Niki11

I am planning my first solo adventure, I am in my late 20's from the US (California) . I am interested in going to Spain/Portugal, and have 10-15 days for the trip. Any advice or recommendations on places to stay, how to get around, what to bring (and what not to bring ha) and safety tips are greatly appreciated or just any other thoughts are welcomed too! I’m trying to get a good travel book for the area but there seems to be about a 1,000 options. I’m a little lost on where to start. Thank you

Bedar

Start at your local library.

PalenQ

Let's Go Spain and Portugal is a guidebook oriented to folks your age and younger - gret coverage of budget hotels, hostels (great places to meet other travelers) - at any library or Amazon.com.

Solo traveler going probably to large cities as most want to do should IMO take the train - they used to say "The pain in Spain is mainly on the plane" but now Sp[ain's train system as as good as about any in Europe - trains up to 200 mph on some lines.

for lots of great info on Spanish and Portugeus trains be sure to check out these superb IMO sites: www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. If you want to save money buy discounted tickets in advance at www.renfe.com - Spanish Railways site (great info on discounted tickets at www.seat61.com). There are also overnight trains like from Madrid to Lisbon that can save money on a hotel and daytime travel time (much of Spain is kind of a desert!)

There are also night trains Barcelona to Madrid and Barcelona to Seville/Granada, etc.

Fly open-jaw - fly into say Barcelona - a city many strongly prefer over Madrid - take the train to Madrid for a few days - be sure to day trip to Toledo - one of the sweetest old towns in Europe - take train to Seville - then from there you could bus into Portugal - Faro and hop a train to Lisbon, another town with lots of nice day trips and a unique character in its Alfama District.

Barcelona - 3 days
Madrid - 3 days
Seville - 2 days
Bus/train to Lisbon - 1 day
Lisbon 4 days

What time of year are you going - if in summer there are nice beaches in Portugal's Algarve you could spend a day or two there en route to Lisbon - fly home from Lisbon.

ribeirasacra

10 to 15 days and want to enjoy the experience? Then take your time and visit say 3 locations at the most. Less travel time means you end up seeing more.
One days/one nights do not work as it means pack and unpack, booking in and out of accommodation plus travelling all the time.
http://www.spain.info/

kja

Another great guidebook option is the Rough Guide. Solo travel can be wonderful!

danon

I like Fodor's guides. Used them for years with a bit of search on the Net .
Od course, the posters here often have valuable suggestions.

sandralist

I agree with the advice to start at your local library.

I don't know what your options are flying from southern California, but check out the possibility of flying through London to Porto to begin your trip. After 2 nights there, It is a short train ride to Lisbon -- and after spending time in Lisbon you might consider flying rather than overland transportation to Spain.

Something I suggest you consider as you pick your destinations is how important it is to see and experience things in Spain and Portugal that simply don't exist in California. While the two countries are really very, very different at their core than California (for sure!), it is also the case that both Barcelona and Lisbon almost instantly strike many people as reminiscent of California cities in some ways -- while places like Porto, or Granada and Cordoba or Toledo, are something they've never seen before. If you are from southern California, then the Spanish region of Andalucia can be interesting just because there is a special relationship between that culture and the roots of historic "Californio", with its horses, ranches and Moorish fantasy architecture.

But there is nothing wrong with taking a trip to Spain and Portugal that is more about appreciating the globalized cities. Lisbon, Barcelona and Madrid are great cities for the young, with lots of easy sociability and fine sights and beaches.

Also very generally speaking, you'll find your California wardrobe is perfect for your destinations.

lauramsgarden

I too like Fodor's guides, I find them easy to follow and logically laid out. I agree with the advice of not traveling around too much, otherwise you spend half your time trying to find your next stop. I try to stay at least 3 nights in any given location. Good luck and enjoy

PalenQ

I think libraries for that are passe - so so much info online these days - all kinds but the national travel office sites and individual city tourist informations have tons of good info and many guides are available online now - but I guess a printed guide still has its advantages.

I think if you ask pertinent questions here you will get a lot of good answers - up to date ones - guidebooks sometimes are out of date info wise as soon as they are published.

Again Let's Go Spain and Portugal will be a great great device to help plan your trips and once there - one of the few guidebooks to dwell on cheaper budgets in hotels, restaurants, etc. Most other guidebooks are geared to a muchmore affluent crowd and their accommodations advice reflects it - chose a guide according to your budget.

kja

"I think libraries for that are passe - so so much info online these days" -- but ONLY if you know what to search. There are MANY things someone would not even know to ask that are covered in a guidebook, and the cost is trivial in comparison to the cost of a trip, that investing in a guidebook or reviewing them in one's local library is, IMO, well worth it.

Niki11

thanks everyone for the great info! I am planning my trip in late august through September

sandralist

I think getting out of the house is the first step in traveling. Browing a variety of guidebooks at one's leisure in a library or borrowing several to take home and carry around with you is a way of exploring a lot of options and beginning to forumlate a plan. It is much easier to leaf through a guidebook than drill through a multi-layered website and the information on websites is not as rich or as easy to read and keep track of as a printed book.

Also, books are very often written in a personal style by real human travelers, while most corporate travel and tourist board websites are written by the deskbound in a chattery cheerleading style that fakes being a hip sophisticate.

Libraries are so European, so it's a start on appreciating how to appreciate where one is going.

RebeccahS

I find guidebooks that have sample itineraries very helpful in putting together a plan. Also the sections on "what not to miss". Go to a big bookstore's travel section and check out Fodor's and Rick Steves' latest publications. Steves' books always has terrific tips even though the itineraries are way too speedy for me. Those 2 will get you started, then you'll have to decide on one to take - keep in mind the size of the book, you'll want to keep it as small as possible.

With only 10-15 days I'd choose just 1 country, depends on where you are flying into and out of.

thursdaysd

Libraries are passe? Hardly. I find actual paper books much easier to use. I currently have Lonely Planet "Scandinavia" on my iPad, as LP had a sale on ebooks over Christmas. The only advantage over the paper book is that I can increase the size of the print. Otherwise the paper book is much easier to use. Besides, if I had to pay for everything I read I'd go bankrupt.

mccarder

We spent 2 weeks last summer pretty evenly split between Portugal and Spain. We loved both. Flew into Lisbon and spent 2 nights then rented a car and drove to Porto, stopping in Sintra on the way. Spent 2 nights in Porto then drove out into the Duoro Valley for 2 nights. Back to Porto for a late flight to Barcelona. 3 nights in Barcelona, then rented a car and drove north to Cadaques (loved, loved, loved!!!) where we spent 2 nights, then into the Pyrenees for 2 nights, then back to the wine country SW of Barcelona (but near the airport) for 1 last night, stopping at Montserrat on the way. Flew back to the states from Barcelona. It was a great trip! Only thing I would maybe do differently in retrospect (other than make it 3 weeks! dreaming...) would be to skip the Pyrenees. We are the opposite of you (50 year couple with a 13 yr daughter) but thought we'd give you some ideas. BTW - I checked out just about every Spain & Portugal book our library had, in rotation over about 8 weeks, while doing my early planning! Then I headed to the internet for the more detailed planning.

Revulgo

Another vote for the Rough Guide
http://www.roughguides.com/destinations/europe/spain/

Ozarksbill

No, libraries are not passe when it comes to guide books but also learning more about the history of a country...as have I concerning Spain. You can also learn from our various trip reports on Fodors if you take the time. Good idea to define your goals...as you are young maybe some hiking for example.

PalenQ

I always copy parts of several guidebooks on the cities I am going too - not always Internets coinnections and like to leisurely sit back in bed and read about tomorrow's sites.