Asturias is a scenic region in northwest Spain which is home to some of the most marvelous landscapes (Covadonga Castle in featured image). Asturias is bordered by Cantabria in the the east, Galicia in the west and Castile-León in the south. Asturias’ most important cities and villages include Oviedo (capital), Gijón, Aviles, Cudillero, Llanes and Riano. Asturias Airport (OVD) is the main international airport, but flying to Santander (SDR) airport is also another option to explore the region.
Award Booking Flights to Asturias
Iberia Avios (44-50K) can be easily used to book a connecting flight to either OVD or SDR airports from the United States (https://awardcracker.com/master-your-avios-redemption-skills/). I recommend award booking Iberia flights almost 1 year before the travel date (see the sample booking below for 2023 December).
There are low priced nonstop economy flights available for travelers who want to spend a few nights in Madrid.
Asturias Driving Trip Itinerary
I recommend renting a car at OVD or SDR airport and planning your Asturias driving trip based on the number of your vacation days (https://www.spain.info/en/region/asturias/).
Asturias Accommodations
I recommend checking either Booking.com or Hotels.com to find the best rated accommodations that suit your budget and taste. I don’t want to place any links to the hotels in this review and I posted some sample search images from Booking.com. I recommend staying a few nights in each of the Asturias scenic locations to do some hikes (e.g., Covadonga, Picos de Europa, Riano and Somiedo).
Asturias Best Hikes
I recommend doing the top hikes listed on alltrails.com (https://www.alltrails.com/spain/asturias). Some of the hikes we did include La Cuevona cave, The Cares Trail, The Bear’s Trail, Lagos de Covadonga Hike, Ruta de Lagos de Saliencia, Bufones de Pria Geyser loop and Cascada del Xiblu waterfall hike.
Asturias Scenery
Riano
Conclusion
Asturias road trip is one of the most scenic in the world and should not be missed by travelers visiting Spain. I highly recommend including Riano in the Asturias trip which is ignored by many tourists. Award booking tickets to Spain are easy with points and I recommend advance booking for business class tickets.