My husband and I are travelling to Malaga in October for one week, and trying to decide where to go the second week. Our return flight is out of Lisbon, so we were thinking of spending time in The Algarve, but we've now heard so much about Barcelona that we're thinking we could fly there for a week. Can't decide. Is Barcelona a city that you could easily spend a week in, or would three days be enough? And, if any of you have been to both areas, which would you recommend. Thanks.

I have not yet been to Lisbon, but sometimes the obvious is best. I'm sure you could fill a week in Barcelona, but since you are flying out of Lisbon anyway, I'd move west along the coast, and then pick up a car once in Portugal.
This recent article in NYT made the Algarve region sound quite appealing in offseason: http://travel.nytimes.com/2013/07/21...pagewanted=all

I would go to Lisbon and maybe spend a couple of days visiting places like Tomar, Batalha and Ubidos.

Agree! Lisbon is lovely and you also do day trips to Evora by bus, and Sintra and Cascais by train! Enough in the area to fill a week if you wanted to if you also include Lisbon itself and the suggestions above...

We have been to both and Barcelona is one of our favroite cities. But you will lose time flying to Barcelona and then to Lisboa. Lisboa has its own charms as the others above have pointed out.

Ubidos = Obidos

I've been to both. I wouldn't spend another week in Lisbon but would spend a week in Barcelona any time.

But if you can get into the countryside, towns like Obidos and Evora are very enjoyable, especially the later and especially if you aren't someone who needs constantly to be _doing_ something.

My son loved extreme southern Portugal, and friends have enjoyed Oporto.

Most of us think that the Portugese food in East Cambridge, Massachusetts, is better than the Portugese food in Portugal, but maybe that is because it is heavily influenced by the Azores.

I would stay in Portugal, Lisbon and perhaps Sintra, Evora, Obidos. We spent ten days in Lisbon and would like to return. We also spent six days in Barcelona and saw the sights, but I wasn't as enamored by it as Lisbon.

One thing to bear in mind. Renting a car in Spain and returning in Portugal will inovlve an exhorbitant drop off charge.

I assume you have booked your flights.

It is a 2 hour flight from Barcelona to Lisbon, so you will lose about 1/2 day.

Vueling, Ryan, and Iberia all fly from Sevilla to Barcelona. It is about 1 1/2 hours. Check to see all the restrictions ans surcharges and that they fly into BCN and not Girona or some other airport. Thus you will lose another 1/2 day.

What a conundrum! I love both countries but would avoid the Algarve primarily due to crowds. I would check out the Pousadas in/around Lisboa..Evora..Odidos..Oporto, reasonable prices and special deals. All easily reached by car or public transport. If you have a car there are such lovely back roads, villages, vineyards etc. Tomar is a lovely town, apparently an R&R town and home of crusaders. The coast south of Lisboa, from Setubal to Porto Cova, is a protected area and the beach goes on for ever. Bussaco is another interesting area..Peninsula War sites..I could take up the entire forum spaces..Whatever you decide the timing sounds great, the time also allows for a relatively good overview. You are in for a onderful experience! Enjoy!!!

Amer_can....there are no crowds in the Algarve in October. It is very quiet then and usually the weather beautiful.

Thanks for all your great advice. We've decided on Portugal over Barcelona. Hopefully that will be another trip. We're going to head to Sevilla and spend a day or two there and then over to The Algarve. I've heard that it's not as busy in October. Would we be better to fly to Lisbon, or rent a car and drive. From what i've seen, there don't seem to be direct flights. Also, if anyone has done the drive, who would be a good company to rent from?

see Lisbon! we did a toe dip there and regretted not having more time. The pastries, views from various outlooks called miradouros, Sao Jorge castle, the yellow funiculars and trams clattering through the city, the couvert, the lively squares, nearby Sintra and Belem, but most of all the SUN. sunniest European capital

<i>Would we be better to fly to Lisbon, or rent a car and drive.</i>

As already pointed out, a one way rental from one country to another will incur big cross-border crop-off fees. Either look for a car pickup in Portugal close to the southern border with Spain, or recognize that a flight will take two legs (but will still be shorter than driving).

I wish I could recommend a car rental company. We have rented in Spain countless times. Sometimes you think you are renting from a company and turns out to be a broker.

If you rent you will save hundreds by renting a shift. Get an international driver's license. It does not matter unless you are stopped by the police.

There are those who consider the drop-off expense, another cost of the trip.

Do not rent a car until you leave Sevilla and drop it off as soon as you get Lisbon. They are expensive burdens in cities.

Europcar has a rental location in Monte Gordo, Portugal, just across the border. You can take a bus from Sevilla to Monte Gordo, pick up your rental car there and enjoy Portugal without paying the steep drop off fee (www.europcar.com/car-PORTUGAL.html). You can also book the car through Auto Europe (a broker) and save some money.

Thank you Robert 2533. That's great information. I'm going to look into the bus idea.

Spend 2 or 3 nights in Seville. It's amazing.

Whatever was I thinking??? Algarve..crowds..Oct.. ???? I just always think of Algarve as crowded but that may be just seeing highrises all over the place..Many more interesting areas to visit. IMHO!!!

<Sometimes you think you are renting from a company and turns out to be a broker. >

I'm not sure how that would happen, but when we rent a car in Spain, which we have done at least 15 times, we use one of two brokers: Kemwell or AutoEurope. These companies, which both have 800 numbers and online sites, will take your desired car type and dates and hook you up with the best deal among the various agencies serving the city of pick-up. YOu do not rent from the broker, the broker links you to a rental agency such as Avis or EuropCar.

Renting an automatic MercedesB class (given to us as an upgrade upon pickup at the train station in SEvilla) through Kemwell cost us just under $50 per day a few months ago, from Sevilla with drop off in Malaga. I am mentioning this because automatics are not always exhorbitantly priced in comparison to manual cars.

For the cheapest pricing, you can check the foreign sites of the two brokers I mentioned above; you may find prices less than those on the US-based .com sites.

For example, check Autoeurope.es, as well as Autoeurope.com.

Also, you can offer get a better price on the phone than on the broker websites.


More on my experience using a foreign site for car rental in Italy a few years ago:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...s-resident.cfm