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

Greetings Everyone!
I am a little nervous. Traveling solo to PORTO from Madrid on October 2nd and staying until October 18th. I have been looking into renting an Airbnb or apartment for my stay in Porto and planning a few day tours/overnighters. Have you heard of any great places for month long rentals? I would like to find a nice reasonably priced "base" in Porto and explore from there. Coimbra appears to be an addition that I may consider fitting in as it doesn't look to be too far from Porto.
I will be staying in the Seville area from October 24th to November 27th. I figured I would hit Lisbon and outlying areas at that time. Here is my latest/tentative itinerary. Does this look realistic to you?

Day 1: Fly in From Madrid
Day 2: Explore
Day 3: Taste Porto - Downtown Food Tour
Day 4:
Day 5: Douro Valley (Find a good day tour or overnight excursion)
Day 6 & 7:
Day 8: Visit Vinho Verde Route (Small Group Tour)
Day 9 & 10:
Day 11: Day tour Guimares/Braga
Day 12:
Day 13:
Day 14
Day 15:
Day 16: Fly back to Madrid for 5 days (Maybe plan for a day trip or overnighter to Salamanca)

Taking train from MADRID to SEVILLE on October 24th and heading back to Madrid on November 26th. Flying back to Seattle on November 28th. I am content just hanging out in a few areas rather than loading myself up with a busy schedule that takes away from my time to observe and "take in" the area.
I would love to hear anyones suggestions or recommendations on places to stay or great tours you had in any of these areas I've listed. I have spent time in Barcelona and Madrid over the past couple years and am really excited about exploring Portugal and Southern Spain this trip, but also somewhat nervous going alone for the first time. More nervous the closer I get to my departure. This forum has been a great resource for me and I have been getting many ideas from here. Thank you all for your comments!

Posted by
11053 posts

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.

Posted by
7 posts

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!!

Posted by
26833 posts

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.

Posted by
7 posts

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.

Posted by
26833 posts

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.

Posted by
1654 posts

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.

Posted by
4256 posts

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

Posted by
26833 posts

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.