Feedback on Spain-Portugal Roadtrip

Agree with #9 about Sintra, but will our OP have the time for that? Spending time in Portugal will result in less tim in Spain and a serious loss of stupid time on the roads.

And what about your interests Ian? You tell us nothing about that. You seem to be mainly focussed on cities (Faro and Murcia seemed rather random choices) while there are so many smaller gems along the way where you will driving by and which are more accessible with a rental car. Those smaller places can often be much more rewarding because they are so easy to drive into without much hassle and it is easier to get a feel of them with little time. I rather see places decently in a more geographically compact area than just hitting the surface in more places in a very superficial way, everywhere and also when I travel outside of my continent.
I recommend you to read a guidebook to Spain or eg Andalucia alone :)

Fair enough ... the selection of overnight stops is based on the logistics of a reasonable day's drive, with interesting things to see and experience along the way.

So Faro, because I understood the Algarve was top-drawer in Portugal, but now I learn that it's possibly not. While Murcia just a notional overnight stop to see the coastline, but probably can be dispensed with in the timeframe, since the proposed cruise visits the places it does.

In terms of interests I loved Rome, Florence, San Gimignano, Volterra, Siena, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Rhodes, etc. City and rural landscapes (Glencoe, Lake Como), really old architecture, cathedrals, town squares, bridges. Formal museums in small doses (I much prefer to be outside), and not especially a foodie or a wino. Don't mind strolling upscale shopping precincts.

National/state parks, plus a picnic lunch every day where possible ... don't mind long drives if it's rewarding enough. Don't mind popular 'touristy' places (San Gimi for example) if the popularity is genuine and justified. I could not see the point of the Spanish Steps ... they seem to just be famous for being famous.

The Algarve in Portugal does not have specific tourist attractions of the kind you claim to like. Some old towns with a centre to stroll in for a bit, but the area is now filled with British real estate offices, large resorts catering to northern Europeans (esp Brits) in search of sunshine, golf courses. So easily skipable if it's only to see the coast. There are, of course, nice places, but you don't really have time to find them if it's just a stop to cut short and have a break from a day's driving.

I personally like Lisbon a lot as a city to walk around in, the people are friendly and prices reasonable for W Europe. But indeed, you might have to rethink your trip a bit in order to have a bit more sightseeing and a bit less driving.

The Spanish Steps are one of the Paris Hiltons of tourism, if I may steal an expression from hello_bamboo.

Indeed ... I used that example pretty much entirely in ommarge to that wonderful thread re bffbf.

but the area is now filled with British real estate offices, large resorts catering to northern Europeans (esp Brits) in search of sunshine, golf courses.

I'd rather eat dead rats and crawl over broken glass, as an Aussie prime minister said to me one day.

There are, of course, nice places, but you don't really have time to find them if it's just a stop to cut short and have a break from a day's driving.

It's always a delicate balance between being too rushed to explore and enjoy, versus being too slow and meandering, therefore only seeing a modest percentage of what you really could have seen in your time. We had seven nights in Paris ... in the context of our overall itinerary, 4-5 would have been ample.

So most places get two nights by default, to give you a full day, unless there are compelling reasons to allocate more (and of course I'm very willing to accept that Lisbon warrants a minimum of three nights).

There is also some psychological pressure to making up an itinerary under certain conditions. Renting a car or buying a railpass makes you want to get your money's worth so you keep moving.

Renting a car or buying a railpass makes you want to get your money's worth so you keep moving.

We've driven tens of thousands of km in rental cars here and overseas, and have more than enough experience to not be victim of that syndrome ... in fact in most of our ventures, any "mistakes" we have ever perceived (and they are rare), have been caused by staying in a place a bit too long, rather than too little.

The bigger issue for us is securing accomm we like, for what we're happy to pay, a long time before we get there ... we definitely are not interested in 'winging it'.

If you have already done that kind of trip several times, then you would know best about how much you are willing to drive.

About accommodation, I would suggest using booking.com to find hotels. The advantage is that you usually don't have to pay in advance and can cancel for free up to one day beforehand.

Yes ... we've used booking.com for lots of years, and never prepay ... and it's a good website and keeps nice records. We also use Airbnb, plus nearly always stay in HI/YHA hostels where available (although both these take a fee if you amend or cancel).

We tend to go for a long-term average of 150 km per day every day.

Just my personal opinion, but I appreciated Portugal much more than Madrid and southern Spain. Porto, The Douro, Sintra, and Lisboa were my highlights. I didnt care for The Algarve at all.