spain and portugal

It would be helpful to have more information, such as...

• How long will your trip be?
• What are your interests?
• Do you plan to rent a car or rely on public transportation?
• Are you willing to fly from a city in Spain to a city in Portugal, or vice versa?

See itinerary ideas at https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/spain/itinerary and https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/portugal/itinerary, and more articles if you "back up" to our main country topic pages. This info doesn't replace a guidebook, but gives you a feel for what is covered in Rick's books.

There is limited public transportation between the two countries, with bus or flight usually best, and one overnight train available between Madrid and Lisbon. So if you must see both countries, it makes sense to book a multi-city airline ticket, such as into Barcelona and home from Lisbon.

I think you need 3 weeks at least to be considering time in both countries.

Planning 5-6 weeks and thinking of doing Portugal, then Spain. Wanting to do rail with some car rental in areas that require. Not certain about doing Santiago area but definitely the basque region. I have looked at rick steves proposed itineraries for both which seem reasonable. Just wanting any input especially about transportation within and between countries

Mountainous areas aside, I think you'll find the Basque Country and neighboring areas to the west to be the coolest on your Spanish itinerary. At the very least, you will not suffer from a late-September heat wave in that part of Spain. There are some very interesting cities/towns both in the Basque Country and as you move westward. You could spend weeks up there, but it's actually not a bad idea to hold some of that territory for a later, summertime trip, because it's a good place to escape from the oppressive heat one can encounter in much of the rest of Spain.

For many cities the Wikipedia entry provides a handy weather chart that can help you develop a feeling for which areas might be better visited in September vs. October. Andalucía, obviously, would be a good last stop. You can go to wunderground.com to find historical day-by-day weather stats for places you're considering. I find that type of data useful because it indicates how hot or cold it might get.

I spent 3 months (OK, it was really just 89 days) in Spain this summer and used public transportation almost exclusively. For many trips beyond the major cities, buses can be faster than trains. The buses are very comfortable, and they are nearly always less expensive than a last-minute train ticket. I did take a one-day bus tour from Santander to the fabulous Picos de Europa area in Cantabria. That, incidentally, isn't terribly far from the Basque Country, and if you were willing to rent a car for 2 or 3 days, I'd highly recommend a visit, especially to the stunning small stone village of Potes. I don't know how it would be in October, though; some of the limited public transportation in the area starts in late July and ends in early September!

One thing you need to figure out early on is where you'll cross the border. As Laura said, if you can manage to do it just once, that will simplify matters. It is possible to cross from Galicia into northern Portugal and from Badajoz into central Portugal in addition to the (I assume) more common Madrid-Lisbon and southern Spain-Algarve routes.

I can provide comments on some smaller Spanish cities (but not in Andalucía) if you think you'll have time for more than Madrid-Barcelona-Seville-Cordoba-Granada.

I would look at 4 weeks in Spain following something like the below, leaving 2 weeks for Portugal. As well as parts of Andalusia, you might like a car for parts of the Basque Country. Trains are best for the remainder, however.

2 nights in Bilbao.
3 nights in San Sebastián.
1 night in Pamplona.
2 nights in Zaragoza.
5 nights in Barcelona.
Fly from Barcelona to Granada.
2 nights in Granada for the Alhambra.
Drive between Granada and Seville visiting the white hill towns (2 nights in Ronda, 1 night in Arcos)
5 nights in Sevilla.
5 nights in Madrid.

Salamanca could be an option instead of Pamplona.
Valencia could be an option instead of Zaragoza.

Day trip options:
Girona and Tarragona from Barcelona.
Toledo and Segovia from Madrid.
Córdoba and Jerez from Sevilla.

David's timing feels about right to me, though I spent twice that much time in Barcelona due to my love of modernista architecture.

I found Pamplona perfectly OK but not exceptional. I preferred Vitoria-Gasteiz and really enjoyed the small hill-town of Laguardia.

I didn't respond to Salamanca the same way I did to Toledo, Segovia and Cuenca (another possibility from Madrid, which I much preferred to Salamanca and which is less than an hour by AVE train). However, I did prefer Salamanca to Pamplona. Salamanca is a bit of a geographical oddball on this trip, though.

You'll want to rough out your transportation within Spain to check on feasibility if you go beyond the obvious Bilbao/San Sebastian - Barcelona - Madrid (with day-trips) - Andalucía route. Dropping another city in there could produce convoluted routings. Rome2Rio.com can be helpful for trips that might involve buses in addition to or instead of trains, though you'll have to dig deeper for precise schedules, times, and costs. For rail trips I usually start with the Deutsche Bahn, recognizing that I'll eventually have to hit Renfe for fares.

Incidentally, Bilbao to San Sebastian is a bus ride unless you opt for the quite scenic but very slow FEVE train. Neither is an inferior option; it just depends on how much time you have.

Planning 5-6 weeks and thinking of doing Portugal, then Spain. Wanting to do rail with some car rental in areas that require. Not certain about doing Santiago area but definitely the basque region. I have looked at rick steves proposed itineraries for both which seem reasonable. Just wanting any input especially about transportation within and between countries

If you're planning to have a car for most of the time, look into leasing. You may be able to drop the car in the other country, but you may have to return it to the origin country - you will need to do that with a rental car or pay hundreds of euros for the drop-off fee. If you're spending most of your time outside the cities it probably makes sense to have a lease. But a car will be a hassle to drive and an expense to park in cities and large towns. I haven't been to the north of Spain.

It's really hard (well, impossible actually) to help plan an itinerary or give useful advice without knowing what your interests are and what places are must-sees for you.