I've narrowed my trip plans down a bit for northern Spain, but would appreciate some help/advice from those of you familiar with the area. <BR> <BR>Plan 1: Fly to Porto; stay first night or more in Vigo area. Travel through Santiago to north coast via Oviedo to Santander and back via a slightly different route. <BR> <BR>Plan 2: Fly into Madrid; stay 1 or 2 nights; drive to Santander area; to Santiago and back. <BR> <BR>We'd have almost 2 weeks in July. Most interested in hiking, natural scenery and out of the way places. Night life and beaches are unimportant (but love those rocky coasts, like in Scotland!) <BR> <BR>The towns I mentioned are just for reference points, and would really prefer smaller, unique, scenic towns. Hope to stay in paradors or small guests houses. Is it getting too late to book for July? <BR> <BR>I'd appreciate it if someone could help us decide if this is too much area to cover in 2 weeks. Yes, I know some people see 5 or more countries in that amount of time, but we want to take our time and maybe have 3 bases from which to explore the area. <BR> <BR>Thanks for your help.

This is really a job for Maribel, but haven't seen her posting for a while, so will try to help with some of her suggestions to us for this past summer which were great. We actually started In Bilbao with the car and drove through Burgos, very interesting town, staying the next night at Leon, which was our favorite parador of the whole trip. Drove through Astorga with a wonderful market going on and a quick peak at the Gaudi church there, on to A Coruna (which wasn't terribly exciting) and then spent two nights at Santiago's Parador, which (get ready for the slams from everyone here) we thought didn't begin to compare with the one in Leon. Architecturally it was very dramatic, but our room was a bit run down, the restaurant had horrible service, and the entire staff seemed untrained and disoriented. Still a good place, just not the quality we had expected. We spent a wonderful day driving a loop of 305 kilometers total, going out to the westernmost point of Spain and a lighthouse there, following the coast southward in and out along little towns and rocky coast, having a wonderful lunch at picturesque little Muros, and back to Santiago. From there we drove to Porto which we loved and unfortunately only had one night there, wished we had at least two. After driving down the coast of Portugal, staying in Lisbon and Sintra, then the Algarve, we ended up in southern Spain before getting to Madrid.

Hi Clousie (and Hi, Patrick-another one of your great and helpful posts!) <BR> <BR>We're taking friends this July on a 2 week driving tour of northwestern Spain-Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria (some of which we did last yr.) We'll be coming to up from Madrid to Galicia through Salamanca. Although you'll be heading north from Oporto, I'll share our itinerary and lodging choices, which might help give you some ideas. <BR> <BR>Days 1-2: Start in Bayona, a very attractive seaside village and yacht basin (stay at Parador Condes de Gondomar) that we'll use as a base for forays into the gorgeous Minho Valley as far as Viano do Castelo and a visit to the Islas Cies , a climb to Sta Tecla plus a couple of wineries on route near Salvaterra de Miño. <BR> <BR> <BR>Days 3-4:: <BR>Santiago (Hotel Virxe da Cerca-skipping the 5 star Parador due to Patrick's and Fodor's Spain editor's advice that rms badly need refurbishment). We'll make excursions to Pontevedra, Cambados (lovely little town & home of delicious albariño wine), the beach and spa town of A Toxa for some sun, and along the estuaries, the Rias Baixas, up to Muros. We'll skip Vigo (industrial) and A Coruna (to us not worth repeating this trip) <BR> <BR>Day 5: <BR>A 5 hr drive from Santiago to Cangas de Onis in Picos de Europa National Park on the pretty coastal route, with stops in the quaint fishing villages of Luarca and Cudillero. (new Parador-spent 3 wonderful nights there last July-it's spectacular! Don't miss it!) <BR> <BR>Days 6-8: <BR>Use Cangas as a base to explore the secluded villages of both the Asturian and Cantabrian sides of Picos and its beautiful mountain scenery (my fav section of "Green Spain"). Easy trips to Potes (the unofficial moutaineering outpost for the region), down the magnifcent Desfiladero de Hermida gorge to the cable car at Fuente De (get there before 11 a.m.), to the shrine/basilica of Covadonga (where the Christian Reconquest began in 722), and from there up to Lago Enol and Lago de la Ercina, Spain's most beautiful glacial lakes (serpentine mountain drive though). Also time to do a bit of shopping for Celtic music/souveniers in Cangas and for Cabrales cheese tasting in the Arenas/Sotres area. We also want to repeat last yr's mildly challenging but unforgettable hike along the River Cares gorge. <BR>

Clousie, <BR>The second part- <BR>Days 9-11: <BR>Quick and easy drive to Spain's prettiest medieval village, Santillana del Mar, with stops in fishing village of San Vicente de la Barquera (for a seafood lunch) and Comillas to see a bit of Gaudi's Modernist architecture. (Parador de Gil Blas-have requested the original 16th c building and not the annex where we stayed last yr-not quite as atmospheric). Day trip to Cantanbria's most celebrated beach, the beautiful, enormous El Sardinero in Santander, a tapas crawl in the city itself at our usual haunts-Meson Rampalay, Cañadío,La Conveniente and Bodega del Riojano. A "special treat" dinner at the Cenador de Amos outside of town. Will try to fit in for our friends a morning trip to Bilbao to visit the Guggenheim (1 hr. drive) ?? <BR> <BR>Day 12: Drive to Leon for visit to Gothic Cathedral, Royal Pantheon and tapa hopping in the Barrio Humedo. (Parador Hostal de San Marcos) <BR> <BR>Day 13: Short detour to Astorga (to find Patrick's doughnuts!), then straight on to walled city of Avila. (newly refurbished Parador) <BR> <BR>Day 14: Short hop to Segovia to visit the Aqueduct, Alcazar, Cathedral. (night at Los Linajes-Parador is outside of town & too modern/sterile for our taste). Afternoon excursion to the picture perfect little Renaissance village of Pedraza de la Sierra. Lunch on the picturesque square at a typical "horno de asar" for terrific roast lamb. (We enjoy this as country alternative to Segovia's famous Meson Candido). <BR> <BR>Day 15: to Madrid <BR> <BR>We prefer using small towns rather than cities as our home base, particularly in the summer. Since you'll be travelling during the height of the tourist season, expect very heavy traffic while maneuvering in and out of cities. <BR> <BR>How about Bayona or Pontevedra as your Galicia base, Cangas as your Asturian home, and Santillana del Mar in Cantabria (if you have the time to venture that far east)? <BR> <BR>I made our reserv. in October (but I tend to do this far in advance). I do suggest that you book ASAP. Feel free to email me directly if you need more lodging/touring suggestions. I have a looooooong list of favorites in all price ranges. <BR> <BR>Happy travels! <BR>

Clousie, <BR> I've tried several times to post our 2 week itinerary for this July in Galicia/Asturias/Cantabria, but it won't post-too long. <BR>I've emailed it to you directly on a Word document. Hope you find it helpful.

Sorry! My very long-winded reply did post after all! But forgot to mention Tazones and Ribadesella, 2 other cute little fishing villages on the way to Santillana.

Wow, what a great reply, Maribel! Have to get out my map and check it all out. <BR> <BR>About how long is the drive from Madrid to Bayona? Actually I think flying into Madrid may work better for us than Oporta. Don't think there're any direct flights from the New York area and even getting to Madrid doesn't seem to be the most convenient. <BR> <BR>As I peruse the info and maps some more, I'll probably get back to you. Thanks.

Hi again Clousie, <BR> It's 616 km from Madrid to Bayona, too far to do comfortably/leisurely in 1 day. We're spending our first night at the Parador in Zamora (with a long stop in Salamanca). From there it should take under 4 hrs to Bayona. <BR> From our home on the East Coast, we've taken non-stops to Madrid from Newark (Continental), JFK (Delta/Air Europe) and Philadelphia (US Air). <BR> <BR> Have fun planning! <BR> <BR> <BR>

Thanks, Maribel. I checked some of those flights from Newark and JFK and wondered if fares of $1200 are typical for July? Have you been able to find any better fares?

See, I told you this was a job for Maribel!! Welcome back Maribel!

Maribel (et al), <BR>I have really enjoyed reading your comments, you are an absolute wealth of knowledge. My husband and 8 year old daughter and I are taking a northern Spain trip this summer. We are leaving in mid June and staying for 16 days. We are planning a triangular route; starting in Madrid, up to San Sebastian, along the coast to Luarca and back down to Madrid through Leon and Segovia. My daughter is a great travel companion (took her to Portugal 2 years ago) but we don't want to be in the car the whole time. We are trying to stay in lodging under $50 (US) per night. Can you make any recommendations for lodging along this route with possible 3 or 4 day home base locations for day trips. We like the idea of 'casa rurales' too. Also, we may splurg on a parador for one night. What is the best one for an 8 year old who loves castles and/or interesting architecture (must be child friedly for a very well behaved child). Although, maybe our money is better spent staying in a very interesting 'casa rurales' since we do not seek out luxery, just fascinating experiences. <BR> <BR>We have travelled all over Europe and have never once made reservations in advance for lodging. Is this a wise approach in June in northern Spain? It does tend to tie us down if we find we want to move on. Any ideas? <BR> <BR>Also, we are looking for ideas for must sees and good, inexpensive eats along the way. We will need to hit a few choice beaches for my daughter and some excellant hikes. My daughter loves steps and mountain climbs. <BR> <BR>Do you think we've given ourselves anough time for this route. We were even wondering if we had enough time to drive the coast the rest of the way to Santiago before heading back to Madrid. <BR> <BR>Any ideas you or others have would be most helpful. I am totally addicted to this web site. Thankyou so much for your insight. <BR>Connie <BR> <BR>

We, too, are interested in touring northern Spain and I'm having trouble deciding on rather $180 apiece for two rooms for the 4 of us at the Parador Argomaniz, in the region of Bilbao, is worth the price or should we just stay in Bilbao and forgo the parador?

My advice is to skip the Parador at Argomaniz because it's 12 miles west of Vitoria, Alava, and a good distance (60 miles) from Bilbao (about 1 hr). I'd use your $180 and stay in Bilbao at the posh Lopez de Haro (and it may be less than $180 per night, is that true, Patrick?) or if full, at the venerable Carlton, on Plaza Federico Moyua and the Gran Via (great location). And there are others of good value, such as the Ercilla or even the less elegant but perfectly adequate Aranzazu in Bilbao.

Thank you so much for your quick and helpful reply. I was torn between staying in Bilbao and missing out on a great parador so your advice helped tremendously. <BR>P.S. It might not be $180, but that was the price they listed for 4 people and the other hotels listed price/room.