Portugal and Spain in December

Hi,
It's hard to be specific starting from a blank page, but to start, I'll say that December is cool and wet in large parts of Spain and Portugal, especially close to the Atlantic. So I would focus the itinerary on central / southern areas. In 13 days, which I assume to be 12 nights, you can do 3-4 in Madrid (can be cold so wrap up. A daytrip to Toledo possible), 1-2 in Granada, 3-4 in Seville (daytrip to Córdoba if you wish), 3 in Lisbon (flying out of Lisbon and into Madrid, and between Seville and Lisbon). It is tight but it works. Or you can go to Portugal some other time, and make the trip to Spain more relaxed.

First, Spain and Portugal are not well-connected by overland routes. Most people who combine them fly from one to the other and open-jaw into one country, out of the other.

Second, without more information, no one can suggest a viable plan:

How are you counting 13 days? Is that from home or on the ground in Europe?
Will you be in Europe over Christmas? New Year's?
Have you traveled to Europe before? If so, with the kids?
What are your interests? Adventure, nature, history, food and wine (2 of the kids can drink legally), art, culture?
Do you have any must-sees? Have you read any guide books? Why did you decide on Iberia?
Are you thinking about renting a car?

13 days is 12 nights. Does this exclude travel time?

As others have said, Spain and Portugal aren’t well connected by public transport, plus 12 nights isn’t very long to see other country. In December, Madrid will be very cold so I would focus on the south between Seville (3 full days here), Cadiz, Jerez, the white villages of Andalusia and 2-3 full days in Granada.

Alternatively, have 7 nights in Lisbon with side trips to Cascais and Sintra, have a couple of nights in Evora then end in Porto.

You don’t say what your interests are, so it’s difficult to give suggestions other than the standard list of the big sites. Get your children to do some research and formulate an itinerary. No use going somewhere if they aren’t interested.

Excluding travel time, we have 13 nights - flying in and out of Madrid. We've travelled to other parts of Europe with kids two years ago (22 days and visited five countries). We plan to visit Madrid, Granada, Seville, and Lisbon with day trips to small cities. Any other must see/visit? We enjoy cultural aspect, architecture, and trying new food. We like to see as much and also relax a bit.
Do you recommend renting a car or trains between these cities?
We are planning to fly back to Madrid from Lisbon (our last stop).
Or fly to Lisbon as soon as we land to Madrid and travel the opposite direction.
Our travel dates are Dec20 - Jan 3 so we are spending Christmas and New Year's there. Any suggestions which cities we should be during these holidays?

If you land in the morning, or even early afternoon, it's best to take the train to another city to begin your trip and leave Madrid for the end, so you're near the airport for your flight home. Trains in Spain are fast, frequent and comfortable. Train tickets usually go on sale 62 days in advance (though Renfe can be erratic - sometimes much earlier, sometimes much later). Some tickets are offered at huge discounts and sell out quickly. The prices only go up. This article, though it is nearly 3 years old, is very helpful. Read it before trying to navigate the Renfe website. Most US credit cards don't work. I've used Paypal.

Using rome2rio.com, it looks like the fastest way to get from Spain to Lisbon is by bus. From Sevilla, it's over 6 hours, from Madrid, over 7. Both entail one change. There is so much to see and do in each country, that I don't think it's worth the travel time to try to do it all in one less-than-two-week trip. If Lisbon is a must-see on this trip, then fly there from Sevilla and fly to Madrid for your last stop before going home. It sounds like you already have round-trip tickets for Madrid. If not, you could fly open-jaw, Madrid/Lisbon (or vice versa). You could drive but the one-way drop-off fee is usually hundreds of euros. I looked at a 2-day rental with Europcar - they don't even offer a large vehicle between the two countries. That means you'd have to drive both ways and pay for the rental and parking while you're in Lisbon.

Madrid - if you are really interested in European painting, allow 2 full days for the "big 3" - Prado, Thyssen and Reina Sofia and one more for the rest of the sights. If not, one day is enough, unless you want to take day trips to Toledo and/or Segovia. Toledo is better as an overnight stay than seeing it only with all the other day-trippers.

Granada - Get tickets to the Alhambra as soon as they go on sale (3-4 months in advance). They sell out. 2 nights minimum here, so you have a full day for the Alhambra.

Sevilla - best place for a flamenco performance.

Cordoba - plan to spend time in this lovely city. The Mezquita is a wow and the historic center is one of the best preserved medieval quarters in Spain. Check the Royal Stables for horse shows.

Those are the main places to visit in Andalucia.

Thank you for the wonderful suggestions. We looked at airline prices for open jaw - fly into Madrid and out from Lisbon but it's cheaper to have a round trip to/from Madrid.

We're planning to take the train straight to Cordoba from Madrid when we arrive mid afternoon. Spend 1-2 nights there, enough to relax and enjoy this city.
From Cordoba, train to Granada and stay for 2 nights - see Alhambra
Then train to Seville and stay for 4 nights (will be here for Christmas) - day trips to Cascais and Jerez and white villages
Fly to Lisbon from Seville and stay in Lisbon for 3 nights. - day trips to Fatima and Sintra
Then fly from Lisbon back to Madrid and stay 2 full days.
We will be in Madrid on January 1st so I'm assuming most will be closed. Will this be a good time to do the day trip to either Toledo or Segovia?

Should we stay 1 or 2 nights in Cordoba? Or one night is enough? This will be our first night in Spain so we're thinking spending 2 nights so that we can explore the city the following day. Then stay one more night and head out early to Granada.

The other option is to take the train straight from Madrid to Granada on the afternoon we arrive and stay there 3 nights.
Then train to Cordoba then to Seville.

Which one would be the preferable route? Madrid - Cordoba - Granada - Seville
or Madrid - Granada - Cordoba - Seville ?

Our next plan is to have to book accommodations, possibly Airbnb.

Cherryjane,

Fly to Lisbon from Seville and stay in Lisbon for 3 nights. - day trips to Fatima and Sintra.

Three nights translate to 2 full days to explore. Since you plan to take 2 day trips from Lisbon, you won’t have much time to experience Lisbon.

I’d urge you to reconsider your itinerary and enjoy your time in Spain on this trip, and plan a separate trip to Portugal.
By doing this you’ll have more time to enjoy each city on your itinerary plus have time to take the day trips you’ve planned.

Do consider spending at least an overnight in beautiful Toledo.

Which one would be the preferable route? Madrid - Cordoba - Granada - Seville
or Madrid - Granada - Cordoba - Seville ?

Since you will be flying in/out of Madrid,
I’d visit Madrid at the end of your trip.

Your idea to travel to Córdoba on day of arrival is a good option. I’d then suggest this route: Córdoba > Granada > Sevilla > Madrid > Fly home.

Have a wonderful trip!

P.S. As others have mentioned, don’t forget to book your Alhambra tickets as soon as they become available for your dates, usually 3 months in advance.

Edited to add...

Córdoba and Toledo are my favorite cities in Spain, so I’d definitely recommend spending at least two nights in each of these beautiful cities.

I would pace it as Cordoba 2 nights, Granada 2 nights, Seville 5 nights with 1 day trip option, Toledo 1 night, Madrid 3 nights with 1 day trip option. Seville is the best of Spain and deserves the most time. Save Lisbon for your next trip. Take some guided food tours, that was very fun in Granada and Seville.

If you are dead set to add Lisbon, I’d personally drop Granada and fly from Seville to Lisbon. Go see the Alhambra when you come back to do Barcelona in the future. That will save you a long train ride as well.