Portugal and Spain...how much time?
 

In the early stages of planning a trip to Portugal and Spain for February/March next year.

I know very little about either country, but have found some potential itineraries for Portugal online, which seems as good a starting point as any.

Thus far, the initial plan is to fly into Faro, head to Lagos for a few nights (is this a good idea in February?, then work our way to Lisbon, from which we'd also explore Sintra, then detour to Nazare for a few nights (not sure if this is a good idea in February either), then work our way to Porto.

Spouse will depart from Porto and I will take a flight to Madrid to meet up with a friend for the next eight nights (she's working on that part of the itinerary, Madrid and Barcelona).

So, my main questions at this point are 1) Does visiting the beach areas make sense in February? We're not typically beach goers, but I see there might be some nice hikes on offer. Cool weather is a perk for us, so that's not an issue. Will these areas be ghost towns that time of year? 2) How many days do we need for the above itinerary? We're slow travelers, and generally have no issues filling our time, regardless of where we go. My initial thought was 14 nights, but I'm waffling.

Oh, and this might be a weird question, but as a non-meat, non-seafood eater am I going to have trouble eating in the seafood mecca of Portugal?

Suggestions and insight much appreciated.

I haven't been to Portugal yet, but the trip I've planned would take 2.5 to 3 weeks.

For the parts of Spain you mention:
10 to 12 days for central Spain (Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, Salamanca)
10 to 12 days for Catalonya (Barcelona, the Costa Brava) -- maybe less at that time of year.

Thanks for the comments.

The itinerary I've found online is self-guided, traveling by train and bus which is our preferred method. It was just a means of getting started, trying to figure out what to see and do, as I've always wanted to visit Portugal, but couldn't specifically say why.

An opportunity has presented itself, because a friend wants to visit Spain, and with Portugal being so close, well, it seemed a good time, especially for those of us who hate the heat.

The itinerary suggests three nights Lagos, at least three nights in Lisbon, two nights Nazare and three in Porto. I'm not sure if it would be a good fit for a February trip, but would let us see some beach towns as well as cities, hence my interest. Perhaps we should choose between Lagos or Nazare, not try to do both.

Four nights each in Madrid and Barcelona is what my friend and I had in mind. Good to know about the advance bookings, as that's exactly what's attracted her to Spain - Gaudi. I've never had an interest in Spain, but heck, a trip is a trip...and who doesn't like wine and tapas?

I'm sure you can see some wonderful things with just 4 nights in Madrid and in Barcelona, but you would need to be very selective. My time in Barcelona is included in this trip report:
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...lunya-1047395/

Thanks kja, I'll take a look. The hazards of traveling with someone who only has two weeks of vacation! I love retirement!

I would visit one country or the other. Spain has a wider range of sites and charms, however, it will be very cool to cold depending on where or when.

As far as veggie food is concerned, the number of restaurants is growing in both countries but in other restaurants you will ask about preparation. Spaniards are contrarians and who will surprised how many smoke, knowing the hazards.

Madrid has world class museums and is an excellent base to visit surrounding towns. Barcelona has an usual joie de vivre and the art is the streets.

I visited Portugal and Spain last year. I went to Lagos. I would skip it. I would fly directly to Lisbon. Lisbon and surrounds are a better choice IMO.
and it will be cold in February.

Hi melnq8, many, many years ago my partner and I visited Peneda Geres National Park which we enjoyed, although we didn't spend long enough. It might be worth looking into to see if it appeals.

Long distance walk Rota Vicentina is on my wish-list for the future. You can do just a section or two if unable to tackle the whole lot.

Nazaré in February: you have a good probability to see the giant waves.*

We had 8 nights when we were in Portugal so had 5 nights in Lisbon and then did 3 nights in Cascais. We felt that was a good mix and were pleased with our decision. It was very easy to visit Sintra from Cascais.

Cool to cold is not a deterrent, in fact it's preferred.

millie2112 - curious about your comment regarding Lagos - would you mind sharing why you didn't care for it? How long did you stay there? Flying into Lisbon vs Faro makes a lot of sense if we skip Lagos.

dreamon - now you're talking! Thank you, I will look those up.

Helena - yes, I'd read about those ginormous waves. Sounds like fun.

mms - thank you, I'll take a look at Cascals - hadn't run across it yet.

The time in Spain is finite, but I made a mistake, it's nine nights instead of eight. My friend is working on that part of the trip, at this point I'm more concerned about Portugal and how much time we should allow there - it'll be my husband and myself and we have no time constraints.

I've done two trips to Portugal, one 9 nights (3 Lagos, 3 Faro, 3 Lisbon) and one two weeks including Lisbon, Evora, Obidos, Coimbra - didn't get as far as Porto). In just two weeks you'll need to pick and choose. I thought the cliffs west of Lagos were wonderful, the rest of the Algarve not so much (not bad, just not a highlight). I was there in March. The other trip was in July. Here's my photos - https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/f334280890

Beautiful photos isabel, thank you for sharing! After more research this morning, I see that two weeks will barely scratch the surface. Now if I can just narrow things down...and sort out the flights.

Portugal and Spain are very different countries, with very different languages (at least for us), and transport links between them are not great. For this reason, it may make more sense to focus on Spain alone rather than split your time, especially if you have the opportunity to return another time. I've never visited but the northern coastal area of Spain looks fabulous.

But if you decide on Portugal, you could perhaps travel from Porto (or Peneda Geres) to Santiago de Compostela then onwards to Salamanca before meeting your friend in Madrid.

Actually, the transportation links between the two countries seems to be pretty clear cut - at least on paper. I'm now considering flying into Lisbon and departing from Barcelona, and taking a one way TAP flight from Lisbon to Madrid to meet up with my friend (we'll be traveling by train between Madrid and Barcelona).

The headache is coordinating the flights amongst three people with three different itineraries - two of us flying together from Colorado to Lisbon, one departing from Lisbon back to CO, the other flying from Lisbon to Madrid, then departing from Barcelona, and the third flying from Colorado to Madrid and also departing from Barcelona, but to a different CO airport.

At any rate, I think I have that part sorted. Just need to work on an actual itinerary for Portugal.

Melnq8, it'll be so easy to find these common vegetarian dishes in Spain: tortilla de patata, gazpacho, salmorejo, ajo blanco, champiñones al ajillo, pimientos de Padrón, and various types of vegetarian croquetas. In the In the Catalan region (Barcelona, Costa Brava), you'll also commonly come across pa amb tomaquet (pan con tomate), patatas bravas, and escalivada (though some might contain seafood).

Do you like olives? Because one of the first things I do after arriving in Spain is go the local market or the food section of the nearest El Corte Ingles (a large department store) and stock up on cheese, olives (huge olive bars), gazpacho (which is sold in milk carton-like containers), and, of course, wine. Spanish cheese is fantastic!

I've been to Portugal a few times, but I tend to eat seafood while there. You're probably aware that the port lodges (wine cellars, tasting rooms) are in Porto (actually in Vila Nova de Gaia on the other side of the Douro river, but easy to walk to from Porto). But the vineyards where the grapes are grown (or quintas) are up along the Douro valley. I think you'll want to see this area where the quintas are.

While in Porto (Vila Nova de Gaia), try to do a tour of Graham's Port Lodge as they have beautiful views (it's the hill from the river, an easy walk). They also have a lovely restaurant, Vinum, though I'm not sure of their vegetarian offers or if they will be open in February. I love the ports of Ramos Pinto, whose tasting cellar is close to the riverfront, along with Sandeman, Calem, and Ferreira.

I know you are not bothered by cold, but how about rain?

I flew from Porto to Madrid. It might save you time to do this as well.Because this will be your last destination in Portugal; is this not so?

My guess would be by going in March instead of February, you'll tend to find more businesses open, but I can't be sure.

Port tasting at Grahams' in Vila Nova de Gaia:
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...53c41ee2bb.jpg

Oh my Diamantina...olives, cheese and port - you know me too well.

Rain isn't a deal breaker unless it's relentless, day-after-day torrential (as we've experienced in NZ and Oregon!) But even then we've always managed to have a good time, so no it's not a big deal.

We're looking at very late February.

Melnq8, I knew about your fondness of wine and cheese, but wasn't sure about the olives. You'll be awed by the selection! Just something to watch out for--some olives might be stuffed with meat (especially chorizo) or fish (such as anchovies or salmon)..

It might be useful to have a car to see the areas north and south of Barcelona, especially if you want to walk in natural surroundings or visit wineries. Without knowing how busy you'll be in Barcelona itself, my guess is you could use for more time than 8 days to see some of these surrounding regions. The Costa Brava is beautiful. I also enjoyed visiting wineries south of Barcelona. But maybe this is not on your agenda for this trip. Of course, the train goes to places like Girona, Figueres, Tarragona, Montserrat. So you can still have a wonderful, interesting trip.

Melnq8, Lagos was our last stop in Portugal before we went to Spain. We had previously been to Lisbon, Cascais, Sintra, Evora and Porto.
I wanted to see the Algarve, but I was quite disappointed in the beach area.
Lagos was very busy.. Lot's of Brit's having a good time. a bit of a party spot for young people. We did enjoy the grotto's when we did a boat trip .
There are lovely tourist stores with really nice things to buy. So if you like that sort of thing it is worth a look. Maybe we just stayed in the wrong hotel.
The area around has many TOLL roads so it makes driving around a bit pricey too.
I preferred Cascais.

Hi Melnq8, yes I guess I was referring to land connections between Portugal and Spain - my biases coming out as I dislike flying.

I'm sure you'll be able to craft a wonderful plan and Diamantina suggestions sound perfect.

Thanks again. Lots of food for thought.

I've just read that Lisbon is incredibly noisy....might have to look into staying somewhere on the outskirts just so I can sleep at night.

millie - what time of year did you visit Lagos?

We spent 5 nights in Lisbon, and we did not find Lisbon to be incredibly noisy. We stayed at the Hotel Real Palacio, which is by the Edward VII Park. So this might be a quieter neighborhood of Lisbon. But when we were out during the evenings we did not think Lisbon was overly noisy. I would think that nice hotels in the more central locations, such as Baixa and Chiado, would have good windows, etc. to block out the noise. I know that a lot of people on this forum recommend Hotel Avenida Palace and International Design Hotel; both are near Rossio. I don't remember people complaining about noise.

If you don't mind staying near Edward VII Park, we really enjoyed our stay at the Real Palacio. Good-size room and bathroom with plenty of drawer space and a closet for our clothes. The price included a delicious, ample breakfast buffet. Staff were very helpful. No complaints at all.

Thanks Karen, I'll take a look at those once I have the itinerary sorted. At the moment we've run into a few snags with flights, but we're still waffling on whether or not to fly into Faro and proceed from there, or fly into Lisbon. The more we look the more confusing it all becomes.

We loved Lisbon! Were there 5 nights, staying at the Hotel Avenida Palace, which we highly recommend. Contact them directly for prices, and questions. We had notified them that our flight would land in the morning (we had flown from Denver, also).
When we arrived at the hotel around 10 a.m., our room was ready! What great service and a fantastic surprise. Their amazing breakfast buffet was included in our price, served in a gorgeous dining room with servers. Our room faced the Rossio Square, but we did not notice excessive noise, even with an international bike race being held on the Square directly under our window. The hotel has a lending library, full of travel books.
https://www.hotelavenidapalace.pt/en/

We day-tripped by train to Cascais twice, because we liked it and it's easy to get there and back on the commuter. Not sure we'd want to stay in Cascais, though, as it is very small.

We also took the train to Sintra one day. We toured the tile museum in Lisbon another day, which sounds boring, but is in a beautiful historic building which I think was originally a convent and has a lovely interior courtyard.

We flew TAP Portugal to London from Lisbon, and were very impressed with the airline. We had used Mileage Plus points, which gave us access to their amazing lounge before our flight, which had an extensive buffet for food and drink, with comfortable seating and charging stations for electronics.

Lisbon felt very friendly, as though they welcomed tourists, and is less expensive than other European cities we've visited. Most residents learn English in school, so there is no language barrier. Although, Portuguese is such a pretty language, we enjoyed hearing it spoken.

Have been to Seville and Madrid, as well. Loved Seville. Meh Madrid.
Have fun planning your trip.

While in Madrid, make sure you have enough time for a day-trip by train to Toledo.

You mentioned your friend was interested in viewing buildings by Gaudi, she'll likely also enjoy seeing a building or two by fellow Catalan Modernist Lluís Domènech i Montaner, whe designed Barcelona's Palau de la Música Catalana and Barcelona's hospital complex, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, which is only a 10 minute walk from Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia (the two are easy to visit on the same day).

While in Portugal, you and you husband might enjoy, at some point, staying in a pousada, many of which are in converted historic buildings. As you'll be going in Feb./March, you'll enjoy lower rates.
https://www.pousadas.pt/en/hotels

I've never found Lisbon to be noisy either. You should be able to find quiet accommodation. I don't think it'd be practical to stay outside of the city. I've stayed in Lisbon three times, twice on or near Avenida da Liberdade and within a few minutes walk of Avenida Metro Station and the stop for the Aerobus (airport bus). Taxis, which are cheap, were easy to catch as well. I stayed outside of Lisbon once and didn't find this convenient. It's nice to just walk out your door to the charms of the city.

I've read in some smaller towns of Portugal Carnaval is celebrated at the end of February. I don't know if it's at all celebrated in Lisbon. Maybe a local can tell you.

When we visited the Algarve, we caught a train from Lisbon to Faro, then onto Lagos. We assumed there would be taxis waiting at the station but there weren't, even though it was midday. Eventually, we caught a ride with someone who'd called for a taxi. When we asked our taxi driver why there were no taxis waiting, she explained most people just walk into town over the marina bridge, where taxis are easily found.

Melnq8 I was in Lagos at the start of September last year. So we did go at a busy time.
I really enjoyed Lisbon. It is a great city to look around and not noisy at all. We stayed at the Hotel Brittania. Short walk to the main areas.
In Lisbon we did a bus trip to Cascais and a train trip to Sintra. Really enjoyed looking around. I would definately go again.
Loved the shopping as well.
In Porto we stayed at 'In Patio Guest House'. a really wonderful BnB with the best breakfast.
From Lagos we dropped the hire car off in Faro and then took the bus to Seville... loved loved Seville. We stayed in an apartment right near the cathedral. terrific location. From there we went to Granada which we also loved. Then we flew to Barcelona where we ended our trip.
we went to some great places so perhaps Lagos paled in comparison.

I agree, Seville is wonderful, with dazzling historic sites (the Alcázar, the Cathedral, Plaza de España, Barrio Santa Cruz, etc.). The food is incredible. And it's a fantastic place to catch a flamenco performance. It's also very handy for day trips to Cordoba (home to La Mezquita) or Jerez (sherry tastings--I didn't know much about sherry before my visit; now I'm a huge manzanilla fan).

From Lisbon, we caught the train to Faro, then Lagos, then rented a car in Lagos to explore Salema, Cabo de Sao Vicente and Sagres. After three or four days of basing ourselves in Lagos and exploring Lagos and the coast to the west of it, we drove to Seville. It's not an especially long or difficult drive, but we decided to break it up by staying overnight in Altura (not a very interesting place, but the hotel was nice and had free parking). I think nearby Tavira is considered more attractive, though we found parking there near impossible.

In Seville, we stayed in a hotel with parking and just left the car in their garage for the next four days. We walked around Seville and took the train for day trips to Cordoba and Jerez. From Seville, we drove back to Faro, dropped off the car off near the airport and flew back to Lisbon.

I'd been to Seville and Cordoba before, on my first visit to Spain and Portugal more than 30 years ago, staying at the Parador of Carmona (near Seville). Spain's Paradores are silmilar to Portugal's Pousadas, in that they are accommodations in converted historic buildings. From the Parador of Carmona, I traveled with my aunt by car to a pousada in Serpa, near the historic town of Beja, in the Alentejo region of Portugal. From there we drove to Evora, before checking into the Pousada of Palmela, near Lisbon.We used this as a base for seeing Cascais, Estioril, Sesimbra, Troia, and Setubal, Sintra (my first visit) and Lisbon (my first visit). Using Palmela as a base for visiting Lisbon was not at all convenient. A car is a burden in Lisbon.

My aunt dropped me off in Lisbon, where I caught the overnight train back to Madrid. After spending another night in the Pousada de Palmela, she drove back to Spain's Costa del Sol, where she'd been renting an apartment and where we'd started our trip, though she spent nights in the Pousada in Sagres (Portugal) and in Cadiz along the way.

Melnq8, your options are limitless!

Wow, thank you so much for all the wonderful suggestions. Looks like I have my work cut out for me. Lots of research to do!

Hi Melnq8,
Thought I would send you the link to my trip report for Lisbon from April 2018. It gives you an idea of what there is to see and do in Lisbon, and how much time you might need. Hope this helps.

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...hills-1652579/

It does, thank you Karen!