benjistyle

We are planning a trip through Spain in August with our 1-year-old daughter. Our itinerary (still a draft!) follows. I'm concerned that we will be driving too much but we really would like to see all these places. Any suggestions?

Day 1 - Madrid
Day 2 - Madrid
Day 3 - Laguardia (stop between Madrid and San Sebastian)
Day 4 - San Sebastian
Day 5 - San Sebastian
Day 6 - Gavarnie, France (easy hikes with a 1-year-old in the Pyrynees)
Day 7 - Gavarnie, France
Day 8 - Alquezar (we know it's out of the way but looks like a fantastic place)
Day 9 - Andorra (is it worth the drive from Alquezar?)
Day 10 - Andorra
Day 11 - Barcelona
Day 12 - Barcelona

Thank you in advance for any tips and suggestions!

Pvoyageuse

"Day 9 - Andorra (is it worth the drive from Alquezar?)"

IMO no. The drive from Alquezar is a minimum of 4 hours. Add a minimum of 3.5 hours the next day to get to Barcelona and you will have spent 8 hours in 2 days on the road. Andorra in August is a zoo. You'll be lucky if you find a hotel for one night.

TonyBishop

Like Andorra, Gavarnie is also a zoo in August, the month when the Spanish and French take their annual vacations. It is unspeakably awful throughout the whole of that month.

Andorra is never worth visiting unless you are going there for the mountains, and that requires more than a fleeting visit. It is a long strip of shops selling cheap-ish consumer goods and booze to crowds of tourists. Since the Pyrenees is a mountain range, there is no need to drive to Andorra along congested, winding roads to see mountains.

TonyBishop

"Day 4 - San Sebastian
Day 5 - San Sebastian"
Unless you already have a hotel booked, you can forget that. It is very crowded in August too.

benjistyle

Thanks for the comments! We already have hotel reservations for San Sebastian and Gavarnie. Thanks for the comments on Andorra. We are definitely mountain lovers. It might be worth going somewhere else on the Pyrenees.

Rastaguytoday

I would highly suggest spending the night in Burgos. Nice small city with a Cathedral on the river. Good food and perfect for an after dinner stroll.

I've taken the southern route from San Sebastian to Barcelona.

Going along the northern edge of Spain, spending the night in a lovely town, Jaca, which is on the edge of the Pyrenees.

From there north into the Parc Nacional d'Ordesa y Monte Perdido, which is about 12km from the French border.

Went along the northern edge of the Pyrenees until I dropped down to head to Barcelona.

Kwoo

Two days is not enough for Barcelona. We were there for 5 days & didn't see everything. I would suggest dropping Andorra & add those days to Barcelona.