Feedback on 3 weeks in Basque region, Cantabria, Asturias?
 

I am in the super early stages of planning a two week trip in late June/early July 2026 to the Basque region/Cantabria before spending a week in Asturias at El Cuelebre, a Spanish language school in Somiedo. I’ve been reading Maribel’s guides with interest, as well as reading trip reports of the region.

I’d love some initial feedback on my draft itinerary. I will be traveling solo and am most interested in learning about Basque culture, visiting prehistoric caves, checking out small villages and local markets, seeing beautiful scenery, and eating delicious food. My high school French is rusty but can get me by, and I speak decent Spanish (excited about a week long immersion!) As I will be doing a lot of mountain hiking during my week in Somiedo, I’m less inclined to do too much hiking on my own in the weeks prior. Also, since I will be basing myself in one location for an entire week during my time at the language school, I don’t mind moving around a lot more in the two weeks prior, so I can have a diversity of experiences. (Also, I live in California which has great shoreline, so I am not seeking a ton of beach time.)

My main questions are: should I cut out the Sotres/Lake Encina/Cangas de Onis days to have more time in Bilbao/San Sebastian? (Since I will have a week in the mountains and lakes of Somiedo, does it make sense to skip the Picos de Europa and Covadonga, or are these areas very different than Somiedo?) Will San Sebastián and Covadonga be overly crowded at this time of year?

Also: are the caves of Isturritz, Monte Castillo, and Tito Bustillo very different from each other? Would it be redundant to see all three? What about the caves at Sare?

Are the Monday market at St. Jean Pied de Port and Tuesday market at St. Jean de Luz very similar or are both worth a visit?

Thanks in advance for any insights!

Sat 6/20 Land in Bilbao at 5:30 PM
Sun 6/21 Morning at the Guggenheim, afternoon pintxos tour with Mikel
Mon 6/22 Possible tour of La Rioja enroute to Laguardia (or spend more time in Bilbao in the morning and take late bus to Laguardia)
Tues 6/23 Laguardia: St. John’s Eve festivities
Wed 6/24 Laguardia: St. John’s Day festivities
Thu 6/25 Early morning bus to San Sebastián, overnight San Sebastián
Fri 6/26 San Sebastián, pick up rental car in late afternoon, overnight in Bayonne
Sat 6/27 Check out Basque Museum in the morning, visit Isturritz caves in the afternoon, overnight Bayonne
Sun 6/28 Morning exploring Sare, afternoon drive to St. Jean Pied de Port, scenic drive to Pierre Oteiza Les Aldudes, overnight St. Jean Pied de Port
Mon 6/29 St. Jean Pied de Port Monday market, Espelette, overnight in Ainhoa or St. Jean de Luz
Tues 6/30 St. Jean de Luz Tuesday market, afternoon and overnight in Hondarribia
Wed 7/1 Hondarribia —> Guernika —> overnight in Santillana Del Mar
Thurs 7/2 Cuevas del Monte Castillo —> San Vicente de la Barquera for lunch —> Ribadesella
Fri 7/3 Tito Bustillo —> Sotres
Sat 7/4 Lake Ecina
Sun 7/5 Cangas de Onis market —> Cudillero
Mon 7/6 Cudillero, drop off rental car in Oviedo overnight in Oviedo
Tues 7/7 - Mon 7/13 El Cuelebre
Tues 7/14 Oviedo
Wed 7/15 Oviedo, late train to Madrid
Thurs 7/16 Midday flight home

One more question: if there are more logical central places I can base myself for multiple days (especially in the French side of Basque Country and in Cantabria/Asturias), I’m open to suggestions!

I’m sure you’ll have some wonderful experiences, no matter how you tweak this plan. It’s an amazing part of the world!

FWIW, here are my thoughts:

· You don’t seem to be giving much time to Bilbao, which IMO has a LOT to offer. I’d say that even if you weren’t going to arrive with jet lag; if jet lag is likely, I’d strongly encourage you to make sure you can see and do what you want in that charming city with the time and energy you have.

· I was delighted to have 2 nights in Laguardia (and two very full days there) even without festivities. YMMV.

· San Sebastian is not my favorite city in Spain, but even so, I think you might be shortchanging it. Just one night and a morning?

· I skipped most of the places you mention for this part of your trip….

· Are you sure you can see the Cuevas del Monte Castille before lunch? As I recall, a bit more time was required, but schedules might have changed.

My trip to the area was as a solo female. Like you, I had a strong interest in learning about Basque culture, seeing prehistoric art, dining well (not a problem in this area!), and enjoying stunning scenery. If you haven’t already seen it, you might find some value in my old trip report: https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...lunya-1047395/

As to your questions:

I loved the Picos de Europa and am very glad I stopped there.

I didn’t see Isturritz or Sare, but can assure you that he prehistoric art of Monte Castille and Tito Bustillo decidedly different.

BTW: The Michelin Green Guide for this area is excellent.

I hope that helps!

Thanks so much kja

Your trip report and isabel ’s trip report of the region were two of the inspirations for me planning this trip! I will go ahead and order the Michelin Green guide!

Rereading your trip report,
I will definitely plan to carve out more time
for San Sebastián and Bilbao, especially for the Museu Vasco and Arkeologi Museo. (For anyone who’s been to both this museum and the Basque museum in Bayonne, would love to hear a comparison.)

And I will plan to visit both Monte Castillo and Tito Bustillo caves.

I’d love to have more flexibility at the tail end of the trip to decide whether or not to head up into the Picos de Europa area depending on weather. Where would be a good place to base myself that would allow me flexibility in deciding whether to stay on the coast or head up into the mountains depending on weather?

I'm glad my trip report proved useful to you! And thinking about Isabel always makes me smile -- she was such a delight. :)

I would think either Santallana del Mar or Ribadesella could serve that purpose, or perhaps Comillas.

Ribasedella over Santillana, for certain.

Thank you so much to everyone for the thoughtful advice.

Here is my updated itinerary. Open to any tweaks:

Sat 6/20 Land in Bilbao at 5:30 PM, early dinner at La Vina del Ensanche before visit to Azkuna Zentroa
Sun 6/21 AM at Guggenheim, PM pintxos tour with Mikel. Possible evening outing to Funicular de Artxanda if not too jet-lagged. Dinner at Los Fueros or somewhere near funicular?
Mon 6/22 Early breakfast at Mercado de la Ribera, day tour of La Rioja with Mikel enroute to Laguardia
Tues 6/23 Laguardia: St. John’s Eve festivities
Wed 6/24 Laguardia: St. John’s Day festivities
Thu 6/25 Early AM bus to San Sebastián via Logrono or Vitoria-Gasteiz, overnight San Sebastián
Fri 6/26 San Sebastián - maybe a late afternoon coastal e-bike ride with Basque Country Tours, overnight San Sebastián
Sat 6/27 San Sebastián, pick up rental car at noon, inland route to Bayonne via Ascain and Sare, overnight in Bayonne
Sun 6/28 AM at Basque museum, lunch in Bayonne, PM visit to Isturritz caves, late afternoon drive to St. Jean Pied de Port, dinner at Gaineko Benta, overnight St. Jean Pied de Port
Mon 6/29 AM visit to St. Jean Pied de Port Monday market, scenic drive to Pierre Oteiza Les Aldudes for lunch. PM: St. Jean de Luz (dinner at Pil Pil Enea)
Tues 6/30 AM visit to St. Jean de Luz Tuesday market, lunch at Chez Mattin, PM visits to Ainhoa and Espelette, overnight in Hondarribia
Wed 7/1 AM in Hondarribia, lunch in Orio or Getaria, PM at Balenciaga Museum, overnight Hotel Urune
Thurs 7/2 AM visit to Casa Juntas in Guernica, PM exploring Urdaibai (any must stops?), overnight Santillana Del Mar
Fri 7/3 AM visit to Cuevas del Monte Castillo and las Monedas, PM in Comillas for late afternoon e-bike ride to San Vicente de la Barquera, overnight Llanes, dinner at El Balamu
Sat 7/4 AM exploring Llanes —> Ribadesella, lunch at Gueyu Mar, dinner at La Huertona (9-11:30 pm), overnight in Ribadesella
Sun 7/5 AM at Tito Bustillo, lunch at La Nansa or El Rompeolas in Tazones, overnight in Cudillero
Mon 7/6 AM in Cudillero, PM in Oviedo
Tues 7/7 - Mon 7/13 El Cuelebre in Somiedo
Tues 7/14 Oviedo
Wed 7/15 Oviedo, afternoon train to Madrid
Thurs 7/16 Midday flight home

I haven't been to the French parts of Basque country, but for the parts I have visited (in Spain), I think you have a nice itinerary. Fast paced, but you knew that.

One suggestion is that you make sure you have enough time for what you want to see and experience in Comillas -- perhaps El Capricho if you have any interest in Gaudi; the Cementerio de Comillas for some interesting monuments, and maybe some time to just roam around.

Enjoy!

Good call. Maybe I will stay overnight in Comillas that evening and then just stop by Llanes the next morning on the way to Ribadesella.

I'm sure you'll make a good choice -- I don't think there's bad one! If it helps, I managed the things I mentioned in Comillas in about 2.5 rushed hours.

Looks great! We stayed at Hotel Urune the night before a lunch at ETXEBARRI. It's lovely and there are beautiful walks through the countryside where you see pretty reddish cows. Very cozy, small hotel. There is an excellent restaurant not far from there, where we had dinner that evening; the name is REMENETXE. in Muxika and near Gernika:


https://macarfi.com/en/viz/restaurant-card/remenetxe

Can you really manage lunch at GUEYU MAR and dinner at LA HUERTONA on the same day?? We had a great lunch at LA HUERTONA but missed GUEYU MAR, to my chagrin. You will have a chance to try the amazing red-skinned, big-eyed Palometa Roja fish, also known as virrey.

This looks like a fantastic plan.