Trip in late Nov/early Dec 2012 in Portugal/Spain...where to visit?

You will pay a large repatriation fee dropping off the rental car in another country - ask for quotes. The rest of your query is very difficult to answer as you give no idea of the duration of visit or any particular interests or aims. If you only have two weeks less arrival and departure days and can fly into Malaga, I suggest Andalucia is where you should tour (not necessarily by car if you want cities, where the car will be wasted) and not expend large amounts of time on the road to, and in, another country.

Definitly spend at least one night in Grenada! The Alhambra (Moorish Palace) and it's gardens are AMAZING. Further, the Albayzin area of Grenada is exotic and lovely! Aside from that, it would be helpful if you do as the previous poster suggests and give more info as to the length of your trip.

Thanks for your replies. You can tell I am new at this and didn't provide enough detail on our upcoming December trip to Spain and Portugal. My husband and I plan to spend 2 weeks...one week staying at a resort in Malaga with day trips and one week touring Portugal by car. We found that car rentals were less expensive in Lisbon so will rent the car there through Sixt. Would appreciate any places/sites that we should not miss as this is our first trip to this area. Thank you!

I would help with Andalucia. However, please clarify - I doubt you are staying in a resort in the city of Malaga. Malaga as the province or the Costa del Sol probably, so where? There are hundreds of interesting destinations for me, in a province almost the size of Portugal. Many you can find in any half decent guide, but if you are using a base at an extreme end of the costa, like Estepona for example, I could not see Granada and the Alhambra, at not less than two and a half hours each way as a day trip.