bertha KASTIEL

I am arriving at Madrid and going toward la Costa Verde of Spain, where I am renting a Villa in Llanes, Asturia and then moving west toward Galicia, down to Spain again via Portugal and would like to know the best possible routes,train, car or busses. Thanks

cooter

Without knowing your exact itinerary, it's hard to make a blanket suggestion, but, in general car is the way to go in this part of Spain. Depnding on how long you are renting the Villa, you may want a car there too for day trips. <BR><BR>trains are slow in those parts, and busses, while OK, will not give you as much flexibility. <BR><BR>Roads are in good shape for the most part.

Miriam

Definitely by car. We did this trip last year and was most enjoyable. Main and secondary roads are in excellent shape and the view is most beautiful by car. No matter where we stopped for meals the food was excellent and very very reasonable.<BR><BR>Have a wonderful time!<BR><BR>

angel

Agree that a car would give you the most flexibility. Train & bus service does exist & is reasonably priced but their usefulness depends on your itinerary and time frame.

Maira

We drove from Santiago, down towards Porto, stayed at Viana Do Castelo (Efife beach highly recommended!), from Porto on to Salamanca (NH Palacio Castellanos is a wonderful hotel; $100/dble). Great, beautiful driving route through the mountains. Roads is great shape, scenery spectacular (again, stop at Viana or Ponte de Lima; undiscovered gems!). Portugal remains very affordable. Beware of the local drivers, they are always in a hurry, just let them go their merry way. What month are you going?

Maribel

bertha,<BR>We did much of your itinerary last summer, all by car.<BR>For that very long journey, covering that many kms, you'll be extremely glad to have a rental car, particularly during your time in Llanes (love that charming fishing village!), so that you can leisurely explore the coast with its other atmospheric fishing villages and tiny, cove beaches (Ribadesella, La Franca beach-beautiful!-even as far as San Vicente de la Barquera, Comillas and gorgeous Santillana in Cantabria) and also the spectacular Picos de Europa mountain range inland from Llanes (Arriondas, Cangas de Onis, Covadonga, the lakes of Enol and Ercina). As of last July they were still working on finishing up the Autovia de Asturias between Ribadesella and Gijon, so it was slow in parts, but more stretches of it will surely have been fully completed by the time you reach the coast this summer. <BR>These are all spectacular drives, plus the Viano do Castelo, Ponte de Lima portions in the Portuguese Minho, where the travelling will be slower going due to the poorer condition of the roads (pot holes and lots of truck traffic from Valenca do Minho to Viana-did this the end of June-water temps still very cold at the Praia de Afife ), but as Maira rightly says, these are undiscovered gems where time seems to stand still, like going back 30 yrs. <BR>The Galician stretch from Santiago to Baiona on the super fast A9 is a breeze! <BR>The drive along the Costa Verde from west of Gijon into Galicia will be easy and roads in excellent shape but probably a bit slow due to summer vacation and truck traffic. The inland portion from Ribadeo on the far west Asturian coast through Mondonedo to Santiago has wonderful mountain scenery.<BR> The drive from Madrid up to Llanes through Leon and Oviedo is also in good shape. And from Salamanca to Madrid is a snap. However, you might want to turn your car in when you reach Salamanca, a wonderfully walkable small city, and take the first class Auto Res bus (a very easy, pleasant under 2 1/2 hr. ride) or the train back to Madrid, rather than hassle with negotiating the car return in the horrendously congested-at-every-hour Madrid traffic<BR>Check Auto Res schedules, Salamanca-Madrid at<BR>www.auto-res.net <BR>and train schedules at<BR>www.renfe.es<BR><BR>Sounds like a wonderful journey!<BR><BR>P.S. How did you arrange your villa rental in Llanes?

maribel

Maribel thank a lot for your information .I cant wait to get there.Where did you rented the car?<BR>When you arrived in MaDRID or from here the USA.I speak fluent spanish so perhaps this will help there. Also I rented the village from a Asturiano co-worker that their parents own several of them. Very resaonable rent.If you are interest it when I came back I can give you more information and even send you some pictucres. i am going with my daughter and a friend.Thanks, again, Muchas gracias. Bertha

Maribel

Bertha,<BR>I always arrange our summer car rentals for Spain in the US-much, much better rates. I've used Europcar, Hertz and Avis, but some here swear by Auto Europe. Auto Europe's rates have just never beaten the others for our particular dates and itinerary. <BR>Yes, I'd really like to hear about your experiences with your rented villa in Llanes. We've stayed in a couple of "Casonas Asturianas" in the Llanes-Ribadesella area-have never rented-but have thought about staying a week or two some day. Every time we're there we run into American families visiting their Asturian relatives in that part of the coast. I'd really enjoy seeing pictures of your rental place. <BR>Muchas gracias y buen viaje. <BR>

Maribel

Maribel, thanks for your information about the car. Another question where can I get a good map and did you took the route from Madrid to Segovia then to Leon and Oviedo to get to the Costa Verdeand also do you think that is possible to get to Porto, Portugal and back to Spain via Salamanca and then MaDRID? uN MILLON DE GRACIAS.