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Partial Tentative Itinerary # 3-Pyrenees

Posted by (Alabama, USA) on

DAY 9, Wed Apr 29, 175 miles: From area of St-Jean-de-Luz, France or Hondarribia, Spain we go south, direction Pamplona, on N121A, sooner or later switching to N121B & stopping at some Basque (& later in the day Castillian Spanish) villages. At Zubin (before Pamplona which we will not go to) we plan to turn more eastward thru Ochagavia & the Valle de Roncal. Then look for a Casa Rurales to spend the nite probably in/near town of Jaca, Spain.

DAY 10 & DAY 11: First preference would be go a few miles farther east in Spain then north into France thru the Col du Pourtalet Mtn pass to Laruns, Fr., then east thru 2 more high passes to Argeles-Gazost area for the nite (about 150 mile day). If the previous Mtn passes are not closed by snow, then the next day we should be able to go on east thru some more high passes to where we think we will be able to get thru the Col d'Aspin pass which is 'only' 1489 metres (<5,000 ft) high & go on to Bagneres-de-Luchon, Fr. & perhaps spend nite near Vielha, Spain. (also 150 mile day).

If the preceeding route is closed by snow we will go north from Jaca into France via Tunnel du Somport to Oloron-Ste-Marie & Pau to Lourdes, Fr. area for sight-seeing & the nite (about 200 miles). Next day via Bagneres-de-Bigorre & Col d'Aspin to Vielha, Spain area for nite (abt 175 mi).

Again, any thoughts/suggestions will be appreciated---including on likelihood of those high passes being open.

Posted by
3262 posts

So far, this itinerary seems pretty aggressive packing up and changing locations every night or two!

Posted by
42 posts

Yes, we definitely do not mind spending a few hours in the car each day in order to get to see the things we want to see. We take turns driving, stopping every hour or so, at least for a stretch & sometimes a walk or window-shopping. And we enjoy the scenery, especially in most any new place, as we go.

Besides a number of driving trips in the USA, we have previously done 2 circular European driving trips (not counting a group bus tour of Britain). Both were roughly i think similar to what we are currently planning. Both were about 23 days, which we planned ourselves (with help from guidebooks such as Rick's & folks such as you) & in which we drove a circular route in a rental car(except central cities). A rental car is the only (or atleast most convenient for us) way we know of to have flexibility & the freedom we want to access many very rural, out-of-the-way, & often little-touristed areas---the kinds of places we often find most intriguing.

The first of those trips (& most similar to this one) was one where we also flew to Frankfurt & toured southern Germany, much of Switzerland, Austria's panhandle & upper Danube Valley, with a couple days in Czech Republic then to Wittenberg, Berlin & back to Frankfurt. We got to meet some very distant cousins & see a couple ancestral homeplaces.

The 2nd was 2 wks circling Ireland & then one wk in Holland & Belgium.

We occasionally spend 2 (rarely 3) nites in same place; generally our stops are one-nighters. Our day-to-day packing is light; we have been able to leave our heavy suitcases in car overnite w/o any trouble---so far!

Posted by
3262 posts

Hi Jerry,
Thank you for the update. Now I understand that you've done this before and it's your travel style. The itinerary should work well for you as you've checked the distances for each segment of the journey--since you're not booking in advance, if you decide to spend more time in one area you can! I haven't been to all of the places that you've mentioned but it sounds like a nice trip with many off-the-beaten-path destinations. Enjoy!

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