mamacrow

My friend and I are planning a trip to Europe next month and have found 2 outstanding deals so now we have to choose.
We will have 10 days/9 nights for the trip.
Our choices are fly from DFW to Belgium - stay for 3 nights, then fly to Madrid and take a train to Portugal for the other 6 nights. Or should we just go roundtrip to Madrid and spend all of our time in Spain and Portugal. Neither of us have been to any of these places so we want the best adventure. Thanks

bobthenavigator

I would do Madrid and spend all 9 nites in centro Spain and Andalusia.

JVS

I would do Spain and Portugal only. The opportunity to stay in Paradores along the way from Madrid to Portugal would be amazing. Dont spread yourself too thin- the days go too quickly!

Bluejay

You'll have no trouble filling 9 days just with Madrid and southern Spain. You could add some time in central Portugal (Lisbon, Sintra)or the Algarve in southern Portugal if you want something beyond Spain, though you won't likely be bored if you do something like:

Madrid 2 days
Granada 1-2 days
Costa del Sol (Nerja, Torremolinos, Malaga) 1-2 days
Ronda 1 day
Seville 2 days
Cordoba 1 day
Back to Madrid

Obviously you could cut some of that out and either stay longer in some of them or add other cities. To go to Portugal you'd need to add more travel time, like at least a half day each way on a train. You'll find the different cities in Andalucia significantly different from each other so they're not repetitive.

It really depends on how rushed you want to be and how much time you want to spend on trains between cities. For a slower pace, limiting yourself to Madrid, Seville and some time on the coast is worth considering.

Have fun.

RachelG

My vote is just Spain--more than enough to see and do to fill much more than 10 days.

mamacrow

Thanks for the advice. Belgium is out