San Sebastián Travel Forum

My husband and I are planning our first trip to Spain in April or May of this year. We plan on flying into Madrid and staying one night...then renting a car and driving to Barcelona..not sure how many nights to stay or which luxury hotel to book? Then we planned on driving on to San Sebastian but not sure how long to stay or which luxury hotel to book? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated, as our itinerary is very flexible. Thank you!

Debbie

My favorite hotel in SS is Hotel Londres (http://www.hlondres.com/) overlooking La Concha beach. I like the suites over looking the bay. Very reasonable prices for what you get. I also use the concierge to book reservations (with some advance notice) at some of the noted multi starred restaurants like Akelare or Zuberoa. The tapas bars in the old town are outstanding. Everytime I stay I wish I had stayed an extra day. It is a long drive from Barcelona. Weather varies, even in July. Best regards, Karl

We stayed at http://www.hotelavenida.net/iindex.htm and they have their own guest car park (free I think). The hotel is on the hill and overlooking the town and part of the bay. Breakfast is included and is/was good. We liked San Seb although it rained for much of the time we were there (May). We were there for 3 nights.

If you are looking for an excluive hotel experience in SanS ebastian, there is a boutique hotel that I could suggest, Hotel Villa Soro - The following is the link to their site.http://www.villasoro.com/luxury_hotel_in_san_sebastian.htm

As for driving from Madrid to Barcelona, its quite a long driv unless your intention is go stopping by. A great city to visit and is on theway is Zaragoza.
Another travellin option from madrid to barcelona is the AVE train which will get you to your destination in a little over 2 hours.

Hotels that I could recommend in Madrid, if you are looking for luxury could be the Eurostar tower, a brand new 5 star property in the most hep areas of Madrid. The link to this hotel is the following

http://www.eurostarshotels.com/ES/eurostars_madrid_tower.html

In Barelona I couldd recomend Hotel Les Arts. however at the following link you have a collection o luxury hotels in Barcelona.

http://www.hotelsbarcelona.org/spa/barcelona/hoteles-de-lujo-en-barcelona.htm

best regards
Mahesh

Hi.
No idea about hotels in Bcn or San Sebastian, but the other reply seems correct. I think it is better to use public transport from Madrid to Barcelona(high speed train, or slow cheap coach service, or even plane), and then, if you want,drive from Bcn to San Sebastian.

It is a long way, but very good highway.

Good luck.

I'd say it all depends on how many days you have to play with

San Sebastian is a long detour when driving from Madrid to Barcelona, not a town 'on the way to' but I guess you already know this.

If you have time on your hands, you can drive stop in Burgos for a few hours on the way from Madrid to San Sebastian, the cathedral is stunning, and it has a very nice old quarter. And you can do Bilbao as a daytrip from SS, as well Hondarribia, Zarautz, and some of the coastal villages.

The drive from SS to Barcelona takes roughly 6 hours using the motorway via Zaragoza. You can do it on one day, and as said above, you can stop some hours in Zaragoza (even it deserves more). If you have more time to play with, you can stop at Olite (stunning castle), or take the more scenic roads to the Pyrenees (this option will require at least 2-3 days en route): Sangüesa/Sos del Rey Católico, Jaca (with possible side trips), and then to Zaragoza, Lleida, Montserrat, Barcelona

weel first congrats, for taking the car !!! I am a strong supporter of traveling by car in Europe. !

Madrid to Barcelona is expressway easy route, how many nights? as much as you can ::) luxury hotel in Barcelona, there are several, some of my favorites when in business in the city are Occidental HOtel ,C Roger de Llúria, 149 in the Exaimple area, the best in my opinion.the hotel is near Plaça Jean Carles I and nice nearby gardens of Carmen Biada, also the main wide avenue passeo de gracia.

the NH chain of hotels has nice one too, as does the Silken chain.

driving to San Sebastian, good roads as well passing by Zaragoza. Bear in mind the pannels will also said Donostia, its the basque name for San Sebastian. There are many nice towns to pass thru depending on your time available. Like Zaragoza, Huesca towards the mountains -pyrenees, ro Tudela,then Pamplona, to reach SS/D.
how long? thats your choice, as long as you can, another wonderful city to soak in as much as possible. Luxury hotels there, well the grand daddy of all is Maria Cristina, by the river which leads to the sea. I have stayed at the Mercure Monte Igueldo is very nice by the paseo del Faro, up in a hill overlooking the city at night, is fantastic. you can book online are mercure.com
Around San Sebastian, you can visit, Errenteria a typical small basque town very picturesque. going towards the border with FRance, Irun, Hondarribia are just wonderful to see the houses basque style.

Hope it helps and Happy Motoring ::)

I would like to thank all of you who responded to me!! Awesome information which we will definately research and use for our upcoming trip!

Debbie

Debbie, thanks for the thanks - it is appreciated. Enjoy the trip as much as we did 18 months ago - and BTW, consider a side trip to Toledo - about 45 minutes by train from Madrid. The entire old city is UNESCO world heritage listed.

you are welcome, Debbie.Enjoy the trip
it might be good to look at VT pages for those destinations, as we put a lot info into them.