hi everyone!
im new to fodor's and have found a lot of good info and was hoping to get some more for my trip in august 2010. i will be arriving in san sebastian on thursday aug 12 for 4-5nights. i would like to get to a Coruna and Santiago de Compostela for a few nights before i have to get to porto(portugal) to catch a flight to madiera. WOW
my question is how realistic is it to travel by train and bus from san sebastion to coruna/santiago, stay 3-4 nights, then catch a train from there to vigo on to porto?

is it best to just fly from san sebastion to the west coast.found a 4 hour flight for 286 USD, connect in madrid.

i have researched many towns to stay along the way but how easily accessable are they with out renting a car$$$$$

any helpful info would greatly be appreciated.

The train options are not great, but not bad if you have the time. There is the El Transcantábrico, El Expreso de la Robla and Trenes Turisticos del Norte, all are part of FEVE (www.feve.es/).

If you are in a hurry, then flying is the best option.

With the time limitations I wouuld fly. Driving from Vigo to Santiago is over an hour in itself.

When in Madiera be sure to make at least one lavada walk.

A four-hour flight from SS to Galicia…I think that will go via Madrid (south)
I live in Galicia and often have to drive along the Northern coast of Spain. So before I can answer your question what do you mean by “realistic”?
How many of you travelling and what time of year are you planning this trip for?
If you drove you could also see some more interesting places.

Driving time from Donostia (San Sebastian) to La Coruna is about 7 hours. The drive is very scenic. On your route, you will see Bilbao (Frank O. Gehry's Guggenheim Museum is spectacular, even if you see it just from the outside), some of the world's most beautiful coastline (especially the Cantabrian coast is gorgeous), pretty Santander, picturesque villages like Santillana del Mar etc.

thanks for the replies.

ribeirasacra,

we are taking a train form barcelon to san sebastion on Aug 12.
my travel companion and i plan to be in san sebastian on aug 12 - 16, staying at hotel niza or hotel parma, leaving on the 17. After this we are not sure what to do. we are going to spend 5 nights in madiera and want to spend at least 4 nights in lisbon before our flight back home on September 1.

we are thinking about Madiera on monday August 23 to friday Aug 27. then return to lisbon until Sept 1.

we need help deciding what to do between san sebastion and the flight to madiera. some ideas were to:

1. rent a car and drive to la coruna, trains to porto and fly to madiera. leaving on the aug 23. 1 week after san sebastion.

2. do the same just buses and trains.

3. fly from san sebastion to madrid on aug 16 for 2-3nights then get a train to lisbon or porto to fly to madiera. still leaving for madiera on the 23rd.

4. just skip madrid and stay longer on the north coast and get a flight to lisbon before the flight to madiera.

i know my ideas are kind of all over the place but we want to make the best of it. i love to surf, she loves to hang on the beach and see some monuments and other "sites".

thanks again
todd

Thanks for coming back.
I would personally rent a car. Although the flight is 4 hours you may find that getting to and from airports will add at least an hour each way plus the airlines ask you to check-in sometime before hand. So you could end up with most of the day gone for that one flight. Also if you split the cost of a hire car it will work out cheaper than the cost of that flight.

Unless you are desperate to stay in cities I would recommend you take some time along the coast or along the inland route to see some more of Spain.
SdC although can be magical it will not need more than 36 hours to see it all and get a good feel.
Here is the link (that I wrote) giving details on how to get from Vigo to Oporto.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g1...ransport..html

If you want to look at the bus timetable : http://www.alsa.es
Tickets for August are not on sale at the moment. But if you look for other dates you can see the trip takes around 12 hours.


Just to confuse you….You could fly from BCN to SdC direct. Hire a car and go surfing in Galicia too.

Now you have a lot of options it is time to sit down and make some decisions!

I can't remember the last time I spent 7 hours on the road driving and enjoyed it. San Sebastian-Donostia to La Coruna is a minimum of a two-day drive, unless you're a bus driver, and it's your job.

Guía Repsol put the distance at 695 km (434 miles), if you follow the route through Burgos, Leon and Lugo, the most direct route. If you follow the coast, then you can add a few extra hours, even with the new highway, the A8.

hows this sound.
take bus from san sebastian to santander. stay 2 nights exploring. rent car in santander and drive to la coruna. spend 3 nights between la coruna and santiago de comp and then bus and train it to portu.

itinerary
san seb. -Aug 12-17 leave on 17
santander area 17-18 leave on 19
la coruna 19-20 leave on 21
sant de comp 21 leave 22
get to porto 22 spend night
fly to madiera 23 - 27
return to lisbon on 27
return to NY on sept 1.

i like it but is it too ambitious?

any hotel info near santander, comillas, or sant del mar would help my decisions.
you guys rock!

I would enjoy the north coast, Lekeitio to A Coruna. Beautiful country with beautiful beaches.

You seem to have the luxury of time and flexibility. Take advantage of it. Rent a car and take 2-3 days getting to Coruna and S de C. Drop down into the Picos on the way, hit the small places like Llanes and Luarca. That will still leave you enough time to see Galicia.

If you want to tour and enjoy the area, 2 to 3 days will not cut it, just too much to see. You need to set aside the better part of a week, 4 days, to make the trip, spending no more than a couple of hours a day behind the wheel.

You are spending too much time in A Coruna, it is only worth a morning or afternoon. There is great natural beauty in Galciia such as the Riaxas Baixas and Costa da Morte and antiquities such as in Lugo.

Cadogan has a very good book on Northern Spain.

Todd, if I may call you that?
Are you dropping the idea of beach and surfing? I ask this because something in your newer itinerary suggests so. All the other advice you are getting also forget that these are/where your ideals for this vacation.
By his comments Robert either has never driven the route or does not like driving. I live to the south of the city of Lugo and make it to Bilbao in half a day with stops for coffee and if need be a quick bite to eat. The road is good quick and some wonderful scenery. However you will have to pass by many well-known sights to do this journey this quick.
If you are really interested in Surfing then the Cantabrian and Asturian coast is nowhere near as good as The Basque country or Galicia. However there are many excellent beaches all along the northern coast.

I agree with Aduchamp1 A Coruña is not a place to send so much time car in the city could be a hindrance. But maybe base your self somewhere on the Costa Morte, especially given your ideals.

Somo near Santander is a good sport for surfing. Somo beach is gorgeous. Be aware that the beach of San Sebastian has no waves at all (it is a protected bay). IMO, the Cantabrian beaches are way more beautiful than the beach of San Sebastian. Another beautiful beach in Cantabria is Liencres.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULmprmFBov0

http://magicseaweed.com/Playa-de-Somo-Surf-Report/174/

http://www.beachwizard.com/beach.asp...n&beachid=9560

La Zurriola beach in the center of San Sebastián (across the river Urumea) is great for surfing. La Concha/Ondarreta beach is in a protected bay. Close by Zarautz is also a surfers paradise.
http://www.surf-forecast.com/breaks/Zarautz

thanks for the surf reports everyone. i cant wait to explore the coastline. we are feeling like renting a car from san seb on the 17 and make our way to sant de comp, i found by the 21 for a train to porto.
do you think we will need to make sleeping arrangement before or can we find some places as we travel?
also, i found car rental through two spots.
1 - autoeurope.com- 125USD 4 days
2 - cartrawler.com - 320USD 3 days
im confused with these rates. if you know of a reputable company please let me know.

we are getting more excited every moment!
thanks again
best wishes

I'd go with the AutoEurope quote. It's very reliable. We use the at least 4 time/year.