Where is it?
Asturias is a small region in Northern Spain and the principle cities are Oviedo and Gijon. It is a year round destination.
HOW DO GET TO ASTURIAS
Easyjet flys direct from London Stansted
National Express buses leave from most UK destinations to Stansted. Terravision buses leave from Central London to Stansted.
For a weekend break you would be looking at leaving Stansted in the morning of the Friday or Saturday and leaving Asturias mid afternoon on the Sunday or Monday.
On arrival you can take buses to the main towns very easily. Alsa buses leave outside the Arrivals area.
Oviedo is 47kms from the airport, as is Gijon and the buses leave all day from 07.00 to 23.00 and are regular. Single fares are from EUR 7.
To the Picos de Europa National Park the easiest way to get from the Asturias airport to the gateway towns (Infiesto, Arriondas, Cangas de Onís, Onís, Cabrales, Panes, Ribadesella, Llanes and Colombres) is via Oviedo. Many buses will then lead you onward to these towns and villages.
WHAT CAN I DO AROUND ASTURIAS?
The main destinations from the airport would be Oviedo, Gijon and The Picos de Europe National Park.
Oviedo – city, culture, nightlife
The principle city of the area is a very interesting place to visit. There is an old town in the centre that is great for strolling around day and night. There are many sculptures in the city and lots of culture and museums too.
The nightlife in the city is legendary and very lively too. The Calle Mon is the place to go but remember the locals tend to go out very late.
Gijon – city, beach, culture, nightlife, watersports
This is a city by the seaside and has a number of excellent beaches within the urban area.
The Estación Náutica Gijón Costa Verde is a hive of sea activities including scuba diving, sailing and wildlife spotting. You can surf there too.
There are year round fiestas with Spring and Autumn being particularly good times of the year to go.
Semana del Mar is sea week of St. John and St. Peter. It is a week with different activities to remember the historical link of the city with the sea.
Picos National Park – nature, wildlife, walking
This national park has be said my many to be the most stunning national park in all of Spain, in fact some say all of Europe. Bearing in mind Spain has some awesome national parks already then this is quite a statement.
Picos De Europa National Park Wallpapers – http://t.co/Ob5RFnEImN pic.twitter.com/I8WGa64tWv
— anton rikov (@antrikov) August 13, 2014
The Picos De Europa tend to be more a spring/summer/fall destination rather than winter. Expect big crowds in August (as with all Spanish national parks)
The usual activities of hiking, climbing, camping can all be done here. For wildlife spotters there is also the golden eagle, the European brown bear and asturcon, (shaggy wild horse) and the Chamois, a species of goat-antelope.
It also has some the deepest cave systems in the World and is therefore a great location if you like being underground!
IN CONCLUSION
This part of Spain is an awesome destination in our opinion and the sooner you go the better! It bears no resemblance the South of Spain and English is less spoke, which of course is good if you want to improve your Spanish!
Travel Insurance / EHIC Information
Even if you are just going for a short break then you should take out insurance. The sites below are good places to start.