Spain and Portugal transportation options--2 weeks
 

DH and our 3 kids (5, 7, 10) are adventurous travelers, pretty flexible, and used to hot weather. We will be flying into Barcelona in July and after a few days there, are planning the following itinerary (note: DH and I have spent a week in Madrid previously):
catch overnight train to Granada
1.5 days in Granada, catch bus to Tarifa
day in Tarifa, with day-trip to Tangier
bus to hill town Arcos de la Frontera
bus to Sevilla (2 nights)
bus to Algarve
train to Lisbon

Questions:
-recommendations for accommodations?
-get rail pass? rent car?

I know this is a pretty ambitious itinerary--our family likes to be on the move (last summer we did Vegas, Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon in a week!) Would appreciate any insights or advice. Thank you!!

With only one rail journey in each country there is not the remotest possibility any rail pass will be of value to you. You would have likely gained pecuniary advantage if purchasing point to point tickets well in advance for your Barcelona to Granada journey, but July is now imminent and you may have missed out.

I havent been but Tangier gets absolutely horrible reviews here so you may want to do a search and see what people say. It would save you a day for Portugal and Spain.

Morocco good, Tangier bad.

I did check with rail pass, and it seems just buying a one-way ticket would be cheaper from just Barcelona to Granada (has anyone taken this overnight train?) I am, however, concerned about bus tickets for travel in Spain/Portugal...wondering if anyone has experienced bus travel and can offer some pointers about ticket purchase, ease of use/schedule, etc. (Is ALSA the only option?) Some buses seem to have very few seats left...

Thanks, jamikins and bilboburgler...we are iffy abuot Tangier too, although I think that would be the main reason to go to Tarifa, so we could then cut out that portion of our itinerary altogether...maybe head to Seville straight from Granada?

You could pop by Cordoba which is a fantastic visit, they even have the old (Islamic) water wheels mounted in the river (though they may have stopped turning by now)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%B3rdoba,_Andalusia

it's an easy train ride from Seville

Malaga is also pleasant not to be confused with Marbella which isn't

There are numerous bus companies in Spain and Portugal, but very rarely any more than one on any route.
If you cannot find the company/schedules for whatever A to B come on back and I will (likely) know.
Not quite sure what can be said about 'concerned about bus tickets for travel in Spain/Portugal', other than - you go to the ticket window in good time for the journey or you purchase from the driver.

I will add - how can you possibly know 'Some buses seem to have very few seats left...' when you do not know the companies?

Thanks, bilboburgler, I'll check out Cordoba. Do you know if there is a bus from Granada?
WomBatt, thanks for the info. The one site I checked out was ALSA. I was trying to look for a bus from Granada to Tarifa, but could only find Cadiz (which I understand is the province?). I'm having a lot of trouble navigating their website. Originally I was able to plug in a date and it came back with the option to choose seats--it seemed less than 10 were available. Now all I get back is the following: "Lo sentimos. No existen servicios para el trayecto seleccionado"

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTop...Andalucia.html

http://www.andalucia.com/travel/bus/granada.htm

http://www.infocordoba.com/spain/and...doba_spain.htm

hope they help

Cadiz is a city and province.

You cannot take any mode of public transport directly between Granada and Tarifa. ALSA will get you to Algeciras(or there is the scenic train journey http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/index.html)From there it is a local bus with TGComes http://www.ctmcg.es/doc/horarios/M-150.pdf

'I'm having a lot of trouble navigating their website. Originally I was able to plug in a date and it came back with the option to choose seats--it seemed less than 10 were available' - without knowing the journey, date and time detail how can you be helped?

I'm on a similar journey now , only started in tangier. Never again! Next time I'll do Marrakech (fez and chefchaoen were ok).
I'm also having trouble getting passes for the euro rail out of barcelona toward Seville. Keeps saying I have to buy two days in advance and have them sent to me!

bilboburgler, thank you for the suggestion! Have completely revamped our itinerary...Now planning:

Barcelona (4)
Granada (2)
Cordoba (1)
Seville (3)
Lagos (1)
Lisbon (2)

WomBatt--thanks for the offer to help re: buses. Will try to flesh out plans in more detail now and will come back if I run into trouble. Some research seemed to hint that most don't book buses ahead of time, just show up at the station a day early. Do you see a problem with this, considering it is summer?

Thanks for any insight and suggestions--sincerely appreciated!

I have rarely been on an inter city bus which did not have at least four seats to spare but for peace of mind, purchase your preferred journey time in advance if you arrive at the bus station or, yes, the day before.

Forgot to add - at any time of the year.

I promised on my own thread to give you a few tips, since we just took our kids to Spain for 16 day. My children are 14 and 9. They loved Spain, and I think your kids will have a great time. I see you changed your plans a little from what you originally outlined, so it is good that I found the latest changes.

Cordoba: My kids really liked the winding streets in La Juderia, the old Jewish area, and we enjoyed having a hotel there. The streets are very narrow! I advise going to La Mezquita as early as possible in the day to avoid throngs of people. Keep in mind that I went in mid March, so crowds are going to be different in summer. Another things you would enjoy with the kids is walking across the old Roman bridge for view of the city from the other side of the river. The tower at the end of the bridge provides more good views and has a small but fairly interesting museum on the Islamic history of the city, including a scale model of La Mezquita. The Alcazar Palace is OK, but not that great for a brief stay. Definitely visit the one in Sevilla though!! There was a large goose wandering around the Roman Bridge, which was fairly entertaining - he was not afraid of anyone. The street on the bridge side of La Mezquita is a good place for coffee, snacks, etc, but it is crowded and very touristy. One place we liked eating in Cordoba was Taberna Salinas.

Granada: Alhambra is so obvious it doesn't require mentioning, but my favorite time there was first thing in the morning - then it is crowed the rest of the day. We did not do the night tour. We didn't need it because we spent the entire day there on two sessions worth of tickets. We were lucky because it rained like crazy in the afternoon. Then when the rained stopped, we had the Nasrid Palaces practically to ourselves anyway. We had to take a late time slot. Do not neglect the Albaicin district. The San Nicolas viewpoint provides a breathtaking view of Alhambra and the mountains. Go near sunset!! The Albaicin is also interesting for wandering up into the hills where you can see cave houses and wander some of the old streets. There is a city bus that goes to Albaicin.

Sevilla - Taking a carriage ride often seems expensive and touristy, but neighbors who just moved here from Germany said their daughter loved it, so we took one. A great experience!! You get to see a lot, and I cannot imagine that kids the age of yours will not have fun. Renting the pedal cars at Maria Luisa Park is fun, but your kids may be a little young unless they just want to ride while you do all the work. We enjoyed the flamenco show at the flamenco museum. Both kids didn't want to go, but my daughter really liked it - my son, not as much. We went on a tapas crawl one night and found a really good area with lots of bars in a small area. It was off the tourist path a bit too. We had a great time! I am trying to dig up the location, and I will post it when I can. My kids always love to climb and enjoyed the tower at the cathedral - it is far easier to climb that most cathedrals because it has ramps instead of steps - for horses.

"We did not do the night tour. We didn't need it because we spent the entire day there"

Sorry, but you really missed out. The atmosphere in the evening is completely different. Plus there are a lot fewer people making a lot less noise even if there are crowds during the day.

if you do take a carriage ride, do not let them gallop please.

dan_woodlief, thanks for the tips! Leaving tomorrow night, so found this just in time! Curious how you got around? (between Granada/Cordoba/sevilla)