Galicia and the Basque country

[Top Dog]

Might be heading to one or both of these regions in August or September have you been ? any advice tips or information on what to do and not to do

I have heard that there is no public transport in some of these areas and you need your own

 

[Lee Bushwacker]

Might be heading to one or both of these regions in August or September have you been ? any advice tips or information on what to do and not to do

I have heard that there is no public transport in some of these areas and you need your own

I've been to both.In Galicia and you really need to hire a car. Santiago De Compostella is a lovely city. Great traditional restaurant called "El Gato Negro" on Rua La Raina. Go to see Fisterra (world's end) and pop down to Vigo. Some excellent coastal scenery. Asturias is also worth a visit. Oviedo, in particular is a nice city. Gijon has a very good beach
I was in both San Sebastian and Bilbao last summer. S.S. is a beautiful city but more expensive and less friendly than Bilbao. Playa de la Concha is a must for a swim.Basques love eating so the ""pintxos" in the bars are excellent. In Plaza Nueva in Bilbao there is a bar called Café Bilbao. Superb, reasonably priced pintxos. Cracking social life in Bilbao, friendly people a lot of whom speak English. You won't get a bad reaction if you speak in Spanish. I didn't hear one person spaeking in Euskera while I was in Bilbao. I was answered in English when I enquired in Spanish on more than one occasion in S.S. You should also visit Portugalete and San Juan De Gaztelu outside Bilbao. Very good public transport system of trains and busses from Bilbao. Car not really necessary.
I was there in August and the weather was generally very hot. However, being on the Northern coast, rain is never too far away Dog!

 

[bells of shandon]

Galicia is an outpost of the Celts and is said to be where the Irish Celts originated and shipped over to Ireland and West Britain,going back milleniums of course. The music and instruments are very similar with a bagpipe and Bodhran similar but larger. Great people ,you will enjoy.
The Spanish Armada was built on that coast and sailed out from the great Naval base of El Ferol.

 

[Lee Bushwacker]

Galicia is an outpost of the Celts and is said to be where the Irish Celts originated and shipped over to Ireland and West Britain,going back milleniums of course. The music and instruments are very similar with a bagpipe and Bodhran similar but larger. Great people ,you will enjoy.
The Spanish Armada was built on that coast and sailed out from the great Naval base of El Ferol.

The music in Asturias is more similar to Irish music actually.
The Basques are a far nicer people than the Gallegos imo.

 

[Down da Castle]

Might be heading to one or both of these regions in August or September have you been ? any advice tips or information on what to do and not to do

I have heard that there is no public transport in some of these areas and you need your own

SS is very nice - but a lot depends on the weather. Went in 2015 (July) and had glorious weather, and 2016 (August) was dull and cloudy. When its cloudy it can get quite chilly on the beach. Mid August they have their festival, so most hotel prices shoot up and the better ones have minimum stays of 3 nights.

Pinxos etc very good.
Not cheap.
The airport runway is tiny too in case you are flying out of it. The first year the plane Vueling sent was too big, so everyone was bussed to Bilbao (about 90 minutes away).

Did Pamplona the first year for the bull run, but thats no good to ya in August/September. Didn't see bilbao apart from the airport.

 

[Pepe]

I've been to both.In Galicia and you really need to hire a car. Santiago De Compostella is a lovely city. Great traditional restaurant called "El Gato Negro" on Rua La Raina. Go to see Fisterra (world's end) and pop down to Vigo. Some excellent coastal scenery. Asturias is also worth a visit. Oviedo, in particular is a nice city. Gijon has a very good beach
I was in both San Sebastian and Bilbao last summer. S.S. is a beautiful city but more expensive and less friendly than Bilbao. Playa de la Concha is a must for a swim.Basques love eating so the ""pintxos" in the bars are excellent. In Plaza Nueva in Bilbao there is a bar called Café Bilbao. Superb, reasonably priced pintxos. Cracking social life in Bilbao, friendly people a lot of whom speak English. You won't get a bad reaction if you speak in Spanish. I didn't hear one person spaeking in Euskera while I was in Bilbao. I was answered in English when I enquired in Spanish on more than one occasion in S.S. You should also visit Portugalete and San Juan De Gaztelu outside Bilbao. Very good public transport system of trains and busses from Bilbao. Car not really necessary.
I was there in August and the weather was generally very hot. However, being on the Northern coast, rain is never too far away Dog!

Ah yes "el gato negro" or the black goat if you will. Just fantastic stuff, Lee. An excellent watering hole.

 

[Lee Bushwacker]

Ah yes "el gato negro" or the black goat if you will. Just fantastic stuff, Lee. An excellent watering hole.

The black cat actually Pepe. Goat is "cabra".

 

[Heraldo]

I was in San Sebastian about 7 years ago for a Munster match. Was there for only a day though but fantastic place, climate is very much like Ireland. Even the Basque people don't traditionally look Spanish, some of them have red hair and freckles!
Basque beer (garagardo) is quite strong too! I flew into Biarritz via Aer Lingus over the Pyrenees. Would go back there again.