kcamcolorado

we are planning a trip in mid september, flying into barcelona....needing to fly out of either barcelona or madrid to mallorca 6 days later...I wanted to see some of northern spains beautiful countryside, mountains, etc...but am afraid we will not have enough time. we plan to spend 1-2 days in barcelona...then travel on...I am looking for suggestions for a good itinerary...we love small towns, great food, good people, etc.

Aduchamp1

Northern Spain will nor fit into your schedule. You can visit small towns using Barcelona or Madrid as your base.

NEDSIRELAND

Vueling flys Bilbao - Palma de Mallorca at a reasonable cost. You can also fly Barcelona - Bilbao.

You won't have enough time for a Grand Tour; but you could go as far as the rio Deva and the Picos de Europa visiting Limpias & Laredo, Santander, Comillas and Potes before returning to Bilbao for the morning (10:00 AM) flight to Palma de Mallorca.
Limpias: Cristo de Limpias - a Crucifix that is said to 'bleed.'
Comillas: the Universidad Pontifical and Gaudi's Caprichos
Potes: Great cuisine, goat cheese & Orujo: a geological 'Park' and gateway to Fuente Dé and the Picos de Europa.
Santander: Beaches, Spain's first public Golf Course, great seafood!

AVISO
15 Sept is el Día de Cantabria. Most everything in/around Santander is closed or on a Holiday schedule

kcamcolorado

Oh I like the idea of flying out of Bilboa...saves us some time. I will look into these suggestions, thank you!

NEDSIRELAND

The Picos de Europa region: Potes is the Capital City of a Region called Liebana. Cocido de Liebana is their staple dish. It's a bean stew with a variety of meats (Chorizos, Morcillas, Lacon, etc.) just like the Fabada Asturiana except the Cocido is made with Garbanzo beans, not Favas.

Buy some cheeses in Potes! We bought some for our cousins in Madrid and they were very pleased.

The Orujo de Liebana is also very much in demand throughout Spain. It's the Liqueur that's used in the Queimada Gallega.

ribeirasacra

"The Orujo de Liebana is also very much in demand throughout Spain. It's the Liqueur that's used in the Queimada Gallega."

I can't quite get around that. Why would any one wish to produce a Galician beverage with an Asturian copy? The Denominación Específica Orujo is for Galicia, as the following links illustrate.
Still Asturias has some great countryside and its own Sidra, which should be tried.

http://www.orujodegalicia.org/esp/
http://www.galinor.es/galeria/queimada-e.html
http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/lugo/20...03_7648499.htm

NEDSIRELAND

Sorry, ribeirasacra! I meant that Orujo is the liquer used in the Queimada, not that the Orujo D.O. Liebana is what is used in that ritual.

My (wife's) First Cousin, who lives in Rosal (Pontevedra), tells us he prefers the Orujo de Liebana over the Galician Orujos.
BTW
My advice to the O.P. just extended thru Vizcaya & Cantabria ending at the rio Deva. For the days they have available, that's as much as they can cover.

ribeirasacra

Neds, yes it always down to your taste, I prefer my neighbours fire-water over anybody elses, especially the commercial stuff.

So now it is down to the OP to comeback with thoughts and ideas about what we have posted.

kcamcolorado

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions...we have decided to drive from Barcelona through the Rioja region...spending one night in Longrono. THen we plan to spend the remaining three/4 nights driving around the region (within a couple hours)..and fly out of Bilbao to Mallorca. Maybe go Longrono, Burgos, Potes, Santander, out of Bilbao. Is anyone familiar with any beautiful lake towns in the area? One of our favorite spots in the world was Lake Lucerne in switzerland..swimming and hiking And we love to eat so thanks to all for the great food suggestions!

CathyM

When will you be in La Rioja? The San Mateo festival may be happening in Logrono when you're there - it's fabulous. If so, you'll need to book a room ASAP. If the festival isn't happening I'd suggest staying outside of Logrono in a smaller village.

ribeirasacra

Are you really intending to visit BCN, Longrono, Burgos, Potes, Santander, and Bilbao in six days? If so you will not see much except the dashboard of teh car.

bilboburgler

Need to make it a nice car

ribeirasacra

Now that is a good subject to start a forum conversation on! I prefer classic cars myself.

bilboburgler

We did it in a top down TVR. Great on all the roads till we hit a raised man hole cover on a gravel road, had to get a donkey to pull us out of the ditch.

ribeirasacra

No I would love to have seen a phoot of that...But a TVR now you are talking. The sound track is just as good as the dash!

kcamcolorado

in response to ribeirasacra ....I am not counting BCN or Bilbao on the list of stops...those are just the flying in/out of points. I understand trying to squeeze too much in..which is why we plan to be flexible...this was merely an idea. we could always take santander off the list since its in the other direction

CathyM...I would be interested in what smaller villages you suggest near Longrono....we prefer small village to big city.

ribeirasacra

Burgos is one of my fav cities in Spain, ( the surround area has some great point too) but for this trip I would suggest you leave it off and stay in the La Rioja region. I personally do not know too much about the area so I will leave suggestions to others.

Sorry about going off track about cars...another love of mine.

CathyM

Laguardia would probably be a good choice for your base in La Rioja. You may also consider Abalos. If you haven't read Maribel's guide for this area it is phenomenal. Her Rioja guide was recently updated and her recommendations are all on track. If you're going to be in the area for San Mateo I would consider staying in Logrono for all or part of the time. Logrono wouldn't usually be my choice for a base but the festival brings it to life and its so much fun.

http://www.maribelsguides.com/

kcamcolorado

Thank you all for all the info....we ended up going straight from Barcelona to Longrono via train...and timed it just right with San Mateo so stayed longer than planned. Not that we could stay up all night with the locals, but it was wonderful to watch every generation celebrating together and enjoying life!! Then we spent a couple days in Bilbao before flying over to Mallorca. The area around Bilbao is so lush and green, it was gorgeous. The whole trip was fabulous, we tried every item of food we could get our hands on...absolutely delicious. Thanks again for recommendations

morningstar

Do you need an international drivers permit to rent and drive a car in Spain.