Alright party people. I have 10 days this month to chill after I'm done working in Europe. I've landed on Spain or Portugal as the destinations. I like food, alcohol, history, beaches, active things. Basically everything. What's your pick and what are you doing while you're there?

Been to both, can't go wrong either way but I lean Spain.

Spain has a better party atmosphere IMO, the Spanish go hard & late. The Portuguese are more reserved & the language barrier made things a little more difficult.

Spanish food is amazing, the Basque country up north is world renowned. Portuguese food tends to be a little more bland

Beaches in both countries are wonderful. San Sebastian is one of my favorite beach towns.
Algarve in Portugal is probably the most beautiful though.

History, Spain has more options but Portugal is no slouch. Top sites in Spain for me would be La Sagrada Familia, Alhambra, the town of Segovia, Toledo, old Seville. Lots of other options as well.
Portugal has some cool places in & around Lisbon. Haven't been to Porto but everyone I know who's been raves about it.

My thoughts:
Fly into Barcelona, spend 2-3 days there... you can hit nearby beaches.
High speed train to Madrid 3 days, see the museums go to a bullfight & check out a Flamenco show.
High speed train to Seville for a couple of days. Maybe head to Grenada for a day (or an option to the beach around Cadiz or Malaga.
Head back to Madrid & fly out.

That's great info. Easy enough to get around with mass transport? No need to get a car?

Car is easy enough, but you'll save $$ usung the train and be able to relax. The bus system is also awesome.
Just less stress than driving in a foreign country imo.

Ya that's a good point. It is much less stressful that way.

Portugal has the highest driving death rate in Europe. Passing on mountain curves is normal and your expected to move onto the shoulder if there is an oncoming car in your lane. Also they drive with one hand in the horn at all times. I would not recommend driving in Portugal.

Went last year to Madrid, Segovia, El Escorial, Cordoba, and Granada. Alhambra inGranada was amazing (book tickets early) but we liked Cordoba the most.

I suggest Barcelona, Granada, and Sevilla! (Also, there are some great Air BnB's in Spain.)

Flying off to Madrid in a few weeks and taking a train down to Barcelona.

Has anyone been able to bring back some jamon Iberico and get it through customs? Its a cured meat, so I thought it would be okay, but I'm seeing other stuff saying its not allowed.

Sevilla

I would find a way to hit both Spain and Portugal. You can't go wrong imo. Just go explore.

I'd say try to hit both since they are right next to each other. But if you want to stick to one place, I recommend Andalucia, the southern region of Spain. You can hit Seville, Granada, and Malaga, and some other beach towns. It's beautiful and super fun.

dreyOO said:

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I would find a way to hit both Spain and Portugal. You can't go wrong imo. Just go explore.

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This.

The Lisbon, Portugal area is one of my favorite places in the world and we also enjoyed Madrid. I hope to hit Barcelona, Spain and Porto, Portugal next time we get a chance.

Had a change in work schedule, so it looks like I'll only have about 2-1/2 days. Decided to just do Barcelona this time. But I will be back to spend more time in both places. Lots of great recs here, I'll have to save this thread.

If you get the opportunity to venture out of Barcelona a short ways, Monastery Santa Maria de Montserrat is well worth the time IMO. Plus, the countryside is absolutely beautiful and a good way to get out of the madhouse that is Barcelona and all the people.

Spain is too big to add anything else to it.
When I get more time, I want to spend a month or two checking out the places I've missed: Mallorca, Cordoba, Ronda, Avila, Salamanca among others. Also on my list is to do the Camino de Santiago.

Man that's a bummer. But then again, I would still be stoked to have ANY time out there. Have fun

Absolutely agree about visiting the Monastery at Monserrat. It was my favorite part of visiting Barcelona in March. I also recommend a train or bus to Tarragona if you are at all interested in Roman history and/or want to have a more laid back experience than Barcelona. I booked tours through Viator for Barcelona and Tarragona and really enjoyed them.

Those are great ideas. Sound like easy day trips. I'll have to do one.

I just got back from Spain a few weeks ago. I loved all parts but Barcelona, but I'm pretty chill, so no surprise. I stayed in Madrid for a week and took the high speed train to Toledo, Cordoba and Grenada. I also flew to Santiago de Compostela one day. From Grenada I flew to Barcelona for a couple of days and back to Alicante, then Murcia. From there I took the high speed train back to Madrid and home.
My favorite places were Toledo, home of the second largest cathedral behind the one in Sevilla. Awesome city, great history.
Cordoba is home to the Mezquita, a cathedral built inside a mosque. I went during the Festival of the Patios where locals compete for most beautiful patio and can win 2,000. So locals have them open to the public. Awesome to see. They also have a flamenco performance with horses. I didn't get to see it, but will definitely go back one day.
Santiago de Compostela was amazing. The history of pilgrimage to the cathedral is over 1,000 years old. Several Michelin star restaurants here that are casual dining, which I wish I had time to eat at all of them!
AlHambra in Grenada was beautiful. The town sits at the beginning of the Sierra Nevada mountains. They let 8,000 people in a day into Al Hambra and the grounds are huge. Very beautiful. A lot of Muslim influences. Several Michelin star restaurants. Would go back just for the food.
Barcelona was just another big city to me. I loved Sagrada Famlia and I also toured Casa Battlo, another Gaudi work of art. After spending so much time in Madrid walking everywhere, it just wasn't possible in Barcelona. Loved the architecture, just not much else. It also was toward the end of my trip and I could have just been worn out. While in Barcelona I rode the high speed train to Figueres. My main reason to go there was for the Dali Museum. It was interesting since Dal designed it, but I wouldn't go again. There were much more interesting things to see in the museums in Madrid.
I fell in love with Madrid and the people there. I felt totally safe in the city. The food was amazing, there is so much to do and the night life is hopping.
Hopefully you get to go back and spend more time. The history was rich, the people friendly, and the food..so good.
I wish you could bring back Iberian ham, because I would have paid a lot of money to bring that stuff back!

Sounds like a great trip. I will definitely be back to do it right.

Malaga sure is hard to beat…hit Granada, Seville, Ronda, etc from there but Malaga is a party

And I love Madrid….I've never experienced a big city like Madrid where everyone seems so relaxed. Amazing atmosphere

Lisbon
Sintra
Cascais

Can't go wrong with Portugal

I was wondering the same thing. It looks like you can't. Sad day. It's as good as advertised.

I'm going to Nazare before I die

Have you watched the documentary about the guy that rode that massive wave there?

rebelag62 said:

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Have you watched the documentary about the guy that rode that massive wave there?

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yes 100ft Wave HBO Max

Totally insane.

Have to camp there for a while though, those waves are not a daily occurrence. My daughter was there recently and I insisted she check it out, but looked like the Texas coast when she was there.

But as to the original question.. I agree with those that suggest you do both. They are right there together, why make yourself choose just one?

Never been to either, but the way I understand is even though they're "right there together" on the map to someone acquainted with traveling around Texas, the getting to and from is not as simple as it is stateside.

For all the same reasons listed above, you would probably like Spain a little more.

My favs were Seville then Grenada then Cadiz then Salamanca then Madrid then Segovia.

You mentioned outdoors type stuff so you might want to consider one of Spain's many islands. History isn't as rich there but you will get nightlife, good food, beaches and outdoor fun.
Ibiza obviously if you prioritize nightlife but The Canary Islands are great as well.
Tenerife especially. It has cool beaches, boating, snorkeling/scuba plus a volcano to go up to, hike around, really cool world renowned observatories and night skies. The nightlife is pretty fun in Santa Cruz and Plaza de Americas, however just know that you will mostly be around English tourists in those spots. All the food and lodging is super cheap compared to the US and other parts of Europe. We call it our budget friendly Hawaii.

Chipotlemonger said:

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Never been to either, but the way I understand is even though they're "right there together" on the map to someone acquainted with traveling around Texas, the getting to and from is not as simple as it is stateside.

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It pretty much is. We drove all around Spain and crossed into Portugal. It's not much different than crossing state lines. They are both Schengen countries so no need for a checkpoint. The only things you need to be aware of is if your rental car company agreement allows you to cross the border (most do), and there may be some tolls incurred on the roads that cross.

Texaggie7nine said:

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Chipotlemonger said:

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Never been to either, but the way I understand is even though they're "right there together" on the map to someone acquainted with traveling around Texas, the getting to and from is not as simple as it is stateside.

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It pretty much is. We drove all around Spain and crossed into Portugal. It's not much different than crossing state lines. They are both Schengen countries so no need for a checkpoint. The only things you need to be aware of is if your rental car company agreement allows you to cross the border (most do), and there may be some tolls incurred on the roads that cross.

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Neat to know! Much different than the Spain/France border then.

Should be no different. France is Schengen as well.

Looking it up now it seems you may have to do a checkpoint if you cross over via the super small country of Andorra which is not a Schengen country, but otherwise, if you are going straight from Spain to France, no checkpoint.

I'm more talking about having to go over the Pyrenees range. Probably not many "fast" routes I'm guessing, depending on where you are driving from.