fluff224

We are starting to put together some ideas for a trip to Spain & Portugal for April 2024. We prefer to travel by train as much as possible.. We haven’t determined how long we will be gone, but app 3 weeks + or - a day. At this point we plan to fly into Barcelona. Our interests are Cordoba (day trip from Seville), Granada, Seville (with overnight trip to Tangier). We will fly to Porto & end up in Lisbon to fly home. I’d like some feedback on the order of travel from Barcelona. I want to add that we are not interested in going to Madrid, been there, done that. Looking at the map if seems like the order should be Barcelona to Granada the Seville. However, the trains from Barcelona to Granada take at least 7 hours. Seville is 5+ hours. Going to Seville 1st & then Granada means we’d have to back track to Seville for flight to Porto. That doesn’t make sense. Another option is to reverse the trip by flying into Lisbon, train to Porto, fly to Seville, train to Granada, end up in Barcelona & fly home. I usually try to fly into the furthest destination 1st & then work our way from there. However, this might be the most logical. I’m open to any feedback!

yorkshire

How wedded are you to going to Barcelona? If you skipped that and flew into MAD, you could hop on a fast train to Cordoba on arrival.
For Sevilla to Lisbon, I would take the bus and break up the trip with a stop in Merida.
Good luck--you've uncovered the conundrum with grouping Spain and Portugal!

VANAARLE

At the moment Ryanair is the only flight between Seville and Porto.
If you do use them ensure your luggage is within the strict regulations. Also read about folks experience of them.
It will be early to reserve fights especially with that airline. Routes may change.
For train travel read Seat61. The Spanish train services are being opened to low cost operators. Things are changing quickly.
Easter in 2024 are from 24 March until the 31. The Seville Feria is between the 14 to 20 April 2024. Best avoid these dates for a less crowded and more economical experience.
Fly BCN to Andalusia.

dreamon

If you look at Renfe for trains on Monday, the fastest train Barcelona - Granada is less than an hour longer than Barcelona - Seville. I'm not sure I'd upend my plans for so little difference. And you also have the option of Barcelona - Cordoba (stay) - Granada. We love Cordoba so a few nights there would be wonderful.

When we travelled Seville to Lisbon (admittedly a long time ago) we broke the journey in Tavira - it was all pretty easy. On the return we crossed the border (by train) at Vilar Formosa - not sure if the train still runs but the bus does. If you can add days, a stop in Salamanca would be great.

For me, with three weeks I'd explore either Spain or Portugal but not both. If Barcelona is not of passionate interest, you could check flights into Malaga or Seville.

I'd love to return one day!

fluff224

I’ve read elsewhere skipping Barcelona in favor of Granada might be a good option. As Yorkshire suggested, we could fly into Madrid & then go directly to Cordoba for a couple nts before going to Granada & then Seville.I was in Barcelona 20 years ago & would like to see the progress made on the cathedral. I think I’d read the scaffolding has been taken down. The others have not been there. I don’t know how important Barcelona is to them. Our hubs are pretty easy going when it comes to planning. Porto & Lisbon are not negotiable. Portugal has eluded me twice cancelling trips due to illness & Covid. We can add on days to make it happen this time. Barcelona could always be tacked on to Paris & southern France on future trip if we really wanted to go there. Thank you, Vannaarle, for letting me know about the Féria in Seville. I hadn’t read about it & would likely be planning our stay in Seville close to those dates. Good to avoid.

neckervd

Go first from Barcelona to Cordoba, it's only 4 3/4 hrs by train.
What do you mean with "overnight trip to Tangier"?
May be you fly from Sevilla to Tanger, sleep there, proceed by high speed train to Rabat, in order to see a real Moroccan city and fly then from Casablanca to Lisbon.
Lisbon - Porto and back can easily be done by train or bus.

fluff224

We found a 2 day 1 nt tour from Seville to Tangier on exprillo.com. Just to say we were in Morocco & get a taste of it! Probably not worth it, but just another experience.

bilboburgler

Mixing Spain with Portugal because they are colocated is always a mistake when on a time limited holiday.

I'd relax and just do one country properly.

Just going to Barcelona to see Barcelona is a pity, when the region has so much to offer. Like going to San Francisco and just visiting the Golden gate bridge and the docks.

neckervd

It's up to you to decide wheter it's a good idea o spend 350 USD/pax (with tips) for a 30 hrs stay at Tanger, 1 incl. lunch. and 1 hotel accommodation with breakfast..

fluff224

I’d put my trip research on hold for a few weeks, but now am starting back. In the interim we have made a few changes to our itinerary. We’ve decided to fly into Madrid & immediately take a train to Granda where we would stay app 3 nts. Train to Cordoba for app 2 nts, train to Seville for app. 5 nts. Morocco is still on our list for 2 or 3 nts. Fly from Morocco to Lisbon for the 2nd 1/2 of our trip. Here are my questions:

1) lCan anyone recommend a driver that would pick us up in Seville & take us to the ferry in Tarifa? We’re not interested in taking the bus.
2) Tour guide for Tangier?
3) What airlines fly from Tangier to Lisbon? It looks like TAP flies, but not daily.