Hi
We are a couple with a 3-year old looking to spend roughly 2.5 weeks in Portugal before finishing our trip in Andalucia in Spain. We would like to spend 4-5 nights in 3-4 cities in Portugal, starting in Lisbon and surrounds, then Porto. After that we would like to travel south before crossing the border to Spain. A few questions:
We like small to medium size cities, countryside and mountains, and we try to avoid mega crowds when possible.
I can identify with that because those are my preferences too. I'm not going to persuade you to go to one region of Spain over another. There are so many regions of Spain where you'd find all of those things. However, I live in inland Andalucia so it's the region that I know best, and I can tell you hand-on-heart that you'll find plenty of those kinds of things here.
There are loads of…
There are several good surfing spots in Peru, especially in the north. Máncora might be good for you if you like to be in a touristic town but I prefer Los Órganos to Máncora because the beach is much less crowded and so are the waves. The town itself has a plaza de armas which Máncora doesn't. That means that at night you can have a drink at one of the shop terraces without being annoyed by the noise of trucks and buses passing only a few meters from the Máncora bars & restaurants. Los Órganos…
Hello all,
Been pouring over this forum for a few hours and you seem like a lovely bunch. I am traveling solo to Andalucía May 10-20 of this year. I am certain I want to visit Seville and Granada, but would like to add a 3rd place and cannot decide what it should be. I am torn between a few days on the beach or a few days in Ronda and would love to hear your opinions.
My initial thoughts:
1) I love beaches. All beaches, not just picture-perfect-white-sand beaches (though those are great too)…
I agree on Lisbon. I¡'ve been there a couple of times and enjoy the city and there are some nice excursions to make, such as to Sintra.
There is no direct train from Madrid to Porto and I second the idea of flying directly to Porto, go from there to Lisbon and then to Madrid. I think you save some time traveling. Why do you want to go to Lagos or its surroundings? I fear there is not much to do in April and would skip it. Go from Madrid directly by AVE, the spanish high-speed train, to Sevilla…
We live in a mountain village in the Sierra de Grazalema (near Ronda, Andalucía) and the area all around is superb for day hikes. In my view it would be worth spending 3 - 4 days here, making a contrast with the big cities.
In winter the weather is unpredictable. We have both been hiking in the mountains around here during the Christmas period for the past three years wearing just a short-sleeved top and lightweight trousers, with a sweater packed just in case it turned chilly. The first year…
Sounds like you know what you want! Thats great. A lot of people come on here with no idea of what they want to see or where they want to go. You should be able to get some very useful advice :-)
I think 5 days in Barcelona is a fantastic amount of time. You will LOVE it. Great city to explore on foot, and if you base yourself somewhere near Las Ramblas, you will be close to many of the attractions. I think it would be worth your while checking out an apartment for your stay. I have recently…
Mairead
I haven't done any serious point-to-point hikes of the GR type so I don't think I can help you after all. My experience is limited to day hikes from a central point. However the GR7 that Ms Rug provided the link for goes through some wonderful Andalucian landscapes, especially her two recommendations, Grazalema and Alcornocales, which I know fairly well.
The Spanish equivalents of the British Ordnance Survey maps are absolutely useless for hiking; don't waste your money on buying them…
Thank you all for your quick responses
Dave - I will check the option of hiring a car, although I saw that train times are faster than driving. For instance Madrid Seville is 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 hours by train while by car it is between 5 1/2 to 6 hours. I also do not know how parking conditions and costs are in the Andalucia city centers. Perhaps we could travel to Cordoba by train and rent a car there.
From all your responses , I see that We will need to rework our itenerary, though to be honest…
Hi Willem,
I don't know the area (my favorite part of the Pyrenees and allied mountains is the French side) but
there is a site which has the routes listed and photos and from your list of what you want, I don't think
Sierra de Gredos is it...somewhat bleak, definitely not for bicycles and enough up and down if you put
milk in a bag it would be cheese at the end of the hike...
Here's the site so you can see what I'm talking about
http://www.hikingiberia.com/en/sierra-gredos/
However, there is a great…