is a rail pass worth it in spain and portugal

Railpasses are not a good value in Spain or Portugal. For the high-speed AVE, advanced purchase tickets can be had for very reasonable prices. You can buy them on RENFE's website (though many people struggle to get their credit cards to be accepted). For short trips, the ticket price is the same whether with or without a pass. Busses for short trips are also usually more efficient, faster and offer far more schedule options. Spain and Portugal are only connected by an overnight train between Madrid and Lisbon. I recommend you fly between those countries.

'We are travelling Spain and Portugal for a period of two weeks.' - has Tangier moved? :-) 'Is it worth our while to purchase a rail pass for Spain and Portugal, just Spain or not at all?' -
It would be extraordinary any RailPass will be value these days if you have a planned itinerary and purchase tickets in advance, most especially for your number of journeys by train. Only you can do the maths. to prove this. There is no train station at Tarifa, but Granada to Algeciras, yes by train, and on to Tarifa by local bus. There is no direct rail connection between Seville, or anywhere in Andalucia, with the Algarve - bus with http://www.eva-bus.com/novo/ or combination.

I'll endorse all that Douglas said. You don't want a Spain pass. the fare from Madrid to Granada is only 20.50 euro if you buy enough in advance to get the Promo fare.

Purchase individual tickets for your travel. If you are a senior citizen, you can get a discounted pass..forget the name of it, but will need your passport to show your age at any information desk in the system. Prices are reduced, just not as much as if you purchase in advance with all the difficulty of their often unfriendly web site.

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply to my question. I appreciate your advice.
Deb