Spain-Portugal Itinerary

Focus on one or the other. There is much to see but trying to incorporate both will cause you to waste time traveling as Spain to Portugal is not as easy as it looks (lack of train connections). With 12-14 days you could see a lot of either Spain or Portugal. Been to both and loved them. Have a good time!

In two weeks you can see most of Portugal or several locations in Spain. Don't mix the two countries.

Transport options between these two countries are more limited than most. The only trains are an overnight Madrid-Coimbra-Lisbon, overnight San Sebastian-Coimbra-Lisbon, and an inconvenient daytime connecting route between Porto and Santiago de Compostela. Buses connect Seville to southern Portugal and Lisbon/Coimbra and also provide some alternatives in the north and within countries, operated by several private companies, such as ALSA and DAMAS. Don't fear the bus. Rick's guidebooks will summarize these transportation options in each chapter.

For flights, try www.skyscanner.com. For trains, Looking Up Train Schedules and Routes Online gives you the Deutsche Bahn train schedule link and tips for using it.

While it's more efficient time-wise to fly into one country and out from your farthest point, it does not work financially to pick up a rental car in one country and drop it in another. Of course, you don't need a car for the cities, anyway.

If you start reading about one country, like Spain, you're sure to find enough to fill your 12-14 days, and you should make it 14.

Can you define "spring?" Seriously. Spring comes early in Spain. By mid-March the orange trees are blossoming and by May, temps are edging up toward the 80's. It might be later in Portugal since the Atlantic Ocean has its effect.

You could see a bit of Spain and some of northern Portugal with your gateways being either Madrid or Barcelona and Lisbon, flying to Porto from either Spanish city. But you could easily spend 12 days in northern Portugal (not sure when the Algarve "opens" to tourism).

There are some great festivals in Spain in spring. Las Fallas in Valencia in mid-March, then Semana Santa in Andalucia (last week in March in 2018), Feria in Sevilla about 2 weeks later and the horse fair in Jerez and the patios fair in Cordoba around the beginning of May. There are others.

Trains are a great way to get around much of Spain. You may want to rent a car for a segment of your trip, depending on where you decide to go.

Karen - if this is your only trip to the Iberian peninsula than you could probably do both but as others have stated - you will get much more out of your experience if you focus on one. The analogy I have used to describe Spain and Portugal is if Spain is California - Portugal is Oregon... that's not intended to be a negative to any of the countries or states mentioned - but Portugal is just a bit more laid back than Spain. The people are friendly, interesting and have a great sense of humor. But the variety of sights, culture, topography, architecture in Spain from north to south just can't be beat.

If the universe told me I had one last trip to Spain - I would go to Granada, Seville, Madrid, Barcelona and probably try to get to Salamanca only because I haven't been there yet. (I am going to Cordoba for the first time in about a month so this list will probably change).

I would train or fly - distances from north to south are long and there are big gaps without much to see - and you can dream about Don Quixote on a train just as easily as from a car and with half the stress!

Enjoy your trip planning!
Amy

Hi, thank you all for your suggestions and ideas, I appreciate your help!! I may be back with more questions as I continue to plan the trip! Kindest regards, Karen

Start by getting guidebooks for Spain and Portugal out of your library - as many as you can. Also, watch videos on the various destinations in these countries (Rick's videos are here, although some are getting old: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show).

Do heed the advice above, about the poor connections between the two countries, before you plan any itinerary that includes both in one trip. Particularly with just 12-14 days, you'll find it much easier to stay in one country, and you won't have to burn most of day with a flight to connect Spain and Portugal.

As for train or car, that depends on where you want to go. But in both countries, buses are a mainstay of transit, as the train network is less developed than in some other European countries, and the high speed train network is skeletal. Buses in Spain are fine - not at all like Greyhound in the US. They're cheap too.

With 2 weeks make sure you minimise logistics to maximise sightseeing time.

1. ARRIVE Madrid (4N)
2. Madrid
3. Day to Toledo
4. More Madrid (or day to Segovia)
5. Train to Seville (4N)
6. Seville
7. Day to Cordoba (Mezquita)
8. More Seville (or day to Jerez)
9. Train/bus to Granada (2N)
10. Granada (Alhambra)
11. Fly to Barcelona (4N)
12. Barcelona
13. Barcelona
14. Barcelona
15. DEPART Barcelona

David, thank you for the itinerary suggestion, it is much appreciated!

Agree that trying to do both is challenging. We are spending 2 weeks in Spain and had to cut out Portugal. Too much to see.

Maybe consider Southern Spain and Portugal. I have been to the Algarve and loved it.

I figure if I dont make it one trip, I'll have to come back again!