As part of a 3 week trip in the Spring, we will leave Madrid on a Monday and want to be in San Sebastian on the following Sunday giving us 6 days to explore the N Coast area. We are thinking of driving from Madrid to Santander and then spending 3 days there. Then perhaps drive someplace between Santander and San Seb for another 3 nights. We plan to visit Bilbao but were not thinking of staying there overnight. Does this sound reasonable? Any alternative suggestions as to where to spend the 6 days?
We enjoy museums, hiking, and good food!
Thanks

For hiking visit The Picos de Europa.
Santander is good base especially for the coast

Thanks. any suggestions for another destination on the coast on the way to San Seb?

I suggest that you do not change location every night or you will find you will not see anything.
Once up in the Picos stay a few days move on to SS. Distances are not so great and this plan will leave lots of time to explore the area.
So I do not have another suggestion for the coast. But others will do.

You can stop anywhere along the coast from Bermeo to Zarautz. The area is beautiful all year long, and especially so in the spring. A good base for three days would be the costal village of Getaria, a short drive from San Sebastian-Donostia.

yestravel writes: "... part of a 3 week trip in the Spring..."

I agree with ribeirasacra about the Picos de Europa for hiking, BUT, much will depend on how early in Spring we are talking about. The la Palomera buses from Santander terminate in Potes until 1 May; the Guardias de la Sierra have Snow rescue competitions around the first week of April.

If you're not going to stay in Bilbao overnight, consider Laredo or Limpias (South of Laredo) for an overnight. Last time I was there, a new Parador Naciónal was still under construction in Limpias.

The National park of Picos de Europa offers wonderful routes for hiking as Ribeirasacra already mentioned. The best season starts in April, but the highest peaks are free of snow only in late May or early June. The routes in the Valley of Liebana are very nice starting from late March.
Also the coast of Asturias and Cantabria offers lovely walking routes. There are charming towns like Llanes (Asturias), San Vicente (Cantabria) and Santoña (Cantabria), all with an easy access to walks. The routes on the coast are easier and usually they have wonderful views over the coast and sea.
You will find information on the routes from the Topwalks website http://www.topwalks.net/en/index.htm. The website offers route descriptions in English, maps, road maps, driving instructions, GPS waypoints and a lot of photographs, so you will get a good impression of the landscape. Then it is easier to choose between Picos de Europa and the routes closer to the coast.
Sierra de Cuera in Asturias is one of our favourites (the hikes start from Alevia, Arangas and Asiegu). The routes starting from San Vicente and Santoña (Cantabria) are even closer to the sea and there is no driving involved, if you are staying in those coastal towns.
The seafood is fantastic in this part of the country. Try also Asturian Cider (sidra natural asturiana) and Cantabrian Orujo and cheese varieties.

Lekeitio and Getaria are great small towns to stop or stay in. Also there is a network of farmhouses more like bed and breakfasts throughout the Basque country that sound great and can be in stunning peaceful locations looking out over the ocean. Make sure you leave enough time for San Sebastian. We spent five days there recently and would have loved five more.

Thanks 4 all the great information! We will be there mid May, so hopefully snow won't impede us.

ribeirasacra - Sounds like your suggestion for Picos de Europe for hiking will be great! Thanks! we don't plan to change every night, 2-3 nights and then possibly move on. We don't have a problem moving about, we pack light and it takes maybe 30 minutes to pack up and check out. We find that doing day trips every day is not our preferred style.

Robert2533 - I had checked out Getarai and I think we might want to be a bit further from San Seb. But we certainly will visit it out once in the area.

NEDSIRELAND --thanks for the suggestions 4 the towns. Will need to see where they are and read up on each one.

walksntalks -- Great web site and thanks for your suggestions. Need to look them up. Looking forward to the seafood and cheeses.

Egbert -- I've read your TR and appreciate all the tips u offered. At this point not sure how long we'll stay in San Seb, but we won't short it time. Been looking at Casa Rurales 4 places to stay. R there others u suggest?

In Potes, I stayed at Hostal Picos de Europa; well located and probably called a Hostal because there's no elevator or some such trivial shortcoming. For us, it was quite adequate even though the Owner's son (and Chef) had taken a job as Chef elsewhere, leaving the place without a 'full service' restaurant.

I brought cheeses (goat & others) from Potes to relatives in Madrid and they were very grateful. Orujo de Liebana is another local product that you can't buy anywhere else.

We will be in this area mid May. It's looking like we will stay in Santander for 3-4 days and then move on to Lekeito for 3 more days. I've been trying to find a site with weather/climate, but can't seem to locate one beyond the ones with close in forecasts. What is the weather like -- how cold or hot can we expect on the Coast? Thanks!

weather will be variable. take something of everything.

If you type on google "tiempo en lekeitio" you´ll get quite a number of pages with the local weather. Mid may is usually nice and warm. Lekeitio as a base is beautiful (I spent my youth summers there and it´s an unspoilt fishing village with three beaches) but may not be too convenient, as the curvy roads may be a hard time for you...and lengthy to move to other places. Zarautz is better communicated and at very close distance to beautiful places like Lekeitio, Deba, Zumaia, Oma Painted Forest, Getaria (an incredible walk by the sea), Donostia-SS,...

I only know nekatur.net. This was the source I used when I was looking for rural lodging in the Basque Country. Didn't end up renting one though because car rental was around $200 per day this past August! I have to say that as a lover of great beaches (my favorites are on Martha's Vineyard and Maui) The beaches in the Basque country are spectacular.

mikelg -- thanks, I'll google as u suggested. My queston onthe weatheedr relates mostly to theneed for air conditioning or not. As I've been looking at places to stay many comments are on lack of a/c. These appear to be related more to July, August weather as opposed to May. I'll look into Zarautz a a possible place to base for a couple days.

Egbert - thanks for the link, but it doesnt seem to be working! $299 per day, Yikes! We will rent a car b4 we leave the States and paick it up in MAdrid, so should have more reasonable rates.

A/C is not normally needed over here (Basque area), as temperatures normally don´t go over 25-30ºC (80´s). I know nobody that has it installed at home. That´s why many places don´t offer it. It won´t definitely be needed in May (you may even need some heating at night).

Try www.autoeurope.com, for cheap rates in rental cars.

thanks, Mike -- I figured that might be the case with the a/c. Yes, we use auto Europe or Kemwell all the time for our rentals and will do so this time also.
Still trying to figure out best place to stay along the coast. I looked at Zarautz and I feel like it is too far East and too close to San Seb where we will spend several days staing at a hotel in town. I'm hoping to find somethng a bit further West on the coast. any ideas?

If near the coast (do we consider inland as well?), you may want to stay near Bilbao (100kms to Santander west, 100 kms to San Sebastian east.)A good thing about Zarautz was its proximity to the highway. Further west, you may want to stay near Bilbao (www.palaciourgoiti.com), or check in www.nekatur.net or www.toprural.com for rural (excellent, with all the comforts) accommodation.

Gernika and its vicinity may be a good idea (close to the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve, with wonderful places to see and stay).

I will repeat:
Llanes (Asturias), San Vicente (Cantabria), Santoña (Cantabria).
Those are to the west from País Basco.

walksntalks -- thank you 4 your suggestions. they all did look lovely. 2 are 2 far West and Santona is too close to Santander where we will be spending 3 nights. I am trying to be halfway between Santander and San Seb if possible. Since I've just begun looking I havent given up on that as a possiblity. I may have to change my mind if I cant find the "perfect" location!

mikelg. Yes the Bilbao vicinity is perfect in terms of distance between the 2 cities. Glad to hear its exacly between the 2! I have not used nekatur, so I need to spend some time on that site. I have found some nice places not on the coast thru toprural and palacio goiti looks reallly nice. So like my comment above, I may have to forego the coast. Time will tell.
I do appreciate everyone's ideas, so pls keep them coming. I think all the beautiful areas are presenting too many choices, but I've got time.