Itinerary Feedback Requested - Basque region, Rioja & Asturias (3 weeks)

That area doesn't provide reliable beach weather even in the middle of the summer, unless you plan to travel with a wetsuit or enjoy quite chilly water. You might get lucky, but it's not something I would count on.

I didn't find Pamplona particularly interesting, as many guidebooks indicate. I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to see it.

I think there's more traditional sightseeing to be done in Oviedo than in Gijon, but others will know more about that area.

I prefer Bilbao to touristy San Sebastian and wouldn't want to limit Bilbao to a day trip. However, if you have no interest in its art museums, I guess a day trip to Bilbao would work.

Your route will take you through or at least near the Picos de Europa, a lovely mountainous area. I enjoyed spending some time wandering around the old stone town of Potes. There are hiking possibilities in that area, too.

Some comments:

• Cider is also produced in the Basque Country, plenty of cider farms (which are also restaurants) around Donostia/San Sebastian. A very popular drink here, but it has very little in common with the cider produced in the US. This one is light, refreshing, natural, no bubbles, and no sugar added.
• Baiona/Bayonne makes a better base than St Jean de Luz for the French Basque Country (or Iparralde, as we know it).
• 3 nights in Donostia may also be too much (beautiful city, but not much to do there), do you plan visits outside the city? Yes, the airport is tiny and very limited in the number of flights.
• A day in Iruña/Pamplona makes sense, but that´s it. 3 nights in Laguardia (2000h, it can be visited in one hour) may be too much, there are wineries inside town with centuries-old cellars, my recommendation is Casa Primicia. Labastida, Elciego, Sajazarra, Tricio,..., are other interesting towns in the Rioja D.O.Ca. wine region (Qualified Denomination of Origin), not to be mistaken with La Rioja political region. I would avoid the visit to Marqués de Riscal, extremely touristy and not that interesting.
• Gijón is interesting, but Oviedo has to be a must-see, 4 nights there seem a bit too long, other interests or visits in the area?
• 4 nights in Gijón but only 2 in Bilbao? This seems odd, Bilbao is the main city in all of northern Spain and, apart from the attractions in the city, there are many side visits around Bilbao that can be very easily done by car or public transportation.

As mentioned above, do not rely on beach weather most of the time rain tends to be frequent (but it´s also true that it rains less every year) and it´s an extremely green and mountainous area (we had snow two weeks ago and it´s still there on the mountain peaks).

Last time I was in the La Rioja area (2022) we stayed in Santo Domingo de la Calzada and visited Laguardia, Briones, and San Vicente de la Sonsierra in the same afternoon. I enjoyed Laguardia, but an alternative base option with more dining and lodging opportunities is Logroño. I feel you may run out of things to do in Laguardia for the amount of time you’re allocating to it.

Driving is easy is that area with little traffic.

Just a few more suggestions to the good ones you've already gotten (both here and in the France board).

Using Bayonne as a base is a good idea. Even without a car you take the regional trains to many places in the area. A bit out of the Basque area, but I like Pau.

You can also use the train to get to the border at Hendaye. Just outside the station is the stop for El Topo, a regional train that will take you to San Sebastian.

As mentioned, Pamplona is not much of a stop. If you are driving, some of the drive time to Laguardia might be used to visit some places along the way like Estella, or Viana.

About Laguardia, it is a very small place, especially the historic old town. If you are interested in wineries, better to say in Haro or Logroño and make a day trip to Laguardia. There is more hotel and dining options in those places. In Logroño you can try calle del Laurel or calle San Juan, and compare the atmosphere to that of San Sebastian.

You say this trip is in September. The 21st is San Mateo. It is fiesta in many places. It is the big fiesta in Logroño, the wine harvest, and it kind of splashes out through the region. During this time many wineries will be harvesting and they may not be giving visits, important to check ahead of time.

Oviedo was mentioned, and I would recommend it over Gijon. In Oviedo they also celebrate San Mateo.

I don't know about the four nights in Gijon.....(??)

Are you planning to go to Cangas de Onis, Picos from there?? Or not go?

This is all such great feedback, thank you everyone!

To answer some of the questions, i haven't yet worked out sites we will want to see or day trips we will take, I'm just working on home bases to use in each area. Neither of us are big modern art fans so I wasn't thinking of going to the museum in Bilbao which is why I only had us there 2 nights. I also want to point out that I would look for a guided tour/tasting for the Rioja area. There's the drinking and driving aspect that we need to avoid but also we've done wine tours both on our own and with guides in several countries and a good guide adds so much to the experience, it's worth the price. Frankly, I would love a guide for some cidery tours in the Basque region and Asturias too. (I did know that Basque cider is a thing and we've actually had it, one of our best local restaurants is owned and operated by a Basque chef and they always have some on hand.) If anyone has any recommendations for guides for winery or cidery tours in any of the areas I would love to hear them. We love food tours on our first night in a city too, it's a great way to get an overview of the culinary scene and recommendations for where to eat for the rest of our stay.

Some of my takeaways from your comments:
- Keep Bayonne as a base in France.
- Drop the car in France, take a bus or train to San Sebastian, and don't pick up a car until we're leaving San Sebastian. It sounds like we can bus to Hondarribia, Getaria, and Zumaia from here (depending on where we decide to allocate our time). I heard from some travelers on the France board that the Flix bus from Bayonne to San Sebastian is easiest.
- I see a lot of folks recommending not to stop in Pamplona, that it's not worth the time. I should have mentioned that my husband and I both love history and the reason for this stop was more for the connection to the history of Navarre than anything else. Is there another place in the area that would be better?
- Use Logroño as a base in La Rioja instead of Laguardia. I see the mention of the festival and our dates will put us here just prior to the festival, we will be in Asturias for it though.
- Use Oviedo as a base instead of Gijón. I had picked Gijón because of the location on the bay and nearby beaches. But if there's no swimming opportunity then maybe it's not worth it?
- I see some mention of Picos de Europa National Park and it's situated between Oviedo and Bilbao so would make a nice detour en route. Any recommendations for what we can do or see there on a stopover between Oviedo and Bilbao (not staying the night)?
- I forgot that we would like to day trip to Guernica from Bilbao so I'm thinking we should add a night there, which means I would reduce our time in Asturias (Oviedo) to 3 nights instead of 4.

Updated itinerary with specific dates:
1. Sept 7 - 9 Arrive Paris, stay 3 nights
2. Sept 10 - 13 Train to Bayonne, stay 4 nights. We will definitely want to visit the Basque museum here and use the bus to day trip to Biarritz and St Jean de Luz. Also pick up a rental car to travel out to the French villages.
3. Sept 14 - 16 Bus to San Sebastian, stay 3 nights. Would like to day trip to Hondarribia for sure, possibly to Getaria and Zumaia as well.
4. Sept 17 - 19 Pick up a rental car and drive to Logroño with a stop en route in Pamplona or ??, stay 3 nights in Logroño.
5. Sept 20 - 22 Drive to Oviedo, stay 3 nights. We could stop somewhere en route as well. A place to explore and grab lunch is always nice if anyone has any recommendations.
6. Sept 23 - 25 Drive to Bilbao, stop at Picos de Europa en route, stay 3 nights.
7. Sept 26 Fly home from Bilbao

If interested in Navarra history, consider visiting Olite Castle or the Monastery of Leyre where Navarra’s kings and queens are interred. Each is about 40 minutes from Pamplona.

In Picos de Europe, we visited the Sanctuary of Covadonga and the church in the cave. Both King Pelayo and King Alfonso I of Asturias are interred there. On the way up to Covadonga we stopped in Cangas de Onis and walked around for a while.

I enjoyed Pamplona, but it has no wow sites and can be seen in a couple hours. If not for the San Fermín festival and Ernest Hemingway my guess is it wouldn’t be nearly as popular.

Cangas de Onis would be near the end of the drive but if you set out early you could take a look at the town and then have lunch at MOLIN DE MINGO, one of the most memorable experiences we had in about 2 weeks in Asturias.

The map shows a possible routing between Logrono and Oviedo through Leon.....don't know how long of a detour but might be worth checking out.

As a side comment, Bilbao is much more than the Guggenheim (which arrived when the city was already changed, it just put it on the map), it has a beautiful and lively old quarter, excellent architecture all over the city and it´s a very livable and walkable city. The Museum is not "modern" art...it´s very different to any of the modern art museums I´ve visited.

Overall, you're covering a relatively large area. Figure out your travel times between your home bases, to make sure that's how you want to spend your time.

Bilbao, I agree with others, is more than just the Guggenheim. Though the exterior of the Guggenheim is incredible (I'm less moved by the contemporary art inside). To me, felt more like a "real" city where real people live, especially compared to Donostia (which I also love, but in a different way). And yes, we found that there are better/more flights from Bilbao than from Donostia or anything near there. For Bilbao, I know of a very good food and history tour guide, send me a private message if you want more info.

Definitely worth it for you to rent a car to visit the villages in the French Basque country; they are interesting and the area is beautiful. You will enjoy seeing the differences between the French and Spanish Basque country.

Thank you all for the ongoing feedback as I continue to refine our itinerary. I really appreciate all of the suggestions and I've made a few swaps. I suspect that where I'm at won't satisfy everyone - we all have different travel styles - but I think this looks pretty good for what we're looking for, and yes, I have looked at drive times between home bases. And Mikel, I think I found you (ToursByBasques) when googling food tours in Bilbao. I will be in touch directly once I'm ready to start booking!

• 9/7//2026 Arrive Paris, spend 3 nights.
• 9//10/2026 Train to Bayonne, spend 4 nights. Intend to rent a car here to explore Espelette, Ainhoa, and Sare. Will also use the bus to day trip to St Jean de Luz.
• 9/14/2026 Return the car and take the bus to San Sebasian/Donostia, staying 3 nights. Intend to day trip to Hondarribia one day using the bus.
• 9/17/2026 Pick up a car and drive to Logroño, stopping at the Royal Palace of Olite on the way. Spend 3 nights in Logroño, will do a guided wine tour of the region from here.
• 9/20/2026 Leave Logroño early to drive to Oviedo, stopping in Leon on the way for lunch and a brief exploration. Spend 3 nights in Oviedo exploring the town and area.
• 9/23/2026 Leave Oviedo early and drive to Bilbao, stopping by the Sanctuary of Covadonga and Cangas de Onis on the way. Spend 3 nights in Bilbao, will drop the car here. Intend to take 1 day trip from here to Guernica using the bus.
• 9/26//2026 Fly home

In Gernika (this is the Basque spelling and how you´ll find it everywhere here) the place to visit is the Casa de Juntas, or Assembly Hall, one of the oldest Parliaments in the world and well worth a visit (and one of the reasons John Adams, the US president, came to Bilbao in 1780 and stayed for 9 days, with John Quincy and Richard). The Peace Museum is not a very good visit, really. Try to visit the bunkers and some remains of the bombing.

You will need to previously book your visit to the Casa de Juntas here, https://jjggbizkaia.eus/en/gernika/request-appointment, it´s free and bookings open three months before the visit. And yes, it´s me!