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After bike tour in La Rioja - where to spend more time

Posted by (Centennial, CO, USA) on

We are planning a self guided bike trip in the La Rioja. Will to fly into Bilbao. Bike trip is just 8 days, looking for what to do to fill our time for another week or two. Plan to spend a few days in Bilbao after the bike trip, will head to San Sebastián but then?

Don't care to travel more than 2-3 hours by train. not planning at this time to rent a car.

Been to the Costa Brava region (another bike trip) and spent some time in Barcelona after before flying home.

Last time in Madrid was 1976, but we don't really like big cities (unless we fly into and out, then we stay a few days to tour major sites)
Suggestions along the coast without a lot of back tracking. Any hiking areas easy to access for a day hike? Looked into a Camino, but we don't care to hike 18-20 miles a day, more like 8-10.

Posted by
28082 posts

Hondarribia is a nice day-trip from San Sebastian. You could spend another day dropping into Zumaia/Getaria/Zarautz. From Bilbao you could go to Bermeo. Guernica and coastal Lekeitio, where I've never been, are also possibilities.

The usual suggestion is to travel between Bilbao and San Sebastian by bus, because the train is much, much slower. However, the scenery from the train is nice, so if you have extra time, taking the train wouldn't be a crazy idea. As I recall, the carriages look like you're on a city subway--plastic seats, etc. Don't expect great comfort.

The French Basque area would also be accessible, but if you should spend a few nights there if you want to go. Rick covers some French Basque destinations in his guide to Spain (not France). I liked staying in Bayonne. The small coastal town of St-Jean-de-Luz is attractive. I was less entranced by Biarritz. There are also some mountain village Rick mentions; I'm not sure they're practical destinations without a car, but it's not something I researched.

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