expletve

Hey guys, about to take my first solo extended trip to Spain. Just wanted to post my tentative plans and get some feedback.

Day 1: Land in Madrid 9AM, explore city, take overnight train to Lisbon (arrive 7AM day 2)
Day 2-4: Stay in Lisbon 3 nights, maybe take a day trip to Sintra
Day 5-7: Flight to Seville, spend three nights
Day 8-9: Morning bus to Granada Day 8, stay there overnight, Alhambra tour on Day 9, stay in Granada overnight
Day 10-14: Fly to Barcelona in the morning on Day 10, stay 5 nights
Day 15-16: Morning AVE train to Madrid, spend two nights
Day 17: Morning flight back to US from Madrid

Summary: 3 nights Lisbon, 3 nights Seville, 2 nights Granada, 5 nights Barcelona, 2 nights Madrid

This is my first longer solo trip, so I'm looking for feedback or suggestions.. obviously it can be pretty flexible and I'm sure my wants will change throughout the trip. Just want to get some feedback as to whether you guys think this is too much to tackle in 16 days or if it seems reasonable. Should I cut out Portugal all together and replace it with something else?

Thank you!

sanderskn

It seems reasonable to me. Actually sounds pretty perfect. Definitely go to Portugal!

bilboburgler

Good looking trip, pity you couldn't have flown openjaw straight into Lisbon as Madrid day one could be a bit tough.

Portugal is fine.

Mimar

Or better yet, fly into Madrid, stay there a couple days, move on to Portugal and fly home out of Barcelona. Or best of all, fly into Lisbon, out of Barcelona.

But I assume you already have your plane tickets and don't want to change them.

expletve

Yup, looked into changing the flight but it would be a significant extra cost to do so. Looks like I'll stick with this.

CGS

We just got back from 17 days in Spain and Portugal . Portugal is beautiful and well worth visiting, but you are going a long way just to go to Lisbon, and are not spending much time in Madrid even though you are flying in there. Is there a reason you especially want to see Lisbon, and/or have you been to Madrid before?
I have not been to Madrid and decided not to go on our trip because I heard you really need several days there and we didn't have that much time to spare. I decided to save it for another trip. We did go to Lisbon (we flew in and out of Lisbon), and there were many wonderful things about it, but it was not our favorite part of the trip or our favorite part of Portugal. For me, I would not travel all the way from Madrid just to see Lisbon. I would spend the time in Madrid instead, save the travel time, and visit Portugal on another trip.
We are all different of course in our preferences and priorities. Whatever you decide I'm sure you will have a fabulous trip. We did! If you do go to Lisbon, do not miss Sintra!

expletve

Think I'm gonna cut out Lisbon after all. Just divide up the extra time for flexibility to stay in any of the other cities longer if I want. Thanks for the help!