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15 days in Spain

Hello,

We will exploring Spain with our 2 kids, 15 & 18, from June 19 - July 3 this year. We have decided to rent a car and drive, starting from San Sebastian, and ending in Barcelona. We love food, culture, some art, outdoor activities, and music. Here's what we're thinking of doing...

  • San Sebastian (3 nights) - day trip to Pyrenee region ??
    (drive to Leon area ) - along the coast ??

  • Leon / Ponferrada area (3 nights) - day trips to Santiago de Compostela - Zamora ?? - A Coruna ??
    (drive to Cordoba - all day)

    • Cordoba (4 nights) - day trips to Seville, Granada, Malaga ?? (drive to Barcelona - all day) - which towns to stop by along the way?
  • Barcelona ( 5 nights) - day trip to Girona? Andorra ??

We do like road trips so driving is not a problem. But is this too ambitious?
Is end of June too hot to spend 4 nights in Cordoba?
Should we spend more time up North and skip Southern Spain?

Any tips for a beautiful drive to explore Spain would be truly appreciated.

Thank you,
NL

Posted by
7160 posts

That’s a lot of driving. Ponferrada is about 67 miles from Leon and would be an easy day trip, as would Zamora at 89 miles. When we went last year (started in Madrid) we spent nights in Zamora - Leon - Villa Franca del Bierzo (13 miles west of Ponferrada) - Santiago de Compostela, in that order. We kept driving to a few hours a day and planned stops en route; castles, smaller towns, places along the Camino de Santiago. Santiago is pretty far from Leon so not really a day trip. To me Andorra is only worth driving through on the way to France. Overall, I think you plan is over ambitious. Last year’s trip was 18 days and we never traveled south of Madrid or east of Pamplona.

Posted by
28085 posts

I agree; I think that's way too much territory. If you haven't already done so, check your planned travel legs and day-trips against the driving-time estimates provided by ViaMichelin.com, keeping in mind that VM is thought to be over-optimistic and does not include any time for stops, finding parking, getting lost, etc.

The weather in Andalucía is likely to be very hot in late June, so I'd drop that part of the itinerary and plan to cover it sometime when you can travel earlier or later in the year.

Skip Andorra. There are some nice places up in that area, but I've only seen places in or near the Cerdanya Valley, which is surprisingly hot in the summer. We need input from someone who has traveled through the Pyrenees by car.

Between San Sebastian and Leon you could spend a night or two in the Picos de Europa area. The little stone town of Potes is perhaps the main gateway to the park, and it is very atmospheric (though not undiscovered). I think there are some active-sport opportunities in that area that your teenagers might enjoy.

There are many interesting smaller towns on and near the northern coast, plus the larger Bilbao. You might want to see whether you can get tickets for the Altamira Cave Replica that's not far from Santillana del Mar.

I liked Girona a lot, and it's also a convenient base for Figueres (if you want to see the wackadoodle Dali Theatre and Museum), the picturesque former fishing village of Cadaques (or other beach towns in the area), and the little town of Besalu with its fortified bridge.

Posted by
7175 posts

Your plan just isn’t realistic, spending far too much of your time on the road. Take a step back and appreciate what is reasonably possible within your timeframe and that also allows you to enjoy yourselves.

Day
1. Arrive San Sebastián (2)
2. San Sebastián
3. Drive to Pamplona (1)
4. Drive to Laguardia, Rioja (1)
5. Drive to Bilbao (1)
6. Fly from Bilbao to Sevilla (3)
7. Sevilla
8. Day by train to Cordoba
9. Train to Granada (2)
10. Visit Alhambra
11. Fly from Granada to Barcelona (5)
12.13.14. Barcelona
15. Day by train to Girona
16. Depart Barcelona

Posted by
591 posts

Another possibility would be to follow the Pyrenees down to Barcelona.

Three days in San Sebastian fine. I would recommend visiting the Baztan Valley and the caves there.

You will be there enough before San Fermin so you could visit Pamplona. Besides visiting the city, you could go to the Source of the Urederra near Estella. It is a very nice hike up to some waterfalls. You could also try the Gorge of Lumbier, a about 30mins to the east. There is a nice hike in and around the gorge, and they have rafting in the summer.

From there you could go down to Benasque. There are a lot of outdoor activities to do there, hiking rafting etc. For "tourism" you could visit Jaca, Huesca, the castle Loarre (which was in the movie Kingdom of Heaven), and the monastery of San Juan de la Peña.

Then you could head east to the Valle de Boi. It is a UNESCO patrimony site. Lots of hiking and romanesque churches.

From there you could cross the border. Maybe even make it up to Carcassone, then out to the coast. Maybe two or three nights on the coast at Narbonne or Perpignan.

As for music on the 23-24 in Vitoria is the Azkena Festival but Van Morrison and Joan Jett might be more interesting for you than the kids, but there are also many new bands.