jmq21

Visiting Northern Spain the last two weeks in April, 2018. All related adults. Landing in Barcelona and renting a car and a villa north of Barcelona (Premia de Dalt in Maresme). We are making that villa our "base" for the first part (week) of the trip.

For the first week, we will spend a few days in Barcelona (traveling to/from by train of course). After that, we will drive up the northern coast to visit some of the coastal towns that are driving distance from the house. After we do that and depending on how much time we have left of that first week, we might travel to other towns that are less than 2 hours from our villa. Maybe as far as Zaragoza, not sure?

For the second part of the trip (second week), we plan to move our base location since we are driving west, to the Rioja region. Top on our list is to visit a few (maybe 1-3) bodegas (wineries). Also San Sebastian, Bilbao, some of the green coast depending on time (only have one week).
On the day before we depart (April 28th) we have to drive and stay in Madrid to return the rental car and catch our flight back to the US. We've already been to Madrid so we are not planning in sightseeing there.

I would like to ask your opinions for these three questions:

- What would be a good place (town) to stay for the second part of our trip? Logrono?
- What 3 towns do you consider to be "must do" towns on the list for the FIRST part?
- What 3 towns do you consider to be "must do" towns on the list for the SECOND part?

We are all adults, family, very active, not huge museum people, love Spanish food and wine. Want to experience as much of the Spanish culture as we have time.
Thanks in advance for your help.

kja

Are you sure that you can see and experience what you want with this plan in this time frame? This plan sounds unpleasantly ambitious to me – too much time in transit for far too little time to actually see or do anything while in any of these fascinating places. Just as an example, I found 5 full and VERY busy days barely sufficient for the highlights of Barcelona, and I was staying in the heart of the city! With 2 weeks, you should be able to see and experience some wonderful things, but it might take a bit of attention to priorities.

If you haven’t already done so, I strongly recommend that you plot your trip – and the places you hope to visit – on a calendar. As you plan, note that many things in Spain are closed on Monday, and often for all or part of Sundays too; and many things in Spain will also be closed daily for a very long mid-day break.

Unfortunately, I don't believe I can answer your three specific questions, not only because I can’t imagine a single base for the second part of your trip, but also because I don’t believe any of us can specify “must-dos” for anyone else – people’s interests are simply too different, and IMO, vive la différence!

If you haven’t already seen it, you might find some useful information on the Rioja region and northern Spain in my trip report:
Four Awesome Weeks in the North of Spain and Catalunya

I take it you already have your flights and are committed to flying out of Madrid? And if so, are you sure that driving there will be your best option?

One last thing: If there is any chance that you will have jet lag (and if coming from Alabama, as your profile suggests, you WILL have jet lag), I would strongly encourage you to take public transportation for your first night or two. Although many people are not aware of it, there is mounting evidence that driving with jet lag is just as dangerous -- to yourself and others -- as driving drunk, and nothing you can do will prevent the microsleeps (which you might not even notice) that are the apparent culprit. Seriously -- NOT a good idea, no matter your other constraints and no matter your prior experience! And please be patient with me if you think I’m being overly adamant, but I know too many people who have died or been seriously injured in accidents to which jet lag was a contributing factor, and I know too many people who will spend the rest of their lives dealing with the knowledge that they were responsible for accidents that resulted in multiple deaths, including those of children, all because they were too confident in their ability to drive safely with jet lag. The issue has become a bit of a cause célèbre for me….

Hope that helps!

Robert2016

There will be only so much you can do with only one week (7 days?). The drive from your location in Catalunya will eat up most of one day. The drive, with stops for lunch and fuel, will that at least 8 hours, so I hightly recommend staying in Logroño, if you can find a room at this late late. Try the AC hotel. Parking is available.

You will have a full 5 days for wine touring, just remember, you’ll need reservations in advance. If you don’t speak Spanish, that limits when and where you can visit.

Visiting San Sebastián-Donostia from the Rioja will require a long day. The drive is around 2-1/2 hours each way. Bilbao is a little over an hour from Logroño.

If you’re up to it, I would do 3 nights in the Rioja, 2 in the Ribera del Duero and finish up with a night in Madrid.

Have you checked out Maribel’s Guide to the Rioja?

ekscrunchy

If you have a big budget, I cannot imagine a better hotel for Ribeira del Duero than Le Domaine, in the midst of a glorious vineyard not far from Penafiel. One of the best hotel experiences i've had during more trips to Spain than I can count. Maribel's guides are fantastic resources.

jmq21

You have some good points. We are now going to look in a place to stay near the city center Bilbao. Want the ability to walk to places at night and not be isolated in a rural area of a small town. From there, we will go to some wineries around Haro and Logrono. Will also drive to San Sebastian.
Not sure if we have any more time to do anything else. I wanted to go to Santander but not sure we'll get to.
We only really have 4 out of the 6 days since 2 days are reserved to drive from /to Barcelona.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Jeannette

mikelg

I´d visit wineries around Laguardia, much better than Logroño...in my opinion. Santander may be worth it, but not a "historical" city.