Basque Country to Madrid by car, Spring 2017
 

My wife and I are going to spend the last 10 days of April in northern Spain. We plan to drive up from Madrid to Bilbao via Burgos.We will be in Bilbao (4 nights) for 4 days where my wife has business meetings and I will be exploring the basque country by car visiting San Sebastian and St-Jean-De-Luz. After Bilbao we plan to drive down to Madrid with the following plan: Santillana Del Mar to Potes (1 night), visit Picos De Europa, then via Leon to Salamanca (1 Night), to Toledo (2 nights) via Avila, and end up in Madrid (1 night).

I would appreciate your comments if this sounds like a good plan. If no, how to alter it. If yes, what are the things to do, places to visit, things to watch out for, etc. We are not big into museums. We like outdoors and enjoy nature. Of course good wine & dine.

We could fly to Bilbao from Madrid but could not find good connections and flights are expensive for an hour flight. Haven't much looked into taking a train. Hence we thought the best is to drive up to Bilbao which should be enjoyable via Burgos. Any thoughts on this?

I am sure the weather should be good with the beginning of Spring.

Thanks,
Only Travel

Are you planning on driving after a long international flight? You might consider spending the night in Burgos instead on trying to make it all the way to Bilbao. It's a longer drive then you think after a long flight.

Frankly, unless you have something you must see or do, I would fly if you are going to be at the airport anyway.

Robert,
The flight gets in at 9:00am in the morning so we would have entire day to drive. Michelin guide says it is 400KM and 4hr 30mins. Apparently the train takes the same time. So, I thought we can see Northern Spain via Burgos by driving.
Your comments on this thinking.
Thanks,
Only Travel

If there is <b>any</b> chance that you will have jet lag, I would strongly encourage you to take public transportation for your first night or two. Although many people are not aware of it, there is mounting evidence that driving with jet lag is just as dangerous -- to yourself and others -- as driving drunk, and <b>nothing</b> you can do will prevent the microsleeps (which you might not even notice) that are the apparent culprit. Seriously -- NOT a good idea, no matter your other constraints and no matter your prior experience. It is very easy to get to Burgos by bus from Madrid Barajas; I believe the buses leave from the same terminal (T4) at which international flights arrive (but I could be mistaken about that). Burgos easily merits an overnight stay, so you could rent your car the next day. Or fly, or take a train, or whatever.

IMO, Salamanca easily deserves another night or two, and depending on your interests, you might want more time in Potes.

If you haven't already seen it, you might find some useful information in my trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-catalunya.cfm

Hope that helps!

I would not drive upon arrival in Madrid after an overnight flight. I took a bus from Barajas airport to Burgos.

Salamanca deserves more than 1 night. If you leave directly from Toledo to go to the airport (either drive or car service), you could use the night you have allocated to Madrid for Salamanca.

Here are my pictures from my northwestern Spain trip which covers some of your locations:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...n-pictures.cfm

Here are my pics from central Spain which includes Salamanca and Toledo from your itinerary:

https://www.snapfish.com/library/sha...55070/SNAPFISH

I also wouldn't drive upon arrival. And for your short trip to San Sebastián and St-Jean-de-Luz, I wouldn't either. You can take a cheap bus (ALSA,maye?) from Bilbao to SS - takes about 2 hours. Then a train from SS to St-Jean-de-Luz. Relaxing, pretty scenery, and you don't have to deal with parking in either SS (which if our experience was normal was infuriating and expensive) or St-Jean-de-Luz (same deal).

Driving the whole day after an overnight flight isn't good-especially in a new country. I would just fly to Bilboa since you are already at airport and it's only an hour flight.

Or take the bus to Burgos. Spanish buses are pretty good. Check out ALSA.es for prices.

We normally stop at the Parador in Lerma, walk around for awhile and have lunch at Casa Brigante (www.casabrigante.com/es/lerma/), when driving after a long overnight flight. It's about a two-hour drive. You can also stop in Burgos, which is another 20 minutes or so up the road (www.maribelsguides.com/mg_larioja.pdf). It's a good way to adjust to the time change and get over the jet lag.

Depending on the day, you want to make sure you have reservations wherever you deside to stop for lunch.

Last summer we spent three weeks traveling through northern Spain. You will find a trip report by clicking on my profile name. :)

Renting a car is a good idea, imo, but I have to say that the drive from Madrid north is pretty boring and sleep-inducing. My husband manages to stay awake until we arrive in Burgos, but I am typically drooling into my pillow in no time. I think we would have had a hard time making it all the way north...

I enjoyed Santillana Del Mar more than Potes. Both were really touristy, but SdM was very cute. However, I do not regret only spending a couple of hours in each location. (Tip: There is inexpensive public parking right outside the city walls in Santillana Del Mar, but get there early. The lot was filling up when we arrived around 9 or 10. Another tip: Stop by Casa Quevedo for the delicious quesada.)

We stayed at the Parador de Fuente De and took the cable car up the mountain. It was a highlight of the trip! (Tip: Get your return ticket number immediately when arriving at the top.)

And be sure to keep your gas tank filled. We neglected to fill our tank before leaving Burgos for the Picos and started to get nervous after a while.

We just love San Sebastian! Have a great trip!

We always travel by car in Spainand drive after crossing the Atlantic, but a four and a half hour drive right after is pushing it.

I would suggest that first day head for Salamanca, spend a night or two. (jet lag usually hits me harder the second day)

Another suggestion would be to overnight near Sepuvelda. There is good hiking in the area and nice scenery.

Low cost flights from Madrid to Bilbao all the time, expect some 80-90€.

Bilbao is great, but I recommend to also spend a couple of days in close by San Sebastián, the culinary capital of Spain, if not all of Europe. And arguably the most beautiful city in the country. http://www.euskoguide.com/places-bas...stian-tourism/

"Is San Sebastian the world's greatest city for foodies?"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/de...y-for-foodies/

"San Sebastián in Spain is world's best for foodies beating Tokyo, Sydney and Paris to the top spot" http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...aris-spot.html

"A foodies guide to Europe’s culinary capital: San Sebastián": http://heartrome.com/index.php/2016/...san-sebastian/