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Itinerary Help

Posted by (Maine) on

We have booked flights into Lisbon for next summer. At $500 roundtrip, nonstop from Boston on Delta, we simply couldn't pass it up. We need some help with the planning of the Spain leg of the trip. We love road trips so do not mind driving. Our tentative plan is to do a loop up through Portugal and then back down through western Spain.

About us: We are very independent and fairly adventurous travelers in our 60's. We do not like crowds and big cities. Our priorities are good food and wine, meeting local people and finding those hidden, overlooked, and under appreciated gems. We always rent a car and try to stay off the beaten track. We are foodies but not food snobs... We would rather eat at a hole in the wall than a starred Michelin restaurant, although those are OK, too. :)

Unfortunately, because I teach, we are limited to travel in the summer... not ideal, but better than not at all. We generally plan our trips to be about three weeks give or take a few days. Our favorite stays have been at agriturismos and homeaway/airbnb rentals. We do not like resorts and being right on top of other people. We are frequent travelers to Mexico and our most recent European trips have been to Sicily, Italy, and France where we enjoyed soaking up the local culture in the more rural areas, with day trips to some of the more popular attractions.
Our current plan is to spend four nights in Tomar and four nights in the Douro Valley. We would like to see Santiago de Compostela, and were thinking three nights in this area. We are stumped on where to go in western Spain after that. We would like to do at least three or four nights in Segovia as our "city" stop. We are looking for small villages that pack a wallop in terms of food and culture. Guadalupe has caught my eye..... We would like to be able to either walk to dinner or eat at agriturismo so we don't have to worry about drinking and driving. I have both the Michelin green guide and Rick Steve's Spain. I have done hours of reading but am overwhelmed by all of the choices.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Posted by
3894 posts

Hello! I think that western Spain, specifically Extremadura, it is often overlooked and really underappreciated. In my opinion, it's one of Spain’s most fascinating regions. It's full of time-warped old towns, castles, monasteries, and beautiful countryside. It is the region bordering Portugal to the west and was the homeland of many Conquistadors. For a potential road trip I would do something along these lines:

-Day 1: Cáceres: The old town of Cáceres is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has a mix of Roman, Islamic, Gothic, and Renaissance styles.

-Day 2: Parque Nacional de Monfragüe: Day trip from Cáceres to this biosphere reserve, includes stunning cliffs & rock formation, plus many kinds of wildlife (especially noted for its Griffon vultures). Has some really great hiking trials.

-Day 3: Trujillo: This town is where some of Spain’s most famous(infamous) conquistadors came from. The town has a few baroque and Renaissance palaces and an interesting Museum of Francisco Pizarro, who led the expedition that conquered the Inca Empire.

-Day 4: Guadalupe: Has the beautiful Real Monasterio de Guadalupe. You can tour this monastery and its collection of art, jewels, illuminated manuscripts. You can also see two cloisters, one late-14th-century Mudéjar, the other Gothic.

-Day 5 and 6: Mérida: Mérida has the best Roman ruins in Spain, I would actually spend two days there.

-Day 7: Zafra: On the way to Zafra stop by Castillo de Feria, an originally Moorish hilltop fort. Zafra itself is a white walled town nicknamed "Little Sevilla" and feels very "Moorish". The filmed some scenes from the T.V. show Game of Thrones here.

-Day 8: Jerez de los Caballeros: A very picturesque small town. The old town is surrounded by a Moorish wall with six gates. After it was conquered from the Moors, the town was transferred to the Knights Templar, who left their own architectural mark.

-Day 9: Monesterio: Finish your trip at Monesterio which is an unassuming little town that produces some best jamón ibérico de bellota in all of Spain. You can find the real Museo del Jamón there, not those touristy ones you will find in Madrid.

End trip - Drive back to Lisboa.

Posted by
27063 posts

Extremadura definitely sounds like your kind of place. (I enjoyed Caceres and Trujillo, plus Ciudad Rodrigo to the north, not in Extremadura.) However, that area is likely to be extremely hot in the summer. Go to timeanddate.com and check out the historical weather data there for the appropriate month(s) in recent years. I've linked to Caceres in July 2018. Do check multiple years so you have a fairly comprehensive idea of the range of temperatures you may experience.

Galicia is a much more pleasant place in mid-summer, so I'd recommend seeing more than just Santiago de Compostela. You won't encounter very many foreign tourists outside SdeC except for folks right on the pilgrimage path. I enjoyed both Pontevedra and A Coruna. The smaller town of Betanzos might appeal to you. Cambados and Combarro are picturesque but rather touristy villages on the west coast of Galicia.

The small town of Tui, on the Portuguese/Spanish border, is worth a stop. I suggest that you bypass Vigo. It seems not to have much of interest.

You mentioned driving. I assume you are aware of the very high fee you will be charged if you pick up a car in Portugal and drop it off in Spain and are planning to drive back to Lisbon.

Posted by
9 posts

Thank you both so much for your replies. I have few questions if you don't mind.

Where would you recommend as a home base in Extremadura? We generally don't like to change accommodations more than every three to four nights. We have about 12 nights there.....so we could do at least three stops, with one in Segovia. We will return the car in Lisbon.
About the heat... Thank you for that link. Being from Maine, 85 degrees sounds great! We were in Sicily last summer and it was 100 plus. That was a tad too warm, even for these Mainiacs. .
We are hoping to do Basque country in the summer of 2020 so will probably leave the Costa Verde until then.

Thank you for any additional advice.

Posted by
27063 posts

I've done both Extremadura and Sicily in the summer. (Yes, I'm a slow learner.) Sicily was June 17 - July 4 (2015); Extremadura was May 30 - June 3 (2016). I remember Extremadura as being hotter, possibly because my time there was mostly spent walking around outdoors (aside from the quite nice archaeological museum in Merida). By comparison, in Sicily there were more indoor sights, and I spent more time on buses and trains. At least I think that's the explanation. I also remember Extremadura as having not much vegetation, so nowhere to escape from the sun.

However, based on your previous travels, it sounds as if you'll be OK, and of course having your own car (air conditioning!) will make a lot of difference. Just be mentally prepared to swelter.

I based in Caceres, which I remember as having a larger historic area than Trujillo. I've just checked ViaMichelin, and those two towns are less than 30 miles apart. Merida's about 45 miles from Caceres and just over 50 miles from Trujillo. Guadalupe is much closer to Trujillo than to Caceres--75 miles from the latter. Trujillo is right between the other two.

Ciudad Rodrigo (small walled town) would be more or less on your way from Santiago de Compostela to either Trujillo or Caceres. You might also read about Plasencia, which is also along that path.

About Merida--I agree with the guide books that it is a less appealing city, overall, than Caceres and Trujillo, but it does have the Roman theatre and bridge, plus the aforementioned archaeological museum. I am not much interested in ancient ruins, but I enjoyed the museum. It's quite modern, and there are nice mosaics. It's definitely worth a day-trip if you can spare the time.

Edited to add: Merida has some outdoor sculpture in a park--usually something I really enjoy, but what with the heat and all, I was a bit sorry that I had spent two hours seeing it. I think that's really skippable if you are not much interested in contemporary sculpture.

I really liked Segovia.

Posted by
6508 posts

My last visit to Extremadura was years ago in July and it was miserably hot, which falls in line with what others have said. While not an agriturismo or B&B, Paradors are nice places to stay. Many are in old convents or monasteries, some are in old castles, and they offer specials for those over 55. Most are located near the city or town historic center. There are Paradors in Caceres, Guadalupe, Merida, Trujillo and Zafra. The one in Santiago de Compostela is directly beside the cathedral, but is pricey. Most Paradors are no more expensive than any other comparable in the town they are located.

Edited. I also agree that Muxia is a nice place to stop. It's very pretty by the lighthouse and Nosa Señora de la Barca church. It's an easy drive from Santiago. If you do go to Santiago, visit the perigrino monument (monument to those walking the Camino) at Monte de Gozo. It's only a few miles from the cathedral and provides a nice view of the city.

Posted by
362 posts

Check out the following in no specific order, Finesterra, Padron, Pontevendra, Muxia. All have a connection to Santiago de Compostela. A Corona is also a great place but may be too large of a city for you. Also the last two weeks in July is festival time in SDC, with fireworks July 24 and high mass to celebrate StJames feast day July 25th. Three music stages set up throughout the town. We enjoyed local song and dance the last day of the festival.

Posted by
3894 posts

Hello, for your three home bases in western Spain I would recommend:

  1. Segovia (4 nights)
    -Day trip to Ávila‎
    -Day trip to Salamanca

  2. Cáceres (4 nights)
    -Day trip to Trujillo
    -Day trip to Guadalupe
    -Optional day trip to Parque Nacional de Monfragüe

  3. Mérida (4 nights)
    -Day trip to Zafra
    -Day trip to Jerez de los Caballeros
    -End trip: Drive back to Lisboa in the early morning - Stopping in Badajoz along the way

Hope this helps :)

Posted by
7175 posts

As an Australian I can cope reasonably well with the heat. Whilst I would head to Andalusia in the summer, I would draw the line at Extremadura. It’s just too hot to enjoy, and I would think particularly so if driving. My suggestion would be a flight to Bilbao and drive along the north of Spain to Santiago de Compostela.

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