutxua to Lekeitio.

Best wishes,

Rex

You can fly directly to San Sebastian from Madrid. I wouldn't bother spending the night in Madrid. You're in the airport, keep flying. San Sebastian is a wonderful town, especially if you like eating. The tapas bars are beyond description. Pick up a car when you're ready to leave San Sebastian. We found Maribel's guide to be superb. We spent 6 nights in San Sebastian and can't wait to go back!

Remember that the beach towns will be packed in August; I would reserve way in advance for San Seb.

We are now thinking of starting the trip by staying 2 days in Madrid and then staying a week in San Sebastian. While in San Sebastian we would rent a car and explore the region. Then return to Madrid for another day or two.

How long would the trip from Madrid to San Sebastian take? Is flying very expensive.

Any recommendations for hotels in Madrid and San Sebastian? It looks like we will be going mid-July.

Everyone, thnak you for the prior suggestions and information sources.

Wendy

Kaixo! Wendy, It's getting a bit late to be looking for accommodations in San Sebastian-Donostia in mid-July, the high season for this Basque resort city. The prices go up after the 14th of July, even in Bilbao. There are rooms available in the 4 and 5 star properties in SS if you are willing to pay the price, but even that is getting difficult since the jazz festival begins on the 23rd. I would look to book whatever you can find right away. Even properties outside of the city are filling up for the summer season. You may have to see what Totally Spain can do for you at this point.

Hotels in Madrid are not a major problem, depending on your budget. Some of the 5-star hotels have better prices then most of the 4-stars.

The drive from Madrid to San Sebastian should take you around 5-1/2 to 6 hours depending on the traffic. This does not include a stop for lunch or fuel. We usually stop along the way, spending the night in the village of Laguardia (Rioja Alavesa), or in the village of Abalos (Rioja Alta) on the way north. It makes the trip a little more relaxing.

Everyone, thank you for your suggestions. We were able to locate a flight via the internet and secure hotel accomodations via Totally Spain (they are excellent).

We leave next week and have reservations at hotels and paradors in the following locations - Madrid, Olite, Hondarribia, Lerma, Madrid - for a 10 days.

Wendy

Wendy,

You have put together a nice itinerary. We're in the middle of a similar trip. Yesterday, we departed from Lerma, after spending 2 nights in the Lerma Parador. I'm writing this while overlooking the beach from our hotel room in Getaria (West of San Sebastian).... in a couple of days, we'll be staying in Hondarribia.

In Lerma, we had two wonderful lunches, in the same plaza as where the parador is situated. The first lunch at Casa Brigante. It was more rustic and the food was heartier than the second place, and prices more gentle. The house specialty is Lechazo, the typical meal of the area (roasted baby lamb), which is for 2 people to share. It was delicious. Small but ample wine list that appropriately fouses on Ribera del Duero reds (our favorite Spanish wine region). With an 18 Euro bottle of wine, two gazpacho soups, salad (which accompanies the Lechazo) and a shared dessert (flan de cafe was very good and also a house specialty), the total was a bit less than 80 Euro - very good value, I think.

If you want a more upscale dining experience, with a wonderful grill and equally stellar desserts, try Asador Ojeda, about 3 doors down, just opposite the parador. One special part of the menu was recommended dessert wines to pair with the desserts. The Muscat from the Duero region was wonderful and very reasonable, considering it was very remeniscent to eiswein. The total was 100 Euro, but we had a bit more to eat and drink than at Casa Brigante.

I would return to either of these places again.

Solano,

Sounds like you have a lovely trip planned!

Riffic,

I will be in Burgos this summer on my way south to Madrid and I am considering a one night stopover in the Parador in Lerma. Is there anything of interest to see in the town?
Thanks!

Not to throw cold water on this perfectly lovely thread, but just to point out...

Riffic was presumably searching for something, and found this <i><u>year-old</u></i> thread... and offered advice to solano/Wendy as if she is leaving soon on this trip. It was <i>last</i> summer, and this thread is/was the one and only participation on this forum, with none since.

Still fine to talk about the Basque Country, but it might be better suited to your needs, cruiseluv... to start a new thread, referring (in the message header) specifically to the Parador at Lerma (or the route between Burgos and Madrid).

Yes, I now see I responded to a year-old thread by mistake :-)

But to answer your question, Cruiseluv, I think Lerma is a charming Spanish town, definitely deserving at least a one-night stopover. We basically stayed on the &quot;top part&quot; of the town where the parador is situated. On our drive out of town, we noticed a lot of typical spanish bars at the base of the hill, so you could have a choice a many venues for an informal tapas evening. The top part has a lot of character, with its cobblestone roads and overall layout.

If you do choose to stay at the parador, think about booking a room in one of the 4 towers. If booking through the parador.es website, choose &quot;double room with view&quot; and that should land you one of the rooms. I note, though, that there are 30-odd steps to climb after taking the elevator, and also the bathroom is not a separate part of the room (given the logistics of having to convert the top floor of a tower into a bedroom), but on balance this was one of the most unique rooms in which we have stayed.

Rex,

LOL! You are very obeservant!

Riffic,

Thanks for responding and your comments. It does sound like a nice stop. I'll just have to decide if it's worth changing my prior 2 stops( Santander and Burgos) by one day.
The tower rooms sound intriguing and special, but since I'll be traveling by myself ,without DH, I don't think I want to carry my suitcase(s) 30 steps! Thanks for the warning!

Is it a steep climb from the lower part of town to the Parador?

Thanks and continue having a great trip!

Yes, the Parador is on top of a hill, overlooking the town, it IS a steep climb. The Parador has been recently renovated and it´s really nice, as most of them are. Stopping at Lerma may be worth it, but Burgos and Santander are far more interesting.

Thank you Mikelg,

I have decided that I'm moving around enough and that I don't need another one night stopover. Lerma will have to wait for another visit.