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Help with itinerary

Posted by on

Hi all,

We (two adults and a 4.5 year old well-travelled boy) are planing to spend 18 nights in Spain and Portugal in May 2026. We have already purchased tickets flying in to Lisbon and out of Barcelona. I have prepared the below draft itinerary based on some initial research but want some help fine tuning it:

  • Lisbon - 3 nights
  • Porto - 2 nights
  • Seville - 3 nights (fly from Porto to Seville)
  • Granada - 2 nights (drive rental car from Seville via Ronda)
  • Cordoba - 1 night (return rental car)
  • Madrid - 4 nights (including a day trip to Toledo or Segovia)
  • Barcelona - 3 nights

We are coming from Australia, so this may be the only time we visit these two countries, which is why we try to see as many places as possible but we also want it to be practical.

Please let me know if you recommend any changes? A few options I am considering are

  1. Reducing a day in Porto and adding to Cordoba
  2. Reducing a day in Madrid and adding to Cordoba
  3. Adding an extra day in Seville and doing Cordoba as a day trip
  4. Removing Porto entirely and adding more to Spain.

Thanks you!

Posted by
310 posts

My wife and I visited Portugal and areas of Spain for the first time in Aug 2023, staying 10 nights in Portugal (Porto-4, Coimbra-2, Lisbon-4) and 11 nights in Spain (Seville-3, Ronda-2, Granada-2, Cordoba-1, Madrid-3). For Portugal, we landed in Porto and flew out of Lisbon (to Seville); that direction was because it worked better for our flight times.

Based on our traveling style as 2 adults:

  • Porto: If visiting Porto, we would not reduce the visit from 2 nights to 1. Porto was a nice contrast with Lisbon, but given your limited time I would probably drop it and fly from Lisbon to Seville.
  • Cordoba: 1 night in Cordoba was sufficient, but we would not do it as a day trip from Seville. The Roman Bridge is a pretty sight at night.
  • Madrid: 3 nights was the right amount for us.

Our trip reports might be useful reference:

Posted by
1000 posts

Seven places in 18 days means seven "travel" days plus half a day of sight-seeing. Even for a trip of a lifetime that is a lot of moving around. And, seven new beds for even a well-travelled child may be a bit much to handle. One night stops really give you only a half day at a place on arrival and half a day on departure, which is why we try to prioritize two night stays to give us one full day to explore. Eliminating one stop could relax this time-crunch a lot, although Cordoba is definitely worth two nights stay and one day of touring. Maybe the next step is to list what you want to do in each place and prioritize that list to select what city (ies) to cut. Sounds like a great trip... but pausing to get a coffee on a plaza can also be a worthy and memorable tourism goal.

Posted by
2 posts

Thank you both.

GeoffB, actually your two trip reports were part of my research prior to drafting this itinerary - they are great and very comprehensive. Your tip on checking the cruise time table in Lisbon is something I would have never thought of.

I also hate doing 1 night stays as our standard is 3-5 nights per city. I am leaning towards taking a night off Madrid and adding to Cordoba.

Posted by
3435 posts

You’re not allowing enough nights for Lisbon which requires five nights if you want to explore its three old towns. Don’t plan on seeing anything on arrival day. I would remove Porto and fly from Lisbon to Madrid instead of Porto to Madrid. Slow down so you can enjoy it more and not miss seeing the sights.
Both PT and ES are easy to get around on public transportation. Are you renting a car because you have a four-year-old and are packing heavy? Parking will be a hassle.
Cordoba makes a good day trip from Sevilla by direct train (1h): https://www.renfe.com/es/en. You can buy tickets 60 days out to guarantee a reservation and not pay top dollar.

Posted by
9187 posts

We love all the places you listed and your plan is pretty good.

Still, we loved Porto and the Douro River Valley. We did a week river cruise and loved it. The river valley is perhaps the most scenic in Europe.

I suggest planning for Portugal in the future by spending two days in Porto (stay at the amazing InPatio Guesthouse), then take a cruise, or take the train up the valley (the tracks run along the north side of the river). Go to Regua and Pinhao and explore the valley and visit some vineyards, etc.
Also, farther south, don't miss the ancient walled city of Obidos, Sintra, Cascais and Evora.
Do no miss day trips to both Toledo and Segovia.

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