My husband & I and 2 other couples are taking a cruise in Sept., in & out of Barcelona. We would like to spend some additional time before and/or after seeing part of spain. We are not real museum type people, more adventurous and scenery. anyone have any suggestions? Have read alot about Bilboa/San Sebastian area; Costa del Sol,etc. Anything different-like a short bike trip etc? Any ideas for itinerary or routes, places to stay(padreras)? any info would be very appreciated.

If you can get to Madrid, its a great base for renting a car and driving to Avila, El escorial and the best, Segovia. The scenery is great, old castles and you drive thru mountain passes with lovely lakes and the towns are just perfect for wandering thru.

How much time are you planning on spending before or after your cruise?

Barcelona is a long way from Madrid, Bilbao/San Sebastian-Donostia, and especially Andalucia and the Costa del Sol. If you don’t have much time and want to visit any of these regions, each with it’s own beauty, then you would be best off flying and picking up a rental car once you arrive.

If you do have the time before your cruise, then one option you have would to begin you journey in Bilbao and follow the road to Gernika and then along coast to San Sebastian-Donostia and Hondarribia before heading through the Bidasoa valley to Pamplona-Iruna (Navarra). From Pamplona you take the N240 past Sangüesa and the Monasterio de Leyre to Jaca (Aragon) and south on the N330 to Huesca. From Huesca you pick up the N240 again and head east through Barbastro and the N123 to Benabarre. At Benabarre you have the choice to head south to Lleida/Lérida on the N230, or go in the opposite direction, north on the N230, through the Vall del Noguera Ribagorcana to Vielha in the Vall d’Aran. The valley will be spectacular in September before the snow begins to fall. From Vielha you follow the road east through the valley towards Sort and then follow the N260 which will eventually lead you to Girona and into Barcelona.

This little adventure through some of Spain’s most spectacular regions can be done in as little as a few days, or you can take as long as you want. There are a number of excellent Paradors all along this route as well as several other good hotels to choose from.

You could also do the same with the region around Madrid with visits to Avila Salamanca and Segovia, or in Andalucia with a drive from Sevilla to Ronda before finishing up in Málaga and Granada.

thanks for the info. Do you have any idea how long it would take to go from Barcelona to Bilboa-should we rent a car, train or fly? If you know the names of the paradors that would be great. Also, can you take a day trip to Valencia from Barcelona-want to go to the LLadro factory. Thanks

The most charming Spanish region is Andalucia. But it's very far from Barcelona. There are nearly 1000 kms from Barcelona to any andalucian city. So it's difficult to go from Barcelona to the Costa del Sol.
From Barcelona to Bilbao there are 620 kms, about 6 hours by car. Is the same distance from Barcelona to Madrid (600 kms).
From Barcelona to Valencia there are 350 kms, nearly four hours by car, so a day trip to Valencia it's very hard.
But if you don't mind fly, you can take a flight from Barcelona to Malaga (Costa del Sol), or Sevilla and explore Andalucia, visiting Sevilla, Granada, Cádiz, Córdoba and the coastal of Málaga.
If you want to go to the Basque Country, I think it's much more beautiful San Sebastian than Bilbao, the only problem in the Basque country it's the weather, usually cloudy and rains a lot.
Other itinerary: From Barcelona to Madrid by car or flying, and seeing Madrid and the cities around Madrid, Toledo, Ávila, Segovia and Salamanca.

About the paradors:

www.parador.es

Thanks Laura-I know the paradors website, just wondered if anyone knew of a particular one in either area-San Sebastian or malaga?

Anyone know how far Gibraltar is from Malaga? and transportation to/from? Is it worth seeing?

I don't know exactly how far is Gibraltar from Málaga, but isn't far, about 100 kms. But in Gibraltar there is nothing to see, there are horrible monkeys and people speaking English with a strong andalucian accent. If you are in Málaga it's better to go to Granada (100 kms) and you see the Alhambra instead of the monkeys.

You can go to the parador in Nerja. Nerja is a coastal town in Malaga, and it's also very near Granada. It's between the two cities.

It's not a problem getting down to Valencia from Barcelona. About 3 hours of highway driving. If your looking for some stops on the way I'd suggest Sitges and Tarragona. Sitges is a nice little beach town. Tarragona has some nice Roman ruins.