Please let me know what you think of our trip so far. We arrive in Madrid end of September for 9 nights with day trips TBD (staying at an air bnb in Puerto del Sol. Have a Devour tour planned and tickets for a Real Madrid game. Then we fly to Mallorca 4 nights doing a walking tour through InnTravel. Fly to Seville pick up car and stay in an air bnb 3 nights. This is where we then have a whirlwind itinerary planned and took it from suggestions from this site.
1 N Cordoba
2 N Ronda
1 N Parador de Arcos de la Frontera (should we or is it super difficult to drive the narrow streets up?)
3 N Salema
1 N Evora
3 N Lisbon
1 N Nazare
1 N Coimbra
3 N Porto
Looking at the map it appears our drives are 1-3 hours except more going from Arcos to Salema which is about 4 hours. We have also made sure where we are staying has parking available. We all travel with packing cubes, 21" cases and a backpack so we plan on putting toiletries and next days clothes in backpack and not lugging cases in and out of car at each stop except when we stay places for a few nights and we can then do our laundry as well.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
You are taking a car across the Spain-Portugal border ?
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Yes, they charge a one way 200 euro VAT (value added tax) drop fee. There are 7 of us so we have 2 cars and rented them through Auto Europe
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6790 posts
1 N Parador de Arcos de la Frontera (should we or is it super difficult to drive the narrow streets up?)
Yes, it is super difficult to drive up into the upper town. There is no way I would ever do that.
Park in the lot at the base of the mountain and take a cab up; upon departure reverse the procedure. You will be very glad that someone else is driving you. As I was sitting in the cab zooming through streets that seemed about as wide as my shoulders, I kept thinking "thank god I had the sense to not try this."
I wasn't as crazy about Salema as Rick seems to be. 3 nights there seems too many, given the rapid pace of your trip otherwise.
Only other comment overall: too many one-night stands. One night somewhere means less than a day there - usually just a few hours (at best) after arrival or as you depart. That's OK once or twice in a trip (you have 5), but when you trip looks like a string of those...IMHO it's a sign you're trying to squeeze in a bit too much.
I assume the "other" parts of your trip include Lisbon, Madrid, etc. - hopefully without a lot of one-night stands...
Posted by
Tunbridge Wells
6113 posts
You are going to need another holiday after this itinerary!
Your drive times are wildly optimistic - add 25%. Arcos to Salema is only possible in 5 hours if you use the toll roads, which is more awkward with a foreign registered car ie Spanish. Taking the non toll roads will add 50% to the travel times. Three nights somewhere is only 2 days.
Salema (vastly overrated) is too far west and you will spend time back tracking to pick up the motorway to head to Evora. Drop the Algarve and add this time to Lisbon or stay in Tavira.
Drop the one night stay in Nazare (you will be there very late in the season when it may well not be beach weather and its another overrated place) and add this time to Lisbon. You can drive through Nazare if you must see it. There are better coastal resorts.
Many hire cars in Spain and Portugal do not have rear parcel shelves, so your luggage maybe visible. I wouldn’t leave any luggage in your car overnight.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
I would suggest some consolidation, reducing the number of single night stays from 5 to 2.
1. Add a night to Seville and just day trip to Córdoba.
2. Stop at Nazare for the afternoon en route to 2 nights in Coimbra.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Good input this is exactly what I was hoping for with your ideas and advise.. Keep it coming I'm open to all your suggestions! Very much appreciated!