10YearAnniversary

Hello Everyone,

I am planning a surprise trip to Spain and Portugal for my wife to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. So far my itinerary looks like this:
May 28 - Arrive Madrid
May 29 - Travel to Toledo
May 31 - Travel to Cordoba
June 2 - Travel to Arcos de la Frontera
June 3 - Travel to Seville
June 4 - Travel to the Algarve (Carvoeiro)
June 4 - 11 - Relax in the Algarve
June 11 - Big travel day back to Madrid
June 12 - Fly home to Canada

That is as much as I know. We are both 37 and I am so excited to be taking her to Europe for a romantic two weeks away together. We have three young children who we adore, but we are overdue for a trip away by ourselves.

I ask for any and all advice regarding whether I am going to the right places (I am committed to Spain and Portugal), which hotels we should stay at, which restaurants, where there are great things to see and do, romantic tips, etc, etc etc. I will be greatly appreciative for any tips, advice and good learnings that you can pass along.

Thank you all in advance!

Paul

rex

It's not the trip I would plan (too much moving around pre-Algarve, then too much time on the Algarve alone) - - but that's not why I'm replying.

I would not plan a trip like this - - and commit to the air travel, for example - - and spring it all as a surprise, dates and all, without her knowing anything about the plan.

Best wishes,

Rex

AAFrequentFlyer

Please try to remember that the EURO2004 will start on June 12 in Portugal. People will start arriving a day or 2 before. All the major cities(including Faro-Loule in Algrave region) in Portugal will become a madhouse for European soccer fans including myself . 16 European nations are in the finals, so besides the fans from those countries, you will also see soccer fans from all over the world. It will be fun, but the situation may create hotel and transportation problems for the average tourist at that time.

If you want more of a quiet romantic vacation in Portugal, plan that part at the beggining of your trip.

DOCK

We did Spain and Algarve in July 03. Personally,I think you are trying to do too much in your time frame. Leave out the Algarve, the weather is not as hot as Spain, the water is cooold, and the infrastruture is not as good as in Spain.You only have 1 day in Seville and I thik this is not enough, we spent 3 days and loved every minute. It is an awesome walking city, the Alcazar is a half day, the cathedaral another half and then you could take a carriage rid, do some shopping or just amble the Barrio Santa Cruz, stopping for tapas along the way.I assume you chose Arcos as it is on the way to the algarve and did so to break up your trip. we stayed at the Parador in Arcos, room with a terrace, great view to enjoy and a wonderful town to stroll around. I assume you are going to see Ronda on the way to Arcos.If I were you add the 2 Algarve days to other stops on your Spain trip, definitely at least one more night in Seville.You have not chosen Granada , have you seen the Alhambra before? If not then you should rather do that. if you are determined to go to the Algarve then I would suggest you stick closer to the Spain border, the town of Tavira is quaint and well worth a stop. I am sure you have looked at a map and calculated your driving time between the stops so you know you will spend th better part of the day to got ot Carvoeiro. It has gorgeous beach, fantastic rock cliffs,but not worth the time you will spend. if you had more time then certainly do it but I think you are trying to pack in way too much in your trip. tavira is a great spot, we stayed at the Vila Gale Tavira, great hotel. There is a beach in tavira, you have to take a ferry to get there. At night the town is lively along the river great restaurants, live music, just a perfect picture postcard town.Hope I have given you some info to help. Since it is your anniversary trip you should saty at a Parador at least once and as this is not high season you should get bookings easily.

johanna

HI: I took a trip this past summer to
seville (Paris & London too) I was gone for 6 wks but I spent 10 days in Sevilla. I took day trips to Alhambra, took the bus to Gibralter and took the boat to Morocco. Another day I took 2 buses to get to the Algarve and visited Tavira. I took the train from Madrid to Sevilla. The Ave is an outstanding train, like flying first class on a plane, a movie, food headphones beautiful scenery and only 21/2 hrs. I have spent time in Madrid before and went to Toledo . The drive to Arcos de La Frontera was tiring too me. I got my hotel in Sevilla from Maribel on this post. I would suggest doing one part of the country or the other. Sevilla is a beautiful walking town. Make sure your hotel has a/c as it will be hot. Have a wonderful anniversary.

car

In your trip planing you are almust using Madrid and Seville as travel connections. This might be fine if you already know the cities, do you? otherwise I suggest you spend more time in Madrid and Seville and cut from Arcos ,Algarve part.

samtraveler

That's wonderful! On the Iberian Penensula having only been to Barcelona I can't speak from experience to your itinerary, but from my research and what I do know I think you're moving around too much the first part of the trip. Why no time in Madrid? Seems like you'd want a few days there at the start. And I'd definitely plan more time in Seville--I'm planning a trip this May and have 3 days scheduled there myself.

Otherwise my suggestion to surprising her is to perhaps surprise her with the plane tickets (so long as you're certain about the dates) and then the two of you together plan the trip. Good luck!

Christina

I suppose my reactions are similar to many others. I would spend a little more time in madrid at the beginning. It isn't clear when you say "travel to Toledo" but I think you mean move hotels. I'm not sure how you are traveling, but it sounds like perhaps the train between Corboda to Arcos de la Frontera and back to Seville? I don't understand that myself. I don't think I'd be interested in a week in the Algarve, but I know I don't like resort/beach areas myself much at all and get bored, but others do so maybe that's your thing. I would pay attention to the soccer issue for sure.

AAFrequentFlyer

Why are some of you so against the surprise?

I surprised my girlfriend with a week in Paris few years ago. Here is what I did and it worked perfectly:

1.Make sure her passport is in order

2.Contact her boss and arrange her vacation without her knowing.

3.One of her best girlfriends was in on the surprise. She had to be. She practicaly picked the clothes, meaning, she came over the house, went through her closet about a week before and made sure the stuff is clean and ready to pack and whatever was not, ran it to the cleaners.

4. We were leaving Thursday, so on Wednesday(our little anniversary) I had her call in sick(knowing that it would be no problem) and told her I wanted to treat her to a special anniversary surprise. I arranged a day spa and after, had her dropped off at our favorite restaurant. It was around 6pm on Wed when I finally told her where we are going next day. She was totally surprised, even cried, and then being a female her thoughts went to "What am I going to pack???". We went home and within few hours she was packed but couldn't figure out how some of the clothes were cleaned, because she did not remember ever taking them to cleaners. That stayed my little secret. It was funny, she kept on questioning her sanity.
Next morning we were off and the trip was one of the best vacations ever.

This was with a girlfriend, so I imagine with a wife it would be easier. I planned and finalized this whole thing in about 6 weeks. I do agree that maybe you don't want to make arrangments till about 2-3 months before as you never know what could come up. So hold off on any concrete arrangments till then. Also this is one of the special cases where travel insurance is important, although it has to be a custom quote.

And if you're curious, no we're not together anymore, although we're great friends. She still talks about the "SURPRISE" to this day.

It's very doable, so stop the negativity.

RachelG

I would love if my husband would surprise me like this--but it will never happen.
But AAFrequentFlyer, if my clothes went to the cleaners, I would figure it out--and I have a pretty big wardrobe.

AAFrequentFlyer

Her girfriend took it in the morning and brought it back in the afternoon before she came home from work. she took the stuff out of the bags and hung back in the closet. Besides the few items were her going out clothes so she never looked at them as we pretty much stayed home the weekend before.

KirRoyale

Dear 10YearAnniversary,

You are a wonderful person - plan away!! As others might recall, it is my dream to be surprised like this. My dream includes a day or two notice so that I can pack for myself, but otherwise, I want to be surprised!!

I've not been to Spain, so can't offer advice, but I hope you'll you'll have a wonderful time.

KirRoyale

nytraveler

I agree with some others that this trip is trying to cover too much territory. You should probably focus on fewer places. What you wife likes might help decide. I much prefer to spend time in the south - Sevilla, Granada, Cordoba - which is much more historial, interesting and romantic - than in Madrid - which after all differs little from big cities in the US. You don't need to travel to Toledo - it can easily be done in one day from Madrid. I might consider beach time in the South of Spain rather then going to the Algarve. There are lovely places near Marbella (Puerto Banus etc.) that require a lot less travel time.

Hope you have a grat rip.

ceb1222

Awesome plan! I hope everything works without a hitch...

Now, onto the important part - your itinerary. I'm sure you want to relax and see as much as possible. You can definitely do this in two weeks! I lived in Sevilla for four months, during which time I traveled all over Spain on the weekends.

Unless you're a museum/history fiend, you're fine, in my opinion, with just staying in Madrid overnight. You'll be in the zone after flying, so take some recovery time, stay in a nice hotel...

I never went to Toledo, so I can't tell you if that's worth it or not, but I would definitely forego that side trip and the one to Cordoba for extra time in Sevilla. I may be biased, but it is a very quaint, romantic city - the streets are tiny and maze-like, it's very walkable, and very safe - with plenty to do in three days. Take the AVE (high speed train) from Madrid to Sevilla. Hotel Dona Maria is right by the Catedral, very well-priced, close to the best walking neighborhood - La Judeira - in the city. You wake up to the bells of the Catedral (not TOO early!)

Then, please take my advice on this: take two days to see the white towns in la Frontera. Rent a car in Sevilla and drive south to Ronda - the drive is amazing, you'll find some of the towns along the way, and you must stay in the Hotel Parador in Ronda. I recently recommended someone else to this place - Ronda sits on the edge of a huge gorge and the Parador sits RIGHT on the edge of the huge gorge. Very reasonable rates - ask for one of the rooms with two floors and a gorge view - when I went three years ago, its was less than 100E/night. There is also a great restaurant on the top floor.

Now, if you want some time to sit on the beach and do nothing at all, which is always nice, go to the Algarve for a week. If you don't mind cutting the maxing and relaxing by two days, head east to Granada and check out the Alhambra. Awesome. OR, you could do the Algarve for five days and Tarifa for 3. Tarifa is way down at the bottom of the country - about three hours from Ronda (still a beautiful drive). The water is aquamarine, and you can see Africa... Great hotel in Tarifa, and I can't think of the name of it... It's a bungalow-style kind of place, they serve breakfast on the terrace, private beach, gorgeous pool...

Okay, so back up to the Algarve. The southern coast of Portugal is gorgeous, so you don't want to miss it. I drove straight through from Sevilla to Lagos in the dark and rain, and it continued to rain all weekend, so I can only tell you how beautiful Lagos was, even in the midst of the downpours.

Ummmm... and while you're there, drive all the way out to the west coast (it's a nice drive) to Cabo San Vicente. Don't miss sunset here - this will give you new respect for Columbus, because this place truly looks like the end of the world - in a good way. You can watch the sunset from here and you two will fall in love all over again (if you haven't already somewhere earlier on the trip).

Having said all that, you're already on the right track by staying south of Madrid. You just need to streamline it a little bit - you don't want to be running running running. The are so many beautiful things to see in southern Spain and Portugal - you need at least a little time to absorb the all!

So, in a nutshell, my itinerary advice is this:

May 28 - Arrive Madrid
May 29- AVE to Sevilla
May 29-Jun 2 - Sevilla (day trip to Cordoba is very doable by train, nice ride)
Jun 2 - Jun 4 rent car, drive to Ronda, stop in the surrounding towns, stay in Hotel Parador!, head to Arcos or Jerez...
Jun 5 - head to Algarve...

Of course, these are just suggestions. But the big one is: stay in Sevilla for more than just one night! It's not a big "city." Oh, and Hotel Parador in Ronda.

Sorry for the craziness of this post, I just get so excited about Spain.

Whatever you decide, enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. You'll have a great time no matter what. If you have any specific questions about any of this stuff, I'm willing to help.

10YearAnniversary

Thanks to everyone for their great and heartfelt responses. What a great source this Fodor Talk is!

Allow me to provide a little more clarity to my original post and reply to some of the comments - all of which I appreciate. Firstly, my wife knows we are going away alone together for our anniversary (with three small children it would be hard to pull off a complete surprise) to Spain and Portugal - she just does not know the details. She knows that I am more fussy about these things and also knows that I like to attend to the organizing details more than she does. She also believes that in my hands our trip will be more successful - what she does not know is that I am relying on all of you to not let her down

Our airmiles only allow us to fly to Madrid which is why our trip begins there. I am currently looking at staying at the Hotel Emperatiz, but it is a little more than what I wanted to pay. Being from Canada, I am hoping to pay under 100 Euros each night where I can. My plan (until you Fodorites talk me out of it) is to rent a car for the two week period - this will give us freedom to move about and will likely not cost much more than train travel would have cost.

My assumption is that Madrid is not the best place to spend time in Spain and that we will want to head south as soon as we can. That is why I am planning on only one night there (plus the night we fly back home). I recall reading that the two places you must see in Spain are Toldeo and Cordoba which is why I have us passing through those places on our way to Seville (which I agree will be magical). I also assumed (you can see why I need help with all these assumptions) that hotels in the smaller places (like Toledo and Cordoba) will be more charming, more quaint, and less money. So, we would spend a day in these towns exploring them, spend the night in one of their quaint hotels, and then get up the next morning to leisurely move on to our next place.

From the responses to date, I am already adjusting my itinerary to cut out Arcos de la Frontera (I had read about a couple of very special hotels that I had wanted to try out, but you have to leave something to do for next time) and spending more time in Seville. I am considering staying at the Hotel Amadeus while in Seville, but again, not sure that is my best choice and I have no idea where to stay while spending the night in Toledo and Cordoba.

As for our week in Portugal, I have heard some great things about Portugal and the people and the beaches and the better prices. I really wanted to spend our "hang out and do nothing" week there. I understand that it is a bit of a drive, but since it will be our headquarters for the week, I am hoping it is worth getting to. And, I expect we will be "getting out of Dodge" just in time to avoid most of the soccer fans.

Please keep your opinions and suggestions and advice coming and I will continue to pay heed to all you have to say.

ceb1222

Ah-ha! Hurricane Hotel in Tarifa, Spain. Just check out the website... www.hurricanehotel.com

rex

<<Firstly, my wife knows we are going away alone together for our anniversary (with three small children it would be hard to pull off a complete surprise) to Spain and Portugal - she just does not know the details.>>

Okay - - I retract my negative comments. I just didn't think you should try to pull it off as a complete surprise - - and risk buying tickets when she might say "oh, no! can't we shift it one day this way or that?"

Have a great adventure - - both in the planning and in the traveling.

eschule

hate to take this thread off-topic but you mentioned that you had to fly in and out of madrid because of miles. we flew open-jaw last year to italy. are the other airports in spain not serviced by your airline? this may require help from AAFrequentFlyer.

i'm considering a trip next spring and was hoping to start in madrid and end up flying back from seville or jerez or malaga. is that not possible. my miles are on american.

thanks and continue the flow of the main topic please!

AAFrequentFlyer

eschule,

It's very much possible as long as one of AA's partners flies to one of the cities.

I woill assume that Iberia does fly there, so your mileage award will get you to other cities as long as the total one-way trip is 3 segments or less.

There are many other combos possible. Through London, Zurich etc...

So for example your itinerary may look like this.:
Your city-Miami(AA)
Miami-Madrid(AA) or

Your city-New York(AA)
New York-Madrid(IB) or, well you get the idea, and on the way back..

Seville-Madrid(IB)
Madrid-Miami(AA)
Miami-Your city(AA) or

Seville-London(BA)
London-many different choices here(AA)
Whatever hub-your city(AA)

On AA.com you could only book awards on AA metal ONLY, so in case like this you have to call AAdvantage and let them look for the best possible routing. Additional segment may be allowed if it's not possible with 3, but not if 3 seg are possible but not available.

Anyway, the best way to tackle this is to call the airline ASAP to secure the tickets. Don't forget, the more segments, the more availibility problems.

Good luck!

eschule

thanks AAFrequentFlyer.

that clears it up.