Transportation in Spain/Portugal
My mother and I are planning a 14-day trip to Spain and Portugal in May of 2010. We are flying into Madrid. The cities we are tentatively planning on staying overnight in are Madrid, Lisbon, Seville, Granada, and Toledo. We are trying to decide whether to join up with a tour group, which does all the planning from hotel to sightseeing to transportation, or whether we should rent a car and travel from place to place on our own. We had thought about purchasing a rail pass, but I think toting our luggage on and off the train would be a real pain. Any suggestions or feedback would be appreciated. Also, if anyone has hotel suggestions, we would appreciate that as well.
Deborah
Salida 10/22/09
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You will find that most of us on this board are independent travelers and plan everything ourselves. We enjoy the freedom from the big bus tours and love planning almost every inch of our trips, or just get over there and see what happens.
If moving luggage yourself, walking, making hotel reservations, meeting locals, getting advice from strangers, riding trains, finding your own place to eat, and exploring Europe like a native completely frightens you, then by all means, turn everything (including your hard earned vacation money) over to a tour company who will do everything for you.
As for hotel suggestions, (and this is where the fun happens for independent travelers!) you should check Rick Steves' Spain and Portugal books for hotel advice, he has lots for the cities you are planning to visit.
And for general "how do I travel in Europe like a native?" help, read Rick Steves' Europe Through The Back Door. Click on "Books" at the top of this page to check them out.
And have fun!
Is this your first trip to Europe? Do you speak Spanish? While the places you are planning on going are big tourist areas you will still encounter times and places where they don't speak English. Particularly if this is your first visit to Europe, you might find a tour to be an easier introduction to international travel than doing it yourself. Or do a combo - take a shorter tour followed by some independent travel once you kind of have a feel for how it's done. Either way, the more reading you do in advance the more prepared you will be. "Europe Through the Back Door" is a great primer for European travel skills. Perhaps after you read it you'll have more of a sense of whether independent travel is for you.
Hi,
I agree with Steve that independent travel is the way to go. Pack light (under 20 lbs.), take a phrasebook, use the RS guidebooks for hotel, restaurant, train/bus advice, check these posts and ask questions. Advance planning is key and half the fun of the trip.
The last time my husband & I went to Spain, we spent 4 days in Barcelona, then he went hunting in South Africa and I got on the train and went thru Spain. I used RailEurope. Train travel in Spain is superb. I used Rick's Spain book for hotel recommendations and made reservations. I always pack light and had no problem with my luggage at any time. I highly recommend travelling independently. I do not want someone telling me when to get on the bus or train.
My trip was very enjoyable, I never felt insecure travelling alone, and my husband's safari was successful, too!
You should check out on this site RS tours- read the itinerary and see if this is the way you want to go.
There are many advantages to planning your own trip and certainly as the other posters have mentioned buy RS books on Spain and Portugal.
Deborah - I did nearly this same trip a few years ago and we rented a car. We actually flew from Madrid to Malaga and rented the car there - but we drove from there to Seville and Granada. Driving is actually really easy in Spain and there are not very many toll roads. It does get pretty stressful once you get into the towns though - so I would recommend that if you have high anxiety, you pass on the driving. I'm not sure how you like to travel but I think with tour groups you pay a lot, but get very little in freedom to see what you want to see. Spain has been my favorite place so far, so either way I hope you enjoy the trip!