Northern Spain with Tweens
 

I am headed to Northern Spain in June/Early July with my family (husband and two sons, ages 10 and 11). Our itinerary is a bit locked as my older son will be playing in a soccer tournament and we will be following his team from city to city. He will be staying with his teammates while in Santander, San Sebastian and Bilbao (while the rest of us enjoy ourselves doing non-soccer things), and he will join us for Pamplona the Pyrenees Mountains and Logrono.

I'm looking for all of the things to do. Places to eat, things to see, day trips, etc. We love great food (although I don't see my 10 year old sitting down for a tasting menu any time soon, so casual is best for us), hiking, biking, family cooking classes, food tours, bike tours, boating, vineyards for tasting that have kids activities, etc. We aren't sit on the beach type of people.

Itinerary:

• San Sebastian (7 days) I'm imaging day trips to Biarritz, Getaria, Zarautz.
• Santander (3 days) with a visit to Cave of El Castillo and a day for hiking in Picos de Europa and maybe a visit to a cheese cave. I'm not sure what to do in Santander and I'd also love recommendations for a hike suitable for an active 10 year old. We are good with strenuous but it has to be a shorter (2 hours or less) hike.
• Bilbao (1 day) with a visit to the guggenheim
• Pamplona (1 day) turns out the running of the bulls is happening while we are there, so we have spent too much money, renting a balcony to see it.
• Larrede in the Pyrenees mountains (2 days)
• Logrono in La Rioja (2 days) I would love recommendations for vineyards with kids activities so I'm happy and they are not bored.

Thank you very much!

Vineyards in and around Logroño. Check this link to see if any have kids´activities. Most don't, as their wine tours cater to adults, but the Villa Lucía in Laguardia, a short drive from Logroño, does have children´s activities. See them here. Laguardia is a charming medieval hill town within fortified walls that you will certainly want to see.

If your 1 night in Pamplona falls on the opening weekend of the Sanfermines, it will be extremely crowded. If your overnight falls on July 9-10-11, it will be less hectic, when the natives "take back" their city from the visitors who have left after the opening weekend, and there is a senior citizens' day and a children's day mid-week.
If you/ve rented a balcony, your balcony host/guide will tell you when the morning parade of the Giants, Big Heads, Kilikis and Zaldikos happens (the daily Comparsa), along with the parade route (posted online and in the local papers).
I attend the fiesta each year (20 of them now and counting, my husband since 1972), and we always look forward to the weekdays when it's far less crazy (and the streets cleaner!).

Hikes in the Picos de Europa around Potes, Cantabria here.
Potes will be at least an hour, 40 min. drive from Santander (after you get out of the heavy city traffic), and the drive down the very narrow and sinuous but beautiful Desfiladero de la Hermida from Panes is very slow going.The gorge starts at exit of Panes, km. 175 and ends at km. 154. The fastest you can go is about 40 km. per hour. And impossible (or highly unadvisable) to pass a car or truck, so you would want to get an early start.

Maribel, Thank you! You are a dream. I will review it all now. For Pamplona, we will be here for the night of July 8. So maybe still crowded and crazy?

night of the 8th,,.well most of the "rowdy types" will be heading out that afternoon on buses/trains/planes when you arrive, but it will still be crowded, and the streets of the Old Quarter wine/beer/kalimotxo soaked! Please wear sneakers that you don't mind getting dirty! No sandals, please!

That area of the Aragón Pyrenees, the Tena Valley, is just gorgeous!

For El Castillo you can and probably should book ahead online here.
The drive from Santander down to Puente Viesgo on the N-623 will take around 40 minutes.