Hello!
Planning a trip this April to visit my daughter who will be studying in Barcelona. We’ve been to Barcelona before so not planning on spending more than 2 days there. Will have 14 days. Looking for some suggestions for Spain and Portugal itinerary. Is it too ambitious? Should we stick just to Spain?
Thank you for any suggestions
Inna
España solamente.
I would do:
Barcelona
Sitges
Valencia
Madrid
Stick to Spain only. You don’t have enough time to visit Spain, a huge country, and Portugal. And April is the perfect time of year to visit Andalusia, which is very, very hot during the summer months. Check to see when the Holy Week celebrations are in Seville. This would be a fun time to visit but it’s also more expensive and very crowded.
In Andalusia you can visit Granada, Seville and Cordoba. These are small cities, (Seville is the largest) that all have important historical and cultural sites: Granada has the Alhambra; Cordoba has the Mezquita and Seville has the Alcazar. Each city is very different from each other, with different architecture, ambiance, etc.
You might also have time for Madrid. Depends on the exact number of nights you have in Spain. I plan by nights, not days.
So, a possible itinerary could be (after you visit your daughter in Barcelona):
Granada - 2 nights
Seville - 4 nights
Cordoba - 2 nights
Madrid - 3 or 4 nights
Fly multi-city, also called open-jaw. Into Barcelona and home from Madrid.
If you can, fly into and out of Madrid and Barcelona so you don’t have to backtrack. The other two places you want to visit in Spain (ES) are Granada and Sevilla. From Sevilla you can take a day trip to Tavira, Portugal by direct bus (2h). How many nights will you be in ES? How many nights will you be in Barcelona?
We have 14 days excluding travel days. Very flexible within that time frame. 2-3 days in Barcelona since I’ve spent a week there 4 years ago.
Easter is March 31 so you'll miss Semana Santa. Check when Feria is in Sevilla. It's usually 2 weeks after Easter. That's almost as big as Semana Santa, so high room rates and lots of crowds. OTOH it can be great fun. Also look for the dates of the feria in Jerez (centered around horses). Another great event to experience.
With only 14 days, I’d stick to one region in Spain. It doesn’t matter which since there are plenty of things to see in each. As you need to go to Barcelona anyway, consider staying in Catalunya. You won’t be disappointed.
My wife and I took this Tauck tour of Portgual in Spain and loved it. Here is the current 14 day itinerary.
DAY 1 (6pm start)
Porto
DAY
2
Treasures of Porto
DAY
3
Sintra & Lisbon
DAY
4
Lisbon discoveries
DAY
5
Off to romantic Seville
DAY
6
A carriage ride & more in Seville
DAY
7
Gibraltar & Marbella on the Costa del Sol
DAY
8
A day by the beautiful sea in Marbella
DAY
9
Moorish influences in Ronda & Granada
DAY
10
Treasures of the Alhambra & the Generalife
DAY
11
Córdoba, La Mezquita & on to Madrid
DAY
12
Toledo, City of Three Cultures
DAY
13
Explore Madrid, Museo del Prado, and a special farewell
DAY
14
Journey home
14 days is way too little for both countries.
Pick one and go. For Spain don't miss Toledo, Madrid, Seville and Granada. Barcelona if you can.
David's itinerary was way too rushed. We stayed in Porto two days and did a wonderful week Douro River Cruise that was fantastic.
Also, you need at least three days to do justice to Lisbon, not counting doing Sintra, Cascais, Obidos and Evora.
I will add to the "stick to Spain" crowd, but my reasoning is just that it can be hard, transport wise, to get to Portugal and back from Spain. There are no fast trains, it usually means a disjointed trip by train or bus to get there and back, or you commit to flying.
For 14 Days, in April, I would look to doing some time in Madrid, and then South to Andalusia. The North and the Basque Region or Galicia may still be a bit dreary with temps in the 50's and rain about 1/3rd to 1/2 the days.
