Christine_Wiley

Hi, There are 6 of us that would like to spend 14 -19 days exploring a few places in Spain with a stop also in Lisbon. We are travelling from Canada and would be fine with an open jaw flight. We do not want to spend any time in Madrid as we have all been before (unless this is to fly in or out)

Is Malaga a good hub for the following: Gibralatar, Granada, Cordoba, Seville (day trips)

Is Barcelona a good hub for Valencia, Montserrat any others we should see?

Lisbon - what day trips can we do from here?

If we want to have a 4th hub or stop for a few days where would you suggest, have I included the best picks?

Logically what order do you suggest? This is for May 2012 - Is there any festivals we can fit into these places.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Christine

Aduchamp1

Before you get too ambitious consider how much time you will spend traveling, packing, driving (or buses, trains, or planes) etc. The more people the greater the logistics.

CYESQ

How long are you allowing for Lisbon? It's a great city and in itself has much to offer. You should enjoy Lisbon for at least a couple of days. If you can tell us how long you want to be in Portugal, we can advise on plenty of day trips. Also, if you will check out "Jamikins" in this forum, you'll find her excellent trip report with lots of details.

WomBatt

I echo Aduchamp1.

Additionally, you do not say by what transport you wish to accomplish these day trips from these hubs.

jamikins

We spent 5 nights in Lisbon and 2 in Sintra over new years and thought that was a great amount of time. If you want to do day trips from Lisbon - Cascais, Estoril are beach places, Sintra is lovely, Evora is also a good option by bus.

Lifeman

Are you intending using public transport or renting a car? Do you plan to hire a vehicle big enough for all of you (including luggage) in each base? This will give a lot more flexibility but don't even think about taking it across international borders because of the cost involved. Are you 3 couples, or a family group with children, as this will affect how you do things.

I think that 3 bases is about right for a trip like this. Adu is right about taking the amount of transfer time between stops into account, as they can eat up a surprising amount of time.

You can do this trip in either direction, depending on the availability of flights from your most convenient airport, so it's either Lisbon, Malaga, Barcelona or vice versa. If you fly to Lisbon first (and this is not a recommendation as the direction doesn't matter)jamikins has listed the main things to do in about a third of your trip. Lisbon itself is a couple of nights, then a day trip to Sintra, so maybe 3 or 4 nights max.

You then need to get to Malaga and train is the best way. Malaga is a good base for you "places to see", with a car being the quickest way to get to any of your destinations.

Train to Barcelona, but Valencia is not a day trip. It's 220 miles away and about 3 and three quarters hours by road. Train is quicker, but IMHO it's too far for a day as travellling takes too big a slice of time. In any case, you'll find that Barcelona itself will take up all of your time in the city and you still won't see it all. You won't need a car once you are there and in any case, it would be a liability in the city.

It sounds like a great trip and I'm sure that you love it.

kimhe

Málaga is a fabulous city in itself and a great base for trips to Córdoba (55 mins with the high speed AVE train, some two hours by car), Sevilla (1h 55 mins with the AVANT train) Granada (about two hours with bus) and the beautiful inland with the mountain villages etc. http://www.andalucia.com/cities/malaga/home.htm

Gibraltar would be some 3 hours away by bus.

Christine_Wiley

Thanks so far for your info, We are 6 friends - and would most likely do the day trips by car ( is it easy to rent a car in Malaga) or grab a bus. If Valencia is too far from Barcelona for a day trip is it worth it to make an individual stop?

I would also like to see Jerez? ANy feedback on this and from where is it most reachable. IT may also be that everyone will not do all the day trips and may stay at "home base" from time to time.

Lifeman

It is very easy to find car hire in Malaga, either at the airport or in the town. I tend to use www.doyouspain.com booked online before we go.

I think that three stops in the couple of weeks that you have is enough, bearing in mind the loss of time every time you change bases. The same applies to Jerez, which is approaching three hours and 150 miles by car.(Without traffic delays)

Don't try to do it all in a relatively short space of time and you will enjoy the time that you spend in each place all the more. Save the places you can't get to until the next trip and don't leave Barcelona wishing you had more time.(Although you probably will!)

kimhe

The AVE train is much faster than car from Málaga to Córdoba. Jerez, a hotbed of horse and flamenco culture and home of the fabulous wines with the same name, is easy to combine with a tour to fabulous Sevilla. I think this tour deserves at least some two-three days.

You can also do a slow but beautiful car tour inland up in the mountains from Málaga to Jerez via Ronda, Grazalema and Arcos de la Frontera.

kimhe

The AVE train is much faster than car from Málaga to Córdoba. Jerez, a hotbed of horse and flamenco culture and home of the fabulous wines with the same name, is easy to combine with a tour to fabulous Sevilla. I think this tour deserves at least some two-three days.

You can also do a slow but beautiful car tour inland up in the mountains from Málaga to Jerez via Ronda, Grazalema and Arcos de la Frontera.

CathyM

You mention 3 areas: Barcelona, Andalucia & Lisbon. I'd suggest at least 5 days for Barcelona and more if you want to explore the surrounding areas. You could easily spend 10 days in Andalucia and just see the "biggies". Unless you're able to use the entire 19 days I'd probably skip Lisbon for this trip especially with a group of 6 people.

I'd also suggest considering 2 (or even 3) bases for Andalucia. Sevilla can be done as a daytrip from Malaga but there's plenty to keep you busy in Sevilla for 3 days. May is a beautiful time to visit and the Feria may also be in swing during your trip. If you can afford the hotel prices during Feria it's quite an experience. Jerez is an easy daytrip (only an hour by bus/train) from Sevilla. You can also visit several other cities by public transportation (Cadiz, Osuna, Carmona, Arcos, etc..). I'd consider spending a couple of nights in Cordoba especially if your trip is during the Patio festival. At the very least a daytrip to Cordoba. It may also be worthwhile to have a rental car for a few days and explore the white villages.

Aduchamp1

If the drivers can drive shifts, you will save a lot of money on car rentals. Although I have never tried to rent a biggger car in any European country, check the prices and the sizes, since you will probably need two cars and the price of gas is usually double that of the US. One of the many Spaniards on these boards can tell you the current rate. And you do not want a car while in Barcelona, Sevilla, or Lisbon, just if you are going to see something outisde the city.

stevelyon

I would agree with much of the advice given here. Malaga is a good base for Granada and Seville, but I would echo that a day trip to Seville would be very unjust. I havent researched this, but you may actually save time by making Seville a base. Much as I love Malaga, to me this is more feasible as a day trip than Seville and (some of)Portugal as well as the Costa de la Luz are all doable from Seville.

CathyM

Just to clarify on my previous post: I'd still consider Malaga as a base to visit Granada and perhaps Antequera, Nerja, etc.... It's a great city often overlooked by people in a rush to get to the concrete Costa del Sol resorts. I was just attempting to say that I'd also consider Sevilla as a second Andalucian base.