Travel Through Northern Spain
 

We are a party of 5 (22, 21 and 20, then Mom and Dad). We have eight days to travel across northern Spain from Madrid in early July. We would like to travel first to Salamanca, then head north to the coast of Asturias, then east to Cantabria, Pais Vasco, La Rioja, then hightail it to Barcelona. I see that the ALSA buses connect these points so we will not have our own car. Is this enough time? And is there anything we "must see"?

You will see more of the inside of a vehicle and not really see anything. Far too ambitious.

From La Rioja, we would go directly to Barcelona, skipping all points in between. Does that make a difference? Our main stops would be Salamanca, then somewhere around Gijon, Santander, Bilbao, La Rioja. They all appear to be within a days' drive of each other. Still too ambitious?

I'm new to the forum - I guess I'm supposed to give all details about myself to make this easier for those of you who care to respond. That said, I am a Californian who doesn't bat an eye at driving 500 miles in one day to reach a destination.

That said, if the above itinerary is still too ambitious, perhaps some pointers as to how we can par it down?

Thank you.

You should decide what is important to you. Eight days is just enough to see Madrid and Barcelona. It does not matter that you are willing to drive long distances in a day, but that you will eat up much of the time just traveling from town to town. There are certain towns that are connected by wide and fast roads, others not. I would get a map and a guide book and decide what you want to see.

%00 miles in The US is very different to 500 miles in Spain. There are a number of reasons, maybe too many. But if you have never driven here before there is noway to you should contemplate this sort of day trip.
Besides you will not see anything if you change location each night.
In this case think about this please " travel less and see more".
Have you also allowed tip to get over jet lag? Driving with this is not nice and is dangerous.

I agree, while its fine to be willing to drive 500 miles, it doesnt give you any time to actually see anything in your locations. I assume you want to soak up some atmosphere, have good food, relax, see some museums etc. If you drive 500 miles everyday you will see the inside of your car, likely an unscenic highway, more than the places you actually are paying all this money to enjoy. And imagine 4 adults 'trapped' in a car for hours on end on the hwy every day of the vacation - that doesnt sound like fun to me. I would cut down your locations. With 8 days I would choose 2 locations at most.

Thanks for all of your comments. I think I'm missing something here. First of all, we will be on the ALSA buses. A cursory check indicates that the run from Gijon to Santander, for example, is maximum 3.5 hours. If we stay 2 nights in each location, I don't see how we can miss - a night on our travel day and an entire day the next day to relax. I don't see how that is being trapped in a car.

Second, this is only 8 days of a 3.5 week trip. We have other plans (including a week in a rented house in Andalucia). So we will have plenty of time to relax.

Again, thanks for your input. I will take it into consideration.

Still not a very practical itinerary. The distances or destinations are not the problem, it's the number of hotel changes in only 8 days.

If Salamanca is your first stop on this adventure after Madrid, I assume that you are aware that the bus from Salamanca to Gijon takes 5 hours, plus the time to get to and from the bus stations. The only departures from Salamanca to Gijon are at 2:05 am, 7:45 am, 2:15 pm and 6:15 pm.

As far as "must sees", you might be interested in downloading some of Maribel's Guides (Pais Vasco, Rioja, Barcelona & Madrid).

Sorry - missed the bit about the buses - but that still doesnt change that I would cut down on the changes.

You still have to organize 4 people to check out, get to the bus depot, wait for bus, travel approx. 3.5 hours, get off bus, get to hotel, check in, settle, then head out. Each time. That will take most of the day.

I count 4 travel days out of your available 8 days:
Madrid to Salamance
Salamanca to Coast of Asturias
Coast of Asturias to Cantabria, Pais Vasco, La Rioja (how do you plan to cover all this in a 1 night and 1 day??)
Cantabria to Barcelona

This leaves 4 days, so I am assuming you have time in Madrid and Barcelona allocated outside these 8 days.

Doable - probably. If thats your style of travel go for it. I tend to prefer less moving around and more time IN the locations I am in, but to each there own.

I agree with checking out Maribel's guides!

Sorry, meant 5 people

Yep, that about does it for me. Answers my original question - not enough time. Although, yes, this has been our style in the past. Ending with a very long stay somewhere before heading home. We will have plenty of time in Madrid (3 days at the beginning and 4 days at the end) and 3 days in Barcelona. My son is in Madrid studying right now. He has all kinds of places he wants us to see, so I think we'll cut back on that trip through the north.

Thanks for the input! I will check out the Maribel's guides.

I think you will be very happy with that decision! Enjoy!

Pike, I am sorry I got it wrong about driving. I was looking at your posting where you say
"That said, I am a Californian who doesn't bat an eye at driving 500 miles in one day to reach a destination."
I thought you had changed your mind about bussing everywhere.

@ribeirasacra that's OK. What I meant was, we don't mind a long ride in a vehicle to reach a destination (bus or car). In fact, buses are a good way to go because we can stretch out and relax. My son has been in Spain since August and is very impressed with the bus system there. Still trying to work out the Northern Spain itinerary. We may add a few days at the beginning of the trip to accomodate the "many stops". Thanks.

Hi pikeplace,

I have traveled quite a bit by bus in Spain, mainly in the North. I have used ALSA, Continental- Auto, and others. Yes, you're right, it's a great transportation network. I do agree your original plan was a bit ambitious.

Let me put out there the routes I have done, all by bus:

Madrid to Salamanca (3 nights)
Salamanca to Zamora (1 night)
Zamora to León( 2 nights)
León to Oviedo(2 nights)- day trip by bus to Gijón
Oviedo to Cangas de Onís(Picos de Europa) - (2 nights)
Cangas de Onís- Santander (2 nights)
Santander- Bilabo (1 night)

The above was all done in one trip and it didn't feel squizophrenic. I have also traveled by ALSA bus from Santander to Santiago de Compostela (with a one night stopover in Oviedo) , and also from Santander to Burgos.

The buses are very comfortable and clean. Good luck with your plans. Northern Spain is beautiful, my favorite part of Spain.

Sorry, I meant "Bilbao".

It doesn't sound fun. I guess technically it could be done.

Why do all that with a bus instead of a car?

It's been awhile since I last checked in here - since then we've added a few days to the beginning of our trip and now have a ten day window to get from Madrid to Barcelona. Still have not booked any of it. Still open to recommendations.

Bus instead of car? Comfort, ease - there are 5 of us. Cost - most likely we'll save money versus driving expenses. Recommendation -many tell us that the buses are a comfortable and efficient way to travel. We compromise flexibility -that's a given.