Family of four, kids ages 20 and 22 as of trip in late May. I've perused this forum, and not sure we could find similar situations....

Son studied abroad last year and spent a quick weekend in Southern Spain, falling in love with the region. When we gave him options for graduation gift, he jumped at a chance to bring us all back. We have 10 days. I might want to stop on the way over or back in Lisbon (makes our flight super cheap and we'd love to see it, too), so thinking about 7-8 days in Spain.

Ideally we base ourselves in one or maximum two places. I don't mind driving, but also don't love idea of hassle if there's parking concerns. We tend to travel somewhat upscale, enjoy exploring historical and beautiful places as opposed to beach, etc.

I'm at a loss as to how to go about/plan. We've used a travel agent in the past when needed, but prefer to crowd source this one as we feel we'd be pushed into a more expensive/less immersive and historical trip if we engaged her.

Again, open to any mode of travel. Don't want to hotel hop, preferring to maybe do two hotels at 3-4 nights each.

thx!

hi, you don't know me, we have never met.
we get this sort of question every week
you have no reason to trust me

but

please, don't think just because Portugal is near Spain, that mixing the two countries for a holiday is a great idea.....yes I know the map says.

Portugal is full of fantastic visits.
Spain is even bigger, but not always fuller

I'd use the train, I'd base in Lisbon for one day and Faro for the other day. Use Lisbon for the city and day trips to some of the local ancient cities. Stay in Lisbon at the end of the holiday so you can have a safe, low stress home.

Faro centre is very traditional and you can access the beach, take day trips along the south coast. Or catch the train to Tavira and base at the old Tuna factory and see all the Roman stuff, the massive sea protected beaches etc.

If your kids already like Spain they will be back, if they like Portugal they will be back.

seat61.com
cp.pt

I assume the OP means the TAP airlines stopover program. The stop in Lisbon is basically free.


If the OP only has seven days stay in Seville . Day trip to Granada. Maybe one or two more around Seville. I know seven days sounds like a lot but it isn't

I assume Traveler_Nick means to day trip to Cordoba from Seville. Cordoba is about a 45-minute train ride from Seville. Granada is much further away, and I think it would be a very long and tiring daytrip from Seville. However, the Alhambra in Granada is amazing. With 7 nights in Andalusia, you could do the following:

Seville - 4 nights
Cordoba - 1 night
Granada - 2 nights
OR
Seville - 5 nights with a daytrip to Cordoba (to minimize hotel changes)
Granada - 2 nights

I agree with bilboburgler that there is so much to see in Spain that you will have a more enjoyable trip if you spend the entire 10 days (or is it nights) in Spain. You could add a night to Cordoba and possibly a couple nights in Madrid. However, if you are talking about the TAP stopover program, which we did several years ago, I can see stopping over in Lisbon and spending about 3 nights there. We spent 5 nights in Lisbon on our way home from Marseille one year on the stopover program. If you do this, Seville should be your last stop in Spain because you can fly TAP from Seville to Lisbon.

No I meant driving to Granada . Or take the train. Yes it's a three hour drive each way but if you need to check out. Take the train . Check in. You're likely going to want two nights. On a short trip does the OP have that time?

I'd suggest 3 nights Seville, 2 nights Cordoba, 2 nights Granada just because I enjoyed all three places so much.

Ok...THANK YOU ALL for such wonderful advice. A day or two of searching flights and logistics....it seems we probably will lop off Portugal for this trip. Promised the wife we'd sneak away for a week some time in the next year or two on our own and explore Lisbon and surrounding!

So....we're now down to about 9 days in Spain. We've done and loved Barcelona and that's the other side of the country. I don't know that we'd want much/any time Madrid. One of our kids spent a week there playing soccer in HS, did the touristy things, etc. Probably will be our entry point, though....

As metioned, don't love hotel hopping but obviously will be changing bases a few times. Def want to hit Seville, Cordoba, and Granada, and wouldn't mind a day or two relaxing by a beach town (could maybe do this on arrival to get our bodies adjusted before hitting the ground running?).... Happy to use whatever transportation is best. Train, or car if opportunities to see/stop in places affords itself better.

Do you have 10 nights in Spain?

You should check airline schedules and see if you can fly into Malaga, where you could spend 2 nights upon arrival. Malaga is a wonderful small city located on the Mediterranean so that will give you beach time if it’s warm enough. And there is a lot to see and do in Malaga. It has a lovely pedestrianized city center; you can walk to the top of the Alcazaba, visit the Castillo, Atarazanas Market, have drinks on the seaside promenade, and visit the numerous art museums, such as the Picasso.

And Malaga is a close bus or train ride to Granada and Seville. 1.5 hours to Granada by ALSA bus, and 2.5 hours to Seville by train. Look into flying home from Seville. That is what we did. So a possible routing could be Malaga/Granada/Cordoba/Seville.

If you don’t have time to overnight in Cordoba, then your routing could be Malaga/Granada/Seville with a day trip to Cordoba from Seville.

Look into multi-city airline schedules: fly into Malaga and fly home from Seville. This way you don’t waste time backtracking.

Probably 9 nights, though arriving early am on the first day. Yes- we are from the east coast and there is a direct into Malaga. Not our cheapest option (and miles currently are egregiously expensive based on what we've paid in the last few years to go to Europe that way), but may be the best option.

I do see Malaga is convenient for both Granada and Cordoba on day trips- believe both train schedules less than 1.5 hrs. But question is- do we lose something if we don't overnight in Granada?

Malaga to Seville for lodging seems quite reasonable, but I don't want to be EXHAUSTED by constant day trips back and forth. Especially when we're an American early dinner type family so the Spanish schedule is going to take a few days of adjusting!

Is it reasonable to rent a car from Seville to hit Costa de Luz or the sherry places? I could see those being fun, but not sure how aggressive we're getting now!

Oh, I don’t mean to visit Granada or Cordoba as daytrips from Malaga. What I meant is that after spending 2 nights in Malaga, you can take the ALSA bus to Granada and then spend 2 nights in Granada. It’s a short bus ride so you aren’t spending all day traveling from one destination to the other. Then after Granada you can take the train to Cordoba and spend a night or two there. And then it’s a short train ride (45 minutes) to Seville where you could spend 4 nights and then fly home from Seville.

If you don’t want to move around that much, you could visit Cordoba as a daytrip from Seville.

Honestly, as much as we liked Malaga, I would prefer to spend 2 nights in Cordoba instead of Malaga if I don’t have the time to spend 2 nights in each place. I suggested Malaga because you mentioned you would like a beach stay for a couple days.

I haven’t visited Costa de Luz or the sherry places, so I can’t comment on that.