Spain and Portugal Attire
 

I am going on my first trip to Europe this April. I've started to shop and I've hit a speed bump.
Here's the schedule:
April 13th - Lisbon
April 14th - Lisbon
April 15th - Evora Algarve
April 16th - Algarve
April 17th - Seville Costa de Sol
April 18th - Costa de Sol
April 19th - Granada
April 20th - Valencia
April 21st - Valencia Barcelona
April 22nd - Barcelona

What types of clothes should I wear? Is it humid? Is it beach weather? Is it chilly?
Will it be different weather in different cities?

Please help! Thank You!!!

There are many weather sites that will get you this information easily. my favourite because of the comprehensiveness of the information along with ease of use is Weather Spark.

Here is Lisbon April, clearly showing the average high/low for April 11/12 as 63/53 (19/12 C)

https://weatherspark.com/m/32022/4/A...isbon-Portugal

Type in a different city, select a different month, or a whole year, and even focus on each day if you like. Scroll down and every weather condition you might like is displayed siimply

Generally if you go into a church in what are still Roman Catholic countries you need to be able to cover up shoulders, belly and sometimes even knees. It will also tend towards warmer inland than on the coast in April, but check the climate advice as offered above

I don't think that's true, except for the belly (!) part. I don't think anyone should walk around with their belly exposed in a city, only beaches. I've never been in a Catholic church in any country in Europe where you had to do the other things, although I have heard that is true in Italy, at least the Vatican not sure about other places. And I've been in a couple countries that are primarily Catholic, like Poland and Spain, as well as Catholic churches in France and the CR and other countries.

I don't know Portugal customs, but I know that isn't true in Catholic churches in other countries, including Spain, that you have to cover your knees and "shoulders" just to visit it.

Like bilboburgler, I'd be prepared to cover my shoulders -- and all that means is making sure you have a shawl with you.

For climate data, I like timeanddate.com and wunderground.com -- but any such site will do.

I had to cover my shoulders in St. Mary's Basilica in Krakow; they have shawls to give out explicitly for the purpose. I don't remember if this was the case in other churches we visited in Poland, but most definitely the Basilica. This was in 2013/14, I believe.

Christina, it is true for Spain. No one cares in Portugal, but in Spain you have people outside some churches selling what you need to cover your shoulders. Otherwise you are not allowed to go inside.

We have been in Barcelona, Valencia and the Costa del Sol in March/April and daytime temps were in the mid 20's (C). It gets cold(er) once the sun sets, though.

Average weather charts will not give you any predictions of what could happen.
Just dress with layers in mind. Evenings can be cool or cold, out of the sun too.
Dress code for churches is non-existing, unless you want to partake in worship.
There are no fashion police in either country.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b836762a83.jpg

Granada Cathedral
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...194b97aff6.jpg

Granada Cathedral
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...01979025e8.jpg

Cathedral Sevilla
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4ffa8d5486.jpg

Lisbon Cathedral
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d754cf61c6.jpg

Entering Igreja de Santa Maria Maior, Lisbon

I have to say that this plan does seem a little too rushed. Slow down and see more. Distances between each location are quite long and travelling tips booking in and out of accommodation will eat into every day.

It's not about fashion. It's been a couple of years but I'm fairly sure Seville cathedral was enforcing the no bare shoulders or knees policy.

The attire covering knees policy is still enforced in some cathedrals in Spain. In Barcelona a young woman was turned away for wearing a skirt that did not cover her knees when we visited in 2016. This is less likely to be an issue for you if the weather is a little cooler though as you are more likely to have warmer clothing on.

Even if you pack according to historical averages, still check the forecast before leave and revise your wardrobe as needed.

But I agree that this itinerary is incredibly rushed. You're going to spend far more time in transit than actually enjoying you destinations. It may be too late to to much about it, but if there's room to revise it, I'd cut out at least one of your locations.

Madrid is on a line (latitude) with Philadelphia. Seriously. Realize that Southern Europe is largely in line with the major cities of the Northeastern US. Although currents, land masses, and other climate phenomena affect temperature, you're not dealing with a Caribbean climate.

As for your itinerary - I hope that you're young because it's exhausting, if you're on a tour you can sleep on the bus. If you chose that yourself you'll have regrets - that's a LOT of bouncing around especially considering Seville and Barcelona each merit 4-5 nights.

Barcelona is on the coast so yes it will be humid. How many days any place "merits" is obviously subjective.

Hi and how fun. I'll tackle your actual question (which isn't about church attire, people!) We were in Portugal late April/early May and I wore gray jeans, sneakers or short black leather boots. T shirts. I had a zip-up black cotton knit jacket that I wore a lot. I also packed a knit b&w striped skirt and wore it some but not much. It was always just a little chilly. Not humid. Not beach weather. In general the weather was lovely and easy for all the walking.

I noticed the local people wore jeans and many had on light hiking boots. The pavement was rough so I wished I'd packed mine. It was RAINY in Porto and so I wore my rain jacket there.

And yes, that's a super rushed itinerary. You'll spend a lot of time just in transit, missing the actual life of the place.

Okay. April I'd pack warm layers. I've been in Barcelona mid May and really needed a sweatshirt.

Yes, pack layers! But if you check the climate data, you'll find that you are unlikely to need clothing for the kinds of temperatures that some places -- even places at this approximate latitude -- sometimes experience in April -- for example, both snow and beach weather are unlikely.

Are you on a tour? Because if not, how are you getting around and what do you think you will see in Evora and Seville?

WRT clothes, definitely layers. Good, supportive, well-broken in footwear.

This dressing up to visit churches is rubbish. Having attended numerous funerals, funeral anniversaries, fiestas, mass and just visiting places of worship. I have never been excluded or seen anyone excluded for attire.
Some funerals the congregation even left their phones on so either they rushed out to answer or they sometimes took a long time to answer. No none wore black clothing either. Not even ties for the me.
The only time I got into "trouble" was in the cathedral in Astorga. The huge building was occupied by my wife and plus the security guard. he did not like me taking photos for some reason.

In Seville one March it was in the 70s and all I had was jeans and boots so I had to go buy a skirt and a pair of sandals. Another year in Barcelona I wore a down jacket, scarf and gloves. So you really do need to pack for everything. I have a light raincoat which fits over a very light down jacket (which squishes up small enough to fit in my pocketbook). Light scarf and gloves will warm you up if it's too cold without taking up much space. For mid April I would wear jeans and bring one pair of lightweight cotton capi type pants just in case. Several tee shirts, light sweater, medium sweater.

But even though you didn't ask about your itinerary, you did post it, and I have to say it's crazy rushed. And I can travel pretty fast and even I wouldn't do that trip. If you already have your flights and can't change them I would do Lisbon (maybe a couple other places in Portugal), then get a cheap flight to Barcelona and spend the remainder of your time there. You really, really don't have time for what you suggest.

I wish I could change it, the trip is through EF tours though

And EF Tours doesn't give you guidance on what to bring?

EF tours? Oh dear. And no wonder... Start here: https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...choice-984292/

Oh dear is right. I suppose it's too late to back out of this deal? Even if you lose some money, it might not be a bad thing. EF, from everything I've read, is awful. I mean, I'm sure you'll survive, but this is not an ideal way to visit Europe.

they do, but......... https://www.eftours.com/help-center/...n/what-to-pack

Looks like it hasn't been updated in a while! Postcards? At least it doesn't mention travelers checks.

Mine is a bit dated too, try this: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/packing-light

from RS-- Everything will mark you out as not being local. Mannerisms are the best way to detect the non local. However, tourist come even from the same country as where you are staying. So what is the point of hiding as a tourist? Is this a mission for Russia?

Switch to another tour provider or go independently. EF Rours is a terrible way to toir Europe. My grand daughter hated it, arranged by her school, but loved all her other trips to Europe.