to_switzerland

Hi,

We need some help with this itinerary. After much deliberation, my husband and I are heading to Portugal in Nov/Dec. We have a week. We enjoy the outdoors, history and festive events.

Day 1-2: Land in Lisbon. Lisbon, Sintra
Day 3-4: Duoro valley
Day 5,6,7: On to Merida and then to Seville.
Day 8: To Madrid and flight home. No sightseeing in Madrid.

Thanks very much!!

lobo_mau

IMHO it's feasible, but you'll spend most of your time driving.
Try this:
Day 1-3: Land in Lisbon. Lisbon, Sintra
Day 4,5: On to Marvao/or Evora (points of interest are Arraiolos, Vila Viçosa, Monsaraz, Castelo de Vide)
Day 6,7: On to Merida and then to Salamanca.
Day 8: To Madrid and flight home.

some notes:
Notice that Merida is a short distance from Marvao.
Are you sure you want to do Merida and Seville? I'd opt by Merida/Salamanca or Seville, but not both.
The route Lisbon/Arraiolos/Estremoz/Marvao/Merida/Salamanca/Madrid is about 700 km, which is reasonable for 7 days and more than halves the original distance.
Are you aware of the drop off rates to pick up a car in Lisbon and leave it is Spain?
I think Nikki did a similar trip. Check for her report.

to_switzerland

Thank you.
I forgot to mention that if possible, we would like to use public transportation.
Is that doable?
Are there any trains from Evora to Seville?
I have heard wonderful things about Seville and would not like to miss it, unless the schedule becomes too tight.
Lisbon - Evora - Seville. Is that possible in 7 days?
What else would you recommend if not Seville?

Thanks again!

Michael

You might be interested in my trip report, especially the section that covers Bragança to Tomar.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34875899

thursdaysd

I just looked into traveling from Evora to Seville by public transport. There is no train - there are only two reasonable train routes between Portugal and Spain: the overnight Lisbon-Madrid Lusitania and a northern route between Porto and Santiago requiring a change at Redondela. I could not find a direct bus. It seems to be possible to go from Evora to Badajoz by bus, wait a few hours and then go on by bus to Seville. Otherwise you can go by bus from Lisbon, but via Lagos.

I agree that your itinerary is including too much in too short a time. Where are you flying from? Will you have jet lag on day one? Have you checked to see whether your arrival time in Madrid will allow you to catch your flight? Getting from Lisbon to the Duoro valley would take five hours by train.

to_switzerland

Thank you!
We are flying from the US and will possibly have jetlag. Getting to Seville does not seem straightforward.

We probably need to make this a Portugal only or Spain only trip then?

to_switzerland

Wonderful trip report Michael.. thank you!

thursdaysd

"We probably need to make this a Portugal only or Spain only trip then?" Absolutely. You really only have six days on the ground. I've just booked a trip that includes six days just for Lisbon. There's plenty to do just in Portugal, never mind Spain. For my last trip to both see TRs at www.wilhelmswords.com/rtw2004.

lobo_mau

I assumed to_switzerland was going to rent a car. With public transportation, the suggested trip is not feasible.
Based on public transportantion only my suggestion for you is to concentrate in Lisbon, with side trips to Sintra or Evora.
The transborder railways were designed in late 19th century and the intention was more to prevent than to facilitate movement.
To travel between Portugal and Spain in direct routes and high speed trains, visitors have to postpone their travels by 4 or 5 years yet.
Thurdays, you have a beautiful report, but I wish to do a minor correction, the Roman name for the Peninsula was Hispania (not Lusitania)

thursdaysd

Thanks for the info! A little googling turns up different names at different periods - "two military areas (provinciae) of Nearer and Further Spain (Hispania Citerior
and Hispania Ulterior) in 197 [BCE]" and "three provinces: Baetica, with its provincial capital at Corduba (Córdoba); Lusitania, with its capital at Emerita Augusta (Mérida); and Tarraconensis (still called Hispania Citerior in inscriptions), based on Tarraco (Tarragona)" in 19 CE. I'll update my site.