21 Days in Spain plus Portugal's Algarve - Itinerary Help Please

Hello and welcome from a fellow Texan (although I no longer live there, once a Texan, always a Texan, right?). I don't know your budget but I loved staying at Hostal Acapulco (hostal in Spain means it is a small hotel, not a youth hostel). It is spotlessly clean, in a great location and is a very good price. My sister in law and I just got back a couple of days ago and for a room with two twin beds, private bathroom, mini-fridge and a balcony overlooking a quiet plaza, it was 59 euro per night. When I visited with two friends back in September, on a longer trip, we spent four nights (again at Hostal Acapulco) and took two day trips (one to Toledo and one to Segovia). In retrospect, I wish that we had added a couple more days to tour Madrid as it is a wonderful city. Seville is a lot of fun with great Flamenco dancing (check out Casa de la Memoria). We stayed at Zaida Hotel and really liked it. On my trip this week I went to Cordoba, primarily to see the Mezquita. The NH Cordoba Califa was a nice, modern hotel that was located well. The Flamenco show that we saw was inferior, in my opinion, to the shows that we saw in Seville. I didn't rent a car for either of my trips to Spain, but used the excellent metro system in Madrid as well as trains to the other locations. It sounds like you are planning a wonderful trip!

Toledo is worth an overnight (I spent three nights there), and I think as someone who lists architecture and art among his interests, you'll want at least 1-1/2 days there. The El Greco and Santa Cruz Museums might both be places you want to see. The tourist office sells a wristband that gets you into 6 or 7 historic sights, most if not all providing a short tour (typically offered twice a day). They are lovely buildings, and I found the tours very interesting. You need to have some sort of electronic map (on a smart phone or tablet) to help you get from location to location to catch those tours; as of 2016 the timing was tight. Aside from the tour sites and additional highlights (the cathedral and the two major museums), Toledo is a fabulous place just to wander around in a medieval environment. Once you walk away from the path between Zocodover Square and the cathedral, you'll see few tourists.

Toledo is at the end of a spur railway line, connected only to Madrid. You cannot go on to Granada directly from Toledo by train. I don't think you can accomplish that by bus, either.

I liked Segovia enough that I was glad I was spending the night there, but it works fine as a day-trip from Madrid. It's cheap and easy to reach on your own by train. I've never been to El Escorial and have no sense of its size. I suspect I would be most unhappy trying to see it on the same day as Segovia. Do-it-yourself will be a lot cheaper than a tour.

If I sat down on a HO/HO bus on my arrival day, I would fall asleep. It would be a total waste of money for me. I'd suggest that you instead do Rick's walking tour of Madrid, plus as much extra wandering as you feel like. The San Miguel Market will have tapas available all through the day, which is very convenient since your meal schedule will probably be flaky. Another good possibility is the botanical garden located near Retiro Park and the Atocha rail station. There's a modest entry fee. The garden isn't huge. Figure one or two hours there.

Your Day 2 is seriously over-packed. Since you care about art, you shouldn't combine the Prado with any other museum on the same day. The place is seriously huge. The Royal Palace is fairly time-consuming in itself. There's an audio guide, which I thought was useful. The crowds can slow you down there. So I'd suggest the Royal Palace and one of the two smaller museums on that day.

There's a third great day-trip from Madrid that I especially recommend to people interested in modern art. Cuenca is a medieval hill town set along the edge of a ravine (with hanging houses). It has been popular with artists and has two good, smallish art museums. Cuenca is a viable day-trip because it's on the AVE line between Madrid and Valencia/Alicante. But it's financially acceptable for a day-trip only if you buy your ticket early enough to snag a promotional fare. There's an incredibly good deal available as of today for April 29, and April 26-28 are not too bad. The promo tickets are non-changeable/non-refundable, so you'd have to be positive about taking the trip and the timing before buying the ticket.

Advance purchase of tickets for fast trains save money but will tie your hands, schedule-wise. You qualify for the Tarjeta Dorada, which will give more modest, but worthwhile, discounts. Round-trip tickets are often cheap.

It will be a push to cover all that you want to see in the time you have without rushing. It may take longer than you're figuring to cross over to Portugal. Ground-transportation links between the two countries are poor. Are you flying back from Lisbon, or must you return to Madrid for the flight home?

I'd suggest limiting the coastal towns to the one your friend lives in and others you're seriously considering relocating to. There's a lot of ugly architecture you won't enjoy, plus pubs and sausage joints. Choose wisely.

Thanks acraven for your input. I am flying American Airlines roundtrip Madrid. I'm not a big fan of modern art like Picasso so I will skip Reina Sofia. Do you think I could do the Royal Palace and the Prado on Day 2? The art at Thyssen-Bornemisza sounds like some I would enjoy. More than art I'm really into old world architecture, beautiful churches, amazing gardens.

You can see the Royal Palace and part of the Prado on Day 2; I think covering the whole thing might not be possible. You will need food at some point. That will be a very full day, with a lot of standing on hard surfaces.

Madrid is not particularly old, though it's old by American standards. Without research I can't even tell you the name of an historic church you should see in Madrid. I hope your guide book is more useful than I am.

There are some stunning religious buildings in Toledo, and of course the Mezquita in Cordoba. Segovia has some interesting architecture in the historic district, conveniently located near the truly stunning aqueduct. There are also two (?) small very old-looking churches outside that area, out toward the train station I think, but they were not open in 2016. They appeared to be awaiting restoration and probably were not safe.

There are gardens at some of the Spanish palaces you may come across. I think I liked Madrid's botanical garden as well as any garden I saw in Spain, but it's not the same as the expansive sort of garden you might find at a palace. In general, I found the gardens in Spain and the gardens in Italy not as impressive as those in England. I suspect that the climate has something to do with it. This is not to say that you shouldn't look for gardens. That's not something I research ahead of time and travel to a town to see; I visit gardens when I learn about one that sounds interesting in the town I'm already in. Advance research may turn up some gems, but they may not be conveniently-located gems. I think this would be worth a separate thread here on the forum. Maybe a title like "Gardens in Madrid and Andalucía" would work. You could put a similar thread in the Portugal forum. I remember seeing quite a lot of topiary in Portugal.

I suggest that you take a break from planning the very beginning of your trip and work on how you're going to get back to Madrid from Portugal for your return flight. Options are quite limited. Given the breadth of your interests and all there is to see in Spain--even when limited to Madrid and points south--I wish this trip were limited to Spain, with a second trip planned to cover Portugal. I believe you will lose at least a day getting back to Madrid from Portugal.

I really don’t see any way you can get to everywhere on your wish list in just 3 weeks without everything becoming a blur. This is the best I could come up with, and it doesn’t allow for Portugal ...

Apr 25 - Arrive Madrid - 5 nights
- Days to El Escorial, Segovia, Toledo
Apr 30 - Train to Alicante - 3 nights
- Day to Valencia
May 3 - Bus to Granada - 2 nights
May 5 - Bus to Malaga - 2 nights
May 7 - Train to Ronda - 2 nights
- Day to the White Villages
May 9 - Bus to Seville - 6 nights
- Days to Cordoba, Jerez, Cadiz
May 15 - Train to Madrid - 1 night
May 16 - Depart Madrid