lamadrilenya

My husband and I are planning a trip to NW Spain/Northern Portugal in late August/early September. We have friends near Amsterdam that we'd like to visit on the front end so we want to fly into Amsterdam for the first stop in our trip...then rent a car and drive all the way to Santiago de Compostela, in NW Spain.

Have never driven through Western France so I need help figuring out whether my itinerary below is realistic/doable:

Nights 1 + 2 -Netherslands: Amsterdam
Night 3 - France: Overnight near Mt St Michel/Brittany
Night 4 - France: Overnight in Bordeaux
Night 5 Spain: Overnight in Asturias (Oviedo), Spain
Nights 6-10: Santiago de Compostela (Galicia) Spain
Night 11: Madrid, to catch flight back to the States.

Is the 2 night journey through France too ambitious an undertaking? We want to maximize our time in Spain, so I'm trying to cut the amount of time spent driving to Santiago de Compostela from Amsterdam...but still want to be able to enjoy the sights in France along the way, and I want to be sure that this itinerary is not too rushed to enjoy the sights along the way?

ribeirasacra

I make a similar trip every year to see friends and family.
First off have you looked at the drop off fees? Also the toll roads are very expensive in France.
First off avoid Paris it is a bit of a nightmare to drive and there are far better places to see when you have a car.
These are not in order and not on the same route so choices have to be made by you.

Belguim:
Ypres and some 1st WW sites.
France

Le Mans, Historical city.
Champagne (wine region.
Nancy, Histoical city.
Chartres, quaint city.
Limousin, National park
Dune du Pilat, biggest sand dunes in Europe.
Spain.
Getaria, quaint city.
Picos de Europa, National Park.
Comillas, for a Gaudí building and other modernest architecture.
There are many places I could list, far too many.
Never do one night stands as they do not work you can end up travelling all the time.

Michael

<i>Never do one night stands as they do not work you can end up travelling all the time.</i>

That rules out a two day drive through France.

I would abandon that idea and look for a low fare flight from Amsterdam to Spain, rent the car in Spain and return it in Spain. That would save time and money. France deserves more than a quick drive through.

hetismij2

I would add at least another night to Amsterdam, so you have two full days there, and are over your jetlag, and then fly to Spain.
The one-way drop off fee for a rental car could be high, and two days of driving through France is all you will do, there will be little time to stop and see anything, unless you put in really long driving times in between, which would be silly.

If you book soon you could fly with Vueling, via Barcelona to Santiago de Compostela for about €120pp

ribeirasacra

in the summer one can fly between Amsterdam an Galicia direct.

annhig

personally, I feel that you are not spending enough time driving through France to make it either enjoyable or worthwhile, and I speak [or write] as someone who has done quite a few of those sorts of holidays, including driving down through France, crossing the Pyrenees, and then spending quite a long time exploring northern Spain before going home on the ferry from Santander.

I agree with hetismij - spend an extra night in Amsterdam to recover from any jet lag, then fly to Spain. you don't have to go straight to Santiago - what about Bilbao? or even Barcelona if you can find a direct flight.

as Spain is your focus, you don't want to be exhausted from driving when you get there.