Portugal and Spain Road Trip Itinerary
Portugal and Spain road trip itinerary 3155 km in 15 days
Our vacation in Portugal and Spain was thoroughly exciting! Actually ‘good’ is a too small word to describe it. Portugal and Spain road trip itinerary, two countries in a row; 3155 km of driving, halting at all odd places, heritage sites, towns and cities! Besides the driving, we spent a lot of time walking along the historic streets of the cities.
Portugal and Spain Road Trip Itinerary
The night halts in our Spain road trip itinerary were at: Barcelona – Granada – Seville (2 nights) – Evora (Portugal) – Lisbon (3 nights) – Tomar – Braga – Salamanca (Spain) – Segovia – Madrid (2 nights) – Barcelona (2 nights).
The car was booked from Avis and luckily we faced no problems during our drive through entire stretch of 3155kms.
We selected hotels which had duplex rooms so that we could be together. It was little heavy on pocket but I had the peace of mind of having my daughters with me. Some of the rooms we stayed in had cute colorful fittings for children.
Good music for road trips is a must! Some stretches of drive was really lengthy and didn’t have much scenic view either. Vast stretches of plain land. Spring hadn’t set in yet so it was colorless. Music gave us good company then. And it was old Hindi Bollywood songs most of the time.
Road Trip Barcelona to Barcelona via 3155kms in 15 days
Halts in Road Trip through Spain and Portugal
The route of sightseeing in our Spain road trip itinerary was like this: Barcelona – Granada – Seville to Cordoba to Seville – Merida – Elvas – Evora – Lisbon – Sintra – Alcobaca – Batlaha – Tomar – Coimbra – Porto – Braga – Guimaraes – Salamanca – Avilia – Segovia – El Escorial – Segovia – Toledo – Madrid – Zaragoza – Barcelona (25 sites).
Walking Tour of Barcelona Spain – Day 1
Barcelona to Granada Road Trip – Day 2
Tour of Granada, then Road trip to Seville – Day 3
Read here: Granada Things to Do
Road trip Seville to Cordoba and back – Day 4
Road trip Seville to Merida to Elvas to Evora – Day 5
Read the above journey through southern Spain here –> Road Trip through Top Attractions of Southern Spain.
Road Trip Evora to Lisbon – Day 6
Self Guided Tour of Lisbon – Day 7
Day Trip from Lisbon – Day 8
Road Trip from Tomar to Braga – Day 9
Braga to Salamanca in Spain – Day 10
Night Halt at Salamanca Night 10
Road Trip from Salamanca to Segovia – Day 11
Segovia to Madrid Road trip – Day 12
Madrid Walking Tour – Day 13
Road Trip Madrid to Barcelona – Day 14
Last two Days in Barcelona – Day 15 and 16
This Spain road trip itinerary covered several UNESCO World Heritage sites scattered across Spain and Portugal. 23 of the above mentioned 25 sites ate UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Road trips are fun! The best part of the tour like any other tour was eating local cuisines through out the entire road trip Barcelona to Barcelona, via Portugal! It was not an elaborately planned trip. The booking of the car and the cities to halt were the fixed points in our itinerary. Some places to visit got added to list, while some got deleted. I enjoyed seeing the cities as much as the small off beat places. Cities like Madrid and Barcelona have lost their local flavor, while small towns though they are heritage sites have retained their local flavor very well.
Interaction with Locals
Exchanging pleasantries at the local shops during Spain road trip and learning few new words in their language are some of the memorable experiences. Did you know ‘pan’ in Spanish means ‘bread’! A smart restaurant owner in at Segovia uses the online google translator to understand his customers. Another restaurant owner in Barcelona learned to say ‘you are welcome’ in Hindi to reply to our “thank you”. He has written it down so that he can respond to a future Indian tourist at his place.
At some places my daughters opted for McDonald’s to my utter disappointment. Their argument was the McDonald eats in Europe tasted lot better than their products in India. I am glad they have given up eating McDonald stuffs in India after tasting their better version Spain and Portugal. (Makes me suspicious they have double standards.)
Travel Tips for Road Trip
- Most of these roads have toll booths. So be prepared to shell out money unless you are prepared with a card.
- There are plenty of fuelling stations with shops and restrooms along the road. You can stock yourself with water and food for the trip.
- Some long stretches tempt you to speed up. It is best you stick to speed limits mentioned in sign boards.
- This particular route is dotted with several historical sites. You can plan more elaborate stays in this route.
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I’ve never been to Barcelo, and I’ve heard alot of nice things about the place. Barcelo just seems so picturesque. Hope we could do a feature on this soon ? Thank you for sharing!
Tis is another of your trips that I would love to take myself.
Wow that is mindblowing!!
Yes Rachna, family trip.
Thanks a lot for the comments friends.
You are on a roll, Indrani. Traveling quite a bit. Would love to visit Spain. Family trip?
Wonderful images from an awesome trip! Sounds like you made the most of it – enjoying, relaxing, learning.
I think the last one is my favourite, I'm very envious of your travels – my great grandfather comes from barcelona 🙂
Sounds like a great trip!
Learning new language/words is fun… glad they use to translator and learn to invite in Hindi.
Beautiful photos… fabulous sunset/rise!
Such fun!! Want to know more… 🙂
And lovely captures!
If it is Europe it has to be awesome experience.You are really lucky and you even make us live your travels.
A great trip indeed, Indrani..I loved the last picture most… 🙂
That flower filled lamp post looks so smashing. So were teaching Hindi to people as well! Sounds like a too good holiday 😀
Love the pink flowered pic….. So sweet of the restaurant owner to learn to say welcome in Hindi!!
That's awesome holidays with incredible pics:)
I need such a beautiful dream trip! 🙂 Even Barcelona itself is a big dream 😀
ohhh – such pretty photos! I love living your travels with you Indrani.
Very lucky person. congrats.
You have shown us also the trip in detail.
Thanks….
I am sure good is too small a word to describe this vacation… When its Europe, pics do the talking..
The best part of the tour like any other tour was eating local cuisines! exactly . This is starting of your journey. We can expect more and beautiful pictures and write up . very nice starting with nice pictures. Indrani ji
nice orange sky!
That sounds like an awesome road trip!! Envious 😀
Nice post, Amazing clicks
That's a lovely sky shot.
Looks like a dream vacation Indrani. Flowers on the lamp post look lovely. 🙂
What a great trip, I'd love to do that someday!
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You have done the true justice to your Trip by posting such a nice Articles…. Very interesting!
You sure had a great trip! Lovely images!! Await the detailed travelogues now 🙂
Seems you had a lot of fun – 2 countries in a row, 25 sites and welcome in Hindi. Pics are good as usual. 🙂
Sounds like you had a great vacation. Loving the gorgeous flowers and that Sunset/Fence shot.
Love the flowers onthe lampost adn the glorious sunset
I have enjoyed your photos so much, Indrani!!! My family lived in Spain for several years and my youngest daughter was born there. It's one of my favorite places!! Thanks for the memories!!
Sounds like an awesome trip in a short time. Love the images. The sky shot is lovely. Have a happy weekend!
love the last two shots. thanks, indrani! glad you had a good trip!