Travel from Madrid, San Sebastian and Barcelona
 

I am traveling with my two teenage sons to Madrid in June. I would like to spend a couple of days in Madrid, then go to Barcelona and San Sebastian. Can anyone recommend if I should fly, take the train or rent a car between those cities? If we rent a car, suggestions on places to stop along the way? Is it easy to naviagate? We are only there for 8 days, so I would like to spend 2-3 days in each place - it is also my sons 18th birthday - so a recommendation for a special place for dinner would be great!
Thank you!!

Are you already committed to plane tickets for arrival and departure in Spain? In and out of Madrid? If so, give some serious thought to skipping Barcelona and going to San Sebastian to rent a car and spending some time along the beautiful Basque coast. But Barcelona fans (not me) might disagree and tell you the opposite.

If you are committed to Barcelona, I suggest that at some point you rent a car to travel between San Sebastian and Barcelona, which is about a 6 hour drive.

Your son might more enjoy a birthday party of tapas than a sit-down Spanish meal at 10pm at night.

Well the Spanish rail system is now one of the tops in Europe - high-speed trains blaze around at nearly 200 mph and the cities you mention are not that car-friendly - large areas off limits to cars - parking expensive and can be hard to find - hotels may not offer parking - so for cities IMO hop the train and there are also overnight trains between those cities - give the kids the experience of an overnight train and save on the cost of a hotel to boot.

Great sites for info on Spanish trains - www.renfe.com - the official Spanish Railways site; www.seat61.com; http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id30.html and www.ricksteves.com. There is also a Spain Railpass if traveling between those three far-removed system it may be a good deal if you desire flexibility to hop any train once you get there - otherwise scour renfe.com for online discounts that may be impossible to change however or refund and often must be booked weeks in advance to get as they are sold in limited numbers. For fully flexible travel the pass could be a good deal - anyway www.renfe.com has all the fares to compare to the pass. the pass is a better deal in first class and IME first-class for a party of three wanting to sit together is much more relaxed - often lots of empty seats IME - seats are bigger, more room for luggage, etc. For the trip of a lifetime pay extra for first class IMO.

Travelling between Madrid and Barcelona loose nearly one day.
Travelling between Barcelona and SS loose nearly one day.
Travelling between SS and Barcelona or Madrid* loose nearly one day.
*Depends on where you leave Spain from.
That is around 3 days lost out of the 8 days in Spain.
Maybe you will suffer jet lag if so then another day lost.
maybe only visit one location for just 8 days.

Are you from the US?

Here are some considerations:

US-Spain Air:
Madrid is easiest, then Barcelona. San Sebastian is hardest. Bilbao is easier, but not as easy as Madrid or Barcelona. I have flown into Bilbao and out of Madrid, and it took me a while to come up with a satisfactory itinerary.

Inside Spain:
Madrid-Barcelona is least hassle by Renfe train. Air means about the same total time, but you go through security hassles and can't use phone/laptop at many points of journey.

Barcelona-San Sebastian, San Sebastian-Madrid.
The San Sebastian airport is really in Hondarribia at French border. From there you either need to take a city bus or a taxi into San Sebastian. For this reason, you would probably fly in/out of Bilbao and take frequent bus to San Sebastian from the Bilbao airport. This way, you have more flight choices without adding that much time. Train connections from SS to Madrid or Barcelona are ~6hrs. There are not that many trains for San Sebastian-Barcelona. So if you drive, this is the segment for driving.

Buses, while cheaper, take longer and on mountain routes, they take turns very fast and care make you car sick. However, I found some of them have free highspeed WiFi on board. I was able to use a smartphone in WiFi mode when the bus was on highway on Sepulvedana bus into Madrid.

Thank you all! Yes Greg, I am from the US and I appreciate all of your comments!
Looks like I will fly from Madrid to SS - drive from SS to Barcelona and then maybe fly from Barcelona to Madrid
If I drive from SS to Barcelona, can you recommend a town that we should stop along our way?

There is a festival in Barcelona on June 24 - should we stay for that? We leave out of Madrid on the 25th, and I was thinking we could fly early in the AM to get our flight?

"then maybe fly from Barcelona to Madrid" - have you thought about taking the train? It's just over 2hrs on the AVE. Flying will take up more time (getting to airport, checking in, etc).

Spain Air no longer exist! It went by the wayside some time ago.

As noted, three destinations in such a short time is one too much. If you do want to see something beyond Madrid, then pick either San Sebastian-Donostia or Barcelona. Both have beaches, offer great cuisine and have a nightlife.

Flying would be the quickest way to reach San Sebastian (1 hour flying time), but I'd opt for the train from Madrid to Barcelona, city center to city center.

Depending on your dates, hotel rooms in San Sebastian are in short supply the first weekend of June because of the Bruce Springsteen concert, and the fact that the Maria Cristina will still closed for renovation.

Fly from Madroid to Bilbao in one hour. Direct bus to San Sebastián from the airport in 70 mins. A fantastic city. http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/08/07...tin-spain.html

Dozens of hotel standard and friendly hostals in the center of San Sebastián if you have problems finding hotels. Often family owned and usually smaller rooms than at the hotels, but private baths, tv, safe and often the best atmosphere.

Hotels in San Seb: http://www.booking.com/city/es/san-s...FYUw3wodvC1CHg

Vueling in now flying into San Sebastian-Donostia, if you want to keep up on the latest.

flying allows you to see airports, tarmacs and a handful of huge cities but nothing of the lay of the land in between - you may see Barcelona and Madrid and Donostia by flying between them but you will not have seen any of Spain a'tal!

Listen to PalenQ.

If you change your mind and drive to SS, see the sites along the way and spend the night in Burgos, a lovely town almost due north from Madrid.

It's such a pretty place with the cathedral along the river.

A special place to eat in San Sebastian is Arzak, a very highly rated restaurant (top 10 in the world), and relatively speaking, not nearly as expensive as most French pretentious restaurants. The father / daughter owners are both very friendly and like to come out and talk to the guests.

Family owned and in its third generation of Basque chefs.

As Pal says, the trains in Spain are very good. It's only 2.45 on the train and no check in so I think you'd be crazy to fly... even the route up to SS takes longer (obviously) - about 5/6hrs depending on if you go from Barcelona or Madrid, but you get to see the lie of the land... and 1hr flight time isn't really a comparison with checkin/transfers anyway. Just a thought.

A quite tedious 5-6 hours train/bus drive between Madrid and San Sebastian, perhaps break it up with a night in Burgos?

Good news that Vueling now flies one daily directly between Barcelona and San Sebastian! The Bilbao option though still has a lot more connections both nationally and internationally and is usually cheaper. 20 mins with bus from the San Sebastian/Hondarribia airport and 70 mins from Bilbao airport to San Sebastian.

Well arrived in San Sebastian, you are in the best location to explore the beautiful Basque region, both the rugged coast with small fishing villages and great beaches and the rolling and mountanious inland could easily be addictive.

Burgos I thought was a really nice surprise city to stay in - great cathedral and a neat old monastery amongst old wooden buildings, etc.

Thank you all for your help! I wish I could bring you all on our trip!
I welcome all restuarants and must sees in Madrid and Barcelona!

If you do make the drive from SS to Barcelona, you might consider an overnight at Parador Bielsa. Beautiful setting, but not much,if any, of a town to see. Would be a beautiful setting to spend the night and enjoy the surrounding snowy peaks.

after reading all of your remarks - I am just going to spend our time in Madrid and Barcelona - taking in all of the day trips that each town has to offer.
Now my question is - there is a festival on the 24 of June in Barcelona - our flight is on the 25 out of Madrid - is it worth it to stay in Barcelona for it (St Joan?) and then fly to Madrid in the morning of the 25th?

Montserrat is my favorite day trip from Barcelona!