eurogeo

I'm looking for some advice on the end leg of a 2 week driving trip through Spain (and Portugal for 2 days).
On this end leg, we start driving east from Lisbon and we must be back in Barcelona on the fifth day for our flight home.
Earlier in the trip we will see Madrid, so we would be coming back along the southern parts such as Andalucia.

I know we can't see everything as time is short, but would be the must sees?
Our main focus is scenery, maybe beach, were not so much into the arts.

I had been thinking Seville on the first day travelling back. The the White Hill towns, but was also interested in Gibraltar, Malaga and the Nerja Caves,
Perhaps the Alhambra lastly in Granada before making the big trek back to Barca.

Anyone have any advice on what would be appropriate/realistic for this trek?

Thanks in advance.

Aduchamp1

First, picking up a car in Portugal and dropping it off in Barcelona will include a very steep drop off fee.

Second, five days driving across the width of Spain will not afford you much time to look at the sights.

Cowboy1968

I assume you will pick up the car at the beginning of your 2 week trip?
Which route will you take to Lisbon, and what (besides Madrid) will you have already seen before you get to Portugal?

Robert2533

Regardless of where you pick up the car, what this is is nothing but a road trip. You need to take the time to enjoy the adventure, stop and smell the roses, as it were. Unless of course you enjoy spending 8 hours a day behind the wheel. It's not a trip I would consider.

eurogeo

The trip originates in Barcelona. We will stay the first 4 days in Barcelona. On the 5th day, we will rent the car and then drive westward to Madrid where we will stay 3 nights. Then it's off to Lisbon for 2 nights to see a relative who recently moved there.

My family enjoys long driving trips and we do them frequently. As I mentioned, I realize that we're not going to see everything, but am looking on input as to what previous travellers consider the must see's on the route back to Barcelona.

kimhe

Your original plan doesn't sound too bad. Drive to Sevilla and stay a night in this queen of Andalusian cities. Then perhaps on to Antequera (1,5h) with the spectacular Torcal limestone rock formations. You can drive up almost to the top (1300m): http://www.andalucia.com/antequera/torcal/home.htm

Then you can go into the mountains in the direction of Ardales and Ronda. Perhaps a walk along the crazy Camino del Rey (the King's Trail) close to Ardales: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmDhRvvs5Xw

Then down to Nerja, 30 mins driving east of Málaga city, for the spectacular caves and a day at one of the nine small and large beaches in town. http://www.cuevadenerja.es/index.php?lenguaje=en

From here you should take the Camino del Suspiro de Moro (The Moor's Sigh Road) up to Granada (A 4050). The road's name comes from the legenedary sigh of Boabdil, the last emir of Granada, when he at the mountain pass known as Puerto del Suspiro del Moro, for a last time had a look back upon the now lost city. His mother shall then have said: "You cry like a woman over a city you couldn't defend as a man". On way to Granada, you should take your time to stop and look back on the Med.
http://www.holavalencia.net/2010/02/...and-almunecar/

Robert2533

If you follow the most direct route from Barcelona to Madrid and then on to Lisbon, it's around 1300 kms. If you want to return through Andalucía (Sevilla-Granada, etc.) then up the coast through Valencia, the distance is close to 1600 km. All this driving in only 5 days (Barcelona 4 nights, Madrid 3 nights, Lisbon 2 nights). That's an average of 580 km/day, or at least 6 hours/day behind the wheel, not including stops for fuel and food. And let's not forget about the traffic in and around Barcelona, Madrid and Lisbon.

If you've never driven in Portugal, then you could be in for an experience. Portuguese drivers like to fly low and fast. And then there are the new toll roads in parts of Portugal that you may or may not want to avoid.

All I can say at this point is 'good luck!' and don't speed.

Cowboy1968

Technically, I will be no problem to drive 1,600kms from Lisbon to Barcelona via Sevilla and the coastal motorway in five days.
The question is rather what you can do and see while on the road. Any sights, like the Alhambra, will need a substantial amount of time.

DAY 1

If you drove Lisbon to Sevilla as first leg on your return trip you will need a bit more than 4 hours statistically. Make it 6 hours to include getting out of Lisbon, make at least one or two rests for lunch, and find hotel in Sevilla. You'd have to leave Lisbon quite early to arrive in Sevilla when the sights are still open long enough for you to see at least something. Most close around 6pm. And I wonder if you are usually 'fresh' anough after 6 hours behind the wheel to just dump the luggage at hotel and start exploring a new city.

DAY 2

Sevilla - "White Villages"- Antequera- Granada would be a comparably easy leg to drive. But again, you will need to find out if you can still visit the Alhambra same day/evening (which I doubt, timewise). Or need the morning hours of day 3 for it.

DAY 3

Probably use AM hours to visit Alhambra, drive down to Nerja to visit the caves. From an overall perspective, I think I would skip the caves (and Gibraltar anyway!) and drive via the inland A92/92N and A7 to Elche in the vicinity of Alicante and visit the famous palm tree grove and botanical garden. And overnight somewhere in that area of Elche/Alicante.

DAY 4

Drive to Valencia via more inland A7 (not AP-7) to save a few euros by avoiding the tolled coastal highway. If you like castles you can visit Xativa more than half way to Valencia (bit more than 1hr drive from Alicante) for 1-2 hrs and get to Valencia around noon. Spend rest of day exploring Valenica, incl. the famous new museums or the oceanarium, if you like that.

DAY 5

Drive towards Barcelona with possible stopovers in the beautiful old town of Peñíscola, and veer off the main motorway for a drive thru the beautiful Ebro river valley (via C-12 and N-420) until you get to Reus. From there you'd follow the coastal motorways AP-7 and C-32 to take you to Barcelona to arrive late afternoon.

If you have one day less, have to be in Barcelona earlier on day 5, I think you have to drive from Granada, after you visited the Allhambra, straight to Valencia.

All in all, not a perfect trip, even more someone who likes road trips.
I did a somewhat similar trip from Málaga to Barcelona with four nights on the road.
But I had visited Sevilla and Granada before, so I focused more on the territory in between, like Cabo de Gata natural park, Elche/ Alicante, the Ebro delta and the Ebro river valley and mountains with its vineyards, Civil War sites and castles. More like location-scouting for upcoming trips. The only city I had reasonable time to visit had been Valencia.

nytraveler

Be goiing from Madrid to Lisbon you are driving across the center of Spain. To get back to Barcelona IMHO you just don;t have the time to head all the way to the south. Why not go back to Barcelona across the north of Spain - s yuo have a little time to see something. You can head north in Portugal, go through San Sebastian and then across the north to Barcelona.

If you insist on heading south definitely must miss Gibralter - just a big rock with a lot of nasty monkeys. I would stick with Seville (seeing Merida - with incredible Roman ruins - on the way from Lisbon to Seville) and then head north to Barcelons. You just don't have time to see anythng else.

Robert2533

The 5 days is all they have allowed to drive 2900 km round-trip, not oneway. At best, they would only have on 3 days to go from Lisbon to Barcelona via Sevilla, Granda and Valencia. Not a drive I'd want to make under any condition.

The first mistake made was not booking an open jaw flight, arriving Barcelona, departing Lisbon Sevilla, Granda or even Madrid.

Cowboy1968

Robert.. I think you misunderstood OP's plan.
You critisize that it will be a road trip (except for the days in Barcelona, Madrid and Lisbon).
And OP says they like road trips.
What you critisize is obviously what OP WANTS to do.

Robert2533

I didn't misunderstand the plan. OP asked for advice, not conjecture. 5 days to cover 2900 km is nothing but a road trip. And for someone unfamiliar with the highways and byways, it could prove very dangerous, if not very expensive. There are no 'must sees' in such a trip, only the highway.

And yes, it's a critical critique of a poorly thought out plan.

eurogeo

Kimhe, Cowboy1968 thanks for the advice and itineraries. They both look pretty good. Since I have a young teenager with us, I will keep the Nerja Caves as part of the trip. The tightrope walks of the Camino del Rey look pretty challenging in the video I'm really looking forward to the white hill towns. Definitely this trip will become partly location scouting for the next trip. What I will probably do is spend the 4 days to see the sites that you mentioned and arrive in Granada the night before the last day and then spend the 5th day driving the 8-9 hours back to Barcelona. Valencia and other missed spots like Gibraltar will become part of the next trip.

Robert2533, I think you may have misunderstood(or I didn't make it clear enough), we have 5 days to go back one way Lisbon to Barcelona.
I didn't book open jaw flights because I got a dynamite deal on return airfares to Barcelona (from Canada) and when I did the booking at that time, I only knew that I wanted to go to Barcelona. The rest of the trip evolved along with the Lisbon component to see my wifes relative who moved there etc. As for the driving, many may not agree, but my family subscribes to the "getting there is half the fun" philosophy.

nytraveler, I have my heart set on going back to Barcelona through the southern coast. I'll take your advice by avoiding the nasty monkeys and the rock

Cowboy1968

One last idea... Check your routes on viamichelin.com
You will also get the costs for motorway tolls and an estimate on costs for gas.
I guess I'd rather drop the car in Granada and take a low cost flight, if available, back to Barcelona.
And just that there is no misunderstanding: Even though A-7/ AP-7 can be called the "coastal route" this does not mean that these motorways were in any way a scenic road with stunning views over the Mediterranean Sea. For most parts it stays inland for more or less kilometers, and you can't see the sea at all. Only the southernmost part in Andalucia is built so close to the sea that you have nice views. But roughly from Almeria on you will only have the feeling to drive along the Med once in a while.

eurogeo

Thanks Cowboy, thats a really useful web site. That routes functionality is great. it's too bad that Michelin doesn't have an equivalent site for North America.

One more question regarding hotel availability and reservations. For the 14 day trip, I have made arrangements for 10 of the nights, but have not done so yet for the 4 nights in the Andalucia region. Is it advisable to so ahead of time before the hotels in this area fill up or can we just wing it and decide exactly where we want to stay while we are there? This will be in early July.