ko9988

Hi all,

My husband and I are planning to go to Portugal and Spain for 3weeks from 29th Oct - 19th Nov 2010 and we are looking for ideas/advice on itinerary. After reading the forum for few days, this is what I came up with. (I have a "genetic" husband too ( standard response : "u decide!"). We are 35-40 but feel like 30's (if you know what I mean). We get bored fast so we speed shop and speed walk unless something makes our mouth drop. We like scenery, historical sites, food, wine, party in that order as age catches up.

I intend to book an open jaw ticket and we'll be flying in Lisbon and flying out Barcelona with a draft itinerary as below:

3N LISBON
-day trip Sintra
-day trip Belem
(Is it worth it to go Porto? fly or train?)
+++++++++++++++++Lisbon to Madrid via Easyjet (first time on Easy jet...any feedback?)
4N MADRID
-day trip Toledo
-day trip Segovia
-day trip El Escorial
**************************Madrid to Seville via AVE 2h 30m************
4N SEVILLE
-day trip Cordoba (or should I stay 1N here?)
-day trip Tarifa and out to Gibraltar/Tangiers
-day trip Ronda & Arcos de la Frontera
-day trip Jerez and Cadiz
***************************Seville to Granada via train 2h 45m********
2N Granada
-day trip Malaga (or should I stay 1N here?)
-day trip to Alhambra
-day trip to Torremolino or Costa Del Sol (do I need to extend another night if we wanna do this day trip?)
*****************************Granada to Valencia via 8hours*********
1N VALENCIA
- no idea where to go, so just chill around?
***************************Valencia to Barcelona via train 5h 30m*************
5N BARCELONA
-day trip to Montserrat
-day trip to Girona & Figueres (can cover in 1day trip?)
-day trip to Costa Brava & Tossa de Mar (can cover in 1day trip?)
-day trip to Catalonia
-day trip to Zaragoza

OK. I have 2 more nights to slot. Will I have time to check out San Sebastian?
Or shall I add some days to the above base camp? Did I get my base camp right for day trips?

Is it wise to buy euro pass to travel from base to base as above ie. 6 days? or more to include the day trips from each of the base camp? Or just buy when we get there?

When should we rent a car to drive around? Which journey is better by bus instead of train vice-versa?

Sorting out logistics now and all help appreciated. Cheers

oopsy

Oh my goodness! This seems like quite a bit, perhaps because you seem to have a day trip planned for almost every single day. That means travel every day and leaves very little time to see the cities where you are staying. Are there particular things that you are wanting to see in each of the towns you have listed for your day trips?

I have only been to Andalusia and Barcelona, so will only comment on those sections of your plan:

4N SEVILLE
-day trip Cordoba (or should I stay 1N here?)
-day trip Tarifa and out to Gibraltar/Tangiers
-day trip Ronda & Arcos de la Frontera
-day trip Jerez and Cadiz

There are some amazing sites in Seville, and I think you'll find that even if you like to move at a quick pace, you'll want some time in the city. We did not go to Cordoba, but that seems like a well-reviewed day trip. If you want to see some white villages, I would go to Ronda (not really a village but a lovely town), Arcos, and Grazalema. I think that is doable for a long day trip from Seville. I would skip the trips to Jerez, Cadiz, and Tarifa.

2N Granada
-day trip Malaga (or should I stay 1N here?)
-day trip to Alhambra
-day trip to Torremolino or Costa Del Sol (do I need to extend another night if we wanna do this day trip?)

The Alhambra is in Granada, so at least that is not an actual day trip. I would skip Malaga and Torremolino. If you really want some coast time in, you could spend a day in or near Nerja, which is much closer to Granada.

5N BARCELONA
-day trip to Montserrat
-day trip to Girona & Figueres (can cover in 1day trip?)
-day trip to Costa Brava & Tossa de Mar (can cover in 1day trip?)
-day trip to Catalonia
-day trip to Zaragoza

If you are spending 5 days in Barcelona, I would choose 2 day trips at a maximum. Costa Brava is a bit far for a day trip in my opinion, unless you just want to do a scenic drive and head straight back. Catalonia is actually the entire autonomous region of Spain, not a location itself. I think Zaragoza is too far for a day trip.

I would rethink your plans a little. It's good to use hubs like you have planned, but first spend some time thinking about what you want to see in each of those hubs. Then you can begin to plot out how much time you would really have for day trips.

ko9988

oopsy thanks for you feedback. So the places you suggested that we go, do we go by train or bus? Or shall we hire a car in Seville?

oopsy

The white villages from Seville? You could either rent a car for that day OR hire a local guide/find a private tour. Do a search here and on trip advisor. I'm pretty sure when we were planning our trip I saw people post about small guided tours of the villages.

BCgal

Sounds like an awesome trip - and such a great time of year to go, when places will be quieter. We went to Portugal for two weeks on our honeymoon and LOVED LOVED LOVED it. So my comment to you is give Portugal a bit more of your time!

We flew into Porto and definitely enjoyed exploring the old city, the river, the port wine cellars. Enjoyed Lisbon even more - such a romantic city, so much to see just by wandering around on foot. I think the highlight of our trip was heading out to the Alentejo, near the Spanish border. We visited the medieval hilltop towns of Monsaraz and one other - name is elduing me. Gorgeous scenery - rolling golden fields punctuated by lone trees. And good simple food and cheap red wine everywhere. Mmm...

Have a great time!

ribeirasacra

I hope you have accounted for the shorter daylight hours. Examples:
Lisbon on the 29 Oct 2010---08:00 to 18:40
BCN on the 19 Nov 2010 --- 07:44 to 17:29
Easyjet check the luggage allowance.
You have not allowed time to get over your jet lag.
The timings are only for the train travel you may have forgotten to add getting to and from hotel and packing etc.
On day trips you do not really have enough time to sit and absorb the place you are visiting.
If you are travelling by train then book on line with RENFE to get the best deals. Passes usually means you have to pay more to book a seat etc.


Personally I would slow down a bit and see more.

WWanderer

I agree, too many day trips from places that are fantastic in themselves--so much to see in Barcelona for instance. I too would skip the Costa del Sol, it's pretty much an eyesore now, in my opinion, although Malaga might be worth it.

Yes, Porto is great, but don't think you need to add more travel to your itinerary.

ko9988

how abt starting of with 3n lisbon and 2n porto? or 4 and 1? followed by the rest? remember i have 2 more nights to slot in

GoAway

Three nights in Lisbon, and one of the days will be a day trip to Sintra. Since Lisbon really deserves all three days by itself (and probably more), I don't see that a trip to Porto from Lisbon is realistic. (And my choice for a day trip would be Evora, not Sintra. That way, you would get to see at least some of the beautiful countryside.)

I love Portugal, but given that you already have quite an over-stuffed itinerary in Spain, you might be better served by skipping Portugal this time, and concentrating just on Spain. Maybe just fly into Madrid, and out of Barcelona.

HappyTrvlr

You should not be leaving Barcelona every day. We stayed there six days without day trips and didn't get to see all we had planned.

ribeirasacra

ko,
Remember that 2 nights in one location basically means one day, maybe less if you deduct travelling to and from another location. So Oporto for such a short period in not worth it.

Cowboy1968

What would you say to an itinerary like this:

3N in New York city
- day trip Hamptons
- day trip Hudson River Valley
- day trip Washington DC

Why are you staying in places like Madrid or Barcelona when you plan for no time to visit the sights of those cities?
It does not have anything to do with travelling slow or fast, you simply waste your resources if you jo-jo back and forth to bases that you are not interested in exploring themselves.

If you want to stick to those many destinations you can as well rent a car, say in Cordoba, and make it a road trip Cordoba-Sevilla-Arcos-Jerez-Cadiz-Tarifa-Ronda-Granada.
Drop off car, "do" the Alhambra and fly to Barcelona.

ko9988

Thanks all for your valuable comments. Will reshedule. Like the roadtrip suggestion. btw, how many days railpass should I get to make it worthwhile? 5? lisbon to porto, madrid to cordoba, cordoba to sevilla, granada to valencia, valencia to barcelona?
The trip no goes like that :

overnights:
29-31 oct - lisbon
1-2 nov - porto
3-5 nov -madrid
6 nov - cordoba
7-8 nov - seville
9 nov - arcos, jerez, cadiz
10 nov- tangiers, morocco
11 nov - ronda
12-13 nov - granada
14 nov - valencia
15-18 nov - barcelona

or do u think i sud just skip valencia since it's so out of the way? then i can spend more time in andalucia? i've removed the days trips and put at the back of my mind and see how things go from there

shall i skip tangiers?

how many days railpass sud i get to save costs?? Some say sud buy when we get there but others say the savings is worth it.

Pls advise

CathyM

10 places to overnight on a 3 week trip is quite a bit. Personally I think your original itinerary had a good feel for the right amount of day for each city (although I would have cut the 1-nighter in Valencia) but you had too many daytrips - it just wasn't feasible to attempt all the daytrips.

I think you're trying to cover alot of geography (Lisbon, Northern Portugal, Andalucia, Madrid, Valencia & Barcelona) in a 3 week trip. I'd focus on at most 2-3 regions and you'll have a better paced trip. For example: Andalucia, Madrid & Barcelona would be a good combination for a 3 week trip.

ribeirasacra

2 nights in Oporto means only one day in the city. The same with the other locations you have listed as 2 night stays.
Please slow down and see more of these counties, you will appreciate it.
Yes forget the day trip to Morocco.

WWanderer

I would skip Tangiers if I were you. I also would suggest an extra night in Porto, and perhaps subtracting one other destination.

ko9988

Thanks guys & girls. Tangiers is removed! The probs is i hv oredi booked to fly ryanair from porto to madrid on 3rd Nov i.e 5night only btw lisbon n porto. After hearing all the feedback, the new improved itinerary :

overnights:
29-31 oct - lisbon
1-2 nov - porto

3-5 nov -madrid

6-9 nov - seville
10-11 nov - ronda
12-13 nov - granada

14-18 nov - barcelona

day trips, all side notes, will do if able...how's that? and rent car when arrive in ronda? cool???