Just booked 6 week trip to Iberian Peninsula--any suggestions?

[2017ish]

We booked today (great business class prices) and leave Friday, the 17th, ORD to Madrid. Haven't booked anything other than air, and we plan a week or two in Portugal as well.

Anyone traveled there recently? Any suggestions?

We are not doing the Duoro river/wine/porto cruise, as we are saving it for a future trip with friends....

 

[Bamaman]

I had to look up the Iberian Peninsula to figure out exactly where that is. It's the far southwest France, Spain, Portugal--and west to Gibraltar.

Our last European trip was to Madrid to Granada and a 1 hr. flight to Barcelona. My wife liked it so well that she returned just before Covid to Madrid and Barcelona.

We found the interior of Spain to be wonderful with friendly (and very beautiful) people and a very low cost of travel including inexpensive hotels and food. We have previously been along the Med coast on two cruises and found the Spanish port cities to be congested and not to our liking.

The Iberian Peninsula is deceivingly large in size so you need to be careful on planning your itinerary. It would be easy to spread yourself too thin if you intend to visit Portugal too. We've found Spain like visiting 4 different countries. You've got to just pick 3-4 places to visit and catch the others on your next visit. You can fly inexpensively between major cities on Vueling Airlines, a budget carrier.

 

[2017ish]

...

We found the interior of Spain to be wonderful with friendly (and very beautiful) people and a very low cost of travel including inexpensive hotels and food. We have previously been along the Med coast on two cruises and found the Spanish port cities to be congested and not to our liking.

The Iberian Peninsula is deceivingly large in size so you need to be careful on planning your itinerary. It would be easy to spread yourself too thin if you intend to visit Portugal too. We've found Spain like visiting 4 different countries. You've got to just pick 3-4 places to visit and catch the others on your next visit. You can fly inexpensively between major cities on Vueling Airlines, a budget carrier.

Thanks! Yeah, it is a big area to cover. If we do Portugal, it will only be a short 7-10 day jaunt, with most of it saved for future. We are thinking of doing bases as you suggest--although I believe DW is looking at more like one a week, rather than 3-4 for the whole trip. Which parts of the Interior did you visit? The Basque region in the North had grabbed our attention.

 

[sengsational]

I've driven from BCN to Gibraltar to Seville and back to BCN. The coast is pretty much no fun...lots of tolls and lots of work with a manual transmission due to the unending undulation, and nothing to look at. Malaga, Gibraltar, Seville were all nice visits. The trip through the interior was nicer than the coast. Ended up, randomly, in Albarracìn and it was one of the most pleasant spots of the whole trip.

 

[audreyh1]

Iberian peninsula = Spain + Portugal (+ Gibraltar). The Pyrenees separates the peninsula from the rest of Europe.

 

[oiseux]

I've been many times, but not for several years. I do like BCN, so despite the impacts of mass tourism you should still go. There are many coastal cities that are basically seaside resorts, but there are more charming ones as well.

West of Malaga and inland, in Andulcia, there are these beautiful white villages. And then furtner in you get places like Granada, Cordoba, Ronda and Seville in a great part of that region. Gibraltar is a drop down (with the ferry to Tangier) -- more of a tick the box destination (great view to Africa).

Lisbon should also be on your list. Are you more beach or mountain people?

 

[2017ish]

....

Lisbon should also be on your list. Are you more beach or mountain people?

If we aren't diving, we would normally prefer hiking in the mountains to sitting on the beach. (And this is a carry-on baggage trip, so no diving even if that area were appealing to us otherwise.)

Thanks to everyone for the ideas--more information is always beneficial when planning!

 

[audreyh1]

There are tons of cool cities and things to see in Andalusia. We spent over two weeks and could have stayed longer.

Madrid itself is great (museums, palaces, parks, etc.) as well as the surrounding area - Sevilla, Toledo, etc. We took a day trip by bus to see the huge palace El Escorial de San Lorenzo. Really something, especially the pantheon of kings. https://el-escorial.com/

Lots of great tapas eateries in Madrid including awesome wine.

We thoroughly enjoyed the paradores which are all over the country. Great way to relax in historical building usually close to areas of interest in smaller cities.

Generally you have to fly between Spain and Portugal.

 

[NW-Bound]

Thanks! Yeah, it is a big area to cover. If we do Portugal, it will only be a short 7-10 day jaunt, with most of it saved for future. We are thinking of doing bases as you suggest--although I believe DW is looking at more like one a week, rather than 3-4 for the whole trip. Which parts of the Interior did you visit? The Basque region in the North had grabbed our attention.

We have traveled by train from Barcelona to Montserrat, Valencia, Madrid, Segovia, Toledo, and Sevilla.

The Northern part of Spain, namely the Basque region (San Sebastian, Bilbao), the Asturias autonomous region (Oviedo), and Galicia (Santiago de Compostela), is not served by trains. You either have to take a flight, or sit on a regional bus. I chose to drive. The Northern part of Spain is beautiful, and the culture a bit different than the southern part of the country.

I had always wanted to visit Asturias, ever since I fell in love with the musical piece called Asturias (Leyenda) by Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909). And curiously, it was written for the piano, but nowadays is well-known as a classical guitar piece.

In the southern part of Spain, I have also visited Cordoba and Granada. I was in Cordoba during the Flower Festival. In Granada, I was able to register a few months in advance to visit the inner palace of the Alhambra. This hilltop castle, I also knew through the famous guitar piece: Recuerdos de la Alhambra (Memories of the Alhambra).

On the Mediterranean coast, we have visited Cartagena, and the small town of Alcosebre. These places are not as unique as the other locations.


In Portugal, we have visited Porto, the Douro River Valley, Lisbon, Sintra, and Coimbra. It was by driving.

Just scratching the surface in these countries, and I hope to come back for more.

 

[NW-Bound]

Here's another piece of music to help set the mood.

 

[Bamaman]

We took the bus down to Granada to see Alhambra. It's a very nice city surrounded by mountains with ski resorts.

They have caves up on the mountainside, and the gypsies put on flamingo music/dance shows in them. It's quite a sight.

We especially like that interior Spain was very affordable in every way--far cheaper to travel in than England, France, Germany and Switzerland.

 

[audreyh1]

Long distance bus travel in Spain is very comfortable. ALSA seems to be the main company. It’s very comfortable. We probably traveled half of Andalusia that way.

 

[braumeister]

the gypsies put on flamingo music/dance shows in them. It's quite a sight.

Yeah, ya gotta love those dancing flamingos.

 

[NW-Bound]

Speaking of flamenco, we did attend a show in Sevilla in an earlier trip. And in the more recent trip, had a dinner with a show in Cordoba.

Flamenco is part of Spain southern culture. It is not popular up in the north.

There's so much of Spain I have not seen. I don't know when I can come back. The northern part of Spain is mountainous, and green. I would love to spend time to wander around the region, and visit the little towns. So many places, so little time.

PS. In my latest trip, I did manage to make a stop at Guernica, a Basque town that was bombed by Hitler's Luftwaffe as a practice run, at the invitation of Franco to kill his own people. Picasso's painting of the same name as the town was made into a mural in the town, and I had to see it.

PPS. The original large painting Guernica by Picasso is at the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid. We have not been to this museum, only to the Prado.

 

[stepford]

If we aren't diving, we would normally prefer hiking in the mountains to sitting on the beach.

If you want a fun hike and you're in the area check out the Caminito de Rey. Once called the most dangerous trail in the world it was rebuilt and made quite safe about 10 years ago. DW and I hiked it back in 2016. The Caminito (and some of the white cities like Ronda - very much worth a visit) are a reasonably easy drive into the mountains if you're based in Malaga.

PS. We also visited Gibraltar while on that trip. While not a must see, it's worth a trip up the Rock if you're in the area. Nice views and fun to monkey around with the Barbary apes (seriously though, don't get too close. They bite.) This shot of DW and one of her new friends is about as close as you should get:

 

[Thomas3857]

We enjoyed Segovia, Ronda and Cordoba. I think Segovia & Córdoba are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. If you are near Malaga check out Marbella to the south. We took a ferry from Tarifa to Tangier in Morocco for a day trip. Was not our favorite but others really enjoy it so to each his own. Not many opportunities to visit North Africa and it’s relatively quick and inexpensive. Enjoy

 

[2017ish]

....

Generally you have to fly between Spain and Portugal.

We are looking to drive from Jerez to Faro, then eventually back to Seville. Is that not possible--unless there are some type of legal/contractual bars, it looks very doable?

 

[BigNick]

We are looking to drive from Jerez to Faro, then eventually back to Seville. Is that not possible--unless there are some type of legal/contractual bars, it looks very doable?

There are no legal problem to doing this. The main reason to "fly between Spain and Portugal" is if you are visiting major cities, as the 6-hour drive between Lisbon and Madrid isn't very exciting.

To cross most EU borders at the moment when travelling by road you just need a vaccine certificate (a US certificate that gets you into Europe will also work at internal borders). If you also need a form for a particular crossing then you should be able to fill it in at the border post.

 

[brett]

We have been several times.

Last time in Madrid we took the train to Toledo. Stayed there a few days, then picked up a car for two weeks. Toured. Recommend the coast....especially the white hill towns north of Gib.

We dropped our car off in Seville. Many interesting stops/days in between.

We were going to the Algarve, then Lisbon but could not find anyone rental agency that would let us drop in Lisbon, let alone take the car into Portugal. We dropped in Seville, stayed there for four days, then a short bus ride across the border to Faro, Portugal where we picked up another rental. Dropped that in Lisbon.

We spent a day in Tangiers, Morocco. Took an early AM ferry from Terifa, Spain. Very shot trip across.

We very much enjoyed the Algarve and Lisbon. We are making plans to spend 8 weeks in Morocco, Portugal, and possibly Spain post covid.

So much to see. Recommend looking at a few guide books. Our practice is to do one way car rentals when it make sense. Trains are excellent in Spain.
We did not find rental cars in Spain or Portugal expensive...but we have no issue renting small, standard transmission units. We typically use autoerope to book.

We have been to Barcelona multiple times. Always enjoy it. Always for a pre cruise or a post cruise.

We find the people in Portugal to be friendlier than those in Spain.

We have also spent time in northern Portugal. Douro Valley. We enjoyed this part of Portugal very much.

 

[kcowan]

We have also spent time in northern Portugal. Douro Valley. We enjoyed this part of Portugal very much.

The Douro River cruise is going to be the central feature of our trip in 2022.

 

[SecondAttempt]

San Sebastian Donostia!

We were there in summer 2019 and loved it after it was suggested by a Spanish coworker. Went to see the running of the bulls in Pamplona on the way to driving to Barcelona. Pintxos are the San Sebastian version of tapas. You can walk all over and try so many good things! There is a beautiful beach in a protected bay and lots of history to see as well.

 

[Surewhitey]

Back in 2015 we attended a wedding in / around Villefranque, France. The countryside was really nice and then we took a drive across the border to Barcelona (through the mountains) and really enjoyed it all.

Barcelona was one of our favorite cities visited with interesting food. Got to attend my first rugby game in the Basque area as our hosts' son (cousin to the groom) was playing for the local team. Very cool times over there...

 

[brett]

Deciding what to do really depends on what type of traveler you are. We can easily spend four days in Lisbon, a week in the Algarve or a week in the south of Spain. Three enjoyable days in the Seville and Grenada areas.

This is a very large area with lots to see. You also have to input travel times into your schedule. We think a combination of rental cars and train/bus may work best.

If you have not been my best advice would be to spend some time reading a few guide books, looking at sample itineraries, and then matching those up to your preferences. And leave some flux in your sched. The very worst thing you can do, IMHO, is plan every day down to the hour. We spent several wonderful days in a vineyard B&B. It was not on our itinerary. Same for a small seaside town. Family run hotel was wonderful so we simply parked ourselves there for a few days and enjoyed the town environment.

You can always return for another trip if you do not see everything.

Don't try to rush about and see the whole country. Pick an area and then enjoy it.

 

[2017ish]

We also have the Portugal Douro cruise, Lisbon, and the northern 2/3 of Portugal on our list for the future (insufficient time this trip). The last couple of days we have been driving along the Duoro, as spelled on the Spanish side of border, and exploring the wine regions via Zamora, Toro, Rueda, and Penafiel.

Currently in Rioja (Elciego), and heading to San Sebastian tomorrow to further pleasure our tummies!

Despite having only 2 weeks to plan the trip, we yet again managed to fill up much of the schedule; although we have some flexibility nearly every day

(And, Brett, we too found tiny manuals via europcar to be attractive. We have the different rentals with them this trip.)

 

[brett]

We also have the Portugal Douro cruise, Lisbon, and the northern 2/3 of Portugal on our list for the future (insufficient time this trip). The last couple of days we have been driving along the Duoro, as spelled on the Spanish side of border, and exploring the wine regions via Zamora, Toro, Rueda, and Penafiel.

Currently in Rioja (Elciego), and heading to San Sebastian tomorrow to further pleasure our tummies!

Despite having only 2 weeks to plan the trip, we yet again managed to fill up much of the schedule; although we have some flexibility nearly every day

(And, Brett, we too found tiny manuals via europcar to be attractive. We have the different rentals with them this trip.)

As have we. If fact, I have several Euopecar maps and guides in our travel file at home. But...it really does vary. Our autoeurope reservations seem to be filled most often by Avis in Spain, Europecar in Portuga, Turkey, and the UK, and Hertz in Italy.

I am envious. Just had the last bottle in a case of Rioja that we bought.