Maribel: many thanks for that answer ! You are very helpful. Of course if we would have chose to go in Marseille region we would have chose Marseille airport for landing. Bordeaux must be the departure airport only beacause the price is better this way.

we already been to Barcelona and Catalonia region 6 years ago, so we dont need to ho back for now that’s why we have put Madrid in the mix.

We have taken a good look at lodging options yesterda on Airbnb and Spain is more expensive than what we taught. San Sebastian doesnt have anything decent under 300 euros and the whole Coast is more or less the same….we will have to make some décisions….

Now I understand that Bordeaux must be the departure airport. I mistakenly thought that you were contemplating 3 airport options. But I still don´t understand (please correct me!) if Nimes, Arles, the Camargue are still (or ever were...) a priority for this trip.

So, if you've already been to Catalonia, this means that you aren't interested in exploring the catalán Pyrenees?

Yes, the lodging in San Sebastián is extremely expensive, as you´re dealing with high, high season. Last summer we chose Getaria, 35 min. to the west, rather than S.S. specially for that reason. There are "casas rurales" up in the hills of Getaria and Orio, but it may already be too late to book any, as they're small and very popular with families. There are also "casas rurales" in Hondarribia, east of S.S., all part of the nekatur.net agroturismo network.

And lodging in seaside Biarritz, St-Jean-de-Luz, Guéthary in the Pays Basque will also be pricey, and even Bayonne, which has fewer airbnb options.

Arcachon or Soorts-Hossegour /Capbreton, both in the Landes (and surfing meccas), may have airbnb options, but best to find something quickly and book. We stayed in Soorts-Hossegour on our way down from Arcachon to San Sebastián in early July.

Are you sure that there is a scarcity of lodging along the northern Spanish coast for under 300 euro? We've stayed in a number of hotels along this coast, not on the water, and they were nothing near that price. Granted this was a few years ago but still.... For example, this one ws lovely and well situated for exploring, and great food:. Recommend this restaurant (see below)

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...e_Country.html


https://www.facebook.com/remenetxe?rf=183018705047391

tostaky,
I'm just a bit confused as to your proposed itinerary. Have you settle on both the arrival airport (must be Bordeaux) and also the departure airport?

In your other posts, here and on other two travel forums, I read, "Right now a mix of the three options are the same prices (Toulouse-Bordeaux or Marseille-Bordeaux or Bordeaux-Bordeaux ...)." "All those options are the same prices/dates"

Have you now decided, perhaps prices have changed, that your departure airport needs to be Bordeaux and have you now decided on an arrival airport? That would completely dictate your itinerary.

If staring from Marseille as your arrival airport and Bordeaux as your departure airport (which seems now to be set in stone), the itinerary would be quite different. If you use ViaMichelin.com you'll see the proposed route from Marseille to Bordeaux, and things along the way which would completely exclude the Costa Cantábrica of Spain and certainly Madrid.

If it´s Bordeaux-Bordeaux, a bit of the coastal route of Northern Spain is possible, but I wouldn't attempt as far west as Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.

If it's Toulouse-Bordeaux, arrival airport and departure airport, you could add the Landes, San Sebastián and perhaps a bit of Cantabria (as far as
Santander or even San Vicente de la Barquera/Comillas), but honestly (and kindly said) driving all the way south to Madrid in July is NOT recommended. It and Segovia are totally outliers. I say that as a now Madrid resident.

The July temperature here last year in Madrid ranged from 31-39, and the heat is intense, exacerbated by all the concrete. If you stay in an airbnb in Madrid you won't have the option of cooling off in a pool. Just so you'll know.

If you have to add a Spanish city in the Spain portion, wouldn't wonderful Bilbao fit the bill without driving all the way south to central Spain to Madrid then having to drive back on the same basic route to Bordeaux, which appears to be your departure city now set in stone?

Also could you tell us what parts of Catalonia you have visited on previous trips, simply so that we don't recommend destinations on the Toulouse-Bordeaux route (if that is now even in the cards??) that perhaps you've already visited? Did you visit Zaragoza in Aragón or any part of the Aragón Pyrenees? And the Catalán Pryrenees in a previous trip?

Just trying to help you out, but I admit that I´m a bit confused as to what on previous trips in Spain you've already seen or even in southern France, what you have previously seen.

Hi Maribel !
I will try to make myself clearer. English is, obviously, a second language for me (french is my first) so sometimes I dont use the good way of telling things !

1) Airport. Everyday prices are changing, but one thing remain constant, the best price is always when we chose Bordeaux as our return to home airport. In the last days, departure from Montréal (our home base) and arrival in Bordeaux, Toulouse and Marseille have been the same price.

2) About Marseille and Provence. Those are not ''must see''. We would enjoy to see that region for sure, but we can live without it. It's only when we saw arrival in Marseille at the same price than Bordeaux or Nice that we begin to think that it would be nice to go there. Once again not mandatory, but could be a nice addition if it fits.

3) Barcelona and Catalonia. We have been in that region for 12 days in 2018. We've been to Barcelona for 4 nights, Girona, Besalu, Tarragonna. It was a cities/village trip so no mountains or such on that trip.

Right now we still have to decide if we still going, like i.ve said lodging cost more than what we tought. Last year we have been 35 night around France (Paris, Normandy, Britanny, Dordogne and Alps) and our airbnb average 120 euros for the whole trip. We thought that food and lodging in Spain would be a bit less or at least the same but it doesnt seems to be the case.

We also are debating about doing it but for less time (22 days nights instead of 30). But that would means more choices to be made...decisons, decisions !

Thanks for the detailed explanations. Now I understand much better!

As today our best option is Bordeaux-Bordeaux. We would have 21 nights ''only'' (july 3 to july 24).

Maribel: what would you prioritize with that time frame ? We would drop Madrid and Segovia.

In Northern Spain, if your family enjoys some hiking, I would carve out time for Picos de Europa. They have some exciting (yet not too challenging) trails which would be so different from what you can find elsewhere. Lots of inns to stay right where the hiking begins.

Thanks Shellem ! We are debating between Picos de Europa and the Pyréenés. We might be wrong but Pyrénés seems to be more spectacular and more accessible (more lodging, easier roads..)

As today our best option is Bordeaux-Bordeaux. We would have 21 nights ''only'' (july 3 to july 24).

Maribel (or anyone else !) : what would you prioritize with that time frame ? We would drop Madrid and Segovia

Picos de Europa pack a lot of dramatic features in a small area. So if you will go to Oviedo anyway..... not that I want to knock the Pyrenees.

In Picos de Europa, I adore the trails accessed via the funicular de Bulnes as well as the valley trail (which goes in and out of the mountain) north from Posada de Valdeon. Obviously, you could spend a couple of weeks in the Pyrenees and just scratch the surface.

There is a parador in the Picos at Fuente De, and also a parador that I've stayed at just outside the small town of Cangas del Onis, a good base for the Picos.
It was lovely, with a walking trail to the town, where they hold a very good market on a weekend day...I forget which day but easy to find out. Oh, the cheeses!!!!

Oviedo is very close, and a wonderful city, as I wrote.

I don't know your budget, but we stayed at a hotel that I loved, in the tiny hamlet of Cofino, close to Oviedo and very close to Arriondas (restaurants!!) and Cangas del Onis.
We spent about 2 weeks in Asturias and it was among my favorite European trips....glorious scenery and a heavy concentration of great places to eat. LOVED IT!!!

I hope you write a trip report! :)

Hi !
with pleasure ! Here it is :
Plan have changed and we didn’t make the trip !