Need advise on where to I rent a car in Vigo Spain and what route to go to Barcelona from Vigo. I have heard the Paradores are great, but can't find a site to book them. Help. Going this summer. So excited.
Lidia
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
Depends on what you want to see. You could take a "southern" route, dipping down through Salamanca, Avila, and Segovia, then into Madrid, to Zaragoza, and into Barcelona. You could take a "central" route through Leon, Burgos, San Sebastian, Zaragoza, Barcelona. Or you could take the "northern" route along the coast through Santiago de Compostela, A Coruna, Gijon, Bilbao, San Sebastian, Zaragoza, Barcelona. This last route would take the longest because it doesn't have nearly as many four-lane divided highways. Car rental is very easy in Vigo, a city of aboout 300-thousand people...most agencies and brokers will have cars available there, especially at the airport. A google search under "paradores Spain" will bring up many sites which will book parador accomodations for you. The main website of the government company that owns them and its booking engine, are at http://www.parador.es/english
Posted by
Atlanta
3250 posts
Hi Lidia,
We drove that route to San Sebastian in March. Be prepared for road construction and toll roads but it's a nice trip. My husband mapped the route using viamichelin.com
I hope that you're planning to spend time in Santiago de Compostela as that was one of the highlights of our trip. We stayed in a wonderful hotel called Hotel Residencia Coata Vella (www.costavella.com) The paradores were more expensive than we wanted to spend for a night. The website is www.parador.es
We also loved visiting the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao along the way.
Have a great trip! Sharon
Posted by
OP
Fairfax, VA
2 posts
Wow, thanks Atlana and Ottawa for your quick advise. Any thoughts of where to stay that you loved. Just order Rick Steve's Spain from Amazon, awaiting its arrival. We are a little scared that the EURO has gotten so strong. We will be trying to save every way we can!
Posted by
Atlanta
3250 posts
We drove from Porto, Portugal and went through Vigo to Santiago de Compostela. Our next stop was Santillana del Mar--a tiny town--we were there off-season and the town was very sleepy. I can't recommend the hotel we stayed in--Hospedaje Octavio. It was dark and rather cold but inexpensive. It might be better in the summer. There are two Paradores in Santillana listed in Rick's Spain book. From there we drove to San Sebastian where we stayed three nights. Our hotel there, Pension Edorta was in a great location. In spite of the weak dollar, the prices in northern Spain were good compared to other European cities. You'll get lots of great advice from Rick's Spain book. Have fun planning your trip!