Hi All.
Looking to go to Spain and Portugal with 2 families. Will have a car. Start in Madrid and end near Lisbon. We would like to end with 4 nights near the beach and Lisbon. I'm thinking 3 nights in Madrid and 3 nights in Seville. With days trips to toledo and Cordoba. Thinking about staying in Sintra area in Spain for 4 nights and would like to know the best location.
TIA,
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Sintra is in Portugal not Spain. I don’t visit Europe to go to the beach so can’t help with that.
Before finalizing plans, ensure you know what the one way, different country, drop off charge will be for renting a vehicle in Spain and returning it in Portugal. It will be expensive; probably approaching €500 or more. You can do a dummy booking and somewhere in that process it will say.
As previous poster said, Sintra is in Portugal, outside of Lisbon.
It is a beautiful village easy to get to by public transport form Lisbon.
I would suggest a full day in Sintra. Is there any reason that you want to spend 4 nights there?
Also, want to recommend a day to Belem when in Lisbon.
Ditto--have you sorted out the cross border car drop off part. No point making elaborate plans until that part is known! (And you will need two cars or a van, no?)
How many nights is eleven days and are you flying in and out of Madrid and Lisbon? Why rent a car when all the places you’ve mentioned provide excellent public transportation. Ditch the car and get around by train and plane.
Madrid needs a minimum of three nights and don’t expect to sight-see on arrival day. Plan on settling in and exploring on foot. The next day you can hit the ground running.
Toledo makes a good day trip by direct train from Madrid’s Todas station (45m): https://www.renfe.com/es/en. The next day take a direct train from the Todas station to Sevilla’s Santa Justa station. (2h 45m). A day trip from Sevilla Santa Justa to Córdoba takes 45m by direct train. Sleep in Sevilla for three nights.
From Sevilla take a nonstop flight to Lisbon. Sleep in Lisbon and take a day trip to Sintra. You can also fly into Lisbon and out of Madrid, whichever is cheapest.
I think you have too much packed into your trip for such a short time. You lose time every time you move to a new location. You have to pack, check out, drive, possibly get lost, cities are difficult to drive into and out of, check in to your next hotel, unpack or sort of unpack.
Three nights is very little time in Madrid and Seville, and yet you want to do daytrips from each place. Don't forget that 3 nights gives you 2 full days. At the most you will have 2.5 days in those cities. So you only have 1.5 days to see those cities if you go ahead with your daytrips.
How many people on this trip? Don't forget it takes more time to move more people. Unless everyone is very regimented like being in the army.
If it were my trip, and it isn't, I would visit only one country. I love Madrid, Toledo, and Andalucia. A possible itinerary could be Madrid (4 nights) with a daytrip to Toledo, Seville (4 nights) with a daytrip to Cordoba. A night or two in Cordoba would be better. And at least 2 nights in Granada to see the amazing Alhambra.
Or you could spend all of your time in Portugal to include Lisbon, Porto, and a beach area. Possibly with an overnight or two in Sintra.
What month is your trip? The summer months will be very hot. Be prepared with sun hats, sunscreen, and lots of water. Get hotels with pools.
And, yes, Sintra is in Portugal, not Spain.
Good luck!
