Pyrenees itinerary help
 

I am having difficulty deciding on a two night stop in the Pyrenees this coming July. We will be in Laguardia area and ending our trip in San Sebastian. I was thinking of stopping in either the Roncal valley area or further north around Erratzu or Etxalar. We want to spend one day doing a good mountain hike. I was thinking of stopping in either Pamplona or Olite along the way. Does anyone have any advice on this plan and any suggestions on a Casas Rurales? I'm not a big driving fan and I'm concerned that we will be spending a lot of time in the car. Is there a better route and stopover place between Laguardia and San Sebastian.
thanks very much

for rural housing in the Basque Country, the best page IMO is www.nekatur.net. For those in Navarra, just google "casas rurales navarra", there are many good pages.

The Roncal valley and all the valleys in Navarra south of the Pyrenees are really awesome. I love the Roncal cheese, BTW. Baztan, Salazar,..., Bera is a very nice town, as is Elizondo. You can´t go wrong in almost any place in the area. Lesaka is also a very picturesque town.

In any case, the BAsque Country is full of mountains and so of possibilities of hiking, a very popular sport over here. From Laguardia to SS you shouldn´t take more than one hour and a half, approx.

Olite has an spectacular castle.

Thanks mikelg. Are you recommending the area around Elizondo and Lesaka instead of Roncal area? Can you give me the pros and cons of both areas?
thanks

Here is the link to the Navarrese Pyrenees. You'll find it's full of useful information.

www.turismo.navarra.es/eng/propuestas/pirineos/

Like Mikel, I like the Roncal Valley for it's dynamic scenery and great cheese. The Baztan Valley , which leads you to San Sebastian-Donostia, is beautiful. A walk through the Irati Forest and the Salazar Valley is also work the trip.

As far a finding a place to stay, it would depend on your budget. There are dozens of excellent country homes and small rural hotels in Navarra to choose from:

http://www.noblesdelreyno.com/
http://www.hotelesruralesnavarra.es/web/
http://www.casasruralesnavarra.com/

On one thing I can ease your mind - spending time in the car is not a hardship - that's pretty country and the driving is just lovely. We drove from Barcelona to San Sebastian to La Rioja last May, and I didn't mind a moment in the car.