My fiance and I are just starting to plan our honeymoon to Spain and Portugal for the beginning of October. We want to try and create a nice balance between relaxing and sightseeing. As of now, our agenda is Barcelona for 3 days, Seville for 2, Rhonda for 1 or 2, Lagos for 2, and Estoril/Sintra for the remaining 3 or 4 days.
I would really appreciate any recomendations or suggestions on our itinerary!!

Recommend any hotels? Preferably under$150nt but might splurge in one city.

Anything we are missing?

Thinking of flying into Barcelona and out of Lisbom?

Weather in beginning of OCtober?
Thank you fo any help you can give us.

We just returned from 2 weeks in Spain and Portugal. However, our itinerary was a little different then yours. We flew into Madrid, took the AVE train to Seville, then a bus to Lisbon, and flew to the Algarve. Although we wanted to go to Barcelona, the rather slow transportation options in Spain and Portugal compelled us to eliminate it from this trip.

We loved Madrid, however. Great city! I think any "city person" would love it. We also loved Seville. We stayed in the Hotel Simon. It was an interesting hotel - a restored mansion, but nothing spectacular for the price (97 euros plus tax and without breakfast for a double room with "salon" - a sitting room). It was a great location, however. We walked everywhere.

Rather than Lagos I would highly recommend Salema. We loved Salema - a quiet little beach town. And we LOVED our accomodations there. We stayed in a private villa about a 10 minute walk from the beach. We "splurged" on the suite for 70 euros per night. The woman who owns the place, Lisa, was great. She only rents out 4 rooms including the suite. It is her first year in business and she reported that business has been slow. And since we were traveling in June we had the place to ourselves. She has a lovely garden and pool area. And we had our own private terrace overlooking the gardens, pool and the ocean. We loved our 4 relaxing nights there! You can visit the website at romantikvilla.com.

Have you budgeted time for transporation between your chosen cities? As KD said, transportation options may not be as plentiful nor as fast as you think.

I would suggest Sintra over Estoril. In Sintra, Casa Miradouro was very nice and within your budget. In Sintra there is a tourist bus that will take you to all the major sites. The train also runs directly from Sintra to Rossio in Lisbon. Sightseeing in Lisbon is easy from there.

Pousadas in Portugal are a great value for the money.

Your schedule is tight but consider the sleeper train Barcelona to Sevilla. The 2200 hrs delux TrenHotel includes dinner and a private compartment. Get on train and go immediately to dining car to get seat. Arrive Sevilla 0800 next day. Train Schedule and prices: http://horarios.renfe.es/hir/ingles.html
Reservations a must.

Rhonda is touristy and ok however the Alhambra in Granada is a do not miss. Maybe drive from Sevilla to Granada and swing into Rhonda on the way. Or train it to Granada. A day in each place is adequate. If you do go to the Alhambra, be sure to buy your tickets in advance. We bought ours on the web. ttfn

Ronda hotel: An interesting place just outside of Ronda is Molina del Santo. Beautiful gardens and very comfortable. Run by an English couple. It works because parking is not a problem in Ronda. It has a web site. Another hotel I have seen on the web that looks good is the San Gabriel. The most popular place in town is the Parador. May cost a bit more but has terrific views of the gorge.

If I recall correctly our hotel in Sevilla would fit your needs--the Casa de la Juderia. It's lovely. Small rooms but nicely appointed with nice bathrooms and best of all little patios everywhere, very Spanish. It's in/near the Santa Cruz area. Do a search on this site and you'll find lots of info on it--a very popular hotel, and it should be. Also I'd not stay longer than one night in Rhonda. We stayed at the parador there and had a room with balcony overlooking the gorge. Not expensive but might be a bit over your $150 mark so it could be your splurge.