Driving from Lisbon to Madrid via Sevilla and Cordoba
 

Hi all,
We're planning a trip to Portugal and Spain end of September. The initial plan is like this;
Spend 4 nights in Lisbon
Drive to Sevilla and spend 1 night
Drive to Cordoba and spend 2 nights
Drive to Madrid and spend 3 nights there.

Would very much appreciate suggestions on the above plan, interesting places to visit on the road and driving tips/ car rental suggestions.
thanks :)

The first issue is the steep drop off fee for picking up the car in Lisbon and dropping it off in Madrid. It could cost you as much as €500, depending on the agency and type of car.

Thank you Robert. That's definitely too much for a drop off fee. Do you suggest we take a train for all or part of the trip for example?

We've done the Lisbon and Porto flights to Madrid on TAP (1h 15m flight) and then taken the train south to Cordoba and Sevilla. If you haven't already purchased your tickets, you can fly home from Sevilla. It's cheaper if you book the TAP or Iberian flight with your international ticket.

You can also fly into Sevilla from Lisbon (TAP or Iberia), but it's a longer flight and can be a little more expensive, depending on the date.

From what I see, you will have no need to rent a car.

Madrid, Córdoba and Sevilla are extremely well connected through the high speed AVE train. From city center to city center in no time, two-three times faster than going by car. No need for a car in the cities, excellent public transportation and affordable taxis.

Be aware that the largest and most prestigious flamenco festival goes on in Sevilla theaters around town through all of September. A night at a genuine flamenco performance could easily be the highlight of your trip. Info and tickets:
http://www.flamenco-world.com/notici...l23052012.html

Yesterday I took an easy 55 minute flight from Madrid to Lisbon on Air Europa. It is also quite easy to go directly from the Madrid airport Metro stations to the Atocha train station to catch the fast train to Cordoba and Sevilla.

However, if you haven't been to Granada to see the Alhambra, and are willing to rent a car, you might consider renting a car in Madrid and driving to Granada, and then on to Cordoba, ultimately dropping the car off in Sevilla and taking the train back to Madrid. If you go to the Alhambra, the night tour is spectacular.

I would spend 1 night in Cordoba, not 2.

Have done a trip similar to this once - but longer. You have too much time in Lisbon (2 days is plenty_, not enough in Seville (need 3 IMHO) and to add Granada.

We were given a Spanish car in Lisbon and there was no drop off fee - since we were returning it to Madrid. This might be an option with a major multi-national rental company - but you won;t know until you see what care they give you (basd on what they have on the lot that day).

I have no idea why nytravler has the allegedly humble opinion that for everybody 2 days in Lisbon is "plenty", but I am currently in Lisbon and am wondering how I am going to see all that I want to see in a week.

If you are coming to Lisbon to walk around the areas where there are bars, beer, fado and cheap fried foods, take a few pictures of old churches and statues and shop, no argument that 2 days is "plenty." If you plant to go to the Gulbenkian, the museum of ancient arts, the tile museum, the gothic church at Carmo, the castle, the monastery in Belem -- and take time to enjoy a coffee and a few grand lunches, or peek in to the historic markets.... You do the math,

I've never found Sevilla as interesting as many other tourists do. I spent 2 days there, guided around town by a native of Sevillla. One of the challenges of getting advice on tourist websites is figuring out whether you are more like nytraveler or more like me. But people who advise as if everybody were the same and there is something objectively about Sevilla that "needs" 3 days where for Lisbon, 2 days is objectively "plenty" are pretty suspect to me. Either they don't understand other people or they don't understand travel. I would take that kind of advice with a salt shaker.

aguamineral, that might be because Seville is one of the cities with more heritage in Europe, showcasing a variety of styles from Moorish, to Gothic, Neoclassical, Baroque, Art Deco and Neo-Mudejar, to name a few, with no comparison I think. With as many churches as Rome, the largest Gothic Cathedral in the World. The city with more than 100 operas dedicated. Full of flowers, parks everywhere, Flamenco, Semana Santa, Feria...

Maybe you were there but didn´t get to see all that it has to offer.

Some interesting pics of Seville:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showth...5#post94736185

I have to say that I pretty much love Lisbon. 3 days I think are enough, more if what you want is to live the city. But sites, it does not have many.

Sevilla has a long and rich history, but very few cities in Europe have a longer history than does Lisbon, where you'll find trances of Phoenician, Greek, Carthaginian, Roman, Celtic and Moorish influence.

Lisbon has been constantly inhabited in one form or another since the Neolithic Age and ranks as one of the world's longest founded cities. It would be difficult to do more than just scratch the surface If you are only planning of spending on a couple of days in the city.

I'm just stunned by these comments about Lisbon. The perils of travel.

I've nothing against Sevilla, and my comment that it doesn't interest me as much as it does other tourists was a comment about me, not Sevilla.

More importantly, it was a warning not to plan your travel based on what you read in the internet about people you don't know telling you what your priorities should be. Unless, of course, you have money to burn and time to waste.

I wouldn't spend 4 days in Lisbon if you can spend only 1 day in Sevilla. Sevilla is a wonderful city, with a great deal worth seeing.

I have paid as much as 95 euros extra for a car I rented in Germany and dropped off in Vienna. I'd certainly check with the car rental company to see how much the drop off charge will be.