Travelling alone and arriving in Madrid in mid May I am seeking help to put together a realistic itinerary. I will be departing from Madrid after my trip.

Car rental is my preferred means of transport . I am keen to avoid busy city areas but wil spend some time exploring main sites in Madrid before picking up the retal car.

I will be visiting Barcelona at a later date so will not be heading in that direction.

I intend staying in B&B or equivalent - is there such a thing in Spain/Portugal?

I have no feel for cost per night so any advice on this and recommendations on places to stay from those who have done something similar recently will be helpful.

Is driving to Lisbon and back to Madrid feasible? Any "must sees" along this route?

Any suggestions for my itinerary will be much appreciated.

With only 5 days in Spain skip the car; you can go relatively anywhere using public transportation. A car will be a burden; parking even in the smaller towns is a pain. I cannot suggest much of an itinerary unless I know a bit more of your likes/dislikes. What type sights/things you like to enjoy/visit while exploring a new place? Fodor's has a pre-made itinerary (1 thru 5 days) that covers the basic touristic stuff-- I won't repeat it; check it out and inquire from there.

Mid-May is a great time to visit Madrid because they will be celebrating their Patron Saint festivities (San Isidro Labrador; May 15th) with special concerts, parades from Plaza mayor and bullfights (Las Ventas Bullfight Ring).

As far as hotels, there are plenty B&Bs: try http://www.abracadabrabandb.com/ I have stayed at Hotel Mora, Hotel Atlantico, and Hotel Europa while in Madrid. I recommend all of them. All have great locations; Mora is the cheapest (across from Museo del Prado), Atlantico on Gran Via has a great breakfast (included), and Europa is in the midst of Puerta del Sol and recently renovated.

For more B&B choices the following website will let you enter a date and provide a list of B&B in Madrid: http://www.bedandbreakfastworld.com/...FUbf4AodsGyx-Q

As far as driving to Lisbon-- not a good idea. It is about 6-7 hours one way; with only 5 days you do not have the time to do this. Since you are already heading North (BCN) if you want to get out of Madrid for an overnight I would suggest either take the AVE train to Seville, Cordova or Toledo.

Hope this helps.

Not much more I could add - you will see hostal or hostales (note the spelling, this is not hostel) as places to stay, but generally they do not serve breakfast.

If you absolutely want to go to Lisbon for 1 day then overnight train (TRENHOTEL Lusitania) is not a bad option. It travels at night both ways, gives you full day in Lisbon and saves on 2 hotel nights. There are usually promotional fares for this train. Now mid week fare in March is from 84 euros R/T for Cama Turista, 210 - in Cama P & 300 - in Cama G.

Train sitting/bedding options are: Turista (Chair), Cama Turista (bed in 4 berth compartment), Cama Preferen (2 berth compartment), Cama G. Clase (2 berth compartment with shower & dinner included).

Thanks hkto,WomBatt,Viajero2. Great advice. I will skip the car and Lisbon.