Larry

My wife and I will be in Spain the last 3 weeks of June. We will probably be in and out of Bilbao on week-ends but free the rest of the time. Looking for ideas between Pamploma & NW Spain. How are the trains between small towns or should we rent a car there?

Pedro

These could be some suggestions: <BR> <BR>-The city of Burgos <BR> <BR>-The small town of Frias ( Burgos province ) <BR> <BR>-The city of Santander. <BR> <BR>-The wine country in Alava ( Salvatierra, Laguardia,etc) <BR> <BR>-Santillana del Mar and Comillas, two of the most wonderful villages of Spain. <BR> <BR>- The Baztan Valley in Navarra. <BR> <BR>- The Picos de Europa National Park area ( in June must be incredible, overnight in Potes, trips to Cares gorge , Covadonga sanctuary, Fuente De,etc) <BR> <BR>-The city of Oviedo <BR> <BR>-The coast between San Vicente de la Barquera and Lastres, beautiful!!! <BR> <BR>-The city of Leon <BR> <BR>-The city of Santiago de Compostela. <BR> <BR>-A trip to San Sebastian, Hondarribia, Biarritz and St. Jean de Luz. <BR> <BR>I hope it could become useful for you. <BR>

Nancy

My husband and I have spent March '99 and March 2000 in Spain as we have a son who lives in Madrid. We have spent some time in the north both times and just loved it! I can't help you with the trains as our son drove us in his car. If you do drive by car, purchase a good Michelin Spain map.For sure, go to San Sebastian which is just East of Bilbao if you've never been there. Santillana Del Mar in Cantabria is a wonderful We stayed at the Hotel Altamira which was great.It is a base for people who want to see the 13,000 year old cave paintings in the nearby Altamira caves. The Hotel was clean, good food, private bath, and a phone. The hotel was built in the 17 century and maintains much of its medieval character. Don't let the outside of the building put you off as it is wonderful inside! the phone is 942-818-025 and 942-818-309 and the fax was 942-840-136. We had no trouble getting a room in March, but don't know about June. To see the caves, you have to book several months ahead of time, so we didn't get to see them. We enjoyed the Musium of the Inquisition and the Collegiate Church there also. <BR> We took the Ruta de Cares on N621 towards Panes and the road between Panes and Congas de Onis is fantastic, dotted with Old Roman bridges (BC) and the Covadonga National Park is beautiful with the Picos de Europa. If driving through mountains makes you uncomfortable, then you won't want to attempt this!! But it is absolutely beautiful. <BR> If at all possible, go to Santiago de Compostela! It was fantastic. We stayed at the Hostal Pico Sacro on Calle San Francisco which was adequate, good location and very reasonable with a private bath, but nothing upscale. There are many things to see and do in Santiago, an absolutely beautiful city! <BR> Noia and Muros are interesting coastal towns. There is a wonderful restaurant in Muros called Don Bodegon. <BR>Enjoy! enjoy! Asturias and Galicia are both beautiful and interesting areas of Spain.

Maira

A good hotel in Santiago de Compostela is http://www.asartes.com/. Very, very close to all the main sights at 1/2 the price ($65/double). A very unique hotel, I urge you to check out their website. They had just opened after renovation when we visited the region on May 1999. STRONGLY recommend the city and the hotel. <BR> <BR>Second also the Leon suggestion. At Leon I recommed the hotel La Posada Regia. Check them out at http://www.si-santamonica.es/regialeon/posada.htm. This is a gorgeous hotel, about $80double. All include breakfast and the taxes.

haritz

I live in Bilbao, so, I'll tell what I most like nearby my town (by the way you'll hardly need to rent a car: the train reaches a lot of prices, and if not, buses DO, they are very frequent. <BR>If you like the coast, the Metro (Subway) of Bilbao, arrives to the rich spot of Getxo with its palaces, beaches, cliffs, paths... you'll be able to go there almost everyday and further, the Metro reaches Sopela and Plentzia, nice places to be under the sun -in June the water is not still very warm but temperatures might be hot. Not the metro, but the train arrives until the historical town of Gernika and the fishing town of Bermeo, both in the middle of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of Urdaibai. From Gernika, frequent buses go until the strange coastl village of Elantxobe or the nice Lekeitio. At the other shore you can follow until Gaztelugatxe, near Bermeo, really beautiful. If you preferic historical towns, Elorrio -train until Durango, another nice city 30 km. away from Bilbao- is really the top for you. And, although there are no so many buses, the mountains of the valleys of Arratia and Durangaldea (Gorbea, Anboto), places of many BAsque myths, might be your delight. The west of Bizkaia is much more unknown, but has as well beautiful places (Avellandea, Karrantza, the town of Lanestosa, Urduņa and its impressing mountains...). <BR>About Araba, you've been told the region of the wine, the whole of Nafarroa, specially the northern side, is full of great B&Bs, cheap and very well located; at the other site of the border, the Northern Basque Country top spots could be the Sara region, the whole coast, and the towns of Donibane Garazi, Hazparne, Maule, Santa Grazi, among others.

Lesley

Local trains in and out of Bilbao tend to be very slow because they stop at every station. I would hire a car if I were you. There are several totally unspoiled towns and villages along the northern coast of Spain. A short distance from Bilbao you will find Santillana del Mar, (already mentioned above) which is a little gem of a place (there is a Parador there if you like Paradors). Other less known towns (and therefore almost everyone will be Spanish) are St Vicente de la Barquera and my favourite, Castro Urdiales. You can get a bus to Castro from Bilbao. There are only two small hotels in Castro, I think that Las Rocas is the best. Between Bilbao and San Sebastian (which is a wonderful place, especially if the sun shines) you will find Mundaka (good for windsurfing) and the tiny, almost vertical, fishing village of Elantxobe (the x is pronounced ch). I guarantee you will not find any tourists there. Just south of Bilbao, and easily reached for a day, there are some nice villages in the Rioja (the wine producing region). La Guardia is a small medieval town which still has its wall all the way round and the old part of Logrono is interesting too. <BR>If you use the Paradors, you can get a good rate if you buy their "book" of five vouchers - each voucher gets you a room for the night at a reduced rate (about 10,000 pesetas). The Parador at Santo Domingo de la Calzada is an impressive old building (the town itself isn't especially interesting, but it makes a good base), that at Santillana is a nice old building, and there is an old castle at Hondarribia on the border with France. There is a decent Parador just outside Vitoria. <BR> <BR>If you are driving across to the north west, avoid Gijon and Aviles, they are ugly and industrialized. I hope you enjoy your time there

Larry

Thanks for all the info, it looks like a combination of trains and a car is the way to go. If you have any other suggestions please send them along.