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Cantabria, Asturias, Galacia - Itinerary help please

Cantabria, Asturias, Galacia - Itinerary help please

Old Jul 11th, 2015, 09:09 AM
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Cantabria, Asturias, Galacia - Itinerary help please

We are a couple in our mid-60’s planning to spend 3+ weeks touring Cantabria, Asturias, and Galicia, starting and ending in Madrid. We will have a rental car and enjoy drives in scenic areas but are not hikers. I’d appreciate input on the planned itinerary to see if 1) we’ve left something special off the trip, and 2) are we not leaving sufficient time to do any sights on our heavily driving days. All suggestions and comments on things to do, see, or eat in the places we are planning to visit are appreciated.

Day 1 - Arrive Madrid, drive to Burgos
Day 2 - Visit Burgos
Day 3 - Drive to Bilbao with a stop in Guernica
Day 4 - Bilbao
Day 5 - Drive to Santander
Day 6 - Drive to Puernte Viesgo for cave visits, Santillana del Mar for evening and sleep
Day 7 - Drivie to Fuente De for the cable car, lunch in Potes, down to Comillas for evening and sleep
Day 8 - Head west toward Gijon, stopping at Ribadesella for the Cueva de Tito Bustillo and Cuevona de Cuevas, Gijon for lunch and the Museo de Pueblo Asurias. Drive to Oviedo for sleep
Day 9 - Oveido
Day 10 - Day trip to Castro de Coana. Oviedo for sleep
Day 11 - drive to Leon = what to see along the way?
Day 12 - Leon
Day 13 - Drive to Astorgo for Palacio Episcopal and Ponferrada for the Castillo de los Templarios. On to Lugo for evening and sleep
Day 14 - walk around walls of Lugo and then on to a Coruna for the rest of day (has anyone ever visited the apartment of Picasso?) Drive to Santiago de Compostela for sleep
Day 15 - Day trip to drive the loop to Finesterra Santiago for sleep
Day 16 - Santiago de Compostela - Mass at 7:30 pm
Day 17 - Driving Day - Pontevedra, Vigo, Baiona. We have reservations at the parador in Baiona but I’ve heard that Pontevedra is a lovely city. Should we just do Pontevedra and make arrangements to spend night there? or spend the day in Pontevedra and go to Baiona for evening and sleep as planned?
Day 18 - Drive to Salamanca, stopping in Orense
Day 19 - Salamanca
Day 20 - Drive to Segovia, stopping Avila
Day 21 - Drive from Segovia to Madrid and drop rental car
Day 22 -23 - Madrid (We’ve been to Madrid before and seen the Palacio Real, the Prado, Thiessen, Reina Sophia, Retiro Park, etc. What are some other less well known things to see?)
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Old Jul 11th, 2015, 10:31 AM
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Sounds like a nice trip, if a fast-paced one!

If there is any chance that you might have jet lag, then you might consider taking a bus from Madrid to Burgos, waiting to pick up your rental car until you are ready to leave Burgos. There's a very comfortable and convenient Alsa bus that leaves from T4 at Barajas.

Between Oviedo and Leon, I visited the Taverna ravine and Santa Cristina de Lena.

I stopped at many of these places, so you might find some tips in my trip report and / or my planning threads -- just click on my screen name to find them.

Enjoy!
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Old Jul 11th, 2015, 12:08 PM
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Q1) we’ve left something special off the trip
Yes an awful lot.
Q2) are we not leaving sufficient time to do any sights on our heavily driving days
Most days yes.
You do not give what time of year you are planning this trip. That can certainly affect the answers you are looking for. What is the month?
You have not given any time over to get over jet lag. Maybe you should consider that.
Mass at 7.30 Why is that?
Having worked in the hotel trade for far too many years I have seen far too many folks rushing around and only allowing one night stands during the vacation. They end up wanting another one to get over the running around they have done.
When planning do not forget that you have to allow time to book in and out of accommodation. Packing and unpacking. Allow for parking garages not to be right next to the accommodation. There fore you may end up dragging luggage several streets. Spain has different hours of working and meal times.
Do not forget your IDP.
Some of the caves will have to be prebooked to enter, some you cannot enter the real caves and have to visit copies.
Pontevedra is nice, just that a lot of the time the local factory emits an unpleasant odor, (In Spanish: olor mejoras) . This has been ongoing for some time and still has yet to be resolved.
http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia...4P18C19910.htm
If you have been to Madrid before you can easily drive from Salamanca or Segovia direct to the airport. Depending on what time your flight is. Very early departure or one that involves rush hour periods may not be so advisable.
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Old Jul 11th, 2015, 02:09 PM
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The parador in Baiona has a spectacular waterfront setting. Nice town too.
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Old Jul 12th, 2015, 02:24 AM
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(We’ve been to Madrid before and seen the Palacio Real, the Prado, Thiessen, Reina Sophia, Retiro Park, etc. What are some other less well known things to see?)

Habsburg Madrid is much more than Plaza Mayor:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/spain/ma...za-de-la-villa
http://www.aviewoncities.com/madrid/plazadelavilla.htm http://www.donquijote.org/culture/sp...adrid.austrias

The Debod temple: http://www.esmadrid.com/en/tourist-i...mplo-de-debod/

The Sorolla museum: http://www.esmadrid.com/en/tourist-i...museo-sorolla/

Baroque churches: http://www.esmadrid.com/en/baroque-churches/

Madrid is now arguably the flamenco capital of the world: http://www.esmadrid.com/en/flamenco-madrid-en/

Casa Patas, right off central Plaza Santa Ana, has been the best tablao in Spain in recent years. Only top of the shelf artists perform here. Dark and intimate venue: http://www.casapatas.com/

Or perhaps Villa Rosa, the former so called cathedral of flamenco, right on Plaza Santa Ana. Has been approaching the good old glory days in recent years: http://www.flamencotickets.com/tablao-villa-rosa-madrid
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Old Jul 12th, 2015, 11:04 AM
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Thanks you all so much for your comments and suggestions.

kja -

I’ve read your trip report and the suggestions you received from everyone. Sounds like you had a glorious trip and that your schedule was jam packed too!. I’ll consider the bus idea from Madrid to Burgos. Depending on how outrageous the rental car drop off fee is for a return to a different location, the bus looks to be a nice idea for an easy first day.

And thanks for the suggestion for stops between Oviedo and Leon. We are also planning to stay at the Sercotel in Oviedo. Glad to hear it has a good location. And we are also staying at the Hotel Bahia in Santander. In your trip report you commented about that hotel “beware the DCC”. What does that mean?

revierasacra -

I should have worded my request better. Our trip is scheduled for September, arriving in Madrid Sept 3 and returning on Sept 26. We are used to the schedule of the Spanish day with a late lunch and the Monday and mid-day closings. The good part is that it stays light so long in the evening. I’ve tried to think about that as I planned the schedule, and of course I’m leaving off special things to see because I just can’t possibly see everything no matter how hard I try. I guess what I was really asking was if I should be substituting different things for what I have planned. I used guidebooks to make my plans but there was just so much that when it came time to picking and choosing what to see it was very hard to put things in priority order. If you have suggestions for me I’d love to hear them.

And I totally agree that we have probably have too many one night stands.. Luggage etc isn’t a problem for us as we will have just a carry-on bag each (we do manage to travel light!) but the car and garage issue is very real (although some of my best memories of other trips are the odysseys looking for a parking garage. We found some very interesting neighborhoods!) Do you see opportunities where I may want to add a night or two in a specific location? I do have the couple of days that I have planned for Madrid that I could use to change the schedule.

Oh, and mass at 7.30 pm in Santiago de Compostela is because that is the mass where they swing the botafumeiro across the cathedral which is a sight I really want to see.

For our cave visits, how early do we need to make the reservations? And is it better to call or do it online? The caves we are planning to visit are Castillo and Monedas in Puente Viesgo, and maybe Tito Bustillo in Ribadesella. Do you know if in these caves we see the actual cave paintings or if it all museum reproductions? This is why we aren’t planning to do the Altamira caves as I’ve seen many museum reproduction exhibits. Do you have any suggestions for other caves?

Thank you for warning me of the possible odor in Pontevedra. I think I’ll keep my plan to spend part of the day there on our way to Baiona for the evening. That way depending on the odor we can stop to visit or keep going.

happytvlr - I’m so glad to hear the Parador in Baiona has a good view. Now I just hope for good weather!

kinhe - I’m now excited about our couple of extra days in Madrid. Our hotel is very near the Plaza Santa Ana so we are right in the neighborhood for many of your suggestions. Thank you so much!

to everyone - I’m very appreciative of the time you took to respond. I know that I’ll end up changing some of these plans as we travel and find things we want to do places we want to see that we haven’t even considered yet. Your ideas will help me immensely. Thank you! So keep them coming!
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Old Jul 12th, 2015, 11:21 AM
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I haven't stayed in Baiona, but I have spent time in Pontevedra, and it is a really great town to hang out in the evening. Lots of great cafes and bars in picturesque squares, and some really great restaurants. I have never smelled any weird odor there, and I was there for two weeks last June (and several times before that.) I love the Parador in Pontevedra, and they have parking. Consider it for a night...

I think you may be pushing it with too much in the Picos (maybe you can stay one night in Potes? To give yourself a bit more time there).

I don't think there is ever a 100% guarantee they swing the botafumiero at any particular mass, but they do it a lot in the noon mass.
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Old Jul 12th, 2015, 11:24 AM
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oops I meant I was in Pontevedra June a year ago - not last month! At that time, no weird odor.
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Old Jul 12th, 2015, 11:54 AM
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"Sounds like you had a glorious trip and that your schedule was jam packed too!"

It was a glorious trip, and as jam-packed as it could possibly have been. I didn't even have time to write postcards!


"'beware the DCC'. What does that mean?"

DCC = dynamic currency exchange = they charged my credit card in my currency (US dollars), not theirs (euros), which means that I was also charged a conversion fee -- and since my bank does NOT charge a conversion fee, it means I had to pay extra. They are supposed to let the customer select the currency and I clearly stated EUROS. I was not happy that they did not listen!


"The caves we are planning to visit are Castillo and Monedas in Puente Viesgo, and maybe Tito Bustillo in Ribadesella. Do you know if in these caves we see the actual cave paintings or if it all museum reproductions?"

These are all originals, although at Tito Bustillo, only the main gallery is open to visitors. (There are reproductions of its most important other works in the visitor center there.) If visiting these caves is a priority for you, you might want to book as far in advance as you can, as the number of visitors to each is limited.
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Old Jul 12th, 2015, 12:04 PM
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Pontevedra is indeed a lovely city, for many the loveliest in Galicia after SdC. It certainly has the best old quarter after SdC, plus top class restaurants (Bagos, Eirado da Leña, Pepe Veira) and one of the best provincial museums in the whole of Spain. It's also 20 mins from Cambados the capital of Albariño wine. The smell Ribeira Sacra refers to is by no means invasive and definitely not permanent. On certain days, depending on the weather, wind factors etc you'll note a whiff of vegetables reminiscent of sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower etc. Definitely NOT a big deal. It's down to a celulose factory located a few kms out of town on the coast. Not sure what olor mejoras means either, but never mind. This is coming from a wine tour guide who has been resident in Pontevedra for almost 25 years. You could say I know a thing or two about the place. You'll absolutely love Galicia.
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Old Jul 12th, 2015, 12:08 PM
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P.s. totally recommend this hotel near Pontevedra, one of the best in Galicia. Quinta de San Amaro in Meaño with a fab restaurant to boot, sonething you're NOT going to get in a parador.
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Old Jul 12th, 2015, 01:20 PM
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In Baiona, we didn't eat dinner at the Parador, rather at a small seafood restaurant in town. Fabulous.
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Old Jul 12th, 2015, 02:09 PM
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The smell has been a long on going issue. as can be read in the newspaper. That article said they promised to do something 2 years ago the complaints Have been ongoing for many a year. I have been unfortunate to get a whiff of it hence why I raised it.Maybe if one lives in a city one gets accustomed to it.
What are you missing. a great deal. If you kept to that route then I could help you double the amount of days you want to stay in Spain.
off the top of my head hear are some locations, but they do not go into any detail of what to find in the area.
Gijón.
Cudillero.
Llanes
Poncebos.
Avilés.
Saliencia.
You are missing out on both Sidra and cheese experiences in Asturias.
Astorga.
Ponferrada.
Taramundi.
Rias Baxia Wine area.
Ribeira Sacra wine area.
La Alberca.
O Cebreiro.
Ribadavia.
Zamora.
Benavente.
Toro.
I have left off a lot of what I have found to be attractive in Northern Spain.
Plus I have could also suggest some parts of Portugal.
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Old Jul 12th, 2015, 02:24 PM
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I also have an apartment in La Coruña, so spend time away from Pontevedra, evidently. It's just not a big deal and certainly not a reason to drop Pontevedra from any itinerary which is the impression you're giving, and somewhat erroneously too. You need to keep things perspective. Pontevedra is worth a couple of nights at ANY time of the year quite frankly.

Valdevimbre In the province of León has some fabulous cave cellars that have been turned into restaurants. The British Army, retreating from Napoleon, drank them dry apparently. No suprise there. Los Poinos is one to look out for.
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Old Jul 12th, 2015, 02:36 PM
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jkm,

I've been many times to Santiago de Compostela, some times I've been lucky and the Botafumeiro has swung, other times not. Its not a given that it swings every 7:30 mass. Last year I believe they were doing every 7:30 PM mass on Fridays, not sure if they're continuing with that. Actually the times I've seen it is at the noon Pilgrim's Mass. They also swing in special Feasts days and when groups/ people pay a fee ( I believe around 300 Euros). Hope you get to see it, its a magnificent experience.
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Old Jul 12th, 2015, 04:32 PM
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Thanks everyone, keep it coming. I've started looking at my time in the Pico's to see where I can make changes as I think that it is where I have the tightest time frames. I know I'm missing lots of wonderful things but I can't extend the trip any longer than it is and I doubt I'll be able to return so I'm determined to make the most of my time. You all are helping me make those hard decisions.

I'm going to get my cave reservations in as soon as I nail down the itinerary. As of now I should have no trouble getting the reservations I want and we've visited La Cueva de la Pileta in Benaojan which has magnificent cave paintings so if I miss a cave or two it's not tragic.

Has anyone visited the Castro de Coana celtic ruins? I have those on my list but it is a rather long trek from Oviedo so I'd like someone's honest opinion. I do love ruins and spent HOURS and HOURS in Italica in Sevilla and love the Indian ruins in the Southwest US. So with that in mind I put Castro de Coana on my list. Should it stay on the list?

According to the SdC Cathedral website they still do the Botafumeiro on Friday 7:30 pm mass and that is when we will be there. Hope they don't change the schedule before I arrive!

Many thanks for your help.
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Old Jul 12th, 2015, 07:24 PM
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jkm,

Great, I didnt know from your dates if you would be there on a Friday. Just know, from what I understand, they can be whimsical about when to swing it! Wish you a great trip, not sure if I read all your posts but in the Picos de Europa I love Covadonga and the lakes, Enol and Ercina.
Buen Camino, have a great trip!!
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Old Jul 12th, 2015, 10:31 PM
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As far as I understand it, from my guests, the Botafumeiro is swung at midday. At times the service can be very full.
Castros in Galicia are dotted everywhere.
Viladonga, near the city of Lugo is good. Large and has a small musuem too. If you get the walled city of Lugo (World Heritage Site) then visit the museum to see some of the best gold torque around.
Castro de San Cibrao de Las, near Ourense is the biggest in Galicia.
Perhaps the most famous is Castro de Baroña.
If you take your time you will find 100s of areas in which you can located more castros, petroglyphs and burial chambers.
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Old Jul 13th, 2015, 08:00 AM
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Thanks for your input! Ribeirasacra - I'm going to change my itinerary a bit to include Viladonga when we are in Lugo, and the Castro de San Cibrao de Las as it will break up our long drive to Salamanca that day. I will skip the Castro de Coana as that was adding unnecessary driving if I get to see these other two castros. Thank you so very much!

And kja, I've added a visit to Santa Cristina de Lena on my drive from Oviedo to Leon. Thanks for that suggestion.

Now, another question - I have a day planned for driving a circular route to Fisterra on one of the days I have in SdC. It is a about a 4 hour drive to make the complete circuit as suggested in one of the tour books. I'm really questioning this idea as we will see lots of coastline on other drives. Should I not do this drive and spend the extra time in SdC? That is how I am leaning unless someone thinks the view really is worth the time. Input???

Your help on this is invaluable. Thank you so much for your time.
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Old Jul 13th, 2015, 08:11 AM
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Looking back at your proposed route I am wondering where you think you will be seeing any coastline.
Driving the main road (A8) is not so near to the coast. Timetable you have got will not allow time to stop off to see anything.
Maybe publish a updated route in this thread would be an idea.
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