Looking for ideas for a Spain/ Portugal trip

If you have never visited Portugal before, I would use up the 2 weeks there. The same for Spain...there is plenty in each country to use up 2 weeks of your time. Rick's Portugal book has a great 2 week itinerary. Regarding Spain, I have been to Barcelona, Seville, southern port cities on a cruise, and Palma de Mallorca so I know there is so much to see in Spain as well.

My opinion is based on efficiency of travel distances and time. If you do choose to do both, here is my thought based upon many trips to Portugal.

Start in Porto for 3 days/nights...Coimbra 1 day/night...Fatima-Batalha-Alcobaça-Nazare-Obidos on the way to Lisbon...Lisbon (1 day for Sintra) for 4 days/nights...Algarve (Lagos) for 3 days/nights...Seville 3 days/nights. I would rent a car, and definitely drop it off back in Portugal.

Granted, so much depends on your flights, method(s) of travel, must see towns, etc. Would visiting The Azores islands interest you in conjunction with the mainland of Portugal? Lots of preliminary research is needed on you part to narrow down choices, of which there are many. I would read over the Spain and Portugal books as a start. Good Luck!

Additional replies also running on the Portugal forum version of this question.

Compared to the ease of travel around Spain, when you then try and head over to Portugal it becomes more time consuming. The depth of your trip will be diluted by time constraints if you try and knock off a longer wish list. Two weeks is a good time frame for an introduction to Spain (Madrid > Seville > Granada > Barcelona). I'd be content with that.

Thanks for the info Carl and David. I think part of the fun is determining what is important and then planning the trip itself. It worked out great for Italy last year, but that was my #1 dream trip.

Well it could be bumped down to #2. You never know ... and ain't that the joy of travelling

Are you totally flexible with your dates? Some parts of Spain are great at certain times and best to avoid at others. It also depends so much on what your interests are. My first trip was mostly because the Alhambra was on my must-see-before-I-die list. That turned into a 21 day trip through Andalucia, with another 2 days tacked on for a taste of Madrid. That was in 2013 and I've been back to Andalucia twice since then, with additions including Barcelona.