Another itinerary check please

Posted by shgo on 02/03/19 10:05 PM

We are in the beginning stages of planning a trip to Spain and Portugal for the end of September. I know it's not ideal to add Portugal, but that's an important stop for my husband so we will make it work. We will be most likely flying from San Francisco to Madrid, then home from Lisbon. We do not plan to rent a car and instead will use trains and buses as needed. Please check on the order of these stops and make sure this makes sense and seems feasible. Thank you.

Arrive Madrid (2 full days to tour Madrid, day trip to Segoiva, day trip to Toledo)
Train to Cordoba for 2 nights
Bus? or train? to Granada for 2 nights
Bus to Seville for 3-4 nights
Fly to Lisbon

Does it make any more sense to go Madrid to Cordoba to Seville and then Granada and fly from Granada to Lisbon?

Posted by Jazz+Travels

Chicago

02/03/19 10:12 PM

7915 posts

The order makes sense given that there is no direct flight service to Lisbon from Granada

Posted by Kathy

Atlanta, GA, USA

02/03/19 10:34 PM

211 posts

I love Portugal and have only done Madrid and Barcelona. My only advice is try to spend a few days in Lisbon but also a day for Sintra. I also did Porto but that would be another return trip.

Posted by kmkwoo

Massachusetts, USA

02/04/19 01:27 AM

1626 posts

I recommend taking the ALSA bus from Cordoba to Granada. We did just that in 2017. It's about a 2.5 hour bus ride. The bus is modern, clean, comfortable, and air-conditioned. If you take the train, you have to change to a bus in Antequera because the train tracks are not finished yet.

You can fly TAP from Seville to Lisbon.

I am happy to hear you are spending 2 nights in Cordoba rather than seeing it as a day trip. We loved Cordoba! It was one of our favorite destinations when we did our Madrid/Toledo/Andalusia trip. The Mezquita is amazing, but there is more to Cordoba than just the Mezquita. We enjoyed the Alcazar gardens, Roman Bridge, wandering around the Juderia, and the Palacio de Viana.

How many nights will you be in Lisbon? We loved Lisbon! As a point of reference, we stayed in Lisbon for 5 nights and this included a day trip to Sintra. We saw a lot but there were still a few things we didn't have time to see. So I recommend 5 nights in Lisbon, if you can.

Posted by shgo OP

02/04/19 02:19 AM

2 posts

Thank you all for the information. Yes, we are planning to spend 4-5 days in Lisbon with a day trip mixed in there.

Posted by Chani

Tel Aviv

02/04/19 08:21 AM

15607 posts

It sounds like you have 5 nights in Madrid. 2 full days is fine if you want to spend hours enjoying European painting at its 3 topnotch museums. If not, I'd cut a night from Madrid and put it to use elsewhere, maybe in Portugal with a couple of nights in Porto or more day trips from Lisbon.