First-time travelers to Spain and Portugal in June of 2026. We are doing the RS Tour of Barcelona/Madrid and then have 4 days before we start a walking tour of the Camino de Santiago that begins in Porto. I need guidance on how to spend the 4 days between tours. We are considering two options for how to spend the days between the tours: Southern Spain or Porto/Douro Valley. For the first option, we could take the AVE train from Madrid to Southern Spain and hop between Granada, Rhonda and Seville. We would fly from Seville to Porto just in time to start the next tour and would not really get to explore Porto. The Southern Spain option would be fast-paced, with us on the move every day. The second option is to spend 4 days in Porto and the Douro Valley. In this scenario, we would fly from Madrid to Porto and spend 4 leisurely days there (including a day trip to the Douro Valley) before heading out on the next active tour. I'm really torn as to what to do, as both seem like good options. My concerns about the Southern Spain option are that we will be traveling/hotel-hopping daily to see it all and will likely be tired before starting the next tour. My concern is Porto is that we won't have enough to do. My husband and I are in our late 50s and try to take a European trip every year. Suggestions are appreciated!
Posted by
Washington DC
30568 posts
By June it is likely to be getting extremely hot in southern Spain. It's not a month I'd want to be down there, and 4 days is really not enough time for Andalucia. You didn't mention Cordoba, but it's a fabulous city, too.
I vote for Porto. I haven't been to Portugal recently enough to give you authoritative recommendations in the area around Porto, but a look at a map has reminded me that Guimaraes, Braga and Viana do Castelo are reasonably close and thus might be viable day trips. If your tour doesn't take you out to the Douro Valley, that might be the No. 1 recommendation aside from Porto itself.
Posted by
below Canada / above Mexico
360 posts
My wife and I were about your age when we visited Spain and Portugal for the first time in 2023. If it was me, between the two options you have presented I would choose Porto rather than move every day. We spent 4 nights in Porto; three would have been enough but we didn't visit the Douro Valley.
The southern Spain option might become more attractive (for us) if one (or even two) of the destinations was dropped. To move among Seville, Ronda, and Granada we rented a car with several stops during the drives.
For reference here are our trip reports:
Portugal (parts 1 and 2): https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-portugal-aug-sep-porto-coimbra-lisbon-then-to-spain
sourthern Spain (parts 1-5): https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-spain-aug-sep-seville-ronda-granada-cordoba-madrid
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15987 posts
Option 1 sounds like you'll spend most of your time just traveling from city to city. Plan a real trip to Andalucia when you can spend at least 2 nights in each city and don't leave out Cordoba. There's enough to see and do in Porto for a couple of days. You could spend a night or 2 relaxing in a quinta in the Douro valley, sipping wine and perhaps easy walking in the vineyards. Or do a day trip to Aveiro. Hope you can find accommodations.
Posted by
NC
725 posts
Agree with the advice to save fabulous Andalucia for a dedicated trip at a cooler time of year. Another option, though, might be to stay an additional night in Madrid and daytrip to Segovia before heading to Porto.
Posted by
Bay Area Ca, USA
75 posts
We’ve been to both Porto and southern Spain. For the purposes of your itinerary I would recommend Porto for all the reasons mentioned. We ( 50s and early 60s) loved wandering around Porto- it’s a beautiful city - the tile work is stunning. We enjoyed Port tasting, visiting wine bars, markets, relaxing lunches by the river and overall enjoying the place at relaxed pace. We did a walking tour that was enjoyable and informative. Porto is considered a “ second city” so perhaps after Madrid and Barcelona you’ll enjoy this city before a more stoic experience on the Camino.