lilloulou_au

Hi everyone,

We have started planning an itinerary for a three-week trip to Spain and Portugal from Dec 2018 to Jan 2019 for 23 nights in total. We will be flying in and out of Madrid (returned flights from Australia already purchased).

Our key interests are museums, food, history and photography. We will not be hiring a car and will be using a combination of flights/trains/buses (these have not been booked yet).

Here is our itinerary and we are hoping that it’s not too ambitious:

Thu 27 Dec – Madrid – flight arrives at 8am
Fri 28 Dec - Madrid
Sat 29 Dec - Madrid
Sun 30 Dec - Madrid – Day trip to Toledo
Mon 31 Dec – Madrid (tourist attractions either closed today or open for half day so it's a day for just hanging out!)
Tues 1 Jan – Fly to Porto – flight arrives midday (public holiday – tourist attractions mostly closed so will be another day for hanging out)
Wed 2 Jan – Porto
Thu 3 Jan – Porto
Fri 4 Jan – morning train to Lisbon – train arrives midday
Sat 5 Jan – Lisbon
Sun 6 Jan – Lisbon
Mon 7 Jan – Lisbon – day trip to Sintra
Tues 8 Jan – Lisbon
Wed 9 Jan – Lisbon – free day
Thu10 Jan – fly to Seville – flight arrives midday
Fri 11 Jan – Seville
Sat 12 Jan – Seville – day trip to Cordoba
Sun 13 Jan – Seville
Mon 14 Jan – morning train/bus to Granada
Tues 15 Jan – Granada – visit Alhambra
Wed 16 Jan –Granada in the morning, afternoon train/bus to Madrid
Thurs 17 Jan – Madrid (day trip to El Escorial or Segovia)
Fri 18 Jan – Madrid – free day
Sat 19 Jan – fly out in the morning

Would love to know what you think of our itinerary! Thanks in advance

kja

You’ll see some wonderful things – but you will need to think through your priorities in advance. As examples, although may people visit Toledo and Cordoba as day trips, I’m among many who found more than enough to do to keep me fully occupied for 2 full days in each.

You might see if you can re-arrange your trip so that all of your time in Madrid is at the end – that would let you eliminate one change of hotels. And if you want to just hang out on Mondays, do so! Or shift your plans so you are visiting things that are open on those days.

Enjoy!

margo_oz

My absolute best piece of advice for Madrid specifically, and Spain generally - book your train trips in advance, online.

I wanted to wait until I reached Madrid to buy a ticket for Toledo in Atocha Station as I wasn't sure when my flight would land. (and they lost my luggage). The ticket machines would not accept my Australian credit cards -= so I had to go to the booking office. 1 hour of queuing. The next day my friends decided to join me in Toledo (which is fascinating) - after just over an hour in the queue they gave up.

2 days later, we decided to go to Segovia - another hour's queuing in the ticket office.

Buying online is easy. Renfe, the Spanish train company has English translations. But, there is a known problem with Renfe, if you use Bigpond as your ISP in Oz. I ended up using Loco2, which is very easy to negotiate, for the trips we did pre-book (Barcelona to Seville), Seville to Granada.

www.seat61.com will give you all the information you need. Booking Portugal trips online was pretty easy too.

PS Go to Segovia, which is wonderful, (eat the suckling pig) rather than El Escorial, which is deadly boring monument to a fascist!

efarr99

I think your itinerary sounds great! I would second the advice to purchase train tix well in advance for best price.

Robert2016

The Christmas celebrations will be in full swing when you arrive. They end January 6, Epiphany, so you should plan your time around these dates. A lot of restaurants will be closed for the holidays, so you will need to make sure you have reservations for lunch or dinner, especially on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Three Kings Day, January 5, will also be a busy day at restaurants, those that are open.

Note that it can be very cold in Madrid and Sevilla in late December, early January, but a lot milder in Lisbon and Porto. You probably will not need that warm coat in Lisbon or Porto, but might have to layer up a bit more in Madrid and Sevilla. And if the weather is anywhere near normal, you can expect snow in Madrid, and rain with possible snow in Sevilla. You can also expect a little rain in Lisbon, but because it's a sub-tropical climate, will be warmer.

Also, days are short, with the sun setting just before 6:00 pm (18h00) and not rising until after 8:30 am in Spain, just before 8:00 am in Portugal. There is one hour difference in the time zones between Spain and Portugal.

Andee01

Your itinerary looks good, and you have had some good advice about trains, and weather etc. Both Loco2 or Trainline are definitely the easiest for booking Spanish trains. You will need to book your Alhambra tickets in advance, you can purchase print at home tickets, the bookings open about 3 months in advance.

I was planning a similar trip for June but changed my mind about going to Portugal, and we are now splitting our time between Spain and France. I look forward to reading about your time in Portugal when you return, as it is still very much on my radar for future travel.

PalenQ

Itinerary seems great! About trains- book as early as possible at Renfe - Spanish Railways' site for discounted but limited in number tickets. Yes, www.seat61.com has sage advice on doing that - general info trains BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com. In Portugal book on www.cp.pt - Portugeuse Railways' site.

I would think about adding Cordoba to your list - many folks rave about it - could do as a day trip from Seville or stop en route to/from Madrid. Cutting a day or two off Madrid won't be bad and putting Cordoba in play.

lilloulou_au

Thank you all for your valuable comments! Glad to hear that our itinerary is reasonable. We will definitely book our trains tickets well ahead of time. Actually looking forward to visiting Europe in winter for a change even though the day hours will be shorter. It will be a different feel I am sure and I heard that the Christmas lights/decorations are amazing in Madrid.