Has anybody tried it? If so, anywhere you would cut out or shorten? My husband and I are going for 21 full days from mid March-early April. We're starting in Barcelona and flying to Granada. I don't want to have two big cities back to back. We are thinking of taking Ricks suggested trip with a little modification. I'm thinking of cutting out Salema totally or to one night. Also, possibly cutting out Coimbra(unless I'm really missing something) and adding the days to Madrid/Barcelona. The only things set in stone is arrival in Barcelona on March 19th and departing Madrid April 9th. http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/spain/itin_spainport.htm
Posted by
San Diego
552 posts
For what it's worth... After a lot of research, we're getting ready to try two weeks of car rental from Madrid, through Portugal, dropping it off in Granada in late October, then train it back through Andalusia in early November. After the Douro valley, we're cutting out Coimbra for a night of eating "Leitao a Bairrada" and a night in Sintra before the two in Lisbon. Since it's not beach season, folks on this thread convinced me to skip the Algarve, leaving another day for white hill towns. Did I mention how stoked I am about suckling pig?
Posted by
Napa, CA
3580 posts
I was on the RS Spain/Portugal tour in 2008. I don't remember Coimbra, so maybe we skipped that town. We did stay in Salema for a "day off" and it was the perfect vacation-from-your-vacation town. It's a small beach town and there's almost nothing to do there but go to the beach or walk around. I would recommend skipping a city if you want to cut out anything. I didn't care for Madrid, even with the Prado there. Too Big City for me. You can expect cool weather at that time of year, even in the southernmost parts of Iberia.