kit

My friend and I intend to do this next week. Is the drive worth it or is the train much better? And..how long should we count on the trip taking?<BR><BR>I would rather train it, but she would rather drive (to see the countryside, to have the freedom of the car....) If there are towns along the way we shouldn´t miss, that information would help us decide. Thanks in advance!

Pedro

The route from Salamanca to Lisboa is probably one of the most interesting ones you can do in Spain/Portugal. There are many places to see and gorgeous landscapes as well:<BR><BR>Ciudad Rodrigo: small fortified town, great atmosphere, the Parador is beautiful, recently renovated.<BR><BR>Guarda: another small capital 1100 metres high above sea level. Beautiful cathedral. Hotel de Turismo is nice. <BR><BR>Serra da Estrela area: gorgeous landscapes, specially within High Valley of Zezere River or Po&ccedil;o do Inferno. <BR><BR>Coimbra: Its Old University is a must as also some other sights in the city. Beautiful roman ruins at Conimbriga.<BR><BR>Batalha, Alcoba&ccedil;a, Obidos, Nazar&eacute;, etc and others as Tomar, Fatima (and the caves of Sto Antonio ), Mafra, Ericeira, etc. <BR><BR>

r.

doing the salamanca-guarda-viseu-coimbra-lisbon route can be quite dangerous, if you drive! ip5, which means main itinerary #5 is also know as the "estrada da morte" (road of death) be very careful... specially with ice or even snow on the road.<BR><BR>if you are driving, you can also pick the south route over extremadura: get from salamanca to caceres and then to badajoz in spain, enter portugal at the elvas border and then spend some time to go to evora (world heritage city in the south of portugal) and enjoy the amazing landscape of alentejo. there is a 4 track highway all the way through to lisbon. the pt side of the way is clearly safer than taking ip5 at this time of the yaer and from the border to lisbon it shouldnt take you longer than two and half hours of driving (possibly even less).<BR><BR>DO NOT USE THE TRAIN. IT TAKES FOREVER! IT IS VERY SLOW AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SEE ANYTHING.

kit

Thanks! Sounds like my friend had it right to begin with. We´ll drive...

kit

Hola,<BR><BR>I´m topping this for myself!<BR><BR>Thanks Pedro and R. Another question: How long does the norhtern route take and how long does the southern route take (to drive by car). It may make a difference as we have class schedules to work around, though ideally, we´ll take one way there and the other way back. Thanks in advance!<BR><BR>Kit

Pedro

Both the southern route and the northern route might take you between 5 1/2 hours and 6 1/2 hours depending on traffic, without stopping. There are 515 kms via northern route and 524 kms via southern one.