Picos de Europa - 5 days
 

Hi all,
I am planning a two week trip to Spain beginning April 14th 2008. The first week is planned as we will be spending it in the Andalucia region. Initially, I had planned to spend the next week in Mallorca, but don't want to waste another day in non-sightseeing travel.

So, the wife to be and I were thinking about heading to Northern Spain and after reading some of the posts a lot of people say to go to Picos de Europa. As we are not keen on architecture, churches, etc., and would rather spend time taking in natural vistas...this looks to be a great place. So, here is where I need help in planning the final 5 days of our trip -

1) Getting there - Have no problems with hiring a car, but would love to take a train from either Malaga/Seville/Greneda. Is that a good idea or would we just be wasting too much time?
2) Where to stay to be able to get the most out of our visit. We don't mind taking day trips, but would rather not change hotels every other day.

Thanks so much for your help.

cjc155,
Picos de Europa are a HUGE "hike" from Andalucía and are best accessed by car. You will not find a direct train from the south to this area. But again, it's a very long and tedious drive from Seville or Granada in the south to Cantabria and Asturias in the north-the Picos straddle both regions. We vacation often in this region, know it well (just returned from there in Nov.) and wouldn't dream of ever attempting this drive in one day! Spain is a far larger country than most people assume.

If you go by plane, you would need to fly from Malaga or Granada through Madrid or Sevilla (one non-stop at 7:45 pm) to Santander and rent a car.


We use Cangas de Onís as our Picos base on the Asturian side and Potes as our Cantabrian (east) side base.

My advice for you would be to stay put in the south and feast on gorgeous natural vistas in the Sierra de Grazalema and Sierra de Ronda area, just south of Seville. Plenty of great day trips to keep you busy for 5 days-to ancient Cádiz, to the sherry triangle of Jerez, Puerto de Santa María, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, to the white towns of Media Sidonia, Arcos de la Frontera, Vejer de la Frontera, Gaucín, Zahara de la Sierra, etc. Just type in any of these destinations into the search box and you'll get great touring advice from Fodorites who love this lovely rural area of Andalucía.

Andalucía itself makes a perfect two week holiday.

Just some thoughts...

Hi cjc155,
Me again.
Just to put the driving distance into clearer perspective, according to www.guiacampsa.com the drive from Sevilla to Cangas (western Picos) will take an estimated 11 1/2 hrs and is a distance of 1,036 km. The drive from Granada to Potes (eastern Cantabria) is a distance of 841 km., an estimated driving time of 10 1/4 hrs.

This is why I encourage you to remain in very large, wide, scenic Andalucía and enjoy its remarkable natural beauty (as much a huge fan as I am of Picos de Europa).

The area from Arcos de la Frontera to Ronda, called the route of the perched Moorish white hill towns, "los pueblos blancos", as they're known in Spanish, is a visual delight, and a plethora of info is available here about this gorgeous area, accessible through a text search.

The Subbética, between Granada and Córdoba, is yet another region worthy of exploration (villages of Priego de Córdoba, Zuheros, etc.)

So much natural beauty to see in the south beyond the Granada-Córdoba-Sevilla-Málaga provincial capitals.

Just a few more thoughts...

It is extremely difficult to combine the north with the south if you are spending less than 30 days in Spain and really want to experience the countryside. I'd heed the advice already given and stick with Andalucia, saving the Picos and the north coast for another adventure.

If one wanted to get from the south to the Picos area , could an alternative be to fly from say Sevilla to Santander or Bilbao, and then rent a car? I must confess that I am not too familiar with Southern Spain, other than Sevilla, but I love the Picos area so much I wouldn't want to talk anybody out of doing it!

Maribel,

Thanks so much. Your very correct assessment of driving times scared me straight and wasting a day with another flight doesn't make a lot of sense when there is so much to see in Andalucia.

I think we will look on making our entire trip a southern spain delight. I will put your suggestions into the search box, but should any fodorites have any suggestions about hikes in Andalucia, please let me know.

Currently, we plan to stay for a week at the posada del torcal based on advice from other fodorites. From there hike el Chorro gourge and some of the other hikes within within El Torcal National Park. So, if anyone has any other ideas, would love to hear them.

Thanks again everyone.

I spent some time in Potes in April several years ago. There was still a lot of snow in the mountains. I don't know if you could drive to Covadonga. I was there for (16 Apr) Santo Toribio (Bishop of Astorga).

Buses from Santander terminated in Potes. No bus to Fuente Dé until 1 May; but one could drive there from Potes.

Ground Transport Sevilla to the Picos would consume an entire day. Consider flying to Bilbao & picking up a rental car there: you could probably make it to Potes in less than 3-hours
BTW
In Potes, I stayed at Hostal Picos de Europa.

Adding to what NEDSIRELAND has to offer, if you fly into Santander, it would put the drive to Potes at under 2 hours, depending on traffic on the N-621.

If not, then be aware that the new highway, the A-8 motorway, heading west from Bilbao can be a little confusing once you reach Santander, but quicker than following the N-635.

cjc155,
Feel bad about talking you out of Picos, so here's how it could be done:

The closest airport to the Picos de Europa is the Santander airport (closer than Bilbao, which is further east).

And as I mentioned in my first response, there is one daily NON-STOP flight from Seville to Santander on Iberia, flight 8286. The one way fare currently is 74 euros. Takes 1 hr. 20 min.
The departure time varies from day to day.
On April 21 it leaves at 20:10, arriving at 21:30, too late for the drive down.
On April 22 it departs at 16:40, arriving at 18:00.

If you had your heart set on the Picos, you could take this flight, rent a car in Santander and drive down.

But in late April you will soon lose daylight, and you don't want to be in the middle of the sinuous, narrow La Hermida gorge driving to Potes when you lose light!
That 15 km. gorge drive just isn't for the uninitiated, and it's not in that great a shape. Spectacular scenery in the daylight though!

We've taken the Santander to Potes drive this past July and more recently in early Nov.

You could also drive from the Santander airport to Arenas de Cabrales, on the Asturian side, avoiding La Hermida gorge that first day. The AS 114 from Panes to Arenas is in very good shape.
The drive should take 1 1/2 hrs. from Santander airport.

The Hotel Picos de Europa is a smart, tidy little place right in the middle of Arenas de Cabrales.
www.hotelpicosdeeuropa.com

From Arenas on the Asturian side, you could drive west to Covadonga, in good weather to the lakes of Enol and Ercina (great walks) and Cangas de Onís.
Or southeast through La Hermida gorge to the Cantabrian side to Potes and on to Fuente Dé, where one takes the cable car. From the top you have a spectacular walk back down to Espinama then up to Fuente De.


Now, having said all that (!!!!), I think a trip up to Picos would be time consuming, and I assume you'll need to get back to Madrid to fly home. We always overnight on our way back from Picos to Madrid.

I still think you should stay in Andalucía and make your entire trip a Southern Spain Delight.

There's a terrific book, "Back Roads of Southern Spain"-25 great car trips around Andalucía, by David Baird (Santana Books) that I highly recommend for touring about. I love these driving suggestions, and they can keep me busy for months, if not years!

I think you'll love El Torcal.
The Lonely Planet "Walking in Spain" should give you more ideas regarding the south.

Hi cjc,

largely, what maribal said, but with bells on. you are going to be in andalucia at the very best time of year for visiting that area, and you will find plenty to do.

the picos and northern spain generally would be a terrific place to visit in June, even july as it's then about the only part of Spain which isn't too hot! we did a trip there many years ago, and spent a great 2 weeks there. 5 nights would be just scraping the surface.

don't forget to book your trips [day and night] to the alhambra - although much visited, it's worth all the hype, IMO.

regards, ann

cjc155, if you decide to change your destination for the south, and need advice, do not forget to open a new thread.

Maribel, We will be staying at the Parador at Cangas De Onis for 2 nites--May 10/11. We will only have one day to explore the Picos from there---which routes would you suggest?
BTW, our total itinerary will include Segovia Ferrol, Santiago, Viano do Castelo and Salamanca.

Hi bob,
Yipee! You're going back to Viana do Castelo. I just LOVE IT!

GREAT itinerary except for ugly Ferrol!!
Are you on the Parador 5 night plan?

Could you switch Ferrol to Baiona?-Well worth paying the supplement there. It's one of Spain's top 5 Paradors, IMO.

Or if you can't, switch Ferrol to Ribadeo on the coast (newly renovated; really lovely!)

But I digress...

From you perch at my 2nd favorite Parador, Cangas, I would spend your one full day on well paved AS 114.

Get an early start and head first to the lakes of Enol & Ercina (but careful with the fog on that very narrow, serpentine 12 km. drive up). If it's too foggy still, do Covadonga first.

After reaching Lake Enol, park and walk amidst the cows. Pretty, pretty. Don't need to drive on to Lake Ercina, really, because it's disappearing!

Then drive back down to see the Basilica of Covadonga (Basilica is modern, but see the Virgen's jewels in the museum, if not too terribly crowded and Pelayo's crypt in the Santina cave). Huge crowds though.

(If you don't want to drive yourself up to the lakes, there's a minibus service run by Alsa that leaves for the lakes every 1/2 hr. from the Basilica)

After Covadonga, continue EAST on the AS 114 to Arenas de Cabrales. Stop and buy some cabrales cheese and venison or wild boar sausage for a future picnic. There is a cheese making cave in Arenas that's open to visitors, on the way out of town towards Poncebos.
If it's lunch time, eat at La Panera in Arenas.

Two detour options in Arenas:

In Poncebos you could take the VERY expensive funicular up to Bulnes-runs every half hr. But this gobbles up your time. It's skippable, particularly if you have rain.

We did the Bulnes funicular but enjoyed our drive up to Sotres (easier than the drive to the lakes) for a taste of real Asturian mountain village life. Penelope Casas has written about the cheese making up here, and the views are splendid.

Back to Arenas and continue EAST on the AS 114 to ugly Panes.
If it's now lunch time (2-2:30), stop at either Casa Julián right at the Cares river's edge or at La Xana on the left side of the highway, before the turnoff to Llonín (and tell Felipe your host that la Laserna from the US says hi).

Take a detour off the AS 115 before reaching ugly Panes to visit the cute hilltop town of Alevia (you'll see the sign on the left before crossing the bridge into Panes). (Choose either Alevia or Sotres as your Asturian mountain village detour).

Now, you have 3 options, depending on the hr:

Option 1: Retrace your steps back on the AS 114 west to Cangas (excellent road).

Option 2: Explore a bit of the Cantabrian Picos

Option 3: Return to Cangas along the coast


1) If you retrace your steps, pick up some sites along the road back that you missed.

2) drive south down La Hermida gorge to Potes (charming mountaineering town) with a possible detour to the Mozarabic church of Sta. María de Lebeña before exiting the gorge.

You may not have time to do this. You certainly won't have time to make it all the way down to the cable car at Fuente Dé unless you leave a great deal out of your tour along the AS 115.

3) At Panes drive north up to connect to the A8 at ugly Unquera and return west, driving along the Asturian coast past Andrín ("the prettiest little town in Asturias"-another quick detour), then up to the GORGEOUS lookout point over the coast between Andrín and Cué, then over to Llanes then Ribadesella (choosing one), then down the N 634 back to Cangas. The stretch of the A 8, Autovía del Cantábrico, isn't finished from Unquera through Llanes, but you'll pick it up again to Ribadesella. Very easy, as is the N 634 back down to Cangas.

This is a very ambitious itinerary that you will have to cut *considerably* down to size, but it moves you in the right direction to see some of the great beauty of the Picos.
I just wanted to give you all the options so that you can pick and choose what's of most interest to both you and Susan.

I'm working on my giant guide to Asturias and hope to have it finished and up on my website by the spring, so stay tuned...

Wow ! Ask and you will receive. I must admit that I thought you may be mad at me. I had emailed on your site---which must go to the webmaster---but I assumed he would pass it on to you.

We will be staying at Ribadeo one nite---meandering that coast enroute. I picked Ferrol since it was at the end of the drive along the north coast---we spend 2 nites in Santiago after that. I think I will perhaps spend 3 nites at Cangas and drop Ferrol. I am using the Golden Days rates which are better when you include breakfast.

We thought about Baiona after that but opted for 2 nites at Viano instead---having lunch in Baiona as we haed south. Susan has not seen Slamanca and I want to have some time there. Hardly slow travel, but this itinerary dictates this timing. We start with 2 nites in Segovia---15 nites in all. Gracias !

Hi Bob,
A great idea to drop Ferrol (very ugly) and add a night to Cangas. Promise you won't regret it!

I thought maybe you hadn't included Baiona because it's so close to Viana do Castelo. I agree-makes perfect sense.

We also use the Golden Age rates and can get them at some Paradors when the 5 night plan isn't available.

And please make sure you sign up for the Amigos program-either when you make your bookings online, or email the Central de Reservas and have them fax you the form, fill it out, fax it back and get your number.

It entitles you to a free drink (who can pass that up!) and free garage parking. With some Paradors that garage space isn't necessary (Cangas, for example) but with others it really comes in handy (Limpias, Avila, Trujillo, Cáceres). The real bonus is the Amigos quarterly bulletin which gives you notice of special rates, 2 for 1 deals, double points, etc. that are only available to Amigos.

When I do my online booking as an Amigo, I then see all these specials that will be available to Amigos during my stay. (I usually book a couple of months out). We have saved a GREAT deal of money being Amigos.

Just had 3 nights at the Fuente Dé Parador for 57 euros a night, Lerma and Siguenza at 60, Limpias and Seu at 75, free night in Toledo, etc.
Look for these Amigo specials in late March for May. Even if you've already booked and an Amigos special becomes available, you can change your reservation online and get the savings.

There's now an AVE (30 min) from Madrid (Atocha) to Segovia. But I suspect you'll fly into Barajas, pick up the car and drive to Segovia.

Sounds like a wonderful trip and May a perfect time to explore Northern Spain!

Thanks Maribel--good advice!

I will drop Ferrol but still need to stay somewhere in that area. I will be driving the north coast that day. Do you know any cute places in Betanzos, Carballo, or even Muros for one nite?

Yes, bob,
I know a very cute place near Betanzos, in Pontedeume (pretty area) which would be perfect:

Casa Rural do Castelo de Andrade, a charming and very sophisticated little place, whose owner, who speaks English, is Alberto Molares.
www.casteloandrade.com

It's been featured in design magazines, like Habitania, and its Verano (summer) Room was voted one of the "10 most romantic rooms" of the year in El Mundo. We asked for that one! Well priced. And delicious homemade breakfasts. Gets excellent (51) reviews on www.toprural.com

The hotel's web page works better for me on Opera than Firefox.

And in Betanzos, don't forget to try their very special, famous, runny and yummy "tortilla de patatas". The award-winning spot to taste it is La Penela on Ferradores 21 (they also have a very reasonable menu del dia) as well as La Casilla on Carretera de Castilla.

As I recall from a '92 trip, Fidel Castro was visiting his Family home in Betanzos when we were in Vigo.

Baiona is at the mouth of the ria de Vigo; if you visit there, drive down the coast to la Guardia and see Monte Santa Tecla where there's a restored Celtic (Castreño) village that dates back to 400 AD. You can also get a great seafood platter at one of the restaurants near the Seafarers Monument in La Guardia.
BTW
We stayed at the Bahia Vigo & got a great weekend rate including buffet breakfast: an 8th floor room w/balcony overlooking the Port of Vigo

This is only to say welcome to Maribel, we sure missed you. So lovely to have you back.
BTW the Amigos is a great idea we have been members for years and had a lot of free drinks...LOL

There are wonderful seafood restaurants and cafes in Baiona along the waterfront. Galicia is a wonderful place to visit.