Here is my proposed itinerary for our trip of northern Spain

Arrive in Santiago de Compostela from Miami May 7, overnight 7th, 8th and 9th in that city.

Drive to Leon and overnight 10th and 11th.

Drive to Cosgaya for 12 and 13 and tour Picos de Europa.
The 14th and 15th will be in Ribadesella to tour the coast towards the east.

The 16th 17th and 18th in Santillana del Mar to tour Comillas, caves, coast, ect.

20th, 21st and 22nd in San Sebastian now turning in car

Lastly bus to Bilbao for 22nd and 23rd before our departure from the Bilbao Airport the 24th.

I have agonized over this itinerary. Is it too much? We love museums, architecture, nature and all aspects of travel. I like to drive and explore and my partner is a good navigator and speaks fluent Spanish. Any suggestions from you learned Fodorites?

It is a lot of traveling but doable.
- In the Valley of Liebana, I hope you get the chance to taste good Orujo (Picos is my favourite label) and the local blue cheese Queso Picon.
- The coast towards the east from Ribadeselle has atractions like Llanes (Asturias), San Vicente (Cantabria) and Santoña (Cantabria) that you might like to see.
- Cider (sidra natural asturiana) is the thing in Asturias. The culture is very interesting and you can visit sidrerias in Ribadesella, which is on the border of the "cider country".

The better museums are in Madrid not in the north. Tt is the museum itself in Bibao, not the collection that is worth seeing. One day in Bilbao is sufficient.

I love Santiago but three days in the city itself is a lot.

Please take a look at A Tafona do Peregrino as a hotel in Santiago, great decor, reasonable prices.

Three nights in Santiago may be a bit too much, but as you´ve got a car, you may do some excursions.

One night in Leon is good enough for this town. Try not to miss the Roman Médulas
http://www.fundacionlasmedulas.org/index.jsp?idioma=en, something very special, as well as the San Isidoro church and its ceiling paintings in León. The barrio Húmedo (yes, humid quarter) is the place to go for tapas and drinks. In the surroundings there are many wineries with cellars excavated on the rock (nice to see, but not so good wine). The chorizo from León is one of the best in Spain.

ON the way to SS can´t miss San Juan de Gaztelugatxe in Bakio, Lekeitio, Getaria, Zarautz (try to get the coastal road instead of the inner highway).

In Bilbao, obviously the Guggenheim, and then we have next to it the Museum of Fine Arts, second to El Prado in importance in Spain.

Two nights in Bilbao are fine if you do some excursions, one of them may be the coast, the other one to the Basque part of La Rioja wine region (one hour and a half to Laguardia).

Yep I agree with Mike SdC for three nights will be too much and I have to say the city is NOT Galicia. If you want museums then head for Lugo. If you want countryside then head for The Ribeira Sacrá (where I live) or O Coural (all in Galicia). These two also hold a lot of interests for you if you are into Romanesque architecture. Plus the odd Celtic remains too. We are located about an hour away from SdC and O Coural a bit further away. However I would not suggests you do these as day trips from SdC as you will have to back track to get to Leon.
I sort of agree with Mike about Leon but are you going to use it as abase like SdC?
I would advise you stop off and see Las Medulas on your way from Galicia to Leon. I see that wine and Orujo have been talked about. Galicia has some fabulous wines that are being noted by some of the leading wine experts in the US at the moment. Orujo or aguardiente has its origins in Galicia and any place of good reputation should be able to put on a Queimada for you.
I also feel you are travelling a lot, you see every time you change location you are in effect loosing sightseeing time. It depends on the journey time but say between SdC and Leon it can take up to 5 hours. So that is almost all the day light hours. And if you stop at Las Medulas then it will leave not time for anything else that day. I appreciate vacation time can be tight but sometimes you have to admit you cannot see everything in one trip.
I would assume you fly from Madrid up to SdC on the 7th as there are no plans for direct flights from the USA or do you know something I do not?

You should enjoy driving the Gorge of the rio Deva between Unquera and Potes: it's a real 'white knuckler!' I recommend an overnight in Potes (Liebana): you can enjoy a Cocido de Liebana and not have to drive after dining.

In Bilbao, visit the Casco Viejo (called that because it's shaped like a helmet) and the 3-story Mercado Central (on the rio Nervion). Also in Bilbao: try to visit La Begonia (home Church for all Euskadi people).

InMiami:

What a great trip. We are getting ready to take our 3rd trip to Spain this fall and we have traveled to many different cities, just as you are describing. .. You will have a blast. I recommend too, that 3 days in Santiago de Compostela may be a bit much, but that is totally your call.
We tend to only stay 1 night in each city .. true you have to pick the sights you want to see and plan accordingly, but it has worked for us.

Another great coastal city is Santander .. stay at the Hotel Real .. beautiful. Get a water view room with a balcony.

My family Grandparents)is from Austrias, so I am fond of that area ... and yes, you have to try the Cidra and the Fabadas .. yum.

Each time we have gone to Spain, we try to stay in as many Paradores as possible, we tend to be attracted to the ones that are more medival and castle-like. The atmosphere is generally wonderful.

Remember that the Spanish eat dinner very late .. so you always have the early evening in which to travel from point A to point B.

We have also had some success using michelin maps to determine our driving distances .. we are using if for the first time this trip, but as far as it looks right now .... everything seems to be accurate.

Have a great time!!!!!

As noted the gugenheim is a must in Bilbao and depending on your interest and opportunity from other travel san Sebastan has a nice aquarium - a fun way to pass a few hours.

I guess I am in the minority regarding 3 nights in Santiago being too much. I fell in love with Santiago the first time I went and have been two more times since , staying 4 days each time. You can always do a day drive to Rias Baixas/ Altas for variety.

I also second Santander being a great city.

Also , when in the Picos de Europa area try to visit Covadonga and the lakes of Enol and Ercina. Also the Fuente De cable car.

True .. Covadonga is a must if in that part of Spain .. also, someone else mentioned Potes .. great little mountain town .. ate " Albondagas" there and visited the church that has a piece of the "true cross of Christ" .. at least that is what we understood.

The night before we go back to Covadonga this year, we will be staying in Congas de Anis .... it is a wonderful area.

We took a similar trip a few years ago and enjoyed it very much. The only suggestion I have is to stay in Comillas and visit Santillana del Mar, instead of the other way around. We found Santillana charming but over run with tourists. Also,it was the only parador where we had a negative experience.

there are relics of Jesus´ skull as a youngster, another one of his twenties and another one of his death, in some parts of Spain.

So much of the true cross of Christ in Santo Toribio de Liébana, but a beautiful church with magnificent views.

Alexis,

Are you staying by any chance at teh Parador in Cangas de Onis? It is one of my favorites.

mikelg writes: "So much of the true cross of Christ in Santo Toribio de Liébana, but a beautiful church with magnificent views.
Do I detect some scepticism on your part about the fragment of the Vera Cruz on which Christ was crucified?? I believe!!

I believe Santo Toribio, first Bishop of Astorga, brought the Relic from the Holy Land and took it to the mountains of Cantabria / Asturias to keep it from falling into the hands of the invading Moorish Legions.

If you're going to be sceptical, I might accepe something like that about Cristo de Limpias (South from Laredo) where a Crucifix is said to 'bleed' from time to time.

And then there's San Sebastian de Garabandal, where a Marian apparition was said to have taken place around 1960. That has been totally debunked; but there are still Pilgrims who visit there.

So many great suggestions from all of you. I will definitely keep this thread to help plan the details of our trip.

I agree that to reduce the number of room changes would create a more relaxed trip but how would you improve my itinerary? If I remove one day from Santiago, Leon and Bilbao, where do I place them? How would you change the number of nights in each location?

Also, here are the hotels we are considering. My partner likes modern and I like reasonable prices!

Santiago, Hotel Altair

León, ?

Cosgaya, Hotel del Oso

Ribadesella, Hotel Villa Rosario

Santillana del Mar, Casa del Organista

San Sebastian, Astoria 7

Bilbao, Hotel Hesperia

Of course Ned, I believe, of course...but they say you can make a town with all the found fragments of the holy cross...

The commerce of "holy" relics was a very popular (and profitable) business back in the Middle Age in Spain, moreover along the pilgrimage roads leading to Santiago.

Given the small dimensions of the Basque Country, I´d take Bilbao as a base for visiting the rest of the Basque area. Two or three nights would be fine, one for Bilbao and two for visiting.

mikelg, would you suggest using Bilbao as a base and having San Sabastian as one of many day trips in the area?

No, stay in San Sebastian. Perhaps use your extra days for the Rioja or the coast into France.

Bilbao is at a convenient distance of SS (one hour), of Laguardia in the Rioja region )one hour and a half), Santander (one hour), the coast to SS (less than an hour).

You may as well take SS as a base, it´s a more beautiful city, no doubt.