martifamily

Hello and Thank you for your kind attention. As well as knowing you have our gratitude for your coaching and guidance.
We are a party of 4 rather fit seniors that desire to travel to Portugal and then onto Spain.
Our focus is late September or preferably circa mid-October…

We like to stay in Portugal 4 full days and then onto Spain, with a must stop in Barcelona for one couple, the other couple would like to see things like Alhambra, other Castles and cities either along the south and eastern coast of Spain and then up to Madrid…

We’d like to keep our sight seeing to 10 full days, travel by rail or automobile are considerations…. Boutique hotels.. with amenities like fitness and pools can be a consideration. And, when necessary staying on a property that may also be an attraction could be a consideration.
As, the oversimplified sketch of our planned journey above, is written by an inexperieinced hand, your ideas and coaching would be invaluable to rookies..

Thanking you in advance for any input, positive or negative, would prove invaluable to us.
Best Regards and our Gratitude for your courtesies,
Dan Marti

neckervd

4 days for Lisboa and srroundings and 5 days for either Catalunya or Andalucia?

ekscrunchy

Hello, Dan!!

My first tip is not to try to fit in Barcelona and Granada on a 10 day trip, that includes four days in Portugal. Your group might be advised to choose one or the other. Once that is done, we can come up with a good plan.

Would skipping Portugal be a possibility?? (That's what I would do; I do not prefer to spend less than three nights in each location--too much packing, repacking, wasting time to check in, transfers from place to place)..before you know it you've missed half a day changing hotels.

See if you can check "yes" or "no," for:

art museums
scenic drives
food
wine
historic sights in addition to castles and the Alhambra (forts, churches, synagogues, etc)

For hotels, please give a nightly budget per room for two persons.

The exterior of the castle in Segovia, an hour's train ride from Madrid, is THE quintessential castle; it was the inspiration for Disney.

martifamily

art museums - yes
scenic drives - probably as we tour
food - yes
wine - Probably
historic sights in addition to castles and the Alhambra (forts, churches, synagogues, etc) - yes

For hotels, please give a nightly budget per room for two persons. To be honest, I am not experienced enough to know what it takes these days USD? When we went to Paris 5 years ago, we stayed in town within walking distance to the tower, commuter buses and trains. The hotel was boutique, i.e. not a chain, comfortable, well staffed and maintained. One didn't get the feeling of budget rooms. Since we didn't stay in the hotel except to sleep and change clothes, I don't recall using a pool or fitness gear.. We are not wealthy, however, we can pay our way..

ekscrunchy

This is just a guess, since I've not been to Barcelona in about ten years.
But I'm thinking a really nice, upscale non-chain small hotel in that city would command a minimum of 225euro.

In Madrid I think you may find a very good place for 150euro and up, depending on your dates.

We spent more than that in Lisbon about 6 years ago, in a very well rated small hotel in a desirable location....I think it was at least $300US.

Granada would cost less; I took a quick peek at a hotel often recommended by an expert on Spain on this forum (Casa Morisca) and their rooms for two people begin around 140euro or so. But they have a special room with a wonderful view that is highly desirable and costs more than that.

All these are only guesses' I've been to Spain many times, but my requirements are slightly different than yours; surely others will have more precise details on prices.

martifamily

Wow, generous and impressive information... As you can see, our world travel is rather limited.. However, the folks on this site are simply so courteous and giving... we are truly grateful for the assistance or we'd be lost, flying blind and missing the highlites... Ha ha ha ... no to the currency converter ...

so happy with all the fine help,

The Marti Family

ekscrunchy

Hi, Martis!!

Now remember, take some notes while on your trip so you can come back and let us know how you fare!!

And when you are ready, we will offer some hotel and restaurant ideas.

One further question: How far can the least fit person in the group walk comfortably? Because that might help to determine the locations of hotels and places to eat..

martifamily

Marie and I are in our 70s and our Friends in their late 60's but you be hard pressed to find folks our age with our fitness.. this does include some replacement parts for each of us LOL.. unfortunately, we are not bionic.. Bionic parts move themselves, we still have to ambulate on our own.. Back on topic, we'd prefer to be closer to city centers or with access to sites and sounds.. And when in rural areas, pleasant accommodations and quality meals work best for us..

Thank you

FrEsDe

As winter resident of Andalucia, I accompany visiting friends to Alhambra every year. When I last visited in March this year, Nasrid Palace was packed like sardine can in mid-afternoon on weekday, at least a dozen tour groups inside at the same time with tour guides talking in multiple languages. You need to book Alhambra tix MONTHS in advance if you are only staying a couple of days there. Granada recently launched a Granada Card which guarantees entry to Alhambra.