3 weeks Portugal and Spain - Summer 2019

Much of southern and inland Spain can be very hot at that time of year. So with young children, I would opt for a week in Lisbon with day trips to Cascais, Evora and Sintra then hire a car and stay for a week around Caldas da Rainha/ Foz do Arelho for some beach time. The shallow lagoon at Foz is good for children. Explore Tomar, Obidos, Alcobaca etc.

Have a few days in Santiago do Compostela in Spain, explore the Douro valley, return the car on arrival in Porto, have a few days here and fly home. You could always drop Santiago and spend the whole time in Portugal - there is plenty of variety.

Lisbon will give you art, culture, architecture and cathedrals. Beaches and off the beaten track places can be found around Foz. Caldas has a great market.

The Portuguese eat meals at “normal” food times ie lunch between noon and 2 pm and dinner from 6.30 to 9pm. You will be alone in a Spanish restaurant if you can find one open, at 7pm, as they eat from 9pm and mostly from 10pm, with lunch being between 2 and 4pm. I don’t like eating late then going straight to bed on a full stomach.

Thank you Jennifer.
I so appreciate the advice.
We were told that the Algarve is a must? It seems to be very touristy? Would you say Porto is a better option? I was thinking to use 4 days for Lisbon and 4 days for Porto - then head home.
What do you think?

Ground transportation links between Spain and Portugal are surprisingly limited, and there will be an extremely high international drop fee if you pick up and drop off the car in different countries. That makes it a lot more challenging than one would expect to combine the two on a single trip.

I don't consider any destination a must; all such decisions are based on the interests of the individual traveler. I suggest that you limit this trip to one of the two countries and consult a comprehensive guide book to determine what places might appeal to your family. I have not been to the Algarve recently. I don't think it's strong on authentic cultural experiences due to the extremely heavy concentration of northern-European sun-worshippers and ex-pats. It may not be as far gone as the coast of southern Spain, but there are too many golf courses, British pubs and German sausage joints for my taste.

Do heed the warning about the extreme summer heat in southern Spain. Seville's average high temperatures for July and August is 100F. Madrid is a bit cooler but will likely still be very hot at that time of year. Barcelona is more moderate but can have high humidity that makes 80F somewhat unpleasant.

I really enjoyed my time in northern Spain, from Galicia to the Basque country, in 2016. The weather is rarely hot; it is often cloudy. There are coastal towns popular with tourists (such as San Sebastian), but many places see few foreign travelers. Aside from some beachy hotspots, the foreigners seem to be concentrated in the places along the pilgrimage route. Burgos, Leon and Santiago de Compistela definitely are "touristy" in that respect, but they have lovely historic districts and magnificent churches. I didn't have a car, so I didn't get up into the Pyrenees, but that would be a fun area to explore with a car.

The Algarve focuses on mass tourism for the beaches and golf. It didn’t sound like the kind of area you are seeking. It’s my default beach holiday from the UK, but I avoid the larger purpose built resorts such as Albufeira and Vilamoura. It lacks cultural experiences, art, history and architecture.

The beaches closer to Lisbon are as good as the Algarve and this means less time in transit for your children.

One person’s “must see” is someone else’s “must avoid”.

Thank you acraven. We had our hearts set on doing both countries. Will have to seriously reconsider. I appreciate your input.

Thank you Jennifer

Definitely not considering The Algarve anymore.

They are both great destinations. Think of it as two trips to the area rather than only seeing one of them this time.

Spain is a very large country with highlight destinations very far apart, not all of them served by express trains. And there are significant cultural, linguistic, culinary and architectural differences as you move around the country, so there's a great deal of variety just within the country. Even if you spent the entire three weeks in Spain, it would be a mistake to try to cover the full length and breadth of the country during the trip. Portugal is much smaller, and three weeks would give you a very good look at it.

Or you could spend about two weeks seeing a good bit of Portugal, then add on some time in Galicia. That area of northern Spain is not usually hot during the summer and is comparatively laid-back. However, especially with the children, I think that would best be tackled as a loop trip with a car rented somewhere like Porto. That would avoid the significant hassle of trying to get across that border by bus or train. I don't know what to recommend in terms of flights, though. In and out of Lisbon? You could see some places on/near the coast on the way up and some places in the interior on the way back.

What I wouldn't do, if trying to combine the countries, is spend my limited time in the southern beach cities, for the reasons stated upthread.

We went a 3 week trip to Spain and Portugal in June/July 2017 when my youngest was 5. We started in Barcelona and worked our way down to Lisbon.

Car rental - for us, considering all the options, paying the drop off fee in Portugal for a car rented in Spain was worth it. The long term rate was not much higher than 2 short term rates and the time and money savings of crossing the border in a car also figured in.

We loved the Algarve. We stayed in a small town between Olhao and Tavira. We also liked the southern area near Aljezur. I didn’t find either area touristy or overrun.

In Spain, we loved Granada. We stayed in the Albaicin and recommend that. There were also beautiful drives and lovely small towns in Andalusia.

Thank you for your input. I am going to sit down after Christmas with all my guide books and apps on my phone to replan the entire trip.

I agree with Lisbon then Porto. They are both very different and lovely with their own identity. Porto has a double decker bus #500 that goes north next to the Atlantic Ocean and has a number of small beaches along the bus route which may be a good day to relax. Porto is my personal favorite. Then north as another post mentions Santiago de Compostela. Galicia region of Spain is beautiful with cathedral and many museums.

How about renting a car in Portugal and going a loop north and east along the Atlantic coast to Bilbao and then inland back to Portugal? That avoids the potential hot temps of Madrid and Andalucia as well as the rental drop-off fee. You could see a lot in 3 weeks. I'd start with the area around and between Lisbon and Porto, then take the car from Porto and drop it at the airport.

Yes. Doing Portugal only is an option. Got to get Christmas sorted, then back to the drawing board
Thanks for the suggestion.

We are from east cost in USA and planning similar trip with two college bound kids. Estimated date June, 20, 2019 to July, 1, 2019.
Arrive in Barcelona> Zaragoza>Madrid>Valencia>Granada>Seville>Lisbon
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Based upon my experience with 3-week vacations in both countries, I would do 1 country.
I love Portugal, but would suggest España for this trip.
Madrid, Valencia, Sitges (a wonderful beach town), Barcelona.

Portugal (Lisboa, Coimbra and Porto) is a lot of major up/down walking.
España is much flatter.

kmistry1: You should start your own thread. Your questions are different from those of christelloots, and having conversations about two different itineraries on one thread quickly becomes very confusing. Plus, with your own thread, you'll get notified by email when you have a response.

Thank you all.

Hi all

So we have decided to do Spain only. Arriving 21 June and departing 14 July. Excluding these days we will have 21 days in total. Cosidering the following:
Barcelona 5 days - also daytrips from here
Pick up rental on last day in Barcelona
Peniscola 3 days
Valencia 3 days
Granada 3 days
Benahavis 3 days
Seville 3 days.
Fly home from Seville

What do you think?