Traveling Solo in Portugal/Spain - Oct/Nov 2018 - Itinerary Suggestions & Lodging Recommendation

I recommend taking several days away from Seville and taking a train to Lisbon. You are so close and it seems a shame to miss this wonderful historic city.

Thank you for the recommendation. I wondered how accessible it is from Seville to Lisbon as I do have ALOT of time in Seville. I thought about splitting up my month stay in Seville by booking some time in outlying areas. The main reason for choosing Seville as my base was the more affordable rates for a 30-day stay verse hopping around. If I can find a reasonable place to make my base there in Seville, I will definitely make some 2 to 3 day trips to other great destinations like you mention. I will have to post my SPAIN Itinerary/Lodging topic for more recommendations there. Thanks again for your comments!!

I'm considering 2-3 weeks in Seville next spring myself, but that's because I may take some Spanish classes there. I really dislike changing hotels, so I tend to be a slow traveler, but a month in Seville without a special project to occupy my time--I wouldn't want that. There are so many interesting places to see in Andalucía, and I'd dislike traveling back and forth to Seville all the time. So a month in Seville is not something I'd recommend for a first trip to that area, but we're all different in our style of travel.

I'm not clear on your plans for Santiago de Compostela. It's not a suitable day-trip from Porto--way too much travel time. It's OK if you plan to spend a few nights there. Note, though, that SdC is far from the only interesting place up in Galicia, and the weather there (A Coruna being an exception) is coolish and wettish, so the area is a great mid-summer destination when much of the rest of the Iberian Peninsula is an oven.

Lisbon is, indeed, a charming place.

Thank you. I think I will keep SdC for next Spring. I will be back at that time and plan to explore the North of Spain.

I think that's a smart decision. There are lots of great places to visit all across northern Spain. Just don't expect tons of sunshine.

The Taste Oporto tour is quite good. You are led through many of the main parts of town with food along the way. A good intro to the city.
For a small group tour of the Douro, CoolTour Oporto was very good three years ago and, at that time, was a more reasonable price than some others.
While in Porto, a trip out to Matosinhos is quite nice. There are a lot of great fish restaurants out there and, if you take a bus, you drive by a nice beach on the way.
I would highly recommend taking a day trip to Coimbra and while there do a walking tour with Go Walks. They give a great tour through the city including the university library - which is a great site to see.
And, Aveiro is another trip on the train from Porto. Train tickets purchased ahead of time give you 40% off and are very reasonable.
Lastly, I understand the anxiety of traveling alone. But, I moved to Portugal solo three years ago and have traveled throughout Europe solo since then. There is a great freedom in traveling solo and I find I reach out to others more when traveling solo. And, your idea of taking small group tours is a good way to not feel so alone.

Is there a train from Sevilla to Lisbon? I thought you had to fly or take a bus.

Cala's right. There is no train from Seville to Lisbon in the normal sense of the word. You can spend 24 hours, or more, on a convoluted route through the Iberian Peninsula.