I will fly in and out of Barcelona and will rent a car after a few days in the city.
The plan is to stay 3 nights in each of Barcelona, Pyrenees (Tena Valley), Pamplona (alternative is Bayonne France), Bilbao, Burgos, and then back to Barcelona for departure.
should I hike Montserrat on the way to the Pyrenees? After I pick up the car and drive there, it may be closer to noon and may get hot, plus I heard it tends to get busy. It looks sweet though.
are towns in the Tena Valley (Biescas, Escarrila, etc.) good bases for day hikes, relaxing and scenery, or would you recommend places like Jaca?
I plan to cross the Pyrenees and come back to Pamplona from the French side, touring St Jean Piere de Port. Is 3 days too much for Pamplona? I can do some side trips around Pamplona and relax. Alternatively, can stay in Bayonne and tour French Basque country.
Burgos and Pamplona seems less popular in summer as everyone heads for the coast. Are they too hot to be enjoyable without AC? I checked their climate, seems their night time temp is quite comfortable so I should be fine?
I'm staying in Bilbao and Pamplona because accomodations are hard to get in SJ de Luz and Donostia is expensive. I'm also not a huge fan of beaches.