Itinerary Input for Northern Spain Please

If your goal is to check a list of places I've been, this is fine. But at this rate you'll see what is in front of your windshield and not much else. You certainly won't have time to have fun and appreciate the places you'll visit. But you'll see the inside of many hotel rooms. Slow down!

Too much on your Wishlist for you to really enjoy yourselves. A stretch even physically to achieve. I would want an extra night at least, and would look at dropping thoughts of Burgos, Avila, El Escorial.

Fly into Madrid
Madrid - 4 nights
-day trips to Toledo & Segovia
Fly to Bilbao - 1 night
-visit Guggenheim
(Pick up car)
Santillana del Mar - 1 night
Comillas - 1 night
-visit Altamira/ElCastillo caves
Potes - 1 night
-telerifico in Picos de Europa
Oviedo - 1 night
Santiago de Compostela - 2 nights
(Return car in Vigo)

... then on to Portugal ...

Thanks David for the helpful suggestions.

Check driving times on ViaMichelin so you can see how much time you'll actually have in each spot once you arrive.

Potes is a very attractive, very old stone village (though not undiscovered). It will repay a few hours of wandering and dining. In addition, the Picos de Europa area is the most dramatic I have seen in Spain, and I urge you to allow time to see more of it since you may not get back that way. I was limited to bus travel and regretted not being able to see more.

I found Avila quite underwhelming and haven't been to El Escorial. I would not want to combine both of those places with Segovia on a single day. I liked Segovia a lot; it is more than the aqueduct.

I also enjoyed Burgos. The area around the cathedral is lively or touristy (if pilgrims can be considered tourists)--take your pick. The walk along the river is comparatively quiet and gives the city a different feel. There are two monasterios, neither in the central part of town. I liked both but especially Miraflores. I stopped in my tracks in front of Berruguete's "Annunciation", and I am not religious at all.

If you like modernista architecture, allow time in Comillas to see the two key sights there, one by Gaudi. (There are others if you're really keen.) ViaMichelin estimates the driving time between Santillana del Mar and Comillas at less than half an hour, so I would certainly stay two nights in one of those places (or nearby) to cut two one-nighters out of your itinerary. Be sure you're operating with current info on how to arrange entry to the caves.

Bilbao has a very nice medieval district that is not overrun with tourists because it is not near the Guggenheim. The walk along the river is enjoyable, but there's public transportation as well. The "downtown" area has a lot of handsome early-20th century architecture. At the Guggenheim I really enjoyed the (free) tour Rick mentions in his book.

Santiago de Compostela's historic district is very large. I can't really imagine driving in from Oviedo (probably 4 hours) and spending only one night in Santiago.

Both the Basque Country and Galicia have lots of picturesque small coastal towns and pretty countryside that would make for a nice roadtrip.

You didn't mention the timing for your trip. Northern Spain is mostly cool and rainy. It's an ideal mid-summer destination, though some of the Galician cities (not Santiago) can be quite warm.

Thanks acraven for personal perspective on my proposed destinations. It will help figure out pacing. Is October a poor time for Northern Spain?

It wouldn't be my choice because if the weather is chilly and damp I start making excuses to stay indoors. I don't go to Europe to hang out in my hotel. But you'll have a car, which makes a lof of difference. And many travelers have no problem with fall weather in areas chillier than northern Spain.

I suggest going to wunderground.com and looking at the day-by-day temperature graphs for recent years. They'll tell you more than monthly averages will. But you're probably stuck with monthly averages for precipitation stats.

Fall might be a good opportunity to concentrate on Andalucia, though, since it's really miserably hot in the summer.

Just left Santiago de Compostela this morning after spending 2 nights. We arrived at the parador about 3pm and saw the major sites in a few hours. The historic district is about a 10 minute walk in any direction from the cathedral. The next day we spent wandering and relaxing. To split the drive between Santiago and Santillana, we stopped for 1 night in Ribadeo after visiting Muxia and cathedral beach en route. The drive from Oviedo to Santiago in one day can be done without much trouble. We left Santiago at 1030am, and went west to the coast before heading north and east. If we did as you have in your itinerary, we would have made it to Oviedo by 3pm. The roads are mostly interstates. As for Santillana, it is very small and doesn't take long to see. One night there should be sufficient.

As an FYI, the entire front of the cathedral is covered in scaffolding for renovations. Entrance is through a different entrance. You cannot even see the Puerta de Gloria. Regarding weather on this trip, between Leon, Santiago, and Ribadeo it's been as warm as 80 (late afternoon) and as chilly as the low 40s up in the mountains (around noon).

I've re read the original post, the subsequent comments and my reply. I think I owe the OP an apology for my response, which now reads a bit snarky to me. We all come to these boards with our experiences and styles. Ours, at now age 68 and 66 is to explore at a slower pace and enjoy some time at leisure. Not due to physical impairment (in fact we could do a day to day like the OP proposes) it's just that we find added enjoyment from seeing fewer places but exploring those we visit more thoroughly. We've had some of our most memorable days wiling away an afternoon in a sidewalk cafe in a small village while the world strolls by. But that is us, not everyone. So, my apology for a less than helpful reply.

Alan, no worries. As you say we each have our style of travel. I would make you feel rushed and after about 45 minutes of whiling away I would start to twitch. Lol. The great thing about this forum is getting value from many people's experience and perspective. We can choose to apply what works. And I admit my list needs editing. :D
Thanks for the gracious apology.