We are planning a trip to Spain and Portugal.. We have two tennis events we are planning to attend and so are locked in somewhat to 2 of the days in Barcelona and Madrid.(days 3, 4 and 16,17) but are flexible on the rest. We tried to do what is most logical order. We are in our mid 60's early 70"s (H) in good health and active (for the moment:) We love architecture and beautiful scenery like some museums but not huge fans (I get bored after a few hrs) Live in NYC so don't want to feel like we never left home:) We did a multi city trip two years ago (Amsterdam, Bergen, Stockholm, Copenhagan, Bruges, Ghent) We loved Ghent and Bruge and Bergen and Stockholm.. AMsterdam although beautiful in some ways felt too hectic and too much like home and Stockholm except for the old town area we did not like) I feel Barcelona will be very different as well as Lisbon. Not sure about Madrid. All that said.. looking for feedback on number of days spending in each area.. too much to little? We had to cut out some places already as transport to from looked complicated and limited. We decided to just do some day trips from Lisbon so wont be spending all of our days in Lisbon. We are not driving unless we have to will fly when it makes the most sense and when we can train or bus. Considering the length of the trip we are trying to cut costs where we can but not at the expense of the stress level (so rather take one mode of transport if another requires three changes for example) Will stay at Airbnbs We have only just started to put this together and have not purchased any tickets yet.. any feedback would be appreciated. THanks!
Day 1 depart PM from NY
Day 2 Barcelona arrive AM
Day 3 Barcelona
Day 4 Barcelona
Day 5 Barcelona
Day 6 Barcelona
Day 7 Barcelona
Day 8 Barcelona to Majorca
Day 9 Majorca
Day 10 Majorca
Day 11 Maorca
Day 12 Majorca to Valencia
Day 13 valencia
Day 14 Valencia
Day 15 Valencia to Madrid
Day 16 Madrid
Day 17 Madrid
Day 18 Madrid
Day 19 Madrid
Day 20 Madrid to Toledo
Day 21 Toledo to Grenada
Day 22 Grenada
Day 23 Grenada to Cordoba
Day 24 Cordoba
Day 25 Cordoba to Seville
Day 26 Seville
Day 27 Seville
Day 28 Seville to Lisbon
Days 29-34 Lisbon
Day 35 return home
Posted by
WA, USA
330 posts
Hi there,
Looks good to me.
You'll be able to do day trips from Barcelona, Madrid, and Lisbon. Make sure to get any admission tickets ahead of time, example, Alhambra tickets in Granada.
Have a wonderful adventure!
Posted by
Washington DC
27175 posts
The major thing I question is the handling of Toledo. I loved it, and it certaimly doesn't feel like New York. You are planning to arrive one day and turn around and leave the next. Toledo to Granada requires you to return first to Madrid, because Toledo is on a dead-end railroad line.
Granada is a bit isolated and requires some time for transit to and from. I'm not sure one day and parts of two other days will satisfy you.
Barcelona is cracking down on unregistered tourist apartments, so be sure you choose a place with a registration number.
Posted by
OP
Staten Island, New York
217 posts
Thanks for all that.. mmm did not know that about Toledo so perhaps will do as a day trip from Madrid then straight to Granada will two and a half days there be enough.. when you say its isolated do you mean hard to get to? can you not get there from Toledo? we were thinking to just keep going south... but had not checked the train lines for there yet.. Yes heard about a new law coming out in sept on the lodging.. Airbnb is only posting those apts that are licensed so may be ok but now we are concerned
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
A week is a long time in Lisbon. Look at adding Porto. Try and avoid one night stays.
Day 2 Barcelona -6 nights
Day 8 Mallorca -4 nights
Day 12 Valencia -3 nights
Day 15 Madrid -4 nights
Day 19 Toledo -2 nights
Day 21 Granada -2 nights
Day 23 Cordoba -2 nights
Day 25 Seville -3 nights
Day 28 Porto -3 nights
Day 31 Lisbon -4 nights
Posted by
OP
Staten Island, New York
217 posts
David
thanks so much I agree about one nighters..since we found out that we had to go back to Madrid to get to Granada we decided to just do a day trip from Madrid. Do you think two days to tour Madrid will be enough to see the major sights.. We will be at the tennis open there for two full days so if stay 4 nights will only have a day and a half if we stay 4 nights
. Also what would be max time for LIsbon then as we want to do at least one day trip to sintra? We will check out Porto for sure.. how hard is it to get from Seville to Porto.. we had planned to fly to LIsbon from Seville --will check to see how easy to get to Porto.. thanks again for all your advice... this is very helpful!
A week is a long time in Lisbon. Look at adding Porto. Try and avoid one night stays.
Day 2 Barcelona -6 nights
Day 8 Mallorca -4 nights
Day 12 Valencia -3 nights
Day 15 Madrid -6 nights (two and a half days touring one day for Toledo and two days for tennis
Day 21 Granada -2 nights
Day 23 Cordoba -2 nights
Day 25 Seville -3 nights
Day 28 Porto -3 nights
Day 31 Lisbon -4 nights
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15591 posts
Based on what you liked on your last trip, I think you will like Toledo, Cordoba, Sevilla, and Valencia very much. I would in fact encourage you to spend at least one, preferably two nights in Toledo. Many tourists visit Toledo as a day trip from Madrid, so the town is best in the early morning and evening hours, before the daytrippers arrive and after they leave. I don't think it will add substantial travel time to Granada. It's just over a 1/2 hour on the train, then allow 15-20 minutes to get through the Madrid train station to the Granada train. Remember, it's probably going to take you close to 1/2 hour from your Madrid hotel to the train station plus a few minutes to get through the station to your train. Buy separate tickets from Toledo to Madrid and Madrid to Granada. The Renfe website doesn't work well with connections like that. Read this article to learn ALL about the trains and buying tickets. Or maybe go to Toledo from Valencia, and then to Granada from Madrid. Note that trains to/from Granada include a bus ride. They are working on upgrading the tracks into Granada. So the trains only go as far as Antequera. A special bus will meet the train and depart a few minutes after the train arrives, after all the passengers have boarded. The bus goes to the Granada train station (not the more distant bus station). Leaving Granada, the process is reversed so the bus arrives with ample time to board the train in Antequera, but no long wait.
Money-saving! Spain is kind to us old folks. Once you are in Spain anyone who has achieved 60 years can buy a tarjeta dorada at any train station with proof of age (I used a driver's license once). With the TD, you get a discount on train tickets. Buying tickets when they first go on sale (usually 62 days, but Renfe is irregular so it could be a lot earlier, or a lot later) means deep, deep discounts. But these tickets are no-refund-no-exchange. With the TD, you get discounts of 25% or 40%, depending on the type of train and the day of the week. Sometimes the difference in price is negligible, so you can wait and be a little flexible. Use it for Toledo - there are never discounts on those. The TD costs €6 each. To compare prices, when you use the Renfe site and input your journey, check the TD box and you'll automatically get the lowest price. By looking at the detailed info for any specific train, you can see all the prices, if you click enough. Most sights in Spain give a senior discount to 65's and over, regardless of nationality. A very few are limited to Spanish citizens.
I suspect you won't be particularly charmed by Madrid. Unless you want to spend hours at the superb art museums, you can shorten your time there, assuming the tennis is on consecutive days.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
You could perhaps look at a different routing, so you fly from Granada via Madrid to Porto. This would eliminate the slow overland journey from Madrid to Granada.
Day 2 Start in Barcelona - 6 nights
Day 8 Fly to Mallorca - 4 nights
Day 12 Fly to Valencia - 3 nights
Day 15 Train to Madrid - 6 nights
(Day trip to Toledo)
Day 21 Train to Seville - 3 nights
Day 24 Train to Cordoba - 2 nights
Day 26 Train to Granada - 2 nights
Day 28 Fly (via Madrid) to Porto - 3 nights
Day 31 Train to Lisbon - 4 nights