Our itinerary is slowing taking shape as we study guidebooks and websites. We arrive in Madrid July 10, and depart on the 24th. We prefer a leisurely pace with plenty of time to savor the experience.

Our thought at this point is to begin with a few days in Salamanca (where my niece is teaching), with a day trip to Ciudad Rodrigo. Then north to Leon. From Leon our interests go in both directions. We'd like to visit Santillana del Mar perhaps, Potes, Fuente De. We also are interested in heading west to Santiago de Compostela and Galicia. But perhaps it would be better to choose one or the other, we're eager to hear your opinions.

And, ribeirasacra, we'd love to hear the suggestions you said you have for Galicia.

Heading south again, we'd like to visit Segovia. (Maribel's guide is very helpful!) We'll likely spend our last two days in Madrid. Cuenca sounds interesting as well, so maybe that should be in the mix.

It would be really helpful to hear your thoughts on how to allocate time. This is a wish-list of stops, still very much subject to editing to keep it manageable.
Thanks!

Barbara,
I'm a big fan of "slow travel", particularly in Northern Spain, which is such a huge area, so I'll encourage you to choose one over the other upon reaching Leon after a few days in Salamanca and returning to Segovia. (BTW, I have a new version up of my Segovia guide now).

And it makes more sense, I think, logistically to make a Madrid-Salamanca-Zamora-Santiago and rest of Galicia-Leon-
Valladolid-Segovia-Madrid loop.
That would be the itinerary I would choose for my own 2 weeks.

I do love Cuenca, but it's kind of "on the way to nowhere", making it best as a detour when going east to Levante. If you had an extra day in Madrid for a different day trip, it could be done by train/bus in a long day (I've done it). But I'd save it for another time. And remember that it will be very hot in Cuenca in mid July. The cooler weather you'll have in the north, presumably, but one never knows any more!

For the Galicia portion, in addition to Santiago, I love visiting Baiona, the celtic castro of Monte Santa Tecla, making a little foray down into the Portuguese Minho (to Viana do Castelo and its beaches, Ponte de Lima), driving west to east along the Minho, the ancient Jewish quarter of Ribadavia, exploring the Rias Baixas coastal villages (and wineries) like Cambados, the drive from Noia to Camarinas (lace town), the spa island of La Toja (but LOTS of crowds on these roads in July).

From Baiona or Vigo you can take a boat trip out to the Islas Cies in July.
And Pontevedra is lovely (but again, crowded in July).

From Santiago north, I'd go to the Pontedeume region (visit Betanzos) and the Costa do Morte to Viveiro.

Coming back east, the walled city of Lugo is also very pleasant, and of course, following the part of the Camino would be nice.

But it will be high season in that area, so lodging reservations are a must.

And ribeirasacra, of course, can give you the inside scoop about his area. I want to take that boat trip down the River Sil some day.

Hope this helps get you started.

Thanks, Maribel. We'll save Cuenca for another visit, as you suggest. I think some of our choices will be determined by where we can find lodging.
How many days would you suggest for Leon? Segovia?

Barbara
For Segovia, I'd suggest 2 nights so that you can make a little detour to delightful Pedraza (lots has been written here by escruchy, amsdon and me about our favorite little medieval town in the province). Or a castle or two (all in my guide).

For León, I like 2 nights (we stay at the Parador) so that I can take a full day trip over to Astorga, charming Castrillo de Polvazares, Ponferrada (castle) and down to Peña de Santiago. But...if you're headed west to Galicia you can pick up some of these stops on the way to or from there. And I love going for tapas at night to the Barrio Húmedo, and remember to see the cathedral and its stained glass windows illuminated at night.

Again, I can't stress enough getting reservations for your lodging ASAP because it's high season.

I agree with Maribel's urging you to try to book reservations before your trip; but from my experience, Peak Season begins with la Virgen de Carmen (16 Jul), about the same time as Santander's Fiesta de Santiago. If I were going to be in that area about then, I would stay in Santander a few days and daytrip to los Picos (Potes & Fuente De) and Santillana del mar. You'll miss the festivities in Santiago itself unless you can change your return date.
I did that once: 7 AM flight from Santiago to Madrid, connecting with an 11:30 AM departure MAD-EWR

Hi NED,
Speaking of peak season in Santander, from my experience as well, it begins July 15 or after. That's why we've been able to stay hotels on El Sardinero before July 15 with Bancotel coupons!
I noticed the rate at the Hoyuela this year jumps about 60 euros on July 16.

But when researching for our upcoming stay outside of the city at a Casona, I found that for some, about half, high season started July 1, for others July 15 and for some casonas, high season didn't start until Aug. 1.
Unfortunately, the ones we had on our short list have high season rates for our dates in early July! But at least we get a little break for the first 4 nights,
because we're staying June 27-July 4.

So, yes, you're absolutely right. It does vary, and in Santander, peak season starts later.

Hi there, I have different views than Maribel, I much prefer inland Galicia. Like her I would suggest you add Lugo to your list, it is a much underrated city which rightly deserves its world heritage status. It is just an hour by bus from SdC. The countryside between is nothing special though.
The city of Ourense is nice with its hot springs to bath in, some are free others are just a few Euros. If you want to visit them take your swimming costume and towel. It also has a nice old quarter, but it seems to die (little activity) during lunchtime, unlike Lugo. Near Ourense is a small town of Ribadavia, it is well know for being in the heart of a wine growing area and for it castle and old Jewish quarter.

http://www.redjuderias.org/red/en/rv...via/index.html
http://www.turismourense.com/

I do not like Vigo ( the largest and most industrialised city in Galicia) so if you want to see the Islas Cies then I would suggest you leave from Baiona.

http://www.riasbaixas.depo.es/cies/i...&id_menu=1
Loads more information on (downloadable PDF information too)
http://www.turgalicia.es

Getting around by public transport is ok but you will never get to see all the nooks and crannies here.

PS should add tow things, The 25th July is a big festival in SdC so do not stay there during your last week as it will be very very busy. You may not even be able to get a room by this stage.
Also A Coruña to the north of SdC is easily reachable by train and is worth a day or so, especially if you want a beach and some evening entertainment.