you are right teachertravel, keep it short of places and plenty of time on them/Madrid and Galicia is a nice combination. With Ouerense, Vigo,Pontevedra,La Coruna,El Ferrol,and Santiago de Compostela plus Madrid you will have plenty.

We were in Galicia last summer and I felt the weather was too cold for beaches, topless or otherwise.
We rented a BEAUTIFUL renovated farmhouse and it was our homebase. We got to know the villages around us and set out for day trips of 2-3 hour drives. When we wanted a "down" day, we chilled by our pool. It was way cheaper than a hostal or hotel as we would have needed to rent 4 hotel rooms, so the house (4 bedrooms( was about 1100 euro total for 7 days and it was great!!! We made meals at home, even barbequed. I fell in love with that region of Galicia and can't wait to go back! Pick north OR south Galicia and plant yourselves there and just explore that portion of Galicia!

Esperanza,

Did you rent a car? If so, can you recommend any car rental companies?

Gracias

from the States for years and years, the best are car rental brokers who give you the best local/Inter. company prices, these are
www.autoeurope.com
www.kemwel.com

cheers

I have found its also worth looking at the big companies local offices, eg hertz, avis, Alamo etc, ust google their name but add es in you search. The last time I looked Sixt has been the cheapest.

Ok .. if you go to Vigo in Galicia you'll have to look somebody up . When I was about 17 or 18 I went to stay with a family in Paris for 3 weeks .. went to school there and shared the life of my exchange friend , Christophe who was one year younger than me . Incredible experience . I took the train , with many other school/college kids from London , the a ferry across the English Channel .. Then another train to the Gare du Nord in Paris to meet . for the first time , the family I would be stating with . I loved every moment of it .. even the feral school that Christophe attended in the Argenteuil suburb of Paris ...
Christophe now lives in Galicia , in Vigo , where he runs/owns a small kiosk that sells French crêpes ... and he's been running it successfully for many years now . If anyone is thinking of going to Vigo I'll find out exactly where his kiosk is .
I haven't seen Christophe for over 30 years but have very good contact with his mother in Paris . Christophe , like me , is not so good at keeping contact . Very smart and cool guy ! His mum sent me a photo for christmas this year of him at the kiosk ( traditional Breton costume ) , with his sister Bénédicte .

Everyone has given great advice and I would like to second the charm of Galicia, it certainly holds a special place in my heart.

Although it has been a very long time since I've been there, I'm sure that by now some things may have changed, I used to spend at least an entire month there during school summer vacations. We would drive on our SEAT 1500 Bifaro from my native Sevilla, an overnight stop over in Salamanca, and then continue to our destination in Galicia, most years ending in Ribadeo.

Madrid was often a return trip stop over location since we have family there.

I'm pretty sure that the next time I go back to Spain I will pay a visit to Galicia.

Speaking of which!!! I'll have to go and see "The Way", 2011 movie, a corworker told me about it, sounded real good.

all mayor companies and smallones are in autoeurope and kemwel,they deal with them for excess cars so give out best prices,I know autoeurope even guarantees the lowest rate.
of course wont hurt checking everything else too
cheers

Well, I tend to agree with what has been said about car rentals. We have rented many times and tend to go with the most reasonably priced option: we have rented from Hertz and Avis many times.

As for Galicia... I am so happy to say I am planning on going to visit my family for 4 days in March after I take a group of students to Andalucía and Madrid. I will send my kids back to NY and then get to visit with my daughter in Madrid for a couple of days and visit my family in Galicia too! Cannot wait!

Steve, find out about your friend in Vigo... My family is right across the ría in Cangas, so I will definitely be going to Vigo!