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Cangas de Onis to Fuente De - coastal or interior route

Posted by on

Hello!

I'm trying to decide how to drive from Covadonga to Fuente De in the Picos de Europa. Google Maps shows basically the same amount of time (<2h) for two routes:

  • AS-114 on the northern side of the Picos through Las Arenas
  • A-8 near the coast through Llanes

It seems like there are interesting places to stop and break up the drive either way. Thoughts/recommendations?

Given our rough itinerary (see below), we'll already be getting some mix of coast and mountains. So I'm having trouble between these routes and the stops they offer.

Background:

My wife, daughter (13), and my parents (mid-70s) are making our way this April from Oviedo to Bilbao over the course of 5 days/6 nights. My parents lived in Oviedo 50 years ago with my father attending medical school at the university. It's their first time back in Spain since the days of Franco. My wife is a Spanish teacher in the US and lived in Madrid for a year, and it will be her first time in Asturias/Cantabria and first visit to Spain in a couple of decades as well. I'm very excited to see everything through their eyes.

Here's the rough itinerary we're contemplating:

  • Sat - Madrid/Oviedo
  • Sun - Oviedo
  • Mon - Cudillero/Lastres
  • Tue - Cangas de Onis / Covadonga
  • Weds - Fuente De / Mogrovejo
  • Thurs - Bilbao

Thanks!
Eric

Posted by
4180 posts

Sounds like a very interesting trip, thanks for the background info always helps! Really you can do no wrong here. When I made the same drive I took the AS-114, it was really spectacular as you are following this river as it snakes its way through a deep forested gorge. Though there were not any big places to stop in between, it was mainly rural mountain villages until Potes. I'm thinking the coastal route may be better as it gives both the sea and the mountains, plus you have Llanes, which makes for a good halfway stop.

Also if you are looking for a place to eat in the Picos de Europa area I can highly recommend the restaurant at Hotel del Oso.

Posted by
5 posts

Thank you Carlos! It does sound like we'd enjoy either route. BTW, we are actually staying overnight in the Hotel del Oso, and am very much looking forward to dinner there.

Posted by
5 posts

Definitely! I'm honestly as excited about the food as anything else. From the seafood and bean dishes in Asturias and Cantabria to the pintxos in Bilbao, we are going to eat well. Kind of like the coast vs mountains, I'm also trying to balance the traditional vs modern cuisine. It's hard. Too many good choices and not enough time.

Posted by
28082 posts

I thought the old stone town of Potes was charming, though obviously popular. I was on a bus tour, from Santander, so I wasn't able to set my own route, and I don't actually know what route we took.

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