First time to Europe - need help plannnin a month in portugal with a bit of spain

Regarding b) it really depends what you're looking for. This may be a bit unconventional advice, but too much planning for a trip is never a good idea. Have a day or two where you'll just put yourself out there and explore things, without much planning.

We have traveled extensively in Spain and Portugal. Also, we have visited places like Madeira, the Azores and the Canary Islands while on cruises.

First, I will address the islands. We did the Azores twice while on transatlantic cruises and loved the beautiful scenery. People rave about Hawaii, but I think the Azores more than matches the beauty of Hawaii. I don't know the price of airfare from the mainland, but it may be significant. Consider taking a transatlantic cruise, it will save on airfare (only one way air).

Madeira is another beautiful place and a bit more exclusive and trendy. Enjoyed our visit there. Going into the mountains, as we did on the Azores were amazing.

Haven't been to San Sebastian, which is in the Basque region of Spain, but we do plan to visit in the next couple of years. Seville is amazing. If you plan to drive a rental car from Spain into Portugal, watch out for very expensive drop charges.
Granada is worth a day or two, especially to see the Alhambra.
Madrid should not be missed and don't miss Toledo and Segovia on day trips from Madrid. The Prado Museum is awesome in Madrid.

Portugal, we didn't do the Algarve, since we live near beaches in Georgia. Lisbon is worth a minimum of three days, add more for day trips to Evora and Sintra. Renting a car just to drive from Lisbon to Port is not a bad idea, since you can visit the ancient walled city of Obidos, with its original Roman walls, the Batilha Cathedral and seacoast cities like Nazarre. Porto is worth a couple of days and we did a seven day river cruise on the Douro. The Douro Valley is like no other place in Europe. That cruise also included a day trip to Salamanca that was great. Also, we did a day trip from Porto into the Galicia region of Spain to see Santiago de Compostela that I recommend highly.

If you plan ahead, for Porto, we found the most amazing B&B ever. It is the In Patio Guesthouse. Great location, not expensive with wonderful owners, modern facilities and fantastic breakfasts. Book early, it only has five rooms.

I like to plan my trips in detail, but nothing wrong with leaving open a day or two here and there for a month long trip.

Barcelona is very nice, don't miss going into Sangrada Familia. Watch your valuables, Barcelona is the pickpocket capital of the World.

Flights from Lisboa to the Azores are affordable as the TAP flights are subsidized by the government of Portugal.

To avoid significant drop-off fees, it's best to pick up and drop off a rental car within one country. I'm not sure for which destinations you prefer to use the car, nor how many legs you'd be happy to make by bus or flight, but some of those are likely to come into the mix.

• You could, for instance, pick up a Spanish car in Seville, drive through Portugal and drop it in San Sebastian, using trains for other connections within Spain (where they're faster), or even a flight from Barcelona to Seville.

• Or if you don't want to leave a car parked while visiting Lisbon and the islands, then fly or bus from Seville to Lisbon, pick up the car after the islands visit, and drop it back at an airport from where you can fly to your next Spanish destination, such as San Sebastian or Barcelona.

See more about public transport connections in guidebooks for both countries and at https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/spain-rail-passes.

Thanks for the info, gives me some great info to start with, much appreciated

I have not been to the Azores but love Madeira. I'd try to have about 5 days there so you can see a lot of the island. The terrain is quite varied, and there are some very nice, level walks along the levadas (irrigation canals). You can manage with the public buses, though I imagine a car would he handy. Do note that there is no natural, sandy beach on Madeira, so it's really not a place to get your beach fix.

I have a general comment in response to your reference to covering "most of coastal Portugal": Much of the southern coast is filled with ticky-tacky, low-budget holiday apartments catering to foreign visitors. You may have to go because of the surfing thing, but I wouldn't plan much time there. The less touristy places in Portugal tend to be inland. It would be a shame to spend so much time in the country and basically just hug the coast. I do like Lisbon and Porto, but there are so many other charming places like Viseu and Guimaraes. Be sure you have a guidebook with comprehensive coverage of the country so you have a clear idea of what your choices are.

I think you can have a nice trip to Portugal, Madeira, Seville and San Sebastian in 4 weeks, though a bit more time would allow you to see more of Portugal. However, upon re-reading your post I see that you are flying into and out of Barcelona. Barcelona can keep a person busy for a very long time (I'd say 4 days minimum; I spent 9 days there.) And it's not a quick trip from there to either San Sebastian or Seville. Realistically, your choice to fly into and out of Barcelona is going to cost you about 6 of your 28 days. And by the time you add San Sebastian and Seville--which are in wildly different directions, you have a lot more than "a bit of Spain".

How do you plan to get from San Sebastian to Portugal, or vice versa? Maybe there's a one-stop flight connection to Madeira, which would consolidate two difficult-transportation days into one problem day.

The hassles of cobbling together a Portugal + Spain trip are not to be underestimated. I suggest you consider dropping Seville from this trip. It's not an ideal time of year (probably miserably hot, even if your trip begins in late August rather than ending in late August), and there are many additional great places to see in that part of Spain. Andalucía will be waiting for you on your next trip.

Wow that is great advice, we were actually thinking of not doing much of spain at all at the start until a friend said you must - but i might drop most of spain for another trip and just do a bit in Barcelona this time - we have 33 days all up - and will sift through this information and some guide books over the next few weeks. We did a similar trip through South Africa getting the surfing fix then heading to non surf inland spots in between, thanks again

Yeah, itinerary creep will get you every time! You can end up with a trip that turns out to be mostly watching scenery through the windshield or a train/bus window if you aren't careful.