Spain/ Portugal Itinerary Early September

Posted by Brocha (New York) on 07/14/26 01:47 PM

Hi, we are planning an 11 night trip to Spain and Portugal in early September. Traveling with my 28 year old adult son, I'm 72. Flying in and out of Madrid to avoid a huge car rental drop off fee if we fly out of Lisbon. Aware we need a cross border tag for car. Have been to Madrid and Lisbon.
We like: beaches, medieval and roman history, walled towns and want to go to Fatima. Our first plan included an 8 hour drive back to Madrid from Carvoeiro (lose an hour crossing border). But that plan allowed 2 night Caceres. Plan below changes it to one night Caceres (staying right outside walls) and moves that night to Merida at the end of the trip. Is one night enough for Caceres? We would arrive afternoon, walk the wall, and see a museum the next morning. We would get a hotel right at the outside of the wall to simplify access. It would allow us to see the Merida Roman ruins (would get hotel close by there too) and have an easier drive to Madrid on last day with a little time to return the rental car at Plaza Del Espana and enjoy a couple of hours in Madrid for our last night. I know one night stays ar not ideal but does this look reasonable ?

Advice is very much appreciated! Thank you.

Posted by valadelphia

07/14/26 02:59 PM

6917 posts

It’s a lot of driving, but if you are comfortable with that, looks like it would work.
Cáceres itself is tiny so no worries about a one night stay. Two partial days is also enough to see the ruins in Mérida.

Posted by jaimeelsabio

Mid-Atlantic area

07/14/26 03:06 PM

8691 posts

Getting from Madrid to the Algarve you’re bypassing a number a nice places to visit, but it’s your trip.

The drive from Madrid to Cáceres will end up being closer to 3.5+ hours. The roads getting out of Madrid can be extremely busy depending on time of day. Driving to Madrid by one route takes you right by Trujillo. It is worth a full day, so consider a short stop there to at least visit to Plaza Mayor. The castle is inexpensive to enter and worth visiting.

Cáceres can adequately be seen in a full day. We spent two nights at the Parador in 2024. It’s in the historic center that is vehicle restricted. The hotel recommended parking at Parking Clara Campoamor, but I found a free lot nearby at C. Jose Luis Cotallo, 5. From either lot it’s about a mile walk or taxi ride to the historic center. Finally, the drive to Fátima from Cáceres is more like 3.5-4 hours, not 2.5 hours.

In Mérida we also stayed at a Parador that had its own parking. The Roman ruins are throughout the city and not confined to one area. Mérida is only an hour from Cáceres.

If using Google maps, it may try taking you back to Madrid via the same route you drove to reach Cáceres. To mix it up a little and to avoid entering Madrid from the west and having to drive halfway around the city, consider driving back to Madrid via Ciudad Real and Manzanares. It would add about 20 minutes driving but bring you into Madrid from the south. I’ve never returned a vehicle to the Plaza de España, but be aware that there are a number of vehicle restrictions on a number of streets in Madrid. It might get frustrating getting to the plaza.

I’m not certain what you mean by needing a new tag for Portugal. You don’t need anything different. You will need to register you vehicle with Portugal Tolls so you can be billed. Familiarize yourself with its toll system with a foreign-registered vehicle.

https://www.pttolls.com/en

Posted by geovagriffith

07/15/26 11:19 AM

10241 posts

I say do Spain OR Portugal, It takes a lot of time to see either country.

Also, you are skipping the very best area of Portugal, the north. Porto and the Douro River Valley are amazing. Also, Lisbon and that area, including Sintra and Obidos are must sees.

For Spain, Barcelona, Seville, Toledo, Segovia, Cordoba and Granada are great.

Posted by Brocha OP

New York

07/15/26 01:09 PM

15 posts

Thank you very much everyone! The comments are so helpful.
We would love to stay longer in some spots and realize that we are missing alot in this trip but my son's work schedule will not allow more time. Also, he did study abroad in Spain and has been to many places in Spain and Portugal. Grateful for what we can see! We are used to alot of driving. Great tip- thank you -to return to Madrid via the south. Enterprise and Alamo have rental places at Plaza de Spana so hopefully access is decent. But realize it may not be. When we rented in Madrid a few years ago- we returned to Grand Via and that was hectic, very tight garages and not many signs to the rental place. We're from NYC so are familiar with that. Noted also to make a quick stop in Trujillo- at least to see Plaza Mayor.
We will ask about registering for Spain tolls at the rental and thanks for the link to Portugal tolls. In Austria a couple of years ago, we were able to do this at a gas station as soon as we crossed the border from Germany but not sure if that's an option in Portugal and would rather do it in advance.