Planning a trip to Portugal and Spain - Suggestions please!

cantbelieveit23

Are you committed to stays in all the cities you mention?  If so, you won't see much of any of them.  Your 8 days for Spain and Portugal will include at least a half day more each move between cities, so max 5.5 days, or scarcely more than  a full day in each.  I apologise for being rude, but it looks like a whistle stop tour of the most obvious (not necessarily the most interesting) tourist destinations, which you will share with many thousands of others.  You will spend a lot of time on high speed trains: rail and flight schedules will not necessarily match the times you want.    In 8 days, personally I would suggest 2 (or at most 3) cities, and even then, you will miss a lot.  If you are really committed to this schedule, a good place to start would be the websites and blogs that suggest itineraries for a short stay.  Search "48 hours in Madrid", for example.  It might be a thought to take the Hop On, Hop Off Bus tour as a starter in some of these cities, and then select a few places to return to and see in detail.  Note that some major attractions like the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona really require advance booking (or long queues).  For 24-48 hour stays, there are some other, smaller Spanish cities that might give you more with less crowds, e.g. Salamanca, Valencia.  You say you want to include nice beaches in your tour.  Barcelona's beaches are crowded: there are reasonable beaches near Porto and Lisbon, but will you have the time to get there and enjoy them?

uklaw1

cantbelieveit23 said:

Are you committed to stays in all the cities you mention?  If so, you won't see much of any of them.  Your 8 days for Spain and Portugal will include at least a half day more each move between cities, so max 5.5 days, or scarcely more than  a full day in each.  I apologise for being rude, but it looks like a whistle stop tour of the most obvious (not necessarily the most interesting) tourist destinations, which you will share with many thousands of others.  You will spend a lot of time on high speed trains: rail and flight schedules will not necessarily match the times you want.    In 8 days, personally I would suggest 2 (or at most 3) cities, and even then, you will miss a lot.  If you are really committed to this schedule, a good place to start would be the websites and blogs that suggest itineraries for a short stay.  Search "48 hours in Madrid", for example.  It might be a thought to take the Hop On, Hop Off Bus tour as a starter in some of these cities, and then select a few places to return to and see in detail.  Note that some major attractions like the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona really require advance booking (or long queues).  For 24-48 hour stays, there are some other, smaller Spanish cities that might give you more with less crowds, e.g. Salamanca, Valencia.  You say you want to include nice beaches in your tour.  Barcelona's beaches are crowded: there are reasonable beaches near Porto and Lisbon, but will you have the time to get there and enjoy them?

Makes sense. I will have to avoid some places to make most of my trip. I will plan this again. You really helped me here. Thanks

eskbanker

uklaw1 said:

eskbanker said:

uklaw1 said:

eskbanker said:

Impossible to say from that - they're both sizable countries with plenty to see and do in many different locations, so much will depend on what your interests are, i.e. are you after beaches, nightlife, historical sites, architecture, high culture, etc, etc?

I want to cover major historical spots and nice beaches. In Portugal I am flying to Porto, then cover Lisbon and go to Seville in Spain to Madrid to Barcelona. Then I will fly to Paris, Bruges and last stop Netherlands. 

Sounds like you've already decided where to go, but have a very crowded itinerary in mind with no less than eight cities across five countries - even if you take all month that's a lot to fit in, given travel between them all, but how long are you allowing between the first flight to Porto and the one to Paris?

Edit: just seen your cross-post:

uklaw1 said:
I have 15 days in total. Thinking to give 8 days for Portugal and Spain

Five cities in eight days?  Madness!

Haha no no! 8 days just for Portugal and Spain. Another 8 for rest. Is it a bad idea to cover 5 cities in 8 days (Porto, Lisbon, Seville, Madrid and Barcelona)?

Yes, it's an atrocious idea, in my opinion.

They're all hundreds of miles from each other, entailing significant time spent travelling between them, regardless of how you choose to do so, but even without that factor, it sounds like a gruelling expedition to embark on, in which you'd barely scratch the surface of each place in the 24-36 hours you'd have in each on average.

Even if you were just to visit those five Spanish and Portuguese cities in 15 days, that would still be wearing and superficial - why do you want to try to squeeze so much into a relatively short trip?

Have you actually booked anything so far?

cantbelieveit23

I have to agree with eskbanker.....you could do the 5 cities in 15 days, but would still be rushed.
High speed trains are good in both countries, but if you could not get a convenient flight from Lisbon to Seville, it would take all day to make that journey by a combination of bus/train.  
For train timetables and fares, thetrainline.com. Spanish rail renfe.es is strangely less reliable!  For lots more detailed info on trains seat61.com is invaluable.
I might be tempted to stick to Spain, for this one trip, and then return for Portugal, which has a lot more to offer than just Lisbon and Porto, too.
In the centre and east of Spain, Madrid, Salamanca, Toledo, Zaragoza, Valencia, Barcelona are all relatively close.  Seville is a bit of an outlier but still less than 3 hours from Madrid by train.  You could put together a manageable itinerary including some but not all of those: Madrid-Valencia-Barcelona would be very easy, with frequent trains on each leg.  Toledo could be done as a day trip, less than an hour from Madrid.  Salamanca and Zaragoza less than 1.5 hours.
Start by exploring tourist info on each city and decide which you want to visit most and whether they form a realistic schedule.
Final thought is that every time you move, you face the logistical issues of baggage and hotel check in and out.  This makes the most convenient time to travel the middle of the day, which of course cuts in to the visiting hours of many attractions, museums etc.

brianposter

Seville itself probably needs three days. 

Mark_d

uklaw1 said:

I am planning for a solo trip to Portugal and Spain next month, flying from Liverpool. I have no idea how long should I spend in each place and where all to go! Something to keep in mind etc. Kindly suggest some places and duration I must spend. Thank you

If you're up for a busy time then 3 nights (2 full days) in each city is enough to experience the main things.

In Portugal a visit to Porto is essential.  I'm less of a fan if Lisbon but you can't see the country without seeing the capital.  In Spain Bilbao is my favourite, followed by Barcelona followed by Madrid.  But to be fair my first visit to Valencia well be next year and Seville likely in 2027.

uklaw1

eskbanker said:

uklaw1 said:

eskbanker said:

uklaw1 said:

eskbanker said:

Impossible to say from that - they're both sizable countries with plenty to see and do in many different locations, so much will depend on what your interests are, i.e. are you after beaches, nightlife, historical sites, architecture, high culture, etc, etc?

I want to cover major historical spots and nice beaches. In Portugal I am flying to Porto, then cover Lisbon and go to Seville in Spain to Madrid to Barcelona. Then I will fly to Paris, Bruges and last stop Netherlands. 

Sounds like you've already decided where to go, but have a very crowded itinerary in mind with no less than eight cities across five countries - even if you take all month that's a lot to fit in, given travel between them all, but how long are you allowing between the first flight to Porto and the one to Paris?

Edit: just seen your cross-post:

uklaw1 said:
I have 15 days in total. Thinking to give 8 days for Portugal and Spain

Five cities in eight days?  Madness!

Haha no no! 8 days just for Portugal and Spain. Another 8 for rest. Is it a bad idea to cover 5 cities in 8 days (Porto, Lisbon, Seville, Madrid and Barcelona)?

Yes, it's an atrocious idea, in my opinion.

They're all hundreds of miles from each other, entailing significant time spent travelling between them, regardless of how you choose to do so, but even without that factor, it sounds like a gruelling expedition to embark on, in which you'd barely scratch the surface of each place in the 24-36 hours you'd have in each on average.

Even if you were just to visit those five Spanish and Portuguese cities in 15 days, that would still be wearing and superficial - why do you want to try to squeeze so much into a relatively short trip?

Have you actually booked anything so far?

The main reason is that my graduate visa is going to end in 5 months. It was my all time dream to visit Europe in solo. I am kinda desperate, that's why I am adding all this!! But you make sense. Better explore one country well than running all around. No, I haven made any bookings yet. I am on my planning phase. Thanks

brianposter

I would start a list of Spanish cities according to interest with Barcelona (Gaudis cathedral), Cordoba, Granada. Seville is notable for quantity as much as quality. Buses are a pretty functional way to travel between Seville and the last two.

The principal sights of Cordoba and Granada can be seen in a day for each city.

 

Faro is a pretty normal seaside town and the most pleasant town along that coast is probably Tavira. There is also a bus service between Faro and Seville.