Hi! We are planning a trip to Portugal and Spain this summer. We are flying into Lisbon, debating going to Madeira for a few days, and then flying out of Madrid. Possibly stopping in Seville.
Any Madeira recs, we love to hike and would want to see the views there for sure or would just stay mainland.
Also any recs on how we do our trip?
I think it’s 10 days total.
A couple of things to consider. Flying to Madeira will take most of one of your days - both ways. I wouldn’t try to do both the mainland and Madeira in such a short time.
Sevilla will be extremely hot at that time of the year. The heat would likely severely limit the time you could be out of the hotel.
Is that 10 full, usable, non-travel days on the ground at your destination, or do those "10 days" include your flights? Where are you coming from/returning to - North America (or someplace else far away)? If that's the case, you actually only have 7 or 8 days to use. If you're coming from much closer (say, elsewhere in Europe or equally close by) then you have a tiny bit more time, but still, it's not much.
With "10 days total" I don't think your plan to visit Spain, Portugal AND Madeira is an ideal choice. With just 10 days, I'd pick ONE of those three places, not all three.
As stated above, getting between Madeira and, well, just about anyplace else, is going to burn a day. You burn another day getting back. You will also burn a day getting from Lisbon to Madrid. Do the math - the number of days you have to actually "be there" gets pretty small quickly.
Many first time visitors assume that Spain and Portugal are as well and quickly connected as, say, Belgium and the Netherlands, with short distances, flat terrain, sleek efficient trains everywhere. That's not the case at all: getting between most of Spain and most of Portugal is surprisingly slow, inefficient and inconvenient. For most visitors, flying often makes the most sense. The flight isn't long, but airports and other relocation tasks still eat up a lot of the day.
Both Portugal and Spain (especially Spain) is a lot "bigger" than most first-time visitors expect. Spain is a pretty large country, and both nations have plenty of things to see/do/go.
Note also that in June and July, some parts of Spain (and parts of Portugal) can get fairly hot - if you don't do well in heat, calibrate your expectations for yourself.
If you have already booked your tickets (and you have your heart set on sticking to "Portugal plus Spain in 10 days"), then land in Lisbon, spend 2-3 days there, then fly to Madrid, spend the rest of your time in/around there; you don't really have time to get around very far from those arrival/departure cities or linger.
For me, choosing ONE of these destinations would be a better way to go. You could easily spend a lot more than "10 days total" in any one of them and not run out of worthwhile choices. Maybe pick the one that appeals to you most, save the others for a subsequent trip. Good luck.
I think we’ve decided Madeira won’t work so now we’re considering Lisbon, Seville and Madrid but also debating just focusing on the two locations of Lisbon and Madrid but not sure if we’d regret
Are your flights already booked? If yes, what's the date/time/airport of your arrival and departure?
Are you coming from/returning to North America, or someplace closer?
We land the morning of 26th in Lisbon and my partner leaves the morning of July 6th from Madrid. I’ll be heading to Nice France that day.
