Travel Route from Spain to Portugal
 

Hello,

I will be visiting Spain and Portugal in May. What do you think about the following route?

Barcelona
Madrid
Granada
Marbella
Albufeira
Lisbon

I will be using public transport; Bus, Train or planes.

Please advise :)

Barcelona-Madrid high-speed train - discounted tickets at www.renfe.com - Spanish Railways site IF you book in stone for a specific train on a specific date weeks/months in advance to get those limited in number discounted ducats. Full fare much more as you can see on www.renfe.com.

Madrid-Granada bus may be cheapest but trains are faster I believe - same discounts available as for above - there is also an overnight train Madrid-Granada - save on the cost of a hotel and travel time over pretty monotonous boring scenery.

Granada-Marbella - bus - trains go a way round-about route and cost much more.

Marbella-Albufeira - ditto to above

Albufeira - Lisbon - bus to Seville (great town try to stay overnight or a few days) - bus from here to Faro - then train or bus to Lison - fastest way - no direct trains Seville to Faro. You may of course here look for a cheap flight from the Albuferia area to Lison - also perhaps there is overnight bus service Seville to Lisbon - again at night save of cost of lodging.

For lots of great info on Spanish trains - www.seat61.com - expert advise on discounted tickets; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com. Buses have pretty much a cheap flat-rate fare system - no real reason to buy in advance and they always say they will put on more buses if needed - not sure bout that but lots of buses in Spain and Portugal.

Great reply! waiting to hear other opinions too.

We are 2 guys of 28 years old. We have a modorate budget and we want to do rafting, hiking, beach and party.

For the Albufeira to Lisbon leg, I'm not sure what Pal is suggesting. Why go back into Spain to Seville, then back to Faro, when Faro is 30kms or so from Albufeira in the first place?

You can catch a train from Albufeira that takes 3 hours direct to Lisbon.

Oops I got Albufeira mixed up - thought it was near Marbella - oops - Rubicand is right - now getting to Alburfeira from Marbella by land would be going to Seville and taking the bus which I believe stops in Albufeira.

sorry.

Thank you this is very helpful