Portugal and Spain Itinerary

My original post:

Hello, I'd like to ask for some feedback on a trip to Spain and Portugal in August for 20 nights (the last 3 weeks of August). Some of the details are incomplete (like destinations surrounding our lodging location, how best to travel between Lisbon/Nazare/Coimbra/Porto). I would be very appreciative of all your help!

I am aware that August is not typically advised, but that is a constraint of our trip. I am also aware that many users on this forum recommend sticking to just Spain or Portugal. However, I am willing to make some sacrifices (see fewer places) to see a good variety of destinations. I would also like to minimize the number of disruptive traveling days, etc. We thought to avoid Sevilla/Granada due to the heat and to instead visit the Basque Country.

To make the itinerary below more manageable, I am thinking of also skipping Barcelona altogether because I have heard it is very touristy and easy to get to for another trip. I would add those days to Madrid and Portugal.

Format = City, # Nights, Travel In, Travel Out

Lisbon, 0, (we have a long layover of 8 hours here on the way to Barcelona)

Barcelona, 3, flight, high-speed train

Madrid (maybe visit Toledo/Segovia), 5, high-speed train, drive or train?

Basque Country (San Sebastian), 3, drive or train?, flight

Lisbon, 3, flight, ?

Nazare/Central Portugal/Coimbra, 3, ?, ?

Porto, 3, ?, flight

Thank you for your feedback! We are most interested in generally exploring cities, food, and local culture. We would like a mix of high-energy cities and low key towns/villages.

A poster responded with this message:

Barcelona looks way short to me. Three nights is only two full days, and Barcelona is just full of high-demand sights for which you'll need to purchase timed entry tickets before you show up at the sight. In that situation, it's not easy to be an efficient sightseer. How do you know how much time to allow between sights?

I think an extra day would be smart in Lisbon. There's Sintra to consider, plus maybe Cascais.

This is also more hotel changes than I'd want to make; I would not look forward to the 2-2-2 at the end of the trip.

I don't know that driving from Madrid to the Basque Country gets you much, if any, advantage. By the time you deal with the rental agency, the drive will take longer than the train, and you'll need to find parking. You don't have enough time in the Basque Country to see much more than San Sebastian and Bilbao, anyway. Do you have a special reason for wanting a car there?

You need to be aware of high drop fees for returning a car to a different country than the one where you picked it up.We were quoted 1000€ so took a taxi across the border to pick up a new car.

Thanks for all of your help! Yes, Barcelona is a short trip. My reasoning for a short trip there was as follows:

• I prefer less touristy locations.
• I am not a big fan of Gaudi or Dali.
• I am most interested in local food/markets/culture.
• Flights to Barcelona were $300 cheaper compared to Madrid.

Do you think it's still silly to travel to Barcelona for just 2 full days for those reasons? I am very much considering completely removing it in favor of increasing time in Portugal and Madrid.

Thanks for your comments about my nights in Portugal. I've updated them slightly to have one less hotel change. I am hoping it will not be hard to choose a home base (where?) and visit the cities around Central Portugal.

I have no reason to drive from Madrid to San Sebastian other than it was suggested to me. I would actually prefer to take a train, but it seems to be quite long.

Hi Suki, thanks for the response, but I am not planning to drop a car off in another country. If you have any suggestions regarding my itinerary, I would really love to hear them. Thank you!

Check Renfe for the rail schedules and ViaMichelin for estimated driving times. There's not all that much difference in the travel time, and the amount of time you might waste dealing with parking issues is impossible to predict.

Between Bilbao and San Sebastian/Donostia there's frequent bus service; trains between those two cities are locals and are incredibly slow. It's a pretty ride, though.

I like modernista architecture a lot. I suppose if you dislike it, two days isn't crazy for Barcelona. I find it a really pleasant city to wander around, though.

I have no reason to drive from Madrid to San Sebastian other than it was suggested to me. I would actually prefer to take a train, but it seems to be quite long.

I've taken this train. It is pretty long (the station-to-station time is about 5h30m), but unless you plan to make stops on the way or use the car in the Basque Country, I'd still take the train.

Driving is likely to take the same or only marginally shorter amount of time (considering you will need to pick up the rental car, will take breaks, look for parking, likely run into traffic in Madrid, etc.) and if you're just trying to get from point A to point B then I don't see much of an advantage.

Thank you both for the suggestions regarding the train. Elsewhere, I have also seen people suggest flying, saying that it can be more convenient. (1 hour flight + 30 min bus ride + time for airport arrival etc makes it about 3 hours according to another poster). Also, looking at the schedule, I am surprised that there appear to be no trains available on a Tuesday, August 16th.

Do you have any suggestions on where to stay in Central Portugal as a kind of home base to see Nazare/Coimbra/Obidos or similar towns? We would be heading north from Lisbon to Porto.

Obidos is worth a couple of hours when heading north out of Lisbon. I stayed in Caldas da Rainha which was a good base for Alcobaca, Batalha, Tomar and Fatima plus the coast at Foz do Arelho. I am not a fan of Nazare.

Coimbra is too far north to be covered from here and deserves a full day or two by staying there. I would take a day from Porto and add it here.

Three nights/ two days is short changing Lisbon.

Thank you everyone for your advice. I have decided to revise my itinerary slightly. Does anyone have more suggestions on the new itinerary?

• Barcelona - 4 nights
• Madrid - 4 nights (day trip to Segovia or Toledo)
• San Sebastian - 4 nights
• Porto - 3 nights
• Coimbra - 1 night
• Lisbon - 4 nights

I am slightly concerned that my nights in San Sebastian will be during the Semana Grande and might be overwhelming? Perhaps 2 full days of the festival there is enough.

I think that looks like a great trip. Yes, there will be quite a bit of train travel, but that can be a time to relax, have a meal, or enjoy the views.

I did a similar trip that included Barcelona (4 nts), flew to Porto ( 2 nts), Guimaraes (1 nt), Coimbra (3 nts), and Lisbon (4 nts). Rental Cars were more reasonable in 2019 and we did drive between Porto and Lisbon.

Enjoy you trip —

I haven't been to San Sebastian during Semana Grande, so I don't know what it's like then. However, four days would be much more time than I'd need in San Sebastian. I'd spend at least one day in Bilbao; take one of the frequent buses; if you have extra time to kill at the end of the day, you can return via the slow, scenic train--just don't expect padded seats. Hondarribia is also very worthwhile.

Accommodation can be difficult to find in Donostia / S. Sebastián during Semana Grande: did you have a look for your dates?
Also, how do you get from there to Porto? Flights leave from Bilbao.
Considering both factors, I'd rather stay in Bilbao and visit Donostia as a day trip.

Rest of trip looks good; 2-3 days in Barcelona would be enough for me given my (shared) lack of interest in art nouveau/modernista architecture.