Please if you have any tips. Suzie and me are flying from Miami to Lisbon in July 3 rd. We have 12 days.
We are planning to rent a car ( maybe when we leave lisbon ), and visit Portugal and north of Spain.
Please help us, thanks.
Is it better to do the day trips from lisbon ( cascais etc with a car of by train?)
Any other cities to visit?

It depends what you and Suzie enjoy doing.
I would certainly recommend at least a couple of days in Sintra, Obidos, Lisbon, and maybe a week down on the southern coast if you enjoy beaches (My wife and I stayed in Salema, a quiet town not too far out of Lagos).

Thank you!we live in miami so we prefer hiking of just sightseeing more than beaches......

My first advice: don't plan to rent a car in Portugal and drop ot off in Spain. That might cost you an arm & a leg.
You say "north of Spain." 12-days isn't enough to cover much of northern Spain so you might want to concentrate on Galicia. In Galicia you should visit LaGuardia & Monté Santa Tecla where you can see a restored Castreño (Celtic) village that may be why Vigo's equipo de Futbol is called Celta de Vigo.

Visit Baiona, where Columbus made landfall on his return from his First Voyage of Discovery. You may even want to stay at the Parador in el Castillo del Conde de Gondomar there.

I like Vigo, a prosperous fishing Port and Center of Commerce. It is now Spain's busiest Atlantic port. The Statuary along the Avenues may be disturbing at first; but you get used to them. In Vigo, we have stayed at Hotel America and Bahia Vigo (across from the Cruise Ship dock).

There's Santiago de Compostela: the Soul of Spain - definitely worth a stop for several days, a Saturday or Sunday preferred so you can see the Botafumeiro swing at Pilgrims' Mass.

So much for Galicia. I'll try to remember some of our Portugal trip and embellish my reply later

Thanks a lot !
Good advice. I am originally from Argentina and I love soccer ( River Plate), will get Celta de Vigo's origins name there.

Good for you !
With 12 days I would spend 3 of those in the Lisbon area, perhaps staying in Cascais. Then drive north to Obidos for 2 nites to see Nazare, Batalha etc. Then, see the Minho region by basing in Viano do Castelo and finally 2 nites in Santiago do Compostela. Try to see Porto coming or going. We will be in Galicia and Portugal for 15 days in May. Good luck !

Thank you Bob, I am sure your May Holiday will be great !

If you drive north in Portugal, try to take the old road thru a region called Mealhada (mi al yada). look for where the Truckers stop & dine on the best Leitao asado (roast suckling pig) you'll find anywhere in the world at one of the truck stops along that highway.

Don't miss Coimbra, the University town, or Guimaraes, known as the birthplace of modern Portugal (north & east of Porto, not too far from Braga).

You can do daytrips from Lisbon to Sintra, Cascais and Estoril by tren or tranvia. Save a day for Belém and Parque dos Naciaoes (Expo98 site), accessible by MetroLisboa.

You might be interested in my trip report of northern Portugal and Galicia:

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

Thank you Nedsireland for your help!