Hello everyone,
We have are return flights reserved into Madrid for late July / early August. We will be travelling for 16 full days (plus the first half a day when we get to Madrid) and we are wondering which itinerary you think is more interesting:
Staying in Spain for the entire time. We would spend the first 3.5 days in Madrid, including a day trip to Toledo, travelling south to Seville for 4 days, including a day trip to Cordoba and then travelling to the Costa Blanca/Costa del Azahar to see Valencia for 3 days and have time at a small beach town on the coast for 3 days, then returning to Madrid for 3 days, including a day trip to Segovia, before flying home. We will rent a car for our time when we will be travelling outside Madrid (when in Madrid, we will take a train on our day trips).
Splitting the time between Madrid and Portugal. We would spend the first 4.5 days in Madrid, including a day trip to Toledo, then take a direct flight (about an hour) to Lisbon, where we would spend 5 days, taking day trips to Sintra, and Cascais, and then 3 days at a resort along the coast near to Lisbon to spend time at the beach, before returning to Madrid for 4 days, taking day trips to Segovia, Avila or even a tour of a wine region just north of the city. We would not need a car in this itinerary as we would take a train to most of our day trip destinations (we may rent a car for a day to see the Spanish wine region, if we decide to go). This itinerary allows us to better explore both cities and their surrounding areas instead of always being on the move.
We are a family of 4 (my husband and I and our two boys, ages 18 and 15) and we all enjoy seeing different cities, visiting museums, seeing small, medieval towns, walking and exploring and spending a few relaxing days at a beautiful beach; everything a European vacation can offer.
Your advice and ideas are appreciated. Thanks.
Andrea