Lisbon/Andalucia/Barcelona for 16 days - Need Initial Itinerary Help!

Hi Hannah,

Your original itinerary is good. You could also do the trip in reverse and Fly into Madrid. Madrid is a cheaper airfare city in Europe to fly into. Do 3 nights in Madrid and a day trip to Toledo.

So Itinerary for 16 days can look like this:

Itinerary #1

Madrid - 3 nights

Barcelona 4 nights - (Train from Madrid)

Granada 3 nights - (Train from Barcelona)

Seville 3 nights - (Train from Granada)

Lisbon 3 nights - (Bus from Seville)

Fly out of Lisbon to head home

Or Itinerary #2

Skip Madrid and just add those unaccounted days to the cities you listed on first itinerary.

Lisbon 4 nights - Day trip to Sintra

Seville 4 nights - (Bus from Lisbon) Day trip to Cordoba

Granada 4 nights - (Train from Seville) Day trip to Málaga

Barcelona 4 nights - (Train from Granada) Day trip to Montserrat

Fly out of Barcelona to head home

The itinerary the first post gives is close to a trip we did a few weeks ago.
Don't ignore train travel which in Spain is 2 or 3 times faster than a bus or driving, and affordable. Their trains go 175+ mph and get you from city center to city center.

I would start in Barcelona, but rather than spend those two days on Madrid, I would instead recommend the charming whitewashed town of Cordoba, a convenient stop between Granada and Madrid. To minimise backtracking and maximise sightseeing time, I would consider just flying from Granada to Barcelona. I would also consider flying from Sevilla to Lisboa, if the bus idea proves difficult, as there are surprisingly not many ground transportation options between Spain and Portugal. I personally would prefer a 1 hr flight to a 5+ hr bus drive.

Here would be my recommended itinerary:

Fly into Barcelona
Barcelona (4 nights)
Fly down to
Granada (2 nights)
AVE Train to
Cordoba (2 nights)
AVE Train to
Sevilla (4 nights)
Bus or Fly to
Lisboa (3 nights)
Fly out of Lisboa

Hope this helps :)

Years ago (before super-high speed trains) we did a modified version of your initial itinerary over 3 weeks, but we stuck to southern Spain and Portugal, and saved Madrid, Toledo, Barcelona, and other more northerly places for a later trip.

We also had a rental car for part of the trip, plus we flew (cheap Vueling Air flight) from Granada to Lisbon.

So we visited Granada, the Alhambra, and eastern/central Andalusia, flew to Lisbon, came back to Sevilla and toured western Andalusia, and flew home from Malaga.

If you’re an art lover, Madrid deserves at least 2 or 3 days just for its excellent museums. Maybe see Madrid and Toledo on another trip? A couple days in Córdoba would fit in this trip nicely, though.

Lisbon to Seville is a long bus ride, about six hours, seven perhaps. You could fly, or take a train + bus combo: train to Faro (3:20) then bus to Seville (2:30-3:00). Doesn't save time but could be more comfy.

Re rental car: Based on what I saw in Spain a couple of weeks ago, I would recommend caution concerning driving on this trip, for probably obvious reasons having to do with large city driving to your hotel (which may be in the historic center). Just one example, the touristic historic center of Sevilla and Granada may look manageable but these are actually adjacent to very large cities. And in addition your hotel is probably in the maze of cramped streets in the historical core. We did not drive, of course, on our recent trip, but we noted with interest that even Sevilla taxis had difficulty reaching our hotel in the historic core.

I think 3 nights is too short for Barcelona, especially arriving from Granada, not a quick trip. The same (or worse) would be the case if you started in Barcelona, because you'd be dealing with jetlag.

Similarly, just 3 nights in Lisbon as your arrival point will leave you scrambling. I liked Lisbon (and Portugal in general), but including it on a short trip like this basically commits you to a flight in the middle of your vacation. It wouldn't be worth it to me for such a short visit to Portugal, with no time for Porto, Coimbra, Evora, etc. There are places in Spain where that time could be well spent without requiring you to spend more time in airports, even if you don't want to tackle Madrid and its many excellent side-trips this time around. Cordoba is an excellent example. Girona, north of Madrid, is another.

If Lisbon is a must on this trip, I'd try to find another night for that city. Most people like to spend the better part of a day in Sintra (if not longer), which will leave you just one full, non-jetlagged day for Lisbon itself.

Unless you're planning side-trips from Seville (Cordoba can be handled that way but can definitely benefit from more time), I think Lisbon is in greater need of an extra night than is Seville.

I would fly from Lisbon to Seville. And I would definitely stay 4 nights in Lisbon, a wonderful city with lots to see and do. Great for wandering and relaxing at the miradouros with a drink. And definitely stay 4 nights in Barcelona, a huge city with lots to see. Barcelona has become so popular that you must purchase tickets to many sites in advance. Because you don't know what will be available when, this makes it difficult to cram in a lot of sites in one day.

So don't add Madrid or Toledo. Take those 2 days you have and add one to Lisbon and one to Barcelona.

Regarding in what order you do your trip, I think that would depend on airfares and airline schedules. What will work the best for you. Definitely fly open-jaw or multi-city: fly into Lisbon and out of Barcelona, or vice versa.

Thank you everyone for your replies! I think we will try to add a day to Lisbon and a day to Barcelona instead of being rushed, and I will have to do more research regarding the buses or flights from Lisbon to Seville.