rsn

CarlosSandoval - thanks for the hotel suggestions! Also, I have been debating whether we should go to Toledo instead of a third day in Madrid. We don't arrive into Madrid from Canada until about 12:30pm, so I am guessing that we won't get the hotel until approx. 2pm and will be jet-lagged. That only leaves us the rest of that day + 1 other to see Madrid. If at the end of day 2 we have had enough of the big city, I think we will hop on a train and go to Toledo for the day - but we will likley play it by year. Is 1 day enough to see things without being too rushed and crazy?

I promised the boyfriend that I would try to be relaxed on this trip. Also, it's his first trip to Europe, and I don't want him to feel like we're running around too much.

When you say the "jerez tour" what do you mean by that? We were going to try to go to the horse show and get a tour of the "bodega Tio Pepe" as I understand that there isn't much to "do" in Arcos. Have you done either? Any suggestions of what to do instead?

CarlosSandoval

We did the tour of the bodega also, but found it boring. I would spend it in some other city, Cordoba, Granada or even Cuencas which has more to offer. If you are heading down south, then go to Cadiz, I really like this city.

We did the 3 weeks vacation a few years ago, but started off in Portugal instead and ended in Barcelona (1 week in Portugal and 2 weeks in Spain).

Are you planning to drive? or are you relying on train/bus mostly?

rsn

oh no! Why did you find it boring?

We are renting a car for the andalusia portion of the trip - flying from barcelona to Jerez, spending the night at the Parador in Arcos, then driving to Ronda for a night, granada for 2 nights, the next day we are spending in Cordoba before driving to Seville for 3 nights.

From Seville we are going to Lagos.

See earlier posts for the revised and re-revised itinerary.

Thanks for the help!

CarlosSandoval

I hear you when talking about re-re-revising itineraries, I've done it several time and I'm doing it now as wel...

Well, at least for us, we found the tour of the bodega not as interesting as I expected to be. Jerez is a very small town, and you can walk the entire town in one day, and not much to see there....but if this is what you have in mind for you and your partner, you shouldn't change it.

By the way, you will like Lagos, and if you have the car there, then drive to Salema and the many hidden beaches nearby ...they are wonderful, and drive to Cabo Sao Vicente... (end of the world).....you will enjoy the fresh fish, sardines...yum yum I wish I can go back again. Are you heading up to Evora also?

rsn

In terms of Jerez - we really only have a few hours to spend there and it was just a good place to start our drive b/c we wanted to see the "white villages." This is our week to enjoy the smaller villages, and try to go at a more relaxed pace.

We aren't planning on renting a car in Portugal and have only limited time. 3 weeks sounds like a long time, but there are just too many places we want to see! We are spending 2 days in Lagos, staying on the beach and booked a surf lesson for 1 day. Then we are going to Lisbon where we will have 2 days. And then we fly home from lisbon

CarlosSandoval

I love Lisbon. Go to Belem and go to Pasteis de Belem!

rsn

Have you ever heard of this hotel: Turim Lisboa Hotel? Any idea if it is in a good location?

Thanks for all the help!!

CarlosSandoval

nope. Never hear of it myself, but have you tried to search it in tripadvisor.com?

The times that I've stayed in Lisbon, I've only stayed at the Hostel Geres and at the Marriott Lisbon.

rsn

I checked the hotel on trip advisor and it got pretty good reviews. The location is near "Parca Do Dusque Do Saldanha" (sp?). If you know where this is: is it a good location? I only ask because it seems that you know a lot about Lisbon and I have no idea!

From Lagos - how far is it to Salema and/or Cabo Sao Vicente? Is it possible to go by bus since we won't have a car?

I think we will have to see how we feel once we get into Lagos. After 2 1/2 weeks of moving around a lot, it might be nice to have a few days to relax. But, it's always good to have a few options in mind of places to go.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

rsn

One more question for experienced Andalusian travellers -- Is it possible/logical to drive from Arcos to Zahara and then on to Ronda?

I'm having a hard time finding a good map...

thanks again!

CarlosSandoval

Yes, it's a decent location, keep in mind that once in Lisbon you are walking distance to a lot of places, but you will need to take tram to Belem from Praca do Comercio, and to Castelo Sao Jorge. Lisbon it's great to walk and sighseeing the different sites, but lots of hills. For great food, good ...well everywhere, but for dinner, we mainly went to Barrio Alto. No specific restaurant, we just went to where the people went...

From Lagos to Salema it's approximately 25-30 minutes by bus. You can take the bus at the bus station in Lagos. It's not bad of a ride. You will definitely relax in Salema. There are approximately 4 restaurants, and I can highly recommend Mira Mar...oh boy I wish I could be there.... They are a great beach, and if you are there when there is low tide, you can walk the beach for miles and miles ...it's beautiful.

Check out the website below so you can see some of the pics. Click on Portugal & Netherlands

http://www.carlossylvia.shutterfly.com/action/

Let me know if you have any other questions

CarlosSandoval

oh....Cabo Sao Vicente is much further, and I'm not sure if there is public transportation that takes you there. We had a rental car at the time. But you might want to go to the below website to check out the bus schedule.

http://www.eva-bus.net/home.php?lang=PT

rsn

CarlosSandoval - thanks so much for your pictures!! I am so excited to go I can hardly wait!

I see from your pics that you went to Peru also - I was there 2 Decembers ago - thought it was fantastic!!

Thanks for the input on the hotel in Lisbon - I am happy to walk everywhere, I just didn't want to end up in some far-off area that wasn't really "lisbon" - you know?

If you think of anything else, please let me know! thanks again

CarlosSandoval

About the hotel in Lisbon (Turim). It's in a good location, however, a bit far away from the sites, and you will need to take the metro. If you are only staying for a couple of days in Lisbon, you might want to stay much closer and in the heart of everything. If I were you, I would stay in downtown closer to the main sites.

The only reason I say it it's because the first time we stayed in Lisbon, we stayed at the Marriott and although it was in a great location (Quiet) and close to the metro, we still found it inconvenient because we were spending time on trying to figure out the metro system, and wait for the metro, etc etc.

Did you check out the hostel Geres that I mentioned? ....just a thought!

rsn

Carlos - I emailed Hostel Geres a few days ago and am still waiting for a response. Any other suggestions of hotels in a better area for us?

CarlosSandoval

they might be sold out, but you never know, have you tried to call them?

I don't know any other hotel in central Lisbon. These are the only two that I've stayed at and the Marriott, but that's a bit out of the way.

Bubbao

Hi everybody....thanks for the great suggestions. We, too, are planning a trip to Spain and am enjoying reading all of the ideas and recommendations.

Our trip is for Aug. 17 - Sept. 3 and I'm worried it is going to be hot, hot, hot...we can't go later in the year...

Guess I'll be posting specific questions separately, but if anyone has any input about the weather, I'd appreciate it...
Thanks!

CarlosSandoval

still hot, and hotter inland.

pavfec

rsn, my DH and I went to Spain and Portugal for 3 weeks for our honeymoon 2 years ago and of the cities you're doing, we did Barcelona, Baeza, Granada, Jerez, Seville and Lagos.

We spent 2 nights in Jerez and did not really like it. We had a terrible hotel (DO NOT stay at Hotel Joma) and we found the town really bizarre. Residents dressed up in their best Sunday clothes on Tuesday afternoon and paraded themselves down a pedestrian street where they could be seen by all. The one good thing about staying in Jerez was that we weren't far from Sanlucar de Barrameda, a coastal town with a gorgeous beach. We did do the Tio Pepe tour and I liked it, but then again, we're foodies and everything about wine/spirit production interests me.

We had a fabulous time in Lagos. We spent 3 nights there at the Villabranca apartments, spotless self-catering apartments.

Like you, we travelled A LOT during that trip and I was exhausted by the end (and it was our honeymoon!). The best was when we spent 3 nights in Lagos and 3 nights in Barcelona. It gave us a chance to sit back and relax.

Let me know if you have any questions. I can recommend some places to stay (and not to stay) in some cities.

pavfec

travel_buzzing

3 Barcelona apartments for around 100 Euro per night:

http://www.way2stay.com/Barcelona-ap...-en-52-510.htm
(By the beach in Barceloneta 80 Euro)

http://www.way2stay.com/Barcelona-ap...en-52-1090.htm
(near las ramblas, 115 Euro)

http://www.way2stay.com/Barcelona-ap...en-52-1213.htm
(near las ramblas, 75 Euro).

Save your budget by self-catering and don't get stung on Las Ramblas.