2 weeks in spain including portugal

Ricks books have a wealth of information on these topics.

I am interested in the same information. My husband and I will be in Barcelona from August 1 - 4 and then would like to travel to Portugal and Morocco before flying back to the U.S. from Barcelona on Aug. 17th. Specifically, which Rick Steves books are being recommended? We need information for not only lodging but transportation. Thanks!

Kim - it would make a lot more travel sense to fly into Barcelona and come home from Lisbon. Called open jaw. And a lot cheaper. Get Rick Steves book for Spain, and Portugal. The Spain book has a section on Morocco.

Irrespective of gender and age I would suggest to anyone they slow down and not take in these three countries in such a short period. A two week trip minus arrival and departure days minus about two days travelling does not leave a lot. 'an overnight to Morocco'- will not find Morocco.

I do think you might want to rethink either Portugal or Morocco. Those are at very distant points on the map. If you went to Morocco, you head all the way south. It'd be insane not to also include Sevilla and probably Granada and even a stop in Cordoba. That would eat up the rest of your time, including Madrid and Barcelona. But it'd be a great trip and very memorable. Depending on what you mean by Portugal, Lisbon is as far to the west on the map as you can go. It'd be insane not to also see Sintra and probably something like Porto or Evora. Again, those would eat up the rest of your time including Madrid and Barcelona. But it also would be a great trip. Portugal and Spain are not all that well connected transportation wise. There is only an overnight train between Madird and Lisbon. Busses and some trains can connect southern Spain and Portugal, but getting to Lisbon from southern Spain means flying realistically. Hope this helps. Do invest a few dollars in Spain/Portugal guidebooks, whether from Rick Steves or any of the other many quality ones.

Thanks to all for writing. To Frank: the reason we're flying back to the U.S. from BCN is because our daughter lives there. That's why we're spending the first 4 days there with her, then she'll travel with us before we take her back to BCN and fly home. Any other input will be appreciated. Mollie--hope these suggestions helped you, too!

I did a trip to Spain, Portugal and Morocco a few years ago and had a little more than two weeks and even though I love seeing lots of sights the itinerary sounds a bit too disconnected. We did only the south of Spain (Sevilla, Granada, Arcos de la Frontera, Antequerra and Malaga) then went on to Morocco for a few days visiting Tangiers, Chefchouen (the blue town) and Asillah and it was fantastic. We covered a lot of ground and arranged a photography tour, so we had a private bus to drive us all around and did not have to deal with waiting for trains, etc. That was about 10 days...after that the group left and 3 of us stayed on and picked up a car and drove to the south of Portugal (not Lisbon) and could barely get a touch of Portugal. I think you need to save one of your locations for the next trip...if it were me I would save Portugal and take the ferry from Tariffa to Morocco.

Nazare in Portugal is a wonderful place to stay for a few days. We stayed right on the ocean. It is a small town great for strolling. Well worth a stop.

I have used Rick's books on two trips to Spain and have enjoyed time in small hotels he has recommended, many of which include or serve breakfast. How many destinations to visit depends on what you hope to experience. Spain is loaded with so much history, art, architecture, etc. We spent a week in Barcelona, yet there were some things that there just wasn't time to see. We plan to return someday. On another trip to Spain, we saw highlights of Madrid and southern Spain in 10 days, but are going back for two weeks this year to see many things we couldn't fit in last time - plus to take a second look at the Alhambra. You could easily be in Madrid a week and take in its sights as well as take short day trips to Toledo and/or El Escorial and/or Segovia. If you have never bought one of Rick's books, I recommend you do so. He doesn't just list the sights, he rates the sights and doesn't include sights that he thinks are less interesting to the average traveller. I bought another Rick Steves guidebook to plan this year's trip - I believe my previous two purchases greatly contributed to the enjoyment of our last two trips - worth every penny.

Hi All: we have already (sadly) decided to delete Portugal. We have settled on Madrid (3 days) Seville (4 Days) Granada (2 days) (to see the alhambra) and Barcelona (5 days), flying into Madrid and returning from Barcelona. Reasonable airfare, and trains to get around. But we really need lodging advice: where to get it? Or any other comments about what not to miss.
Thanks...Mollie