Itinerary for 1week in Spain+1 week in Portugal
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 2
Itinerary for 1week in Spain+1 week in Portugal
Hi
Really need help. We are planning a vacation with our friends.We are going to visit Portugal together and visit Spain by our selves.
Need help in planning our trip.
I am absolutely lost. Should we visit Portugal first and then Spain? or vice verse.
And what should we focus on in both countries. How to better plan in sequence of visiting.
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Really need help. We are planning a vacation with our friends.We are going to visit Portugal together and visit Spain by our selves.
Need help in planning our trip.
I am absolutely lost. Should we visit Portugal first and then Spain? or vice verse.
And what should we focus on in both countries. How to better plan in sequence of visiting.
Any help would be greatly appreciated
#2
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 22,115
One week in each country is very little. You might consider spending all your time in Portugal -- there's certainly more than enough to fill your time!
Spain is a huge country, and combining it with Portugal can be surprisingly difficult because major transportation connections are limited. If you really want to combine the two countries, and have just one week for each, you might want to see if Galicia captures your interest.
Beyond that, we would, I think, need to know something of your interests and preferences before we could offer meaningful suggestions. And you don't say when you would travel, which can make a huge difference.
Good luck!
Spain is a huge country, and combining it with Portugal can be surprisingly difficult because major transportation connections are limited. If you really want to combine the two countries, and have just one week for each, you might want to see if Galicia captures your interest.
Beyond that, we would, I think, need to know something of your interests and preferences before we could offer meaningful suggestions. And you don't say when you would travel, which can make a huge difference.
Good luck!
#3
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 66,048
>>Should we visit Portugal first and then Spain? <<
No way to help with that question - the order doesn't matter very much. In any case, I agree with kja - in one week you will see almost nothing of Spain and two weeks is a nice taste of Portugal.
No way to help with that question - the order doesn't matter very much. In any case, I agree with kja - in one week you will see almost nothing of Spain and two weeks is a nice taste of Portugal.
#5
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,772
Well since you can't see all of either country in one or even two weeks I think there are several possible routes that could combine the two. Time of year makes a big difference. In mid summer you could start in Lisbon (4 days), then Porto (3 days) Portugal, then Santiago de Compostela and along the north coast to Bilbao and San Sebastian (could do that in a week, though longer is of course better). Other times of year you could do the same Lisbon and Porto but then cut over to Salamanca, Segovia, and Madrid. If winter or early spring you could do Lisbon and then head south to the Algarve and then over to Seville - Cordoba- Granada. All doable by public transportation but in Spain that means buses for a lot of the routes. But buses are inexpensive and pleasant in Spain. The north coast of Spain route is better with a car. If you do car rental you need to see if there are huge fees to drop in a different country than you pick up in which is usually the case.
#7
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 1,245
What time of year are you going? that's helpful to know. I would recommend Andalucia, but if it's summer, it will be very hot there. TAP has flights from Lisbon to Seville (and vice versa), so you could fly to Seville after visiting Lisbon. And then take the ALSA bus from Seville to Granada to see the Alhambra. I think Barcelona is a bit cooler in the summer, although it may be more humid, but you could possibly fly from Lisbon to Barcelona and spend a week there, including Girona and/or Costa Brava.
What are your interests?
I do agree with kja and janisj that spending 2 weeks in either Spain or Portugal is preferable, but if you want a taste of both countries to whet your appetite, you could do a week in each one.
What are your interests?
I do agree with kja and janisj that spending 2 weeks in either Spain or Portugal is preferable, but if you want a taste of both countries to whet your appetite, you could do a week in each one.
#8
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,322
Spain is a large country so for a week best to pick one area and I'd suggest Andalusia with Seville and Cordoba and Granada at most if you like to travel fast or just Seville and Cordoba if not. Anyway Andalusia is great and then you can hop a bus from Seville to Portugal's Algarve and then up to Lisbon and base there - do a day trip to Sintra and its fabulous royal castles and nice small towns. Trains -check www.seat61.com for everything you need to know about trains in each country and how to book your own online tickets at the cheapest possible prices - general info like 1st v 2nd class on trains and what to exect check www.ricksteves.com and BETS-European Rail Experts (check out their free online European Planning & Rail Guide for lots on trains in each country and where you can go by trains).
And yes you may want to consider doing just one country or the other but in no way can you see Spain and Portugal in 2 weeks but only parts of them.
And yes you may want to consider doing just one country or the other but in no way can you see Spain and Portugal in 2 weeks but only parts of them.
