tidy

We have 5 weeks, please give me any input on the following itineray. Do we need to add some time some where, etc. I could add a 1-3 days if necessary. We begin the trip on May 1 and end on June 3.Thank you
May 1- Arv in Madrid at 5PM, pick up car
May 2-5, Madrid ( 4 days-4 nites) depart Madrid to Bilboa @ 7PM
May-6 Bilboa-(2 nites)
May 7 to SanSebastian via GuernicMay 8 & 9 San Sebastian (3 nites)
May 10 To Bayonne and the St. Jean Pied de Port (2 nites)
May 12 to Figuers(2 nites)
May 13 Dali Museum then drive to Calaques and tour Dali HOuse
May 14 To Girona and Barcelona, drip car
May 15, 16, 17- Barcelona
May 18 To Granada (drive or fly)
May 19 Visit Alhambra in Granada (2 nites)
May 20 To Nerja and Ronda, (ovrnite in Ronda)
May 21 To Gibraltar and Traifa (2 nites)
May 22 To Morrocco Day trip only
May 23 To Arcos and Seville (3 nites)
May 24-Seville and area
May 25- Day trip to Cordoba
May 26To Evora, Portugal (2 nites)
May 27 evora
May 28 to Lisbon (3 nites)
May 29 Lisbon
May 30 -day trip to Sintra
May 31 To Queluz, Tomar etc. (2 nites)
June 1 same as above
June 2 To Madrid (drop car)
June 3 Depart

Kwoo

Are you overnighting in Cadaques and Girona? We just returned from Barcelona & a 3 night/4 day road trip up the Costa Brava & Girona. We stayed at Playa Sol in Cadaques, which I highly recommend & HOtel Historic in Girona, which I highly recommend. If you are interested, you can read my trip report, which might be helpful.

In Cadaques, I recommend Nord & Est for lunch or dinner, or Cafe Nun for a meal.

nytraveler

Well, first of all - having a car in Madrid is a complete waste of money - you won;t use it. Pick up the car when you leave Madrid.

Also I would bag Gribralter and Taraifa (nothing) and add time to Seville (3 nights), Cordoba (2 nights and Granada (2 nights). Also - be aware that the south of Spin - and also Madrid - is likely to be VERY hot then - as in high 90's or more - as be sure your hotels have good pools/AC and care real AC.

Frankly I would find all of those 1 night stands to be way too much packing, unpacking, finding hotels etc - we always avod them if possible and do day trips instead.

tidy

oops, I meant I would get a car once in Bilboa not Madrid. I don't know where NYtraveler got the idea that there are so many one nights, I think there is only one night and that is possibly in Ronda. We are only going to Tarifa to ferry to Morroco.

ribeirasacra

There some things you may not have thought about.
Are you coming from afar? You have not allowed for overcoming Jet lag.
A lot of your itinerary is for staying one night. If you do you will never see anything of the area where you sleep. Maybe sometimes that does not matter and sometimes it will.
A car is useless and a waste of money in cities. Car parking and the car sitting all day are things to think about.
Next year all of Portugal will have tolls on the Auto Verde’s (highways) which be collected electronically. But to purchase this equipment for foreign registered cars is complicated and expensive.
With this form of travel I feel you will see a lot of Spian through the glass of the car. Keep it clean to get the best view!
So either plan your journey with out using these roads, Hire a Portuguese car or drop the country off your itinerary. BTW fines for not paying the tolls will be up to 600€ depending on distance travelled. And it seems extra Police patrols will be out and about to catch those not a where.
I would also drop the trip to Morocco off your list as you will find the part of Morocco you are in very touristy and not the real country.

tidy

Thank you for your thoughts and info about a car in Portugal. I will rethink Morrocco. I am not sure why you are thinking that we are dong so many one night visits. We are 4 nites in Madrid, 2 in Bilboa, 3 in San Sebastian, 2 in St Jean Pied du Port, 2 Figueres, 4 Barcelona 2 or 3 Granada, 2 Tarifa(may not need this if we do not do Morroco), 3 Sevilla, 2 Tomar.

kimhe

My suggestion would be to spend two-three more days in both San Sebastián, Barcelona and Sevilla. Plenty of possibilities for daytrips and spontaneous overnights in great little villages when based in either of these fabulous cities. Keep Bilbao, Madrid and Granada as planned. Perhaps leave more time for exploring small towns/villages and countryside in Andalucía (Axarquía/Alpujarras)?

You'll probably long for a beach when down in the south. You might go a couple of days to either Nerja (in the Málaga region) or Cádiz (can be very windy).
My favourite beach in Nerja: http://www.nerjatoday.com/nerjabeachguide/el-salon/
Cádiz: http://www.whatcadiz.com/cadiz-beach.html

And Lisboa is a fantastic city!

Aduchamp1

This is a very ambitous trip. With all the movement, I am afriad you will not enjoy Spain as much as your car. A few minor things, I would not rent a car until you leave Madrid. Can you fly home from Lisbon?

tidy

Actually we are not renting a car until we fly into Bilboa which we will keep until Barcelona. We will drop in Barcelona and then possibly pick up a car again when leaving Barcelona or fly to Granada and then pick up a car. I would have flown from Lisbon but the drop off fees were stiff since we would have picked up the car in Spain. Also, for part of the trip we are with another couple and they need to get to Madrid.

hkto

You don't need a car in Madrid; expensive parking & you'll get anywhere faster & cheaper on public transit. Google "Abono Turistico"; cost effective & sold for different zones (can be used for airport & out of town trips). Same for Lisbon; car is a liability. Don't need it to go to Sintra; trains run often and are under 2 euros o/w. Also as other poster noted it's better to do separate car rent in each country.

tidy

I am NOT going to have a car in Madrid. How do get from from Sevilla to Evora in Portugal without a car??There will be 4 of us traveling!

hkto

if you consider going to Lisbon from Sevilla there is bus; also to Tavira or Faro (2.5 hrs from Sevilla) http://www.alsa.es. Algarve is not a bad place to visit if you end up there. From Lisbon to Madrid there are lots of cheap plane rides (TAP, EasyJet, AirEuropa); takes 1 hr and you'll end up in Barajas airport; ready for trip home

BillJ

We did Figueres as a daytrip by train out of Barcelona. Very cheap and easy. Had lunch and did the Dali museum in a leisurely afternoon, back in Barcelona for dinner. Except for Dali museum, I don't know what else is in Figueres worth two nights. We did not go to his house.
Suggest you add the two nights (3 if you cancel Calaques) to Barcelona (or somewhere else) and get the Dali museum as a daytrip from Barcelona. I would add that I don't think 3 nights in Barcelona is enough, IMO. Consider early train to Fig. Hire a car and see the house, back to the museum, BCN for dinner. Relaxed!

It's about 70-80 km's Granada to Nerja. We drove it in about 2+ hrs due to construction detours down at the coast. It's a good 3 more hours or so to Ronda without stopping. Brings up the question: Why Nerja? If you want to peak at a beach, another reason to consider more time in Barcelona and schedule a beach day there at one of their gorgeous beaches.

tidy

We will have a car in the Basque area so will drive to Figueres from there and then to Barcelona. So, the drive is about 8 hours depending on where we start. My thinking was to arrive in figurers in the early evening and then do the museum the next day and drive 1 hour to Calaques to do the house and then back to Figuerers for the 2nd night. So 2 nights but only 1 day.
Now as to why Nerja. We are not interested in beach time or very little but would like to see the beach. When we leave Madrid we are heading to Mexico for a week. Yes, The timing was poor but friends asked us to join them at their house and it was the only time available. Which beach area do you like???

Kwoo

Tidy,
When you go to Port Lligat to see the Dali house, you should also go to Cadaques, which is BEAUTIFUL!! Have lunch at Nord & Est, right by the water, or Cafe Nun. Our lunch at Nord & Est was one of the best of our trip. We had great paella & gazpacho at Cafe Nun.

Since you are in Cadaques, spend a day there & also drive to Cap de Creus for the lighthouse, beautiful views, rosemary, thyme, & olive groves. You won't be disappointed.

tidy

Did you use public transport to Cadaques or drive. How long of a drive to Barcelona if so?

Kwoo

Tidy,
We rented a car in Barcelona so our entire road trip was by rental car. I think it is approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours from Barcelona to Cadaques. We made several stops along Costa Brava on our way to Cadaques so that is why I can't tell you exactly how long the drive would be non-stop. It took us 1 1/2 hours to drive from Cadaques to Girona because we had to go over the mountain. I think it is one hour from Girona to Barcelona.
Hope this helps! I envy you!

tidy

Helps very much. I so appreciate all the help.

CathyM

I think the itinerary is somewhat fast paced for a 5 week itinerary. It may not be bad as two 2.5 week trips but all of this in one trip may be quite tiring.

Other thoughts: I agree with skipping the daytrip to Morocco. I'd add time in both Barcelona and Sevilla. I'd probably leave out Portugal to add the time. More days in Sevilla will give you time to not only see more of Sevilla but also visit some other places as daytrips (the sherry triangle towns, Cadiz, Carmona, etc...).

tidy

Our friends really want to go to Morroco. We may fly from Barcelona to Granada which will give us one more day. Still working on it.