We are wanting advice on the following itinerary in December-January. Day 1 - MADRID booked. Day 2,-3 - SEGOVIA booked. Day 3-4 - SALAMANCA booked. Day 5-6 - PORTO booked. Day 7-10 - LISBON booked. Day 11-24 - Seville - Cadiz - Gibraltar - Malaga - Ronda - Granada (nothing booked). Day 24-27 - VALENCIA booked. Day 28-31 - BARCELONA booked. Day 32-35 MADRID booked. Suggestions on length of stay in Seville, Cadiz, Gibraltar, Malaga, Ronda & Granada would be appreciated and options for travelling between each destination? Is the bus the best option from Lisbon to Seville or stop somewhere overnight before reaching Seville? Is Gibraltar good for a day trip or stay overnight?
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7821 posts
It’s really a personal choice and depends on what you want to see in each place. To me, Granada-3 nights, Cádiz and Ronda-2 nights each, and Sevilla-4 nights. I’ve never spent nights in Malaga nor Gibraltar. We visited Gibraltar as a day trip.
Full disclosure, I’ve been to the town’s multiple times, so my estimates may be skewed. Some people will recommend more time in Cádiz and some will say skip Gibraltar or Ronda.
Only you can decide what you think is best for you. At the end of the trip you’ll end up saying you wish you would have had more time in X and less in Y.
We always have a rental car for getting around, so ensure you consider travel time into your itinerary since it will take time away from how long you’re in a location. With all the places you want to visit there will be a lot of travel time.
Posted by
9058 posts
Toledo is not listed, be sure you at least do a day trip there from Madrid.
As for Portugal, you could do three weeks just in that country. We did a river cruise on the amazing Douro Valley for 7 days and then did 2 more days in Porto, our favorite city in Portugal.
Posted by
NC
585 posts
We always have a rental car as well so cannot help with transportation options.
For us, the highlights of Andalucia were the Mezquita in Cordoba, the rooftop tour of the Seville Cathedral and walking the El Caminito del Rey. Definitely consider adding Cordoba to your list of stops. The Mezquita is incomparable and it is a beautiful small city to wander and explore. When we were there, late September, Ronda was horribly crowded and touristy. Happily, we stayed in nearby Arriate. Unless you go to El Caminito del Rey, recommend skipping Ronda. On the other hand, if you are interested, El Caminito del Rey could be done as a day trip from Malaga. Malaga is a very pleasant, relaxing place to spend a couple of days. We stopped at Gibraltar for the day en route from Malaga to Cadiz and spent the night in Tarifa which is lovely. Gibraltar is fine if you have a particular interest, otherwise spend your time elsewhere. One night in Cadiz was enough for us, as were two nights in Granada. Seville needs three or more nights.
Perhaps you could do something like this: Lisbon to Seville - 4 nights; Cordoba - 2 nights; Malaga - 2 nights; Granada - 2 nights; then, on to Valencia.
Have a great trip!
Posted by
OP
Australia
2 posts
Thank you all for your suggestions, they have given us a few different options and will look into car rentals as we will have more flexibility.
Posted by
Washington DC
29200 posts
I agree that Toledo and Cordoba are great destinations for those who like historic cities.
For most of your Spanish itinerary, trains will work well, often being a great deal faster than buses (or a rental car). Some of the connections in the south to Ronda, Cadiz, Gibraltar, Malaga and Granada may work better by bus, because the trains between those cities are not necessarily the super-fast ones readily available from Barcelona to Madrid, Cordoba and Seville. Granada has fast rail service, but it's not very frequent and the route may involve a lot of extra miles. For instance, the fastest rail route between Granada and Valencia involves Madrid. The bus route is more direct but not faster.
Rail lines between Portugal and Spain are extremely limited. Salamanca to Porto is not really practical by train, as far as I know. You may need to return to Madrid and fly--or use buses. One option between Lisbon and Seville is to take a train from Lisbon to Faro and switch to a bus for the Faro-Seville leg.
Posted by
Philadelphia, PA, USA
596 posts
Just a few thoughts: It would be helpful to know exact dates because you are travelling during the Christmas and New Year's holidays.
The trip between Lisbon and Seville is difficult by public transit. It's a one-hour flight but a slow slog on the ground. One alternative might be to rent a car and break up the trip with a 2-night stop in Merida.
Finally, I've never done a trip like the one you are planning (5 weeks with approximately 13 different stops), but I suspect at some point I'd be tired of exploring new locations and would want to just stay in one spot for a week or more.