Northern Spain

[TinaTapas]

Anyone have any personal recommendations?

Galicia/Asturias etc....we plan to rent our place out and buy a big camper van and set off (with 6 dogs) to have a nosy at the North, with a view to re-locating permanently

So any recommendations that anyone has would be much appreciated

We've plenty of time - planning this trip for next May/June as the weather should be OK (not too wet or hot, hopefully)

[fincalospinos]

Anyone have any personal recommendations?

Galicia/Asturias etc....we plan to rent our place out and buy a big camper van and set off (with 6 dogs) to have a nosy at the North, with a view to re-locating permanently

So any recommendations that anyone has would be much appreciated

We've plenty of time - planning this trip for next May/June as the weather should be OK (not too wet or hot, hopefully)

If you are taking 6 dogs dont go in May / June, it will be too hot for the dogs, especialy in a camper van.
I would suggest March / April, head up to Bilbao and then work your way west towards Santiago de C. and then down to Pontevedra and the surrounding area.

[katy]

Playa de las catedrales is a nice area...not sure about living there

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction ... licia.html

[TinaTapas]

Thanks guys

Keep trying your link, Katy, but no joy

I thought May/June would be good months to travel as I thought it's quite a bit colder and a lot wetter in the North of the country?

[fincalospinos]

Thanks guys

Keep trying your link, Katy, but no joy

I thought May/June would be good months to travel as I thought it's quite a bit colder and a lot wetter in the North of the country?

It is cooler than in the south, but May / June is still very warm, particularly when travelling around with dogs.
We drive up there most years for a couple of weeks and take our dog with us, usually during April, and even then we need to be careful not to leave the dog in the car during the day.

[anis]

It is fabulous up there, I love it. Try Picos de Europa, very popular with the Spanish as a tourist destination and in particular I like Cangas de Onis, which is the west interior of Asturias. The people are very friendly, you will have a great time I am sure.
I sometimes wish we had moved there instead of here. Obviously speaking Spanish is more important there but you will find some English speakers. We went in September and it was beautiful and stayed about two weeks, wonderful clean beaches with mountainous backdrops, little Switzerland. There is a lot to do if you like the outdoors life, camping, caves, rafting and animals, etc., not to mention good food and great cider. The people are great fun. We met up with a bunch of them on a cruise ship down this way and had such a laugh with them for the week. They are outgoing and gregarious.
We will go again and take the dogs next time.

[TinaTapas]

Really helpful contributions, thanks

Will try to bring forward trip a month or so (although our dogs would never be left unattended in a vehicle)

I'm definitely feeling that the North of Spain is more up our street than Andalucía - I guess we'll find out soon enough!

[Bowler]

Some special places I've been to in the north are: Gijon,(coastal) Llanes (coastal) Ribadesella (coastal) and Vitoria Gasteiz (inland) all very nice places, however unless you have a truly global service that can be accessed from anywhere you might have a problem with employment ! northern Spaniards are notoriously protective of their culture and especially their jobs and you will find there are few foreigners employed there, good luck though, life is a hallenge and should be faced as such

[anis]

Ribadesella ...yes, I rememeber that one too. I liked it there.
I would imagine it could be fairly cold in the winter, judging by the Swiss / alpine stilt like structures we saw on our travels.

[markwilding]

You could start in San Sebastian , Then move along the coast where you have Lekeitio and mundaka both stunning seaside towns, then onto Bilbao, which these days is a rather nice city with many different aspects and you're only around 30 kms from Cantabria if you want to carry on along the coast.
The weather at any part of the year is a little hit and miss so bring your raincoat. In winter along the coast it's rather mild but go inland 45 kms or so and it can be bitterly cold