Andorra, not particularly difficult to get to, but with no direct flights we knew we'd have to visit via somewhere nearby. So why not plan a visit to
Barcelona and pick up a rental and head into Andorra as well. A good plan we thought and what better way to do this than on a birthday :)
Andorra being a hiking & skiing nation we knew this would be an active trip. Additionally we decided since we'd have a day to spend on route between Andorra and Barcelona
that we'd extend our hiking trip to include the Montserrat mountains on top of the Pyrenees. With Andorra all being at such altitude we knew we'd have to plan to carry two
sets of clothes, one more geared towards warm sunny days and one hiking in the mountains up to 2900 metres. We would also have to be prepared for snow on the ground and rain
given we were right at the start of the hiking season.
After looking into the road trip route we decided upon visiting the Montserrat monastery and then hiking up the Sant Jeroni mountain. With a summit of over 1200 metres this
would be a long climb during the mid day heat. To avoid the worst of this we planned to get the cable car up and then hike along the plateau to the summit before descending
back down by foot to Montserrat. The hike still takes around 2 to 3 hours to complete this way.
For Andorra we knew already that we wanted to visit Canillo and the longest suspension bridge in the world. In order to make this trip we set about finding a good hike and
eventually we settled on the Estanys de Tristaina (three alpine lakes) hikes as we knew it would be pretty and give us many options from the summit ridge line gorgeous lake
views. The rest of our trip would be spent celebrating a birthday and exploring the main sights of Barcelona.
NOTES: This is a long day with an early morning start, a 4 hour drive and another 4 to 5 hours in Montserrat. If not comfortable with such a long day I'd recommend a night in Barcelona following your flight arrival. For us this wasn't necessary and the flight times meant the plan worked better this way.
NOTES: These peaks can be inaccessible in bad weather due to fog and snow. In winter this is a ski resort and not open for hiking at all.
Barcelona is a popular city and accommodation as a result can be expensive. If you hunt off the main strips for quieter and more local places you'll find food and drinks for ok prices. Flights here are cheap. Car rental is moderate, you may be able to get away with cheaper if you are less than four people. Andorra is more afforadable in summer as its outside the main skiing season however there are not many restaurants and this can push food and drink prices up.
You can see how our actual trip went along with photos here: Spain 2023