Hello All --

My husband and I are just beginning to think about a two-week trip next year to Spain and Portugal. I know we could spend two weeks in each country, but we would really, really like to see both. A couple of questions for you resident experts:

1. When is the best time to go? We are thinking about April or May, but could wait until the fall. Any considerations that might sway us one way or the other?

2. Now for the more labor-intensive request -- where should we go? And for how long? Would someone be so kind as to suggest an itinerary?

Thanks in advance! I am grateful.

With Portugal, I'd say your choice is either Lisbon & surrounding area or the beach areas in the south. If you're not going for beach time, then Lisbon for sure. You could spend a week there with a day trip to Sintra and/or other places nearby, or you could go up north to Oporto for a few days if you want to see the Douro valley. I think 5 days in Lisbon would be great. You can fly from Lisbon to either Barecelona or Madrid. If you do Madrid, you could do the rest of the time there, or take the AVE (high-speed train) down to Sevilla. I haven't been to Barcelona yet (I'm going next month) but from what I read it'd be easy to do a week there, and longer with side trips.

A big question will be airline fares. Going from North Carolina (just guessing) to Lisbon to Madrid, and then either home from Sevilla through Madrid would not be cheap, I'd guess. If you get a good RT fare from home to Barcelona, you could then look for an inexpensive and separate Barcelona/Lisbon RT on one of the local low-cost airlines.

As for when, I think April/May would be my first choice, with late Sept/early Oct a second choice.

What kinds of things are you interested in? That will help people suggest an itinerary. My husband and I are going to Spain in a few weeks, and we're interested in medieval villages, mountains, beaches, and great food, so we planned our itinerary (Barcelona, Costa Brava, Ainsa, and San Sebastian) around those things.

Usually there's a spring feria in Sevilla in April. This is a fair which runs 24 hrs for 7 days. It's great to visit.

http://feriadesevilla.andalunet.com/...otografias.htm

It's Spain at it's best.

Blackduff

Peak Semana Santa activities in Sevilla and other places in Spain will be 5 & 6 April. Weather is usually mild then but we were in Sevilla on Good Friday one year when it hit 95 degrees (F). Either Apr or May would be good weatherwise:

for Semana Santa people abandon the cities like Madrid and head for the shore or the mountains. It's considered Peak period for lodging at the shore that week, so it might be better to wait until after Easter.

San Isidro (the Worker), one of Madrid's Patron Saints, is 15 May; but Madrileños celebrate it for the entire month of May (daily Bullfights, etc.)

Where you go depands on your mode of travel: If you have a rental car you could do an Andalucia 'loop:' Sevilla, Ronda & Malaga, Cadiz, Jerez de la frontera and back to Sevilla. Then you could bus to Lisbon and either north into Galicia or back to Madrid.

I, personally, would opt for the former: north from Lisbon to Valença do Minho and on to Santiago. From there I would go east thru Asturias & Cantabria to Bilbao; then south to Madrid

Don't plan on dropping off a rental car in a different Country from where it was rented. It would cost you dearly!

I just noticed blackduff's comment about Sevilla's Feria de abril: it's usually 2-weeks after Semana Santa so it should begin around 23 Apr. Check those dates before you finalize your plans. It could begin a week earlier

Having been to both several times, my vote would be Portugal..it is a small country and you could see most of it, if you confined your trip to just that. And most folks speak English, which we didn't find true in Spain. The south has the beaches, could spend a couple or three days there (we especially like Villamoura), then poke along toward Oporto and the Douro valley (if you post again, I can recommend a wonderful Posada there),and the scenery is spectacular, then north again toward the border of Spain where you will find lush forests, and mountains. I have never been anywhere I liked better, and I have done most of the world (with the exception of Austrailia, which we are doing in the spring).

Two questions - will you be renting a car? and do you care where you fly in and out of? I just spent 12 days in Portugal and there were lots of places I didn't get to. Two weeks is not a lot to see both contries. BUT - if that's what you want to do one idea would be to fly in and out of Madrid, rent a car and see Seville and other cities in that area for about a week, drive over to Portugal and see Evora, Lisbon, head north to Obidos then head back towards Spain going through Marvao. I mention those places because having just been there I found Evora and Marvao (both near the Spanish border) to be wonderful small Portugese towns. And it's not that far to drive across the width of Portugal. For example, Evora to Lisbon was just over an hour. And this way you' be returning the car in the same country you picked it up in thus avoiding the large drop fees you may incur if you want to drop in the other country than the one you started in. So in this case a loop makes sense.

We are renting a car in Barcelona and returning it in Lisbon and there is a $300 drop off charge , but we figured with the cost of gas it was expensive either way.

Hi TarHeel97,
My wife and I visited Spain and Portugal last september, for 10 days. We spent 5 nights in each country, and had a fantastic time! As "strass" says, being clear on the kinds of things you are interested in is key to putting together an itinerary. For us, it was historic places, medieval cities, museums, roman ruins, etc. So - we flew into Madrid, rented a car and drove to SEGOVIA for 2 nights(the Roman Aqueduct in the middle of town is amazing!). Spent a night in AVILA(stayed in a palace from the 1600's), which is an old town with a tremendous cathedral, surrounded by beautifully preserved walls - which you can walk upon. Then 2 nights in MERIDA - which had roman ruins scattered throughout the town, and an excellent museum. Then into Portugal: 2 nights in EVORA, and the final 3 in COIMBRA - a "college town" of sorts, although several centuries old! We drove to LISBON(we had been there years before - also an excellent possibility!), dropped the car and flew home. Flying into Madrid and out of Lisbon meant we didn't have to backtrack, and it allowed us to put together a voyage that was interesting and not rushed. If you have any other questions - feel free to ask.
Larz

One month in Spain, start in Barcelona - but then what??? see this

mayhew writes: "We are renting a car in Barcelona and returning it in Lisbon and there is a $300 drop off charge , but we figured with the cost of gas it was expensive either way."

Is that $300 USD or 300 Euros?

Have you considered driving north into Spain and dropping it off in Vigo (or Santiago)?

Hello Again --

Thanks to all of your for your fantastic insight. This is very helpful.

To answer a few questions:

1. We are, indeed, flying out of North Carolina (RDU) and are hoping to use US Air miles (yes, I know, good luck!).

2. Our interests include historical sites, beaches, good wine, and good food. We are fairly adventurous, and don't mind being on the go.

3. We certainly will rent a car. And we do not care where we fly into or out of, although our ability to use miles may be a factor. I suppose we would prefer not to backtrack, in order to maximize our time.

Thanks, again, to all of you. You have been very generous with your time and expertise.

TarHeel,

Check out this website: http://idiomes.forallac.com/index.ph...p;lang=english

We're planning to spend a few days exploring this area, which is very close to the Costa Brava and lots of small, secluded beaches.

We plan to fly into Porto and leave from Santiago de Compestelo. Is that reasonable for renting a car? I know we need an international driver's license.

The distance between Porto and Santiago is so short that it makes no sense to pay for the cross border fee on the rental. Return the car in Porto and do a RT flight from Porto.