Kalboz

Family of 4 here - two adults and 2 children (11 and 13 years). Starting mid-June 2022, and ending sometime in July, we are looking for transport recommendation mode.

Also, if traveling by rail, in which order? Planning to travel to the following:

Barcelona & possibly Corbera d'Ebre
Bilbao & San Sebastian
Madrid, Toledo & possibly Salamanca
Malaga, Seville, Cordoba, and Granada
Lisbon, Sintra, and Cabo da Roca

Bolding denotes base cities or starting hubs to explore their environs. In which order should we travel? For example: should it be: Barcelona - Bilbao - Madrid - Malaga - Lisbon?

Or, do any other suggestions?

Any input is much appreciated!

spainlover

sounds like a terrific trip! Numerous options, a few thoughts. From Barcelona for some coastal spots, might be better to rent a car for a day or 2. Would probably consider flying Barcelona to Bilbao or San Sebastián. Will save time and may be cheaper too.
I might stay in San Sebastián and just visit Bilbao via train, bus or renting a car.
Train or bus are I believe similar times from Bilbao or San Sebastián to Madrid.
train is great and easy from Madrid to Toledo & Salamanca.
my preference would be Sevilla or Granada as a base in the south, but I haven’t spent much time in Malaga proper.
haven’t been to Portugal in a long time so will leave that to others

guv1976

OP: Have you compared the cost of flying into Spain and flying home from Portugal, vs. vice versa?

And if this trip is really starting in June, 2021, my recommended mode of transportation is time machine.

Kalboz

Thank you
Will do: Barcelona - San Sebastian - Madrid - Seville - Lisbon
Side trips to Bilbao, Toledo, Salamanca, Granada, Malaga, Cordoba, etc.
For our dates, cheapest fares flying into BCN and returning from LIS.
Corrected the date - I'm still auto typing 2021 - hahaha!

LupineChemist

The two cities that aren't really as well connected to the rest are going to be San Sebastián and Lisbon.

Also, I'd really suggest making your Andalusia base as Sevilla rather than Málaga. Especially at that time of year the city really comes alive at night(and sunset is around 10PM so be read for later nights) as people tend to stay away from the oppressive daytime heat.

I'd see if you can get your flights to San Sebastián and then there's a Vueling flight direct to Barcelona. From Barcelona take the AVE train to Madrid. I'd also say to take the AVE to Sevilla. You have a pretty big advantage traveling as a family of four since you can just book a table. You have to book 4 seats together but you get a pretty big discount doing so.

From Sevilla to Lisboa, There's a Ryanair flight. I can't imagine it takes more than a half hour. Unfortunately there's no decent options without a car in that case and one-way rentals across national borders are insane. The flight runs Sunday, Wednesday, Friday and just checking right now and fares appear to be a 10€ base fare plus whatever bag fees. The Friday one is best as it's at 11h while Monday's is very early and Wednesday's is very late. (do remember Ryanair's visa check for foreigners, though)

As far as in each city, I would recommend grabbing a car for the day and going to see La Granja de San Ildefonso and Segovia outside of Madrid. Salamanca is doable but it's a bit far for a day trip.

Kalboz

Formidable analysis and useful tips, thank you!

For Seville - Lisbon, the Ryan Air flight is too early at 6:30AM. We have the option of taking the TAP 11:05 AM flight to arrive at LIS at a decent time but this works for only Friday - Monday.

11:05 AM⇢11:20 AM
Arrives same day
Mo Fr Sa Su - 1h 15m Direct

Still on the drawing board and report back soon

Deep1312

I'm doing a mix and match of Spain and Portugal. Starting Mad->LIS-> Sevilla->Valencia->BCN.

Happy to discuss in more detail with you!


Draft plan

Kalboz

Good plan, it gives me some possibilities.

I found this website that might help in planning transportation within & between cities: https://www.rome2rio.com/

spainlover

I would suggest trading a night in Lisbon for an extra night in Madrid, unless you’ve already been to Madrid.

Buzzman

[QUOTE=LupineChemist;34106548]The two cities that aren't really as well connected to the rest are going to be San Sebastián and Lisbon.

Also, I'd really suggest making your Andalusia base as Sevilla rather than Málaga. Especially at that time of year the city really comes alive at night(and sunset is around 10PM so be read for later nights) as people tend to stay away from the oppressive daytime heat."

I second this suggestion... but I would add that Cadiz, hour and a half from Seville by train should be considered. I have chosen it for retirement and it is, after a lot of investigation and looking around all over Spain, in my opinion, the best city in all of Spain.. little known to my friends in California, but a real jewel in terms of history, beauty, culture and all in all a wonderful place. Give it a google!!