Need help deciding on Seville

Do you mean 4 solid days, not counting arrival and departure? If so, yes I think it is enough. Just like anywhere, you could spend more, but 4 is fine. The question is how likely is a future trip to the region? Seville is a gem and 4 days is a good amount of time. I'd do it unless I was sure to be back in the region soon.

Key sights, IMO are the cathedral, the alcazar, the macarena church, barrio santa cruz, a good flamenco show, and just enjoying being there. I enjoyed wandering the riverfront and Triana area as well. Obviously there are more "sights" - pick based on your interests, but it is really more a beautiful city for exploration than for seeing a billion sights.

As far as weather, I have not been in the summer but I hear it gets amazingly hot. I liked visiting in mid-October - perfect weather. May is good too. Easter time is very busy and crowded with religious festivities, as is the spring fair (a bit after Easter). I'd avoid these times unless these are things you especially want to see.

If you go separately, you could tie it to longer in Cordoba (maybe 1 -2 nights), and/or the white hill towns - Ronda, Arcos de la Frontera, Jerez. Also, I was only in Cadiz for a day, but I liked what little I saw. Might be worth some more research.

Public transport options between these two countries are limited and take more time than you may think. You can choose between flying (see www.skyscanner.com), overnight train (only) between Madrid and Coimbra or Lisbon, 7-hour bus Lisbon-Sevilla, or driving roundtrip (to avoid high 2nd-country drop fees for rental cars). See also http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/spain-rail-passes and connection info in the relevant chapters in Rick's Spain and Portugal guidebooks.

So allotting a whole day each way for ground transport could leave you with only two days in Sevilla, which is about how long many tourists stay, but not a very good balance with the travel time, and not allowing time for Cordoba.Southern destinations with which to pair a later trip to Seville would still include Cordoba, nearby towns like Jerez, Arcos, and white hill towns, and a possible side trip by ferry from Tarifa to Tanger. More destinations in the north of Spain are served by faster trains with several departures per day, as well as by flights.

Hi Mira, thank you for your advice, yes 4 solid days (no travel time), and we'd be going in mid-September so it might still be very hot. Also, we're not sure when we'd be able to return to Spain/Portugal so we've been going back and fourth between "what if we like Portugal and Seville a lot and wished we had more time in each place?" and "what if we don't get to go to Seville for a very long time?" The hardest part is making the decision.

Hi Laura, thank you as well for your response. We've been to the Rick Steve's free travel classes, so we appreciate your response. If we went to Seville, we would be flying from Porto and then flying back to Lisbon for a few days before heading back home to Seattle. That's what we were trying to figure out if it's worth it to go to Seville (and do it justice) or stick to Portugal. You mentioned Tarifa and Tangier. For future reference, is the travel between Seville and Tarifa easy? How long is the distance and what would be the mode of transport?

Suggest use of the via michelin web page to gain an understanding of distances.
Four days provides time to see the top major sites, wander about and make a day trip to cordoba.
It will still be hot.

Glad you're looking at flights, given the longer travel times by ground. I do think 3-4 days is enough for your plan.

For later: Sevilla-Tarifa is 3 hours by direct bus. Ferries from Tarifa to Tanger run several times per day, take about 35 minutes plus pre-boarding time and other possible delay. You would sleep over in either Tarifa or Tanger or both. Sevilla may also have budget flights to a couple of cities in Morocco, but not as many flight options as Madrid and Barcelona have.

Even if you are referring to 4 nights, giving you 3 full days, it is definitely worthwhile. After taking a day out for Cordoba, I think 2 days is fine for the cathedral, alcazar, cigar factory, bull ring. plus other churches and neighbourhoods.

Thank you all for your responses. Looks like going to Seville this September is the stronger possibility based on your advices. (Although thanks to Laura, if it doesn't work that way, I think Seville with an overnight in Tarifa with a day trip to Tangier sounds like an enticing plan as well).