Need help planning trip to Portugal and southern Spain

[tartanwood]

We have been offered the use of my cousin’s apartment in Tavira, Portugal from early February through the first week in March. During that time, we will explore that city and the rest of the Algarve.

We will vacate their apartment shortly before my cousin and her husband return home from an extended trip out of the country. While they get settled back home, we will go to southern Spain for about 10 days. Then we will return to Tavira for St. Patrick’s Day (her husband is Irish). After a brief visit with them in Tavira, we will head to Lisbon before flying back to USA in late March.

Before we make reservations for planes, lodging, etc., we need advice. We need help planning a reasonable itinerary that will allow us to see major sites without being too rushed. We would rather explore a few places in in depth rather than rush from one place to the next.

With about 10 days available in Spain, where to go, what to see and how to get there?

We do not plan to drive. There are no direct trains from Tavira to Seville, but the bus takes only about 2 to 3 hours. Once we get to Spain, we will have to use buses, trains, and/or tours.

We know for sure that we want to spend time in Seville and we want to see Alhambra in Grenada. We also might want to go to Cordoba and possibly to some of the white villages if there is a way to get to them without a car.

At one point, we considered a timeshare exchange in Marbella with day trips to Grenada or other cities, but would a day trip from there be too limited and tiring? Instead of the timeshare, should we plan to spend a couple of nights in Grenada, perhaps a night or two in Cordoba and the rest of the time in Seville? How many days should we plan for Seville?

At the end of our trip, how many days should we allow for a visit to Lisbon before flying home?

Any advice will be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[myoakley]

Last year, we spent a week at the Marriott Playa Andalusa in Estepona. From there, we did day trips and visited Ronda, Sevilla, Cordoba, and Granada. Yes, it was a jam-packed week, but doable and well worth it - so many beautiful things to see and do! (You don't say your age; we are in our 70's.) While you can cover the essential attractions in a day trip, I would recommend doing at least one over-night at the beginning or end of a timeshare stay, preferably in Sevilla.

 

[tartanwood]

Thank you, myoakley

We will spend at least few days in Seville—(how many?). We are trying to figure out whether to go to Cordoba or Grenada directly from there or whether to use a timeshare in Marbella or Playa Andalusa as a base for trips to those other sites.

Did you have a car for your day trips or did you take tours or other transportation? We won’t be driving, so we need to figure in costs and schedules for getting around to see as much as possible at a reasonable pace. We, too, are in our early 70’s—up for moderate activity but not too vigorous.

 

[myoakley]

Thank you, myoakley

We will spend at least few days in Seville—(how many?). We are trying to figure out whether to go to Cordoba or Grenada directly from there or whether to use a timeshare in Marbella or Playa Andalusa as a base for trips to those other sites.

Did you have a car for your day trips or did you take tours or other transportation? We won’t be driving, so we need to figure in costs and schedules for getting around to see as much as possible at a reasonable pace. We, too, are in our early 70’s—up for moderate activity but not too vigorous.

 

[myoakley]

Yes. We rented a car, but used it only for the day trip to Ronda. The concierge desk at the Marriott Andalusa was very helpful in arranging tours to the other cities. We were 2 couples. We had a private tour guide named Franco who spoke excellent English and was very informative. If you contact the Marriott in either Marbella or Estepona, they can e-mail you a list of all the tours available and the prices. The roads are excellent, but the biggest problem to driving yourself is finding where to park. There is public (paying) underground parking. However, you would have to research their location ahead of time and know exactly where you are going. Also, unless you have a small car, it is extremely difficult to navigate through these underground parkings. In fact, we entered one, realized that it would be impossible to negotiate our mid-size car into a space (if we could find one) and exited. The attendant was very nice and did not make us pay to exit.

 

[dreamin]

My husband & I are in our mid-60s and spent 3 months in Spain and Portugal this past winter. It was an amazing adventure! We didn't stay near Tavira but in general we found public transportation in Portugal was not convenient so we had to take a tour or hire a private driver. Spain's public transportation system (train, bus and Metro) was efficient and inexpensive. In 5 weeks we travelled from Barcelona to Madrid, Segovia, Sevilla, Ronda, Granada and Malaga. Sevilla was our favourite city and we would return there for an extended stay if given the opportunity. The other cities were also exciting to visit and were so beautiful, full of history. In Portugal we mostly stayed at timeshares as it was slower paced. In Spain we used hotels and apartments because we wanted to move from location to location, spending as much time as we could in each place. I like seeing a community during the day as well as the evening to get a good feel for the city and its people. I find you can't get that experience with day trips. I would recommend at least 3 days in Sevilla. We preferred Porto over Lisbon but both are a must-see and deserving of at least 4 or 5 days. The website rome2rio.com is a great resource for all transportation options.

Here is a link to a travel blog I created. It's long so you might want to scroll down to the cities you are interested in. I would highly recommend all the hotels and apartments that we stayed at as they were reasonably priced and conveniently located. I would be happy to answer any questions. I'm so excited for you!

https://findpenguins.com/wheredowegofromhere/trip/snowbirds-tackle-europe

 

[Glynda]

My husband & I are in our mid-60s and spent 3 months in Spain and Portugal this past winter...

I am curious...would you change the time of year you traveled to these areas? I've saved your blog for future reference. Thanks!

 

[tartanwood]

dreamin,

Thank you so much for your information and the link to your blog. Such a wealth of detail and beautiful photos! We just had time to skim through parts of it today and look forward to studying it more closely.

We will be in the Algarve in February, so we are crossing our fingers for OK weather. We decided to skip a timeshare there and look forward to being in Tavira which I believe is less focused on resort tourists. During our month there, we will look into the tour you took to the western end of the Algarave. After our relaxing start in Tavira, we will pick up the pace as we try to see as much as possible in Spain in early to mid-March.

During our 10+ days in Spain, we plan to focus on Seville, Cordoba and Granada. I think we will follow your advice and stay long enough in each city to experience more than we could on day-trip tours. Could we fit in a trip up to Barcelona or is that addition too ambitious in our available time?

 

[dreamin]

Glynda, we chose Jan/Feb/March as we wanted to escape our severe winters. Although we encountered an unheard of snow blizzard in Segovia in northern Spain and unrelenting rain in the Algarve, overall we had pleasant weather. Accommodation and transportation costs were more affordable and fewer tourists were also factors in our decision.

Tartanwood, we also travelled to Cordoba (missed that one in my post) and it was one of the highlights of our trip. Sevilla to Barcelona is a 5 l/2 hour train ride or you could take a l l/2 hour flight from Malaga. Barcelona is an exciting city with lots to see but I don't think I would add it to your plans as you would waste a lot of time travelling there. I would add Ronda (white village) or Malaga or spend extra time in Sevilla. Trip Advisor forums were very helpful in planning our trip. Train fares continually go up in price so I booked these once I finalized my itinerary and then chose accommodation within walking distance of the train or bus station which was usually centrally located. Malaga has a nice airport and we flew from there to Lisbon.

 

[TravelTime]

Yes. We rented a car, but used it only for the day trip to Ronda. The concierge desk at the Marriott Andalusa was very helpful in arranging tours to the other cities. We were 2 couples. We had a private tour guide named Franco who spoke excellent English and was very informative. If you contact the Marriott in either Marbella or Estepona, they can e-mail you a list of all the tours available and the prices. The roads are excellent, but the biggest problem to driving yourself is finding where to park. There is public (paying) underground parking. However, you would have to research their location ahead of time and know exactly where you are going. Also, unless you have a small car, it is extremely difficult to navigate through these underground parkings. In fact, we entered one, realized that it would be impossible to negotiate our mid-size car into a space (if we could find one) and exited. The attendant was very nice and did not make us pay to exit.

What are the emails to Marbella and Playa Andalusa? I would like to request the tour list from the concierge.

 

[bobpark56]

We enjoy staying in Malaga (the city), usually in a rental. Malaga, old town area, is very nice and quite walkable...with many nice restaurants.

 

[myoakley]

What are the emails to Marbella and Playa Andalusa? I would like to request the tour list from the concierge.

I don't have the e-mail address any more, but the phone number for the concierge desk at Playa Andaluza is 34 952 88 9230 or toll free: 800 88 55 66 77. If you call and give them your e-mail address, I am sure they will send you the info on all the tours.

 

[vacationtime1]

Ten days is not enough for southern Spain so you will have to be selective. The Alhambra in Granada is world class; reserve your tickets well in advance or you will be disappointed. Granada has much more than just the Alhambra, but 2-3 days will allow you to cover the highlights. One full day in Cordoba is sufficient for its major site (the mosque). Seville is a major city; give it a couple of days minimum. The white villages are charming; we stayed at the parador in Ronda which was delightful. But unless you find a tour of some kind, I cannot imagine how you can get around the white villages without a car.

We spent an afternoon in Tavira. It was full of tourists in September, but the town is delightful.

 

[jehb2]

You should also check out the Rick Steves website and travel forums.

 

[Pompey Family]

I'll also recommend the Rick Steve's travel forum. The advice and recommendations for Spain, particularly Andalucia, are very thorough and there is a wealth of information on there.