Northern Spain

[mpgrant70]

Hi anybody have any route suggestions for Northern Spain looking to spend a week in Northern spain+Northern Portugal. in mid May.Thanks

[CarbonXKR]

mpgrant70 said:

Hi anybody have any route suggestions for Northern Spain looking to spend a week in Northern spain+Northern Portugal. in mid May.Thanks

I assume you are arriving in to Santander? If so, drive to Potes (Picos de Europa) and visit Fuente De cable car. From there head to Riano then onward to Cangas de Onis. That should be a good day one trip.

[Hoofty]

No direct experience (so apols for wading in) but I worked with a guy from Bilbao who was most effusive about the region. When discussing such a trip he strongly advised to hit all three of Santander, Bilbao and St Sebastian for culinary reasons if nothing else, and spoke fondly of the coastal roads connecting them. Quite enjoyed his urbex stories of some of the abandoned structures along the way but that is perhaps out of scope for a week’s holiday.

In the simplest terms - if food forms a large part of your travels you could do worse than to head east to St Sebastian before you head west to the previous poster’s suggestions and ultimately Porto etc. It’ll be fantastic wherever you go!

[ESDavey]

Its a superb area and Spain is a driving dream !

Take time to explore Bilbao especially the Guggenheim. Look up the Marques de Riscal hotel - stunning. Agree Fuente De cable car and area is a beautiful mountain area to explore. Paradors are great places to stay.

Hope you get good weather & you enjoy the adventure ! Simon

https://www.esdavey.com/photo_16703812.html

[spreadsheet monkey]

Just got back from a multi-centre holiday in Spain, spending a few days in the Basque region (Ea Astei) and a few more in Sanxenxo in Galicia. So we got to drive most of the length of the A8 northern coast road in between those two places. It’s a great trip. Great scenery, some impressively long/high viaducts, and not much traffic once you’re west of Bilbao.

[Mr Tidy]

That looks fantastic.

Living just outside the M25 I have to drive miles to find roads as deserted as that.

[spreadsheet monkey]

Mr Tidy said:

That looks fantastic.

Living just outside the M25 I have to drive miles to find roads as deserted as that.

We live just inside the M25, so I can relate to that comment! There are far more scenic bits of the A8 in Spain, I just didn't take enough photos.

It's not exactly the Evo triangle or the Route Napoleon, and not somewhere you'd bring a Caterham or Elise to give it a workout. But for scenery and relaxed driving, it's worth making a ferry trip down from Portsmouth, especially if you have a nice GT car or something like that.

I didn't see many police, but Waze showed up a few speed cameras, and most drivers weren't venturing too far above the 120km/h speed limit.

[Venisonpie]

I'm out here now, last week was in the Navia Valley which consisted on well tarmaced winding mountain roads with barely a soul to be seen. I've just parked up to take in the views here.



Then into Porto for the weekend and came up the Douro Valley earlier today which is spectacular. Not a speedy driving route but a really nice drive alongside the river and past the Port caves.



It's a terrific area to tour and surprisingly green unlike the dry Mediterranean parts of Southern Europe.