On our first trip to Spain and Portugal, we decided to keep to the north and only have to face the Spanish tourists and not the entire population of European holiday-makers.
Depart SFO 17 Aug, connect through Frankfurt, arrive Barcelona on 18 Aug (early evening, going straight to bed). Business in Barcelona for four days. Sunday, pick up rental car, drive a scenic route to Tremp. Monday, drive to Abalos in La Rioja, and stay five nights at Hotel Villa de Abalos. Our contact there is helping to arrange an itinerary for winery/vineyard tours/tastings (we know it's not like Napa - thank goodness!) for two days, and we will have day trips to Bilbao and San Sebastian the other two days. Saturday, drive to Arena de Cabrales and stay two nights at the Hotel Torrecerredo, for a peek at the Picos and taste some cheese and cider. Monday, drive to A Coruna and stay two nights at Casa Perfeuto Maria (which is really only somewhere near A Coruna), to check out the western beaches/cliffs and maybe hear some bagpipe music. Wednesday, drive to Porto and stay three nights at Guest House Douro, to check out port houses and spend one day driving up the river a ways. Saturday, drive to Lisbon, return rental car (and the drop-off-in-a-different-country fee was under $300 - worth it to us, considering our itinerary), and stay three nights at Casa do Bairro in the Santa Caterina neighborhood. Depart LIS on 8 Sep.
Any experience with any of our B&B choices? Any "must sees" on this route?