HI!
Planning on flying into barcelona and flying out of lisbon. will drive from Barcelon to lisbon. Please recommend stops along the route. Travelling with husband abd two teeanagers (15,13years old). They love sightseeing and exploring. Would appreciate ay suggestions/ recommendation for stops, sightseeing, food, hotels/rentals. Would the weather be too cold? ( march temps shouwing as 50s and 60s)
thank you
With about one week, I would divide your time between just Barcelona and Lisbon and fly between them (try www.skyscanner.com). The most direct route of ground travel is through Madrid, another big city, and another place where having a car doesn't do you any good. If you try to visit those three cities, then train to Madrid takes 2.5 hours and again consider flying to Lisbon (or overnight train, there is no daytime).
www.viamichelin.com is a good drive-time planner, if you want to check a route such as Barcelona-Zaragoza-Burgos-Salamanca-Lisbon, but that would be just a very rushed visit at each stop. Also, picking up a car in Barcelona and dropping it in Lisbon usually comes with a high 2nd-country drop fee; I've heard up to $1000, so do check with a rental agent.
Perhaps a leisurely driving route from Barcelona to Madrid, then fly to Lisbon, avoiding high car drop off charges.
Note the train service from Spain to Portugal is quite poor, with a very slow night train Madrid-Lisbon.
I am assuming time in Barcelona and Lisbon is not included in the 8 days - 12-20 March.
Barcelona >> Zaragoza >> Burgos >> Leon >> Salamanca >> Avila >> Segovia >> Madrid >> fly to Lisbon
Before you make a final decision to rent a car in Barcelona and drop it in Lisbon, check the fees for this (potentially quite high). Unfortunately, while they are next to each other, Spain and Portugal don't actually combine well in one trip. There are a few trains, there are some buses, and there are flights between them. But you have to do the research beforehand to make sure it will work.
Is David correct, and March 12-20 is just for travel between cities? Or is this the total time for the trip? If you have just 10 days for 3 major cities, I'd take the train from Barcelona to Madrid (at 3 hours city center to city center, it's faster and easier than flying, and not too expensive if bought in advance), then fly from Madrid to Lisbon. Not only will this save time and money over driving, but a car is a major impediment in all three cities (particularly Lisbon - just watching the cars was scary).
To buy train tickets in Spain, use the Renfe site, following this TripAdvisor tutorial, and be sure to use PayPal rather than a credit card or your transaction likely won't go through: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187514-c80518/Madrid:Spain:Buying.Renfe.Tickets.Online.html
To find flights between Madrid and Lisbon, try SkySkcanner: http://www.skyscanner.com/
As for weather, is 50-60 with chance of rain a problem for you? If so, then it's too cold; if not, it's fine.
With what sounds like 7 or maybe 8 days, I'd stay in Spain. In fact, I'd probably recommend staying in/near Barcelona. There is a lot to do, and several excellent day trips.
