Hi
My wife, daughter and I are traveling to Madrid, Granada, Córdoba, Seville and Lisbon in January 2025. I have some questions.
1) How is the weather around this time? Rains? Temperatures? Are the days long enough?
2) Is it safe to be out and about after dark in the places listed above including public transportation?
3) Are there good food options for vegetarians? Do tapas bars serve vegetarian options?
4) Are Renfe trains usually on time?
5) How is Ryan Air? Will be using it to go from Seville to Lisbon.
6) Is Uber available in these towns/cities? If yes, is there an English-language Uber app option?
7) What is a good place near Lisbon that is worth going to for half a day to experience rural non-touristy Portugal?
Thank you very much.
Posted by
Los Angeles, CA
700 posts
1) I have been in Spain in fall and winter and the weather was fine. I was in Barcelona 2 weeks ago, and it was pretty warm - warmer than LA. But as you probably know they had a freak rainstorm that killed hundreds. So you never know.
2) Generally safe. Portugal seems amazingly safe even in some neighbors with drinking that looked sketchy at midnight. I did have a pickpocket incident in Barcelona but it was in broad daylight. In Segovia at 10 pm, we had two big guys following us but we crossed some streets and ran, and it was ok.
3) Food in Europe is more about you adapting to what they serve. And most of these places have a big meat tradition. You might find some bean dish or something but it might be based on meat broth or whatever.
4) The trains seemed pretty punctual in Spain. Portugal and Italy - a lot of delays.
5) Don't know Ryan, but big fan of Vueling. You could do trains from Seville to Lisbon.
6) They use Bolt and Uber in Portugal. Even regular taxis were reasonable - like $8 to go 15 minutes and 3 miles.
7) I was not that enamored of Lisbon. Its ok. You can take a bus to Belem for the castle and pastry shop. You can take a short train to Cascais which is upscale beach town. But we took a train to Sintra an hour, and ended up hiring a guide for 50 eu x 4 people. She took us all around Sintra, then to a coastal resort area that was cool, then a pretty beach where we had a good seafood lunch then we went to the point that is the furthest west of all Europe, then to Cascais. She was a former teacher who made more as a guide and spoke great English. I also asked a lot of questions about Portugal and Portuguese and it was interesting. I probably have her number if interested.
I think we had more fun in Porto 2.5 hours to the north, and in the Algarve 4 hours to the south.
Posted by
Washington DC
27962 posts
From probably-warmest to probably-coolest:
Seville and Cordoba
Lisbon (but likely more rainy)
Granada
Madrid
The Wikipedia entries for cities have monthly-average climate charts that can be helpful for direct comparisons like this. I don't find the average temperatures very useful, since it's the extremes that can make you uncomfortable and the averages tend to be based on a period of time that doesn't include the most recent years. You can find actual, historical, day-by-day weather statistics on the website timeanddate.com; that's what I use to decide whether I'm willing to spend my money to travel to a particular destination in a specific month. I try to check the most recent five years' data, because the situation can vary a great deal from year to year.
Use the pull-down box at the right, just above the graph, to change the month and year display. Use the Search box at the upper right to change the location.
The days wouldn't be long enough for me to take a January trip in the northern hemisphere, but I get seriously lethargic when the days are short. Most other people do not seem to be bothered by that.
Spain eats meals very late--lunch around 2 to 4 PM and dinner after 9 to 10 PM. Therefore, in the Spanish cities there will usually be a lot of locals out and about quite late.
About buying train tickets from Renfe: Tickets between the cities you've mentioned will be cheaper if purchased online well in advance. Check the website to see which tickets allow you to change the departure time if you need to, and which allow refunds if you don't want to gamble that the trip will absolutely take place. Some people have difficulty getting the Renfe website to accept a US credit card. I don't know whether odds are better with the app. Have all your credit cards at hand so you can try each one, if necessary. If none of your cards work, you can buy tickets from thetrainline.com. There will be a modest extra cost, but the savings from buying well in advance will put you way ahead. TheTrainline is a legitimate company; some of the others that may pop up on a Google search are marginal or even outright crooked.
Do not under any circumstances plan to use the staffed ticket counters at Atocha Station in Madrid. The lines are not to be believed. The ticket-vending machines have always accepted my credit card, but some of them also take currency.
You cannot buy a train ticket for a train scheduled to depart in less than 5 minutes, so don't cut things too close.
There is no train service across the southern part of the Spanish/Portuguese border, so your options between Seville and Lisbon are flying or doing part or all of the distance by bus.
RyanAir is an airline that makes most of its money from fees. Read all the rules on its website before buying a ticket so you know what you are signing up for. Its baggage limits (weight as well as size) are low, and it absolutely will enforce them. If you're over one of the limits, you'll have to pay for an upgrade, and that will be considerably cheaper if you do it online in advance rather than at the airport. Whatever you do, be sure you check in online ahead of time and do not lose your boarding pass; they'll charge you an exorbitant amount of money to print a replacement at the airport. I think you'll also have an extra setp at the departure airport, as a non-EU citizen--a special counter you have to locate for passport inspection, or something like that. Allow extra time, because they sure aren't going to hold the plane for you. I avoid that airline on principle, but as far as I know, it's safe.
Posted by
Denver, CO USA
488 posts
Why use Uber?
Taxis are affordable. No tip. Almost all take credit cards.
With taxis you show a written address to your driver and off you go.Yes.
Yes
Posted by
NY
89 posts
We have had a couple of great trips to Lisbon. Stay in the Baxia area near Rossio Station and use the fun trams. We like to spend a few days in Lisbon proper (including Belem) and then travel by train to Sintra for two nights, Uber, taxi or bus to Cascais for two nights and train then back to Lisbon. It makes a nice little circular trip with plenty of variety as these are three very different places yet very close to Lisbon. Get tickets for the palace in Sintra in advance and get there first thing in the morning. We took a tuk-tuk up. It was great fun and we beat the crowd.
Posted by
OP
Los Angeles
3 posts
Thank you all for helpful tips and suggestions.