a honeymoon road trip thru northern spain. ideas?
 

Hey folks, my bride and I are flying into madrid in early september and have 13 days with a rental car to tour around. Our thoughts are to make the loop from madrid north to the spanish coast and then west and south into portugal and back east to madrid. Any thoughts or special romantic tips would be greatly appreciated. low budget for sure, but not backpacking either. thanks

There have been many discussions regarding Northern Spain in recent weeks. Click the box above entitled "View By Country" and click on Spain. And in the Search the Forums Box above try Northern Spain.

For two weeks your trip is far too ambitous. You should get a map of Spain and a guide book and limit your areas so you can actually get out of the car. Immdeiately eliminate Portugal.

Also check the site for Paradores, some are romantic.

http://www.paradores-spain.com/

I would focus on Spain by starting in Madrid and heading through Burgos for a night, through La Rioja for a night or two, San Sebastian for 3 nights. (If it were me I'd spend all 13 days in San Sebastian)From there I'd spend 2 nights in Lekeitio, a night in Santander or Santillana del Mar. Maybe a night in Cangas de Onis, head through the Picos de Europa and end in Santiago for two nights where I would drop off the car and fly back to Madrid. Now that would be a trip.

San Sebastían should definitely be on your list. Fantastic food, great beaches, beautiful landscapes and a culture that people take great pride in. My wife and I have very much enjoyed staying at picturesque, tranquil and good value Pensión Chomín just by the Ondarreta beach. 20-25 mins walk along the famous and beautiful La Concha promenade to the city center and the Parte vieja/Old town with many of the best tapas bars in the world. Try to get one of the rooms with balcony facing Infanta Beatriz.
http://www.booking.com/hotels/hotel/...chomin.en.html

You should know that the 58th edition of the San Sebastián Film Festival is celebrated from 17th to 25th of September.

I'd focus 2 weeks solely in the Rioja (wine country) and the Basque country. This would IMHO make an excellent honeymoon - a mix of larger cities and small villages with very romantic type lodging. There are also several festivals in this area that would give you a different feel for the area. The wine harvest festival in Logrono (around Sept 21), a patronal festival in nearby Olite the 2nd week of September, etc...

I'd probably visit the Rioja for 4-5 nights then Bilbao (2-3 nights), San Sebastian (3 nights) and Lekeitio/Getaria (2 nights). You'd definately want a car to explore the villages in both these areas.

If you haven't seen Maribel's guides they are absolutely an excellent resource for this area with perfect honeymoon lodging recommendations.
http://maribelsguides.com/

thanks for the tips thus far guys. It's always hard to know how much chilling to do versus cruising and packing it in. I think you're right that the honeymoon is a time for more chilling and less rolling. If any of you remember specific hostels or hotels that you enjoyed let me know. thanks

Once again Cathy is right. I would focus on Basque country and La Rioja. I would spend 4-5 nights in SS though.

ttt