Spain/Portugal for 3 1/2 wks.
Jul 14th, 2013, 02:40 PM
#21
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Just to respond to this part of an earlier post:
"If I want to add a day on to Lisbon, I will have to get from Douro to Lisbon in one day. Can I realistically do this with a stop in Coimbra for a few hours? Maybe dropping the car off in Coimbra and taking the train to Lisbon. That way I don't have to deal with driving in Lisbon to drop car off. I will be skipping the coastal towns. What do you suggest? "
If you spend the night in Mesao Frio in the Douro Valley, it will probably take you 2 or 2 1/2 hours to get to Coimbra. A few hours and lunch there, and then you have another two hours to Lisbon.
I have done something similar when I took a friend up north. I was living in Lisbon at the time and we took a 7 day trip around the Douro and further north. On the way home, we stopped in Coimbra for about 5 hours. Enough time to visit the university, walk through the old town a little, get lunch in a cafe in the pedestrian area, and my friend even was able to buy some pottery and some linens.
One thing that helps a lot is if you just drive right into the center and be prepared to pay to park. It's very easy to get in and out of Coimbra.
But dropping the car off in Coimbra (I'm assuming you're not worried about the one way dropoff fees which tend to be very high in Portugal in my experience) might be a great idea. There are about 15 trains daily from Coimbra to Lisbon, check the website: http://www.cp.pt/cp/searchTimetable.do (this may vary due to day of week, etc). The fast trains are around two hours, and other trains range from 3-4. If you are staying in central Lisbon, geting off the train at Santa Apolonia station will put you smack dab in the middle of things, and you will have at most a short cab or metro ride to your hotel.
I thought the visit to Barcelona was likely to be non-negotiable.
"If I want to add a day on to Lisbon, I will have to get from Douro to Lisbon in one day. Can I realistically do this with a stop in Coimbra for a few hours? Maybe dropping the car off in Coimbra and taking the train to Lisbon. That way I don't have to deal with driving in Lisbon to drop car off. I will be skipping the coastal towns. What do you suggest? "
If you spend the night in Mesao Frio in the Douro Valley, it will probably take you 2 or 2 1/2 hours to get to Coimbra. A few hours and lunch there, and then you have another two hours to Lisbon.
I have done something similar when I took a friend up north. I was living in Lisbon at the time and we took a 7 day trip around the Douro and further north. On the way home, we stopped in Coimbra for about 5 hours. Enough time to visit the university, walk through the old town a little, get lunch in a cafe in the pedestrian area, and my friend even was able to buy some pottery and some linens.
One thing that helps a lot is if you just drive right into the center and be prepared to pay to park. It's very easy to get in and out of Coimbra.
But dropping the car off in Coimbra (I'm assuming you're not worried about the one way dropoff fees which tend to be very high in Portugal in my experience) might be a great idea. There are about 15 trains daily from Coimbra to Lisbon, check the website: http://www.cp.pt/cp/searchTimetable.do (this may vary due to day of week, etc). The fast trains are around two hours, and other trains range from 3-4. If you are staying in central Lisbon, geting off the train at Santa Apolonia station will put you smack dab in the middle of things, and you will have at most a short cab or metro ride to your hotel.
I thought the visit to Barcelona was likely to be non-negotiable.
Jul 30th, 2013, 02:50 PM
#22
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I've been gone for awhile due to a death in my family. I appreciate all the advice everyone has given up to now. I now need to firm up my plans and want to know the best way to purchase intra spain air tickets. Should I purchase them from the spanish website in euros or the us website in dollars? Is there a difference? Seems like when I went to Australia, I purchased in aud. Anyone familiar with this? Thanks.
Jul 31st, 2013, 11:09 AM
#24
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Thank you Mom. How old is your daughter?
For all you experts out there: I want to book my Barcelona to Granada flight. We will be flying on a Sunday. Would you suggest spending the day in Barcelona and catching an afternoon flight or spend the day in Granada by taking a 7am flight? Guess I am asking which city has more going on on a Sunday.
For all you experts out there: I want to book my Barcelona to Granada flight. We will be flying on a Sunday. Would you suggest spending the day in Barcelona and catching an afternoon flight or spend the day in Granada by taking a 7am flight? Guess I am asking which city has more going on on a Sunday.
