rowersmom

I would appreciate your assessment of this planned itinery:
We have three nights in Barcelona, then drive to Parador de Vielha in the Catalan Pyrenees for three nights.
Next we are heading to Hondarribia to stay in the Parador there for three nights. We will be driving through France at this point.
We will stay in a country house 30 km south of Bilbao for 2 nights.
Next on to Parador de Olite for two nights, then north into France to stay the south of Bordeaux, and from here we fly to Paris.
According to mapquest, the longest drive between Barcelona and Vielha, and between Vielha and Hondarribia is 3 1/2 hours. That is fine with us if that is realistic.
Thanks for your input, and advise re sites in these areas.

Robert2533

You're itinerary is fine except that I would forget about the Parador in Hondarribia. The price has gone up quite a bit and there are a number of better accommodations in Hondarribia, including several great Casa Rurals and the Hotel Obispo (http://www.hotelobispo.com/idiomas/i...ondarribia.htm), which is just around the corner from the Parador, the Hotel Pempinot (http://www.hotelpampinot.com/en_hotel.htm) and the Hotel Jaizkibel (http://www.hoteljaizkibel.com/ing/Welcome.htm), which is probably the best bargain.

You would also be better off staying in or around Biarritz and flying to Paris for the Biarritz airport then staying south of Bordeaux.

The Parador de Olite is an excellent choice. It was totally renovated two years ago and is very comfortable.

rowersmom

Thanks for that input. I can not see any flights from Bilbao to Paris. The other issue is that we pick up our car in France and I don't know if I can drop it off in Spain if I leave from Bilbao.

Michael

You do not want to drop off the car in Spain if you pick it up in France unless you want to pay a hefty cross-border fee. If ending your trip near Bordeaux, why not take the TGV to Paris? You might be able to get a PREM ticket for 25 euros per person (sncf.com).

Robert2533

There are several daily non-stop flights between Bilbao and CDG Paris on Air France, Air Europa and Iberia, but the TGV is an excellent way to get into Paris and it can be very inexpensive at times. The TVG is a high speed train from Biarritz, north to Paris. You can be there in around 4-1/2 hours and would't have to deal with getting into Paris from CDG.

rowersmom

Thanks to all for your advice- we got a cheap return fare Paris CDG to Toulouse, then Bordeaux to Orly via Air France, and this was cheaper and faster than TGV.