Planning on flying into Madrid, then driving to Salamanca, Porto, Lisbon, Seville, taking a boat to Morocco, than back to spain Malaga, GRANADA, Alicante, Valencia,and finally to Bacelona in May of 2012 for 2 1/2-3 weeks Traveling with men who do not want to see very many museums and enjoy activities like the toboggan in Germany. Any hints of sights? Also where to park in Algecira while we are in Tangier? Has anyone gone on the Camel trip in Tangier? Thanks for all the hints...Lynda
Big hint. Do you recognise all the time you are expending driving/travelling and not seeing/doing? Have you no input? Bigger hint. Do some basic research with travel guides on line or on paper. You are trying to cover a route with hundreds of possibilities.
When you say Morocco do you only mean Tangier and one day? Tangier is not any great reflection of Morocco.
Thank you for your questions and input. I have mapped out the route with estimated times on the road. Part of driving is enjoying the country, stopping when we want, etc. I have been reading Rick Steve's books and also have looked on the internet for activities in the larger cities. I am hoping to hear about other people's experience which I have found very helpful in planning trips. Possible I shouldn't have posted my itinerary.
I am curious as to what made you choose those destinations if you are now asking for sightseeing and activity suggestions. I count 11 destinations in at most 21 days. Assuming you have a full 3 weeks on the ground (that's not counting the day you arrive in Madrid and the day you leave Barcelona, that's about 1 day (and a fraction) in each.
Hi, I am traveling with two people that are not that interested in seeing many museums, and churches. Some places may or may not be cities we will need staying overnight, ie Malaga, Alicante & Valencia. I am also trying to figure out if there isn't enough time in each city which then I will rethink the trip and possible extend the number of days. Thank you for asking and I truly appreciate all opinions and suggestions.
That seems like an awful lot of places in that amount of time. I was just in Spain for 9 days and we just went to Barcelona and Madrid (with two day trips to Toledo and Avila and Segovia). I'd consider omitting the Portugal portion of your trip. The Spain portion could probably be doable in your timeframe.
With your current itinerary, you'll spend about half your time just driving. If you stop along the way and enjoy the scenery, then for sure you'll spend half your time or more driving. If that's ok with you, then fine, but just be aware. There are some very scenic regions in Iberia, but also a lot of regions that are pretty desolate. It's hard to suggest things to do since you'll only spend a day in each place and your travel companions don't like museums. What do they like? Food? Culture? Historical sites? Beaches? Natural parks? There are a lot of castles in Iberia, would they like castles? With a car you could easily stop at several major sites of Roman ruins. There are likely parking facilities for those taking the ferry to Morocco.
You could spend a few hours hiking in El Torcal, near Antequera. Bullfight? If they aren't going to enjoy the Alhambra in Granada, I can't think of much else to do there that might be more interesting. Maybe a drive up to the mountains?