Northern Spain Itinerary-Please help!!!

Karen...a car would be the best way to see northern Spain; while train links to other areas are pretty good, rail travel across regional borders isn't very efficient....all roads lead to Madrid, so to speak.And with 15 days, you'll have lots of time to see the area, in-depth.
Assuming you want to spend a couple of days to explore Barcelona, I would spend Day 3 heading towards San Sebastian along the edge of the Pyrenees. Plot your route to hit places like Llieda, Huesca, and Jaca, staying off the "400-type" highways. Stay in Jaca overnight, a lovely town that is an important stop on the Camino de Santiago. Travel time, 4 4 1/2 hours
Day 4 can be spent finishing the drive to San Sebastian, with a stop in Pamplona, if you wish...2 1/2 hours driving.
Day 5 and 6 can be allocated to exploring San Sebastian and surrounding area. You can visit Bilbao as well (about an hour...don't travel during rush hour.)
On Day 7, drive along the coast to the village of Llanes, just past Santander...the village hangs on the cliffs overlooking the water (3 hour drive.) On the way there, stop at the Altamira Caves to see Paleolithic cave drawings. The caves themselves are closed, but they've opened an excellent reproduction. It's near Santillana del Mar, just west of Santander.
Day 8, using Llanes as your base, explore the Picos de Europa, magnificent mountain scenery just inland.
Day 9, drive to Santiago de Compostela. Take the highway up around the northwestern tip, through Viveiro. It'll be a long driving day, about six hours, but the sun will be up late at that time of year, and you'll get a chance to explore some of the villages that hug the coastline.
Day 10-11 in Santiago. You can use one full day to explore the city, and another day to visit some of the villages surrounding the city. Of course, everybody has to drive out to to Fisterra, the "end of the world."
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Day 12, drive to Salamanca, a lovely university town with one of the finest cathedrals, and one of the nicest Plazas Mayores in Spain. About 5 hours on the road.
Day 13, Salamanca.
Day 14, an easy three-hour drive into Madrid. You'll have lots of time to stop in Avila along the way, if you haven't been there before. You can arrange to drop your car off at Barajas airport, which is easily accessible, since you're coming in from the north...then take the Metro, a shuttle, or a taxi, into the city center.

Hi Karen,

We did this exact trip a few years ago, but in reverse. I agree with Norm that a car is best.

Our route was Santiago de Compostela > Santillana del Mar > Bilbao > Biarritz > Lourdes > Foix > Andorra > Ripoli > Girona > Barcelona. As you can see we took a route through the Pyrenees, which were great.

We overnighted in Santillana del Mar, Sare (France), Andorra, and Llafranc on the Costa Brava (just north of Barcelona).

It is a sensational drive & Norm has pointed out some of the great sights. You will love Santiago; be sure to read its history before you go. You can easily visit Lourdes if you want, as well as the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Neither is far from the main highway.

Regarding the cave paintings at Altamira:

You can see actual paleolithic cave paintings at Ribadesella (Tito Bustillo Cave). Many people don't know about this site (my friend from Asturias took me there).

You might also want to visit Oviedo or Gijon as you pass through Asturias. Asturias contains a lot of park/government land. It is very mountainous and green, with cute little coastal villages.

Nancy.,...good point. Ribadesella would make a good alternative to Llanes as an overnight stop, as well. It's also a good place from which to tour the Picos de Europa. And they'd have a bit less of a drive the following day. I think they're closed Mondays and Tuesdays, and you have to be prepared to climb thru some cool, damp caves.

When I was there, admission was free on Wednesdays.

Yes, I think there still is....free admission on Wednesdays, that is.

Hi Karen,

Here's an itinerary of Northern Spain that we did with a rental car--the reverse of what you're proposing. It also included a couple of cities in Portugal but did not include Barcelona:

Flew into Madrid ---> Bus to Salamanca and picked up rental car (Salamanca is as great to visit as Norm described); ---> drive to Coimbra, Portugal; ---> drive to Porto, Portugal; ---> drive to Santiago de Compostela; ---> drive to Santillana del Mar; ---> stopover at Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao on the way to San Sebastian; ---> drove back to Madrid. With the exception of Santillana del Mar where we spent one night, we spent 2-3 nights in each city along the way.

The roads in Northern Spain are excellent but the tolls and parking can be expensive.

Near Salamanca and Avila, see the town of Zamora...I was there in the spring and highly recommend it...the buildings are amazing and beautiful

You must visit Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, it was a real treat. Excellent food and lots of places to visit inside the old city (Viejo Casco). Then take the highway along the coast and see Muros with it's picturesque harbor full of colorful boats. Continue west and go up to the mirador in Ezaro, beatuful views and have a picnic lunch on the side of the ria , they have a small park & picnic tables.
We followed the route of the lighthouses up the coast, just beautiful white sandy beaches surrounded by mountains. Enjoy Galicia!! Maria Elena

We are taking our 3 college-aged sons on a trip to parts of Spain and France next May. We will have 2 weeks. One son is studying Spanish in Santander, Spain all summer so we will meet him there for a few days and branch out from there. Please advise! We like to do activities such as hiking, biking -- anything to get us out in nature. We do want to see the key historical sites too.