San Sebastian Vs. Valencia?

San Sebastian, plus it's a more interesting drive, passes by Zaragoza, and has more in the surrounds. A really good way to do it is to stop for a couple of hours in Zaragoza going one way and Pamplona going the other. The probelm is, it's a couple hours further away from Barcelona.

Ed sums it up well. We enjoyed Valencia but there is a lot more to see on route and in the San Sebastian area. The drive to Valencia is very boring. Pamlona is well worth seeing - we stopped in, wandered around and enjoyed a nice lunch. Bilbao is also an easy, scenic drive - if the Guggenheim interests you. We also drove up to St Jean-du-Luz, a quaint seaside village in France. It is a short drive from San Sebastian. Hasta la vista!

Cheers Gentlemen, and thank you. From my research and your comments, we are headed to Basque country. Next question, we would like to stay in or on a farm or winery. Any recommendations?

We enjoyed our stay at the Anoeta Hotel in San Sebastian. Nicely renovated hotel next to the Stadium. One of the rare places that looks better in person than on their own web site. Easy short drive to the central & beach areas and it's situated in a nice area for walking. Check out the website & google earth to see if it suits you. http://www.hotelanoeta.com/en_hotel-in-san-sebastian.htm

The wine business probably won't happen. Find a map of the Basque provinces. San Sebastian is in Guipuzcua. Vizcaya is the next province west (where Bilbao is). The only Basque wine I've heard of is called Txakoli - - I think it's a white with bubbles. Most of it comes from far western Vizcaya but a little is grown in eastern Vizcaya right at the Guipuzcua border which is a good twenty-five miles west of San Sebastian in an area without much tourist interest. There's an interior freeway and the old coastal road is stunning if not scarey. Either way, it would rob your time. The larger area is well west of Bilbao, an industrial city with not much of general tourist interest except the Guggenheim. I've exhausted my skimpy knowledge of wine, but I know a good bit about the Basque provinces. Maybe you can google a few of the words I've tossed out to find something. (Guipuzcoa is an alternate spelling and I don't know which is in vogue right now.) There are rural cottages west of San Sebastian around Hondarribia (Spain) which is just across the river from Hendaye (France). Personally, I think that area sucks unless you can get right out on the coast.

My vote definitely is for San Sebastian as well. Also because the Spanish Atlantic coast is different from the Medierranean - in landscape but also in culture.