Itinerary for Spain/Portugal - Does this sound right?

You're going to Spain, but not seeing it. Then you're going to Portugal, but spending a big chunk of time on an island.

It looks like two and a half weeks. Pick Spain or Portugal and stay on the mainland. Also, the Algarve is neat, but it's not on the first tier of things to see in Portugal.

Ed said it all.....

Thanks for your feedback.
Perhaps I should clarify though - it may seem out of the norm, but we are more interested in Portugal than Spain and we are only "stopping" in Spain to make a visit. I do dearly want to see Madeira, but I really don't see the point of flying/sailing there and only spending a night or 2. Any ideas on how to make this itinerary better but at the same time, fit my needs?

OK - we love Portugal and in 2006 spent a week in Madeira. Stayed in Funchal and also in a village near family. At the time we thought we could have seen all the sights in a leisurely manner in five days but spent the extra time for family. If you fly to the Algarve will you fly to Faro? If so, Tavira is closer. Quarteira is also a nice town but more of a quiet resort town while Tavira has more history. Not sure about the order of towns but if you leave Lisbon for last (even if you have to fly out of Lisbon) you will have more consecutive days and maybe it will be more enjoyable and efficient. Can you go to Porto from Madrid, then Madeira, Algarve, and lastly Lisbon? Is Algarave a must? Remember that with each change of cities you lose at least a half day with checking in and out of hotels and travel time. Haven't researched the connections so that order may be impractical. Just throwing out ideas. Good luck!

Well it sounds like you want to go to Portugal. So why are you going to Spain then? Given the distance between Madrid and Lisbon and poor connections between them, I don't see why you are making this side trip. And while Madrid is nice and has some day trip possibilities, it's not the part of Spain most would opt for if it was the only city they could visit.

May I suggest a couple things. Expand your visit to Portugal. Add Evora for a day/night. Stay overnight in Sintra rather than just a day trip from Lisbon. Consider going to northwest Spain like Vigo and Santiago de Compostela, which are accessible from Porto. Then save Spain or a future trip in which you can see places like Madrid, Barcelona, Basque region, Andalucia, white hill towns and Costa del Sol.

Carol and Douglas you both make very good points. I know Rick says that we should plan a trip as if we are going to return and not try to squeeze things in, but it seems odd going to Portugal and NOT seeing Spain. I thought it was like going to Rome and NOT seeing the Colleseum. But apparently that's not the case. If I can get over that, then I think I can use the other suggestions which would save me time and money.

It sounded as if you were visiting a person in Spain. If not, then Douglas is right. Skip Spain on this trip and concentrate on Portugal. It seems you plan to spend 14 nights there which is not that much time for one entire country. Have you thought of flying directly to Madeira and out of Lisbon? At one time there were direct flights from Boston. That would save you a lot of travelling time. Have you thought of renting a car? Driving in Portugal is easy. You could rent a car at the Lisbon airport and plan a loop, maybe going north to Porto & Douro region, then Evora, Algarve, and returning the car in Lisbon where you can stay a few days using public transportation. Just another idea.