Andalucia and Portugal plans...

Alhambra - I did the night tour and went back the next day. The Nasrid Palaces are worth seeing twice - they look so different. There's a lot more to see besides that, so plan on at least 1/2 day.

Seville - go to the cathedral first for a few minutes in the church with few people, then climb the tower (again before it gets crowded). Then on to the Alcazar. If you want to see the private rooms do that first. They close around 1 p.m. Definitely go to a flamenco show. I went to La Casa del Flamenco. Definitely not the most expensive or the most touristy. It was very good with a woman singer and 2 dancers, a woman and a man and a guitar-player, of course. Best tapas in Sevilla (possibly in all Spain) at Bodeguita Casablanca, C/ Adolfo Rodriguez Jurado, 12 (it's a couple minutes' walk from the Alcazar).

Horse show - I went to both, in Cordoba and in Jerez. They were different, both were good. If you go to Jerez, get your ticket in advance. I believe that if you arrive early, you can see the horses up close in the paddocks before the performance begins. If it matters to you, photos were permitted in Cordoba but not in Jerez. I considered buying the DVD there but the quality was so poor, it would not have been worth it, even if the price hadn't been so high. If you want to tour a sherry bodega, Tio Pepe's is fun. If you just want to drink sherry, you don't have to go to Jerez.

(1) shall I split up my Alhambra visit by going to the Nasrid palaces the night I arrive and the rest of Alhambra the next day?
I really think you should stay 2 nights in Granada and 3 in Seville, leaving Jerez for another time.
This would give you one full day in each of Granada, Seville and Cordoba (on a day trip).
Keep in mind your travel time to and from Granada is not insignificant.

(2) do I have time for a visit to the Arab baths in Granada for relaxing?
Some people take 15 mins as a bath, some take 3 hours - I think only you can answer this one.

3) should I bother with a day trip to Jerez or stay in Seville when I already have a day trip must do to Cordoba?
See (1) above.

(4) should I book a tour for Sagres or rent a car and be on my own?
Leave this for an expert on Portugal.

Seeing the Alhambra at night and in the day is a good plan, it's so different at different times of day.

I have never done the arab baths. I am not sure what time your train arrives, but there might be time for a short visit before a night Alhambra visit. Not a long visit with lengthy treatments, though. I'd skip it, but it's not my kind of thing. There is so much else to do in Granada - your itinerary leaves no time for the Albayzin/San Nicholas viewpoint, which I'd do instead of the baths. Up to you. I personally would squeeze another night in Granada, but I'm not sure what I would drop on a first visit so this is probably good.

I'd skip Jerez for another day in Seville - doing the Cathedral, alcazar, and flamenco show in one day leaves no time for enjoying the atmosphere. And yes, I would do a flamenco show, absolutely. I like Casa de La Memoria but there are plenty of good ones. Check Rick's book and reviews. If you skip Jerez, you can do Alcazar one day, Cathedral the other, with time for a bike tour and other activities.

I've spent a little time in Portugal, what you have looks good to me but people who have been there more than once may be more helpful! It's good that you have two full days for Lisbon exploring, this kind of freedom is what IMO is lacking from your Seville and Granada parts. Skipping Jerez will help with Seville.

Thank you all for the good advice. I am leaning toward cutting out Jerez trip and possibly staying two nights in Granada. Still working on it. Budget is tight and the accommodations in Seville are a lot less expensive than my hotel in Granada.

I'll keep working at this but in the meantime, will book my Madrid-Granada train very soon.

Linda

Get a cheaper hotel in Granada :-)

GRANADA ***

• Make sure you book the ticket in advance to Alhambra (Nasrid) palace. Cheapest option is to book from ticketmaster. If not available, buy a more expensive combo ticket 'bono turistco' which you have to pick up the ticket yourself in town. And for last resort, you can also buy group tour tickets that include the palace visit. Refer to RS book. I would stay two nights in Granada and visit the Nasrid palace in the daytime. The Albacyn area is worth a few hours of exploring. We joined the Cicero tour at Granada for a few hours of orientation for about 14 euro each. It was good introduction.
• We stayed at the ' La Casa de la Trinidad' hotel in Granada located next to the tranquil Trinidad square. It was centrally located with modern and clean rooms with good flat screen TV for good night sleep, if that's your priority. -Cafe Grand Via offers very decent fixed priced meal for 16 euro each as mentioned in RS book too.

SEVILLE ****

• We saw the horse show at Jerez. It was fascinating! It can be done easily as a day trip with train about 30-40mins each way. But you should check the train time table. The free 'Rail Planner' app is really helpful.
• We saw the 'Tablao El Arenal' flamenco show as mentioned in RS book. Saw the dinner discount on the website for 54 euro each. which is a good deal but you have to mention the discount or book online, otherwise it is upward of 70 euro each, or just 34 euro for show and a drink.
• Do not bother with the Flamenco museum. It is too expensive for what it offers unless you are really into flamenco.
• If at all possible, find a hotel in the center of Seville is definitely worth it.

LISBON ****
- The Mercado Ribeira food hall in Lisbon is definitely a good option for delicious food with good price
- With the recommendation of the tourist office, we took the ferry ( about 10 mins ) to Calcihas, a small town with many seafood restaurants with better price than in Lisbon
- Get to know the metro in Lisbon can save you a lot of time and energy.

Hope this helps.

In Granada, I stayed at Hostal/Pension Rodri. It wasn't expensive (it was February, though) and it was more than adequate. Excellent staff, very good location, close to the cathedral, small but clean, quiet and comfortable.

Note that in addition to the Alhambra being different at night, if you take a night tour you don't get to see the whole Nasrid Palace. So you definitely need a day tour; the night tour complements it, but does not substitute for it.

Chani, I appreciate your suggestion to find a cheaper hotel. Actually, the contact from my hotel has responded that the price for two nights would be less 10 Euro each night, so I will go ahead and book two nights with them.

JT and Harold: agreed, yes, I will pre-book the Alhambra tickets with both a night tour for the Nasrid Palaces and a day tour the following morning.

JT, thanks for the tips on Lisbon places to eat.

Happy travels all...

Linda

Hi Linda,

After I posted, I was afraid it sounded flippant, so I am pleased to know that you took it in the spirit it was meant.

For the day ticket to the Alhambra, I suggest getting a morning ticket with a timed entry of 11.30 or later. Here's how it works: besides the Nasrid, there are 2 or 3 other areas that require a ticket to enter, but the only time restriction is morning or afternoon. If you have the afternoon ticket, then you can only enter them after 2.00. In theory, if you have the morning ticket, you can only enter them until 2.00, but there's this loophole - if your Nasrid entry is 11.30 or later, you can enter the other areas any time. The grounds are open to visit all day. So using my suggestion, you have the entire day to visit, use as much as you want. You will want to be in line for the Nasrid entry at least a few minutes in advance. People start lining up early, but it doesn't really matter. There will be lots of people inside anyway. If you want to take pictures with fewer people in them, hang back until most have continued on, then snap away before the next lot enter. There's no limit on how long you can stay inside. There's a one-way route through the buildings, but you can double back as much as you want. There's a small building near the entrance where you can check big bags, there are toilets and vending machines for drinks.

There's regular bus service to the Alhambra that stops at all the entrances. For the evening visit, get off at the Nasrid entrance (down the hill), it will save you a lot of walking time. For the daytime visit, use the main entrance, get a map and ask if what there is to see. Some of the small buildings are open occasionally but the only way to know is to ask. Allow plenty of time to get to the Nasrid; it's a long walk (downhill) but there's a lot to grab your attention on the way.

RE # 4 Should I book a tour or rent a car. I don't believe there is a car rental in Salema, so you would have to pick up in either Lagos or Luz I think. But I'm pretty sure the public bus runs regularly to both Sagres and Cape St Vincent ( which is definitely worth seeing), from Salema.

Leave time to go to Sintra while in Portugal, if possible. It was one of my favourite days on our trip this month to Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona, and Nice.

Hey everyone: I am quite excited to report that Alhambra tickets have been purchased; Night time visit to the Nasrid Palace and my General Alhambra visit booked for the next day with the Nasrid Palace time set for 11:30, as suggested.

Portugal: still working on the activities here. By the time I get to Salema, I will thoroughly enjoy some beach relaxation. Yes, I was aware there would not be options to rent a car from Salema. Still undecided about weather to rent from Lagos or just take public bus to Sagres from Salema. I will post more questions on the Portugal forum later in the week.

Sadly, I will not have enough time for any day trips from Lisbon. Lisbon looks fabulous though and I am sure to end my trip with a wonderful Portuguese experience.

Thanks again for all your ideas. Happy travels.

Linda

Having in Spain this year for 2 months with a month to go, I can offer these suggestions:

Yes on the Arab baths! Go check out their website. You have to have reservations, but there is a Hamman in Cordoba and Seville. It was a lovely experience. This last time I opted for a longer massage, so a 30 minute massage with the bath. 1 1/2 hours is the amount of time allotted to your visit and is more than enough. You are ready to get out by then.

The train from Madrid stops in ANTEQUERA SANTA ANA, then you get off and get on a bus which takes you to Granada and stops at the train station in Granada. They are building the AVE train to Granada, so until it is finished this is how they do it. You have to pay attention to the stops, it is before the train gets to Malaga. Use the toilet on the train before it stops, they don't have a toilet on the bus (or I didn't see it) and if you are on the evening train, the station is closed so no toilet was available when we arrived. There is no time either between getting off the train and on the bus. It is a very fast transition.

I did the horse show in Cordoba last year and this. Very enjoyable, you can purchase your tickets when you get there. You meniton a day trip to Cordoba??? why not stay overnight? The show doesn't start until late and is 1 hr+ long.

The only way to get to Lisbon from Spain is by bus. From Seville, you go to the Main bus station and take an ALSA bus (alsa.es) it will go to Faro, and maybe farther, I got off in Faro and stayed a few days. From Faro you can take the regional train which runs along the coast only. They have one train station in town - easy to find. I took the train to Portimao, then a taxi to my hotel in Praia de roche. DON"T TRAVEL on the weekend if you can help it! The taxis charge 150% more on Saturday and Sundays in both Spain and Portugal. From Portimao I took the regional train again to Lagos. These train rides were really cheap - under 3 euros. In Lagos I rented a car for a week. Best deal ever. However, I don't think you can do a one way rental. The car was really nice and the price was $160 euros for a week including everything. I was in Lisbon for 2 nights, not long enough, but I had to get back to Lagos. Parking in Lisbon isn't cheap - $15.00 a day. I loved Lisbon. Wish I had more time. I really enjoyed all of Portugal. It is cheaper than in Spain, but it is also windier there. I stayed in a fantastic hotel which I loved, loved, loved!! made all of my hotel arrangements on Booking.com Check out : Casa De Santos, good location, best beds ever, nice staff, beautiful rooms. It was awesome! $48 euros 1 person per night. (April 2015)
On the way back I went from Lagos to Tavira on the train and got off in Tavira. Really nice town. I stayed one night there. Glad I did!
I found travel between cities in Portugal a little harder thus a car makes it way easier. Highly recommend the car in Portugal! Remember to get your International Drivers License before you leave. It is good for one year. Available from AAA.