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What's a good itinerary for spending 2 1/2 weeks in Spain (Portugal and Spain)

Wife and I looking at spending 2 1/2 weeks in Spain and Portugal, what's a great itinerary for a great time?

Posted by
1576 posts

Here is a 17 days Itinerary that combines the two countries that will work for you on your Spain / Portugal trip.

2019 Spain / Portugal Trip

Spain - Madrid 3 Days (Fly into Madrid)

Day 1 Madrid

Day 2 Madrid - Day trip to Toledo via Train

Day 3 Madrid

Cordoba 2 Days

Day 1 - Cordoba

Day 2 - Cordoba

Granada 2 Days

Day 1 Granada

Day 2 Granada

Malaga 2 Days

Day 1 Malaga

Day 2 Malaga

Seville 3 Days

Day 1 Seville

Day 2 Seville – Day trip to Jerez or Cadiz

Day 3 Seville

Bus from Seville to Faro Portugal

Portugal - Algarve 2 Days

Day 1 Faro

Day 2 Faro - Day trip to Lagos or Albufeira

Bus from Faro to Lisbon

Portugal - Lisbon 3 Days

Day 1 - Lisbon

Day 2 - Lisbon (Day Trip to Sintra)

Day 3 Lisbon (Fly home from Lisbon)

In Spain, you can either take train or bus to travel between the cities I listed on the itinerary.

Posted by
26840 posts

What time of year is the trip? What constitutes "a great time" for you? What are you interested in doing on this vacation?

It's not so easy to combine Spain and Portugal in a single rather short trip because the ground-transportation links are quite limited. 2-1/2 weeks would leave huge chunks of Spain untouched even if you spent all of your time in that country. That amount of time would allow you a pretty comprehensive look at Portugal. I wouldn't try to combine the two countries in the amount of time you have.

Posted by
1570 posts

What time of year? And what are your interests? No one can really tell you where you should go unless you let us know what your interests are. Andalucia is awesome, and close to Portugal. You could fly, for example, from Seville to Lisbon. However, Andalucia is extremely HOT in the summer. Andalucia's history is Christian, Moorish, and Jewish. Does this interest you? Southern Spain is dry, whereas northern Spain is green. Barcelona and Costa Brava are very different from Madrid and Andalucia. See what I mean?

I also think you will be cramming in too much to visit Spain AND Portugal in 2.5 weeks. Spain is a huge country! To give you an example, we spent 15 nights in Madrid and Andalucia.

I recommend buying some guidebooks to help you get started, such as Rick Steves, Michelin Green Guide, and Rough Guides.

Posted by
7 posts

Thank you all for responding with your inputs. We are looking at traveling to Portugal and Spain in August 2019. We are into wine, sightseeing, museums, food, and experiencing the culture of these countries.

From you all experiences, what about spending two weeks in Spain and about 4 days in Portugal; is that doable? Looking for some great ideas while we still have time to plan for this trip.

Thank you all

Posted by
1570 posts

Since you really want to visit both Spain and Portugal, I think pairing Andalusia with Lisbon would make sense since Andalusia is next to Portugal. And I know that TAP flies from Seville to Lisbon. If you do only spend 4 days in Portugal, then I recommend spending those 4 days in Lisbon. It doesn't make sense time-wise to go anywhere else in Portugal. The problem with Andalusia in August is that it will be very very HOT in August. How do you feel about that? To give you an idea, we were in Andalusia (and Madrid) from mid-September to October 3, 2017. At most of our destinations (Madrid, Cordoba, Granada), it was in the 80's F. It was in the low- to mid 90's in Seville, and this was the last stop of our trip, so basically very late September and early October. August will be hotter.

There are outstanding art museums in Madrid (Prado, Reina Sofia, and more) if you like art. There are amazing historical and architectural sights in Andalusia, such as the Alhambra in Granada, the Mezquita in Cordoba, and the Alcazar and Cathedral in Seville.

Temperature wise, I think Barcelona and Costa Brava, OR San Sebastian (Basque country), would be better. I have not been to San Sebastian yet, but have been to Barcelona and Costa Brava. Barcelona is known for its Gaudi architecture (Sagrada Familia, Casa Battlo, etc.) and art museums (Picasso, Miro, etc.) Costa Brava has gorgeous coastline and Dali's home in Port Lligat, his museum in Figueres. Girona is a wonderful walled medieval city about 1 hour north of Barcelona.

We enjoyed the food and wine in Spain, especially the tapas. We probably preferred food in Barcelona over the food in Madrid.

Lisbon is also a great city! Very hilly and picturesque. Lots of miradouros (viewpoints) that give you beautiful views over the river and city. Restaurants are less expensive than in Spain. Some highlights for us in Lisbon are the Sao Jorge Castle, wandering through the Alfama, Gulbenkian Museum, and Jeronimos Monastery.

I still highly recommend purchasing some guidebooks. Not only will they give you invaluable information and help you decide which region of Spain more suits your tastes, you will also have all of your information in one place.

Hope this helps.

Posted by
1570 posts

I forgot to mention that it is difficult to get from Spain to Portugal. I believe that is because of the bad history between them years ago. I have read that the Portuguese towns along the Spanish/Portuguese border had lots of forts to keep the Spanish out. I apologize if I am incorrect about this. So I think the best way and easiest way to get from Spain to Portugal is to fly. I've read that buses take forever to go from Spain (southern Spain) to Portugal. I don't think there are any trains, but you would have to double check this. And if you rent a car, there is a hefty drop-off fee if you rent in Spain and drop off in Portugal, or vice versa.

Posted by
26840 posts

Please do give serious thought to what kmkwoo has said about the heat in Andalusia (though Madrid and Barcelona are likely not to be comfortable, either). It's one thing to spend a few days in 100-degree heat; it's another thing to live with it for two weeks. It is utterly draining. Although you'll have no problem finding air conditioned hotel rooms (always verify, of course), you cannot assume that museums, cafes, restaurants, etc., will always be air conditioned. There is a reason why Spain observes the siesta, with a great many places closing down tight for 3 or more hours in the afternoon.

I know most people think of Barcelona, Madrid and Andalucía first when they are considering a trip to Spain, there are many interesting places on and near the northern coast between Galicia in the west and the Basque Country in the east. The weather there is typically moderate or even cool and at least partly cloudy. From Galicia it is possible to dip down into northern Portugal, though I would certainly agree that Lisbon is the #1 destination in Portugal. On a short trip you'd probably need to fly there. If you haven't bought your airline tickets yet and are absolutely sure that you want to include Lisbon (northern Spain can keep you busy for considerably longer than 2-1/2 weeks), look into a multi-city flight that allows you to fly into a city in Spain and out of Lisbon, or vice versa.