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Cantabria, Asturias, Galacia - Itinerary help please

Cantabria, Asturias, Galacia - Itinerary help please

Old Jul 13th, 2015, 03:52 PM
  #21  
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Ribeirasacra - Looking carefully at the map I see that you are exactly right, we aren't getting much of the Atlantic coastline. I'm thinking that maybe a bus tour from SdC to Finesterra may be the answer. We don't have to do the driving and we would have a guide to tell us more of what we are seeing.

And I will post a more recent and detailed itinerary soon. I'm looking at daily schedules to make certain this is doable. Thanks for your input. It's been very useful.
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Old Jul 13th, 2015, 04:14 PM
  #22  
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"It is a about a 4 hour drive to make the complete circuit as suggested in one of the tour books."

FWIW, I don't recall finding accurate time estimates for driving routes in ANY of the half-dozen or so guidebooks I used when planning my time in the north of Spain. YMMV, but you might want to test out some other ways of timing things out. For actual driving times, I had the best success with viamichelin.com -- at least, once I added in some time for good measure. And don't forget that some "driving routes" don't include time to actually see anything....

"I'm going to change my itinerary a bit to include ... the Castro de San Cibrao de Las as it will break up our long drive to Salamanca that day."

I understand the desire to break up long drives, but you are paring your time in Salamanca rather close to the bone, IMO. Even as a fill-every-moment traveller (I don't even each lunch as a rule!), I thought Salamanca easily worth 2 full days.
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Old Jul 14th, 2015, 10:19 AM
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I've looked at opening/closing days/times for all places to visit and I've done driving times with viamichelin.com and rounded up all their estimates when needed. I know this might look like a forced march to people but I'm beginning to think it is doable. There are some heavy days and I've cut a couple of things and will probably cut a few things on the fly once we get there but for now I think this is the plan.

Thanks for all your help. It's all appreciated. And REBIERASACRA, as you are in the hotel business, do you have any tour that you might recommend for my bus tour to Finesterra? There are many to choose from on-line.

So, the itinerary is open for comments.


Day 1 Madrid - Burgos
Alsa bus Madrid Airport to Burgos - 3 hours
Arrival

Day 2 - Burgos


Day 3 - Alsa bus Burgos to Bilbao

Day 4 - Bilbao

Day 5 - Drive Bilbao - Santander
Pick up rental car
1.5 hours to Santander

Day 6 - Santander- Puente Viesgo - Santillana del Mar
Total daily driving time 2 hours
10 am leave hotel in Santander
11:30 arrive Puente Viesgo Caves (this should be plenty of time)
Noon - Cave tours
3 pm - lunch in Puente Viesgo
Evening in Santillana del Mar. First stop is to see the Colegiata which closes at 6:30 or 7:30.

Day 7 Santilla del Mar - Fuente De - Comillas
Total daily driving time 4.5 hours - This is a very busy day - can’t figure out how to fix it
9:00 - leave Santillana del mar
12 noon am arrive Fuente De for Cable Car
Allow 2 full hours for cable car in case there is a line
3:00 Lunch at Potes
7 pm arrive Comillas and visit Gaudi which is open until 9 pm


Day 8 - Comillas - Gijon - Oviedo
Total daily driving time 3.5 hours
10 am leave hotel
11 or 11;45 - cave tour at Tito Bustillos
Visit Cuevona de Cuevas and on to Gijon for lunch and the afternoon Muséu del Pueblu d'Asturies which include the museo de gaita open 10 - 7.
Drive to Oviedo for evening.

Day 9 - Oviedo

Day 10 - Oviedo

Day 11 - Oviedo - Leon
Total daily driving time 3.25 hours
Leave hotel at leisure to drive to Leon
Scenic drive to see giant yew tree at Barzana and Bermiergo and stopping to see Santa Cristina de Lena

Day 12 - Leon

Day 13 - Leon - Astorga - Pontevedra - Lugo
Total daily driving time 3.5 hours
10 am leave Leon for Astorga
11:30 visit Astorga. see Gaudi Palacio Episcopal
Drive arriving in Ponferada at 4:30 to see the Castila de los Templarios
Drive on to Lugo

Day 14 - Lugo - A Coruna - Santiago de Compostela
Total daily driving time 2.75 hours
9:00 walk around walled city, visit museo provincial to see gold objects and roman mosaics
Noon - drive to Viladonga about 35 minutes See Castro de Viladonga and Museum
2 pm - head to A Coruna arriving around 3:30-4. Walk the promanade, see Tower of Hercules(?), and maybe the little Picasso Apartment.
Drive before dark to Santiago de Compostella

Day 15 Bus tour to Finesterra arriving back to SdC at 7 pm

Day 16 - Santiago de Compostela

Day 17 Santiago de Compostela - Pontevedra - Baiona
Total daily driving time 1.75 hours
Leave hotel at 10 - drive to Pontevedra , on to Baiona for evening.

Day 18 - Baiona - Salamanca
Total daily driving time 6 hours
No major stops - just food gas

Day 19 -Salamanca

Day 20 Salamanca - Avila - Segovia
total daily driving time 3 hours
leave hotel 10 am
see walls of Avila and on to Segovia - Visit Alcazar in afternoon

Day 21 Segovia - Madrid
Total Daily driving time 2 hours
Cathedral, etc, leaving for Madrid about 2 pm.
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Old Jul 14th, 2015, 12:47 PM
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IMHO you are not allowing any time to see and take in what you visit.
I have suggested in a previous posting that rushing around does not work. Clock watching is not my sort of vacation either.
Good luck with the trip.
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Old Jul 14th, 2015, 01:30 PM
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For your trip to Finisterre, check out Artnatura... I have not done one of these "day trips" they offer but I have used them for other visits and I really like them.

http://www.artnaturagalicia.com/en/excursiones-2015

It looks like they do this trip Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays so you may have to do some juggling if you use them.

There are definitely a couple of days where you will be going hard all day (the Picos day and the day that includes A Coruna for sure) but you have some more relaxed times in there so hopefully it will all balance out.

I'd say to sleep in A Coruna so you can partake of their fab tapas scene, but that just means another one night stand

Hope Artnatura can work out for you.
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Old Jul 14th, 2015, 04:02 PM
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IME, the keys to a jam-packed trip are planning with attention to details, thinking through one's priorities in advance, knowing that you can change your plans on the fly, and knowing what works for YOU. Sounds like you've got all the keys!

If you enjoy your trip half as much as I enjoyed mine, I'm sure you will have a wonderful and memorable experience.
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Old Aug 2nd, 2015, 03:04 AM
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Did you sort your Finisterre trip? I'm not convinced about these trips to Finisterre. Some friends of mine did the trip from a wine estate hotel in the Santiago area (Pazo de Galegos) and found it tiring and quite underwhelming. After all, it's a lighthouse on a promontory where people in recent years have taken to burning their pilgrimage attire (not very ecofriendly!).

The town itself is quite drab. People are drawn to Finisterre mainly for the stunning beaches in the surrounding area, Rostro, Langosteira, Mar de Fora, Nemiña and a very famous restaurant called A Tira Do Cordel (Julio Iglesias arriving by helicopter) which specializes in grilled sea bass (lubina a la brasa). Apart from that, there's little to see, unless lighthouses and the charred remains of someone's sweaty underwear are your thing.

As an alternative you could drive to the Isla/Illa de Arousa (59 mins) and do a boat trip with Gabriel of Amare Turismo Nautico. He takes small groups out in the Ría de Arousa, one of the biggest shellfish production areas in the world, and gets you right up alongside the fishing boats, particularly the mussel raft guys and other vessel fishing for octopus, cuttlefish and spider crabs. It's about 2hrs including an onboard picnic with empanada and Albariño wine. A fantastic way of getting to about the hard working lives of the people that bring that fabulous seafood, undoubtedly the best in the world, to your table. Ferrán Adriá said that, by the way.

If you need logistical help, drop me a line. As I said in a previous post, I've lived in this area (Pontevedra) for twenty five years and know a thing or two about it.
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Old Aug 2nd, 2015, 03:19 AM
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P.s. From Vilanova de Arousa down to Baiona, A Guarda and the mouth of River Miño and Portugal on the other side, you'll be able to feast your eyes on plenty of Atlantic coastline. The Morrazo peninsula, Costa da Vela, Cabo Home, Cíes Atantic Islands National Park are all spectacular.
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Old Aug 2nd, 2015, 07:26 AM
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Here's some useful information if driving up through León: http://tinyurl.com/nefk6vk
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Old Aug 2nd, 2015, 09:03 AM
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why Robert do you link to your own website?
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Old Aug 3rd, 2015, 07:01 AM
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Not a bad little article though, one has to admit. Fairly nails it.
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Old Aug 6th, 2015, 05:05 AM
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We decided to not try the Finisterre day trip and just enjoy staying put for a couple of days. The itinerary will continue to evolve even during the trip as we are very good at making changes to plans on the fly. Our hotel reservations, with very few exceptions, are all cancelable so based on weather, energy and finding additional interesting things to explore we can change the trip as needed.

Thank you all for your input. It's helping to continue to refine what we want to do during the trip. We know it is far to short a time for so many interesting sights.

The trip is now less than one month away and I've started planning for clothes. Knowing that the weather in this area is typically very rainy and that this is the cusp of the summer/fall season I've been putting together layers so I'm prepared for everything from cold rain to sunny beach weather - all in a carry-on bag!
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Old Aug 19th, 2015, 03:32 PM
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jkm321 - I have to say that I am in a frozen state - there are so many suggestions, places to see, etc! I also have only 3 weeks in these areas and am baffled as to how to plan them out.
ribeirasacra - you are correct - there are so many places to see, so little time - makes me question why there is a 90 of 180 day limit to our visits. I had dreamed of retiring and spending 6 months in Europe to make up for all the years I could not travel! I will be asking more help later on re this area
Thanks in advance for your patience.
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Old Aug 19th, 2015, 04:30 PM
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Sorry that I am just seeing this thread but I've been traveling the last 1-1/2 months and not spending much time on Fodors.

I did much of the same northwestern Spain trip in 2013. I did the other areas around Madrid in 2012 but don't have pics posted for that trip.

Here are my pics from northwestern Spain, the first maps the route I drove. Took the bus from Madrid airport and picked up a car when leaving Burgos.

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

Hope you have a great trip!
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