I think we are tentatively leaving Lisbon on Monday, October 21 after 2 days there. I think we probably want 7-8 days for Madrid and Barcelona, so that leaves us 4-5 days for a tour of Costa Del Sol.
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| Marbella, Spain |
We can fly one-way from Lisbon to Madrid for $40-$60 each on either Easy Jet or Iberia. Several options on the 21st.
It's $294 to fly direct from Lisbon to Seville. I have seen cheaper fares, but am not today. Either they're gone, or they come and go.
These rates are from http://www.autoeurope.com/
We can pick up a car in Lisbon on 10/21 and return in Madrid on Saturday 10/26 for $380 w/o insurance and $450 w/insurance. Unlimited kilometers, but we have to pay for gas.
It's telling me it's $400/$505 for the dates, round trip rental through Madrid and $430/$708 in Seville. Something doesn't seem right.
It's a 4 hour drive from Lisbon to Seville.
It's a 1 hour drive from Seville to Lisbon. It's the same on the train. $16 each way.
It's a 1.5 hour drive from Seville to Cordoba. It's the same on the train for $20 each way. Can catch a high speed for $30, gets you there in 45 minutes.
It's a 2.5 hour drive from Seville to Granada. 3 hours on the train; $40 each way.
It's a 2.5 hour drive from Seville to Marabella. You have to drive south to the coast, thru Gibraltar, then back up the coast to Marabella, which could be a cool drive. Looks like you can't get there by train. Have to take the bus from Malaga.
I'm not sure where else we might want to go. So, there's some options. We can decide if we want to do day trips from Seville, or hop to a few different cities.
Oh, it's a 5 hour drive from Seville to Madrid. It's 2.5 hours and $110 on the train.
Of course those train prices will go down if we do a travel pass.
I'm really not sure what is best. Obviously flying to Madrid is cheap and fast. However, to me, sometimes the journey is as much fun as the destination. Driving along the Costa Del Sol could be kinda cool.
Yeah, that rate above wasn't including the one-way fee. It will be closer to $1,000 to pick up a car in Lisbon and drop off in Seville.
ReplyDeleteWe could fly Lisbon to Malaga for $114, but currently, our only direct flight options are Sunday Oct. 20 or Wed. Oct. 23. Something to keep in mind in case something opens on Monday or Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteI talked with my contact in Spain this AM and she suggested Caceres, Salamanca, and Santiago. Santiago is north so not an option, but the other two are doable and have their perks.
ReplyDeleteWe are supposed to be narrowing down places to go, not adding to....
ReplyDeleteI know I know, but those sounded like something that we would be interested in.
ReplyDeleteWe basically have 14 days. Oct. 19-31, November 1 and 2. Oct. 18 and Nov. 3 are travel days.
ReplyDeleteWe have 2 days in Lisbon. We probably want 3 days in Madrid and 3 days in Barcelona. Plus a day trip from each, so let's call it 7-8 days between those two.
That leaves 4, maybe 5 days to see the rest of Spain. We probably want 2 days in Seville (seems like there's a lot to do, or maybe a short trip to Jerez), so that leaves 2-3 days for other cities.
I kind of liked going to obscure places like Bergen and Bratislava. No one had been there so no one had an opinion. Everyone has been to Spain. Ask 100 people about their favorite part of Spain and get 100 different answers. We can't do it all.
I imagine where ever we go will be fun. I can't stress about picking the perfect place. If you think something sounds good, let me know why it sounds good. What is there to do there? Why do we want to go there? How are we getting there?
Quick research says both seem kinda cool. To do either would likely preclude us from seeing something in southern Spain.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm not sure the best way to get there. There are trains from Madrid, but it involves some back-tracking.
I've read they're both on the train line from Lisbon to Madrid, but can't seem to find a train from Lisbon to there.
Kinda of thinking we should have flown round trip to Madrid and rented a car....but too late for that now.
Looks like that overnight train from Lisbon to Madrid stops at Salmananca. So that's an option.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, still can't find decent flights from Lisbon to Seville or Malaga.
There's an exorbitant international drop off fee to pick up in Lisbon, drop off anywhere in Spain.
Looks like we are flying to Madrid and figuring it out from there, which is my least favorite option, but I guess it is what it is.