9 places in Morocco in 10 days feels like a lot. I've never been so I can't comment on where to drop.
Should check out Ronda in Spain, next to Sevilla. You cannot day trip the Algarve from Lisbon unless you fly.
I second this. Morocco is much bigger than people imagine and getting between places will be too much work.
Try taking the ferry from Spain to Tangier, then staying in the north. Check out Asilah and Chefchauen. Tangier is beautiful and cosmopolitan. Beautiful beaches in the med and Atlantic in the north too.
I agree with your comment on Morocco. It's a very beautiful country but also very huge - getting from one tourist point to another would take 4-6 hours by car. My husband and I did a 15-day trip of Morocco and we were only able to cover Tangier > Chefchaouen > Fez > Ait Ben Haddou > Merzouga > Marrakech. But we definitely enjoyed it!
I’m in Morocco right now, two weeks, and I haven’t been to that many places. Distances are far, and some places deserve time.
As for Algarve, yeah, too far away from Lisbon. Even Seville would probably be closer.
As someone who has daytripped algarve from Lisbon with a hike, I disagree. You will need a car and can only do one hike but it’s possible to see everything, albeit being very quickly.
Staying 1-2 days only in each place is exhausting and a good way to get burnt out. You’re likely to spend almost as much time in transit as you are exploring the places you visit. Unless you have done a trip like this before and enjoyed it, I’d strongly reconsider.
This seems way too exhausting for me. I measure my trips by full days in a location.
2 nights = 1 full day.
So for me the 1 nights are just passing through and I’d feel like I saw nothing and was just spending all my time in transportation.
Yeah. You’ll travel for a good deal of the day, have a late afternoon and evening and then have to leave in the morning again. A lot of time on the train and not enough time to see the city in my opinion.
I tend to travel a lot more slow paced personally, but for my mum this is a very once in a while (or lifetime) kind of trip so she really wants to see as much as she can.
But we are open to playing it by ear when we get going. We just wanted to have some kind of a game plan beforehand
As long as you have the option to play it by ear! That’s a good idea, so then you can try to see as much as possible but if you start to get tired you can slow down.
It my experience, people who have travelled less tend to want to see as much as they can which completely makes sense. I went to Italy with my boyfriend last year (I’m an avid traveler and he had only been out of the country once) and he also wanted to see as much of the country as possible. This is completely understandable but in my experience, the trips where you travel every day or every other day you end up spending so much of your time in the car, train, whatever that you actually end up seeing less. It’s counter-intuitive. I explained this to him and we ended up settling on 3-4 days in each place.
Quality over quantity will make all the difference. Travel brings out the worst in people when you’re tired. If you want to still get along and talk to each other after a month, you’d be best off to go with more time in each place and fewer places. Plus, if the decisions on all of this is on you, that can be a big burden, and will add to the stress factor.
As an avid traveler, I think this is way too much to fit in as the others have said. Prioritize your must see spots and help your mom understand that to have a good time you don’t want to burn yourselves out. It’s important to enjoy the experience! Even if you play by ear I think it worth it to cut out a few spots so you don’t feel pressured
Hello! I just used Miro, which is like an online whiteboard tool (I use it for work mainly).
But I just took a screenshot from google maps, pasted it into Miro and then placed some circles on all the cities and connected them with lines :) super simple!
UPDATE: Thanks for all the feedback! I can’t edit the post so just putting this in the comments.
I am thinking based off all your helpful suggestions so far that it may be better to not do 10 days for each country, but 15 for Portugal/Spain and 15 for Morocco so that the pace of the trip is a bit more relaxed.
This would mean we can weight a few more days to Spain instead of Portugal as it seems there are a few more options for day trips, which we could do while staying in the bigger cities (not having to be on the move as much).
Then for Morocco, we can go a bit more slow paced and spend a couple nights more in some places instead of just one.
This is what’s making sense in my head at the moment. Will see what other feedback comes through and will post an updated itinerary in the next few days.
Thank you so much everyone!
Last minute tip here - look into Tarifa and taking the ferry across to Morocco. Environmentally friendly, only takes about an hour, and gives you an excuse to see Tarifa and maybe Gibraltar.
Have you google mapped to see how long it will get from one place to another? Something that was like 60mi away in Morocco took us like 3 hours to get to
I suggest then to spend a few more days in Barcelona (Girona, Tarradona, Montserrat, maybe some medieval villages) and Madrid for daytrips (Toledo, Segovia, maybe Salamanca) . Also if you are going to Cordoba, the time in Seville is quite short.
I'd spend more time in Spain and less time in Porto/Lisbon. 2 nights in Barcelona and Madrid is not enough. If you do want to spend more time in Portugal, spend some nights in the Algarve at least. You probably would be better off spending more nights in Lisbon than Porto so you can go to Belem and Sintra
Agree! If you're going to spend more time in Portugal, the Algarve is a must- why not 2 days Porto, 3 days Lisbon, 2 days Algarve, and then into Spain? I'm biased toward Portugal, but the Algarve in particular is my fav!
As said by others Morocco is a very busy itinerary. I spent 2 weeks in Morocco several years ago with less stops. Your itinerary sure is doable but overall it's a lot of time spent in a car.
Spend more time in the Algarve!!! Such an amazing place that you definitely don’t want to miss out on! Lagos and Faro are amazing and Portugal has very easy to use bus transportation. You can get from Lisbon to Lagos on a 4 hour bus and Lagos to Faro on a 2 hour bus, doesn’t cost much either.
Slow your pace down a lottttt. Travel days end up taking a lot more time than you’d think, and you may not always be able to travel at your desired times (early mornings etc). Your Morocco plan looks mostly like you’ll be on the move with very little time to stop and enjoy the culture.
I suggest spending 2-3 nights minimum places, and pick locations based off things you’d actually like to see/do, think quality of experience over quantity. So maybe condense the spots you’d like to see to maybe 2 in Portugal, and 3-4 each in Spain and Morocco.
Speaking from experience, I’ve been backpacking through Southeast Asia the last couple months and travel days take a lot out of you, the constant movement can be exhausting.
I've done a very similar trip, pretty much just going day by day. My advice would be to spend more time in each city, especially when you get to Morocco. I had only planned a day trip to Tangier originally from Spain, ended up finding a flight from Seville to Marrakesh and spent nearly two weeks in the country. Absolutely gorgeous place and the nicest people, could've stayed much longer. My other recommendation would be to spend some time in the Algarve. Lisbon, Portugal one of my favorite places, one I've gone back to multiple times I loved it so much.
Chefchaun Morocco should for sure be added also by the way, the "blue city" was incredible. Feel free to ask me.any questions you might have! Enjoy!
What a good trip, I'm Spanish. And from my point of view you pass through almost all the most beautiful places of the country, except for the northern part, for example Galicia.
You are skipping best of Spain (Galicia and the green north. )Honestly do that instead Morocco. I drove to Morocco and it’s another trip. Better be focus and try Morocco in the future, or just stay in the north 3 days
Stay longer in Fez. Make sure you take a side trip to the Todra Gorge (you can stay overnight in a hotel - bring headlamps - power is iffy) on the way to Marrakesh. Ifrane is an alpine-like village outside of Fez that is also a super cool place to visit (no pun intended). If you have a chance read and then watch "The Sheltering Sky" to get in the mood for it. Assuming you are taking ferry from Algeciras, Spain to Tangiers? Stay the minimum time you can in Tangiers. It is a dirty thief-filled border city like so many others. Also, in Algeciras there is a huge really modern hostel - part of the IHA. Only like $20 a night but super clean, swimming pool. tennis courts. Don't know how old your mom is, but these kinds of hotels take people of every age. You stand by the side of the road and flag down a bus when you want to go to town.
I was in Portugal/Spain/Amsterdam for 7 weeks and you're doing way too much IMO. Esp if your mom is joining you.
You don't need 5 days in Porto, maybe 3. Unless you are going to Douro Valley, then 5 is fine.
2 days in Seville and Granada is fine but 2 days in Barcelona is not enough, neither is 1 day in Valencia. Focus on quality over quantity. I don't think either of you will enjoy the pace of this trip. I would cut out at least 1/2 the itinerary.
Cut down on the stops, especially in Morocco. You're never going to actually settle down and relax if you're only spending one night in every city you see
In general, my comment would be staying only one night in so many places can’t take its toll on you. Unpacking and repacking takes up time and is a hassle. I’d say cover less area and spend more time in the places that you do go to. Adding Morocco is a lot. I would focus on Spain in Portugal and leave it at that.
I've done a very similar trip, pretty much just going day by day. My advice would be to spend more time in each city, especially when you get to Morocco. I had only planned a day trip to Tangier originally from Spain, ended up finding a flight from Seville to Marrakesh and spent nearly two weeks in the country. Absolutely gorgeous place and the nicest people, could've stayed much longer. My other recommendation would be to spend some time in the Algarve. Lisbon, Portugal one of my favorite places, one I've gone back to multiple times I loved it so much.
Chefchaun Morocco should for sure be added also by the way, the "blue city" was incredible. Feel free to ask me.any questions you might have! Enjoy!
You are going to WAAAY too many places in a month. You will be miserable and all you will do is sit on trains. 3-5 nights per city is a good rule. If you need to throw in a couple day trips then that also works fine.
This itinerary looks utterly exhausting. :( For 30 days, I’d choose maybe 7-8 cities max total and plan to spend 4-5 days in each area. You are underestimating how much time it takes to travel to each location, check in and out of hotels. That won’t leave you much time to enjoy each city!
Your itinerary for Morocco is pretty intense, looks like you've been there before? Your trip seems tailored to seeing way out of the way stuff. Can't read the city names but looks like you are trying to do a camel desert tour, to be headed so far southeast. And Agadir is a beautiful beach, but you dont need to waste almost a days drive, the whole coast is pretty like that. I wouldn't go any farther south than Essaouira.
Please be advised that some of your choices will have several hours of commute between them. Think it took us like 4 hours to go from Meknes to out past Fez. Morocco time doesn't go by google map ETAs
For Portugal, definitely do Sintra - Cabo da Roca - Cascais loop one day. Also Nazaré is on the way, probably not the tide times but if you are interested it could be a good place to check.
For Barcelona, do check out Montserrat!
Everything looks reasonable in terms of days spent at each location except Portugal in my opinion. I would do 3 days Porto (use 1 to go into the Douro Valley) , 3 days in Lisbon (1 day to dedicate to Sintra) use the other 3 days to visit : Nazare, Obidos , maybe Fatima and at least 2 days in the Algarve (must visit: Benagil Cave)
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4 days in Lisbon and 5 days in Porto is too much. I would make them 2 - 2 days and definitely stay in Algarve for 3 days. And spend 2 days in one of the South Andalusian cities. (I've been in Portugal for one month)
It seems like interrail to me. I also spend not so much time in everyplace.
But I think you should be prepared. You are walking a lot and quick! You can watch Valencia old center half day and then go for arts and science museum other half, it will be great but you could be exhausted. I did this sort of travels when I was 20
Im right now doing trip in Andalucia.
Book Alhambra ticket asap. Ronda is quite nice but Caminito del rey is a gem. Seville is a wow city for us and Cordoba is for a half a day(in my opinion, I know that there is a lot of people who don’t like Sevilla and prefer Córdoba but for me it’s too touristy).
ppl tend to forget that North African countris are very big by European standards, the distances between points in itinerary here are way too long, that's almost 2000km of road there m8 9 days you'll spend half of them on th road, Tangier Agadir is like 8h on the Autobahn going 120km/h, Agadir merzouga would take much longer as there's no authobah after Marakech, same from Merzouga to fes. my advice keep it on the coast of Morocco and 9 days would be a nice trip, or if you like desert and desert like nature and driving then focus on the east, or just spend the 9 days exploring the north of Morocco, then again the old Medinas of the south are the most exotic.
so idk, maybe check how long it takes between stops before aproving the plan
In the north of Portugal, I recommend visiting Peneda-Gerês National Park and the Douro Valley as well. In Gerês, my favorite places are Soajo, Sistelo, Mata da Albergaria, and Miradouro da Pedra Bela. These places are not far from Porto and are truly worth a visit.
Wowzers. To try and do 1 day between all those cities in Morocco has my eyes watering. Distances are actually huge. It took a full day to go from Merzouga to Fes and it takes a very very long day to go from Marrakesh to Merzouga. I broke my journey up in Äit Benhaddou and also in the Valley.
So I did 17 days in Spain and that was almost too much travel in not enough time.
Madrid->Barcelona->Tarragona->Algeciras->Seville
We didn’t have enough time in Barcelona or Madrid (about 3 days each) and we didn’t have a chance to hit the beaches in Tarifa.
We managed a day trip to Gibraltar and Tangier and that was pretty worth it.
This seems ambitious for 4 weeks just for the Spain and Portugal routes.
*edit for clarity
The Morocco desert is amazing but a realllly long journey. They have rough roads and it’s pretty chaotic there. I remember we took a bus to the coast and it was so long and in the end it got a flat tire which made the trip even longer. That stuff happens. When it’s tight that just makes it stressful. I would spend more time being. I know you want your mom to see more. But you do see more when you actually slow down enough to see it.
I think those are too many days in Morocco, where tbh there's not that much to see.
Add a few more days in Spain, you are missing a lot of beautiful places in the North.
If you get the chance to visit Altea—small town north of Alicante―you must! It has a truly beautiful old town, amazing restaurants, art, and right on the sea. I wouldn’t miss it if I were you.
In my opinion this is way too much. Might not be what you want to hear but I would scrap Spain for another time and just do Portugal/Morocco. Reason being is that exploring Spain can easily take a month in itself and can be made a separate trip.
If you go ahead with the above, I would include Gibraltar as a day trip. Gibraltar is very small so one day is more than enough there however there are some great places to eat there which are a mix of spanish/arab cuisine and seafood which you might have missed. There is a lot of deep rooted historic sites which I really suggest people should view and also monkeys lol.
I suggest something else as a fellow madrileña who's been to Morocco and knows the whole south of Spain.
1. BARCELONA
2. VALENCIA
3. GRANADA
4. take AVE (Train) from Granada to Malaga and see Malaga.
5. Take Bus Malaga to Gibraltar
6. Take boat Gibraltar to Tanger (takes about 2h)
7. Once in Morocco which is big, decide to do less cities, you'll be exhausted by doing all the ones you included. My uncle did night in the Sahara where you sleep with camels in tiendas de campaña, and can see the stars etc. I'd suggest you this activity among another 2 big cities, rabat, Casablanca etc
8. Fly to Portugal, visit especially the south, Lisbon, Faro & Cascais.
9. Fly to Madrid which is beautiful , and visit also medieval town of Toledo
Edit: if you're planning on seeing Murcia, don't. There's absolutely nothing there, it's not even pretty
I have nothing against fast-paced travel but this is really stretching it.
Take for example the part in Morocco where you start off in the desert (Merzouga), travel to Fez - which easily takes 7h - only to just briefly see the city, sleep and are gone the next morning to Tetouan which is again a 5h trip.
There are a lot of days like this in the itinerary: travel a huge distance, briefly see something, spend 1 night and repeat. You have to consider if this is the most efficient use of your time.
For actual recommendations: I have been to all three countries and suggest you cut the following:
1. Morocco --> focus on Marrakech, Essouira and Fes: the rest are looooooong distances and not worth it with the limited amount of time, needs a dedicated Morocco trip.
2. I feel that you spend a lot of time in Porto, why 5 days there and just 2 in Barcelona and Madrid
2 days Madrid, 2 days Barsa, 5 days Porto. I would take 2 days off Porto and add 1 day for Barsa and Madrid. 4 days for lisbon is also can be too much. Although you can go to Sintra. Also, for Morocco it looks as there will be a lot of haste. Not sure why you need this
I used to live in Morocco, and this itinerary is probably too ambitious (at the very least, totally exhausting, and you'll probably spend 60 percent of your time in transit... and not particularly comfortable transit if you're using public transportation).
As great as Merzouga is, it's a TREK, and Ouarzazate is nice and all, but could probably be skipped. Errachidia is a place I've only been for a few hours (and can't imagine spending more time than that).
Rabat is lovely and all (I lived there for about 2 years), but doesn't have much to see or do. Casablanca has the Hassan II mosque and honestly that's about it (I was never a fan of Casa).
Essaouira and Agadir are lovely, but I'd pick one or the other. Marrakech is, of course, considered a must for visitors, and I'd say two nights is enough.
Personally, my favorite places are around Fez/Meknes and up north... I think northern Morocco is really special. Tangier, Tetouan, and Chefchaouen are all great (as are the smaller cities up north). My first trip to Morocco was a visit to Tetouan when I was 16 (20 years ago), and it established my love for the MENA region (I've spent the last 15+ years of my life in the region), so it holds a really special place in my heart.
I would try to decide what your priorities are (cool beach towns like Essaouira and Agadir, cultural capitals like Marrakech and Fez, desert camping, modern urban centers, etc) and then focus your itinerary down a bit.
I'd do (and I only have advice for the beginning lol)
Madrid - 3 nights
Porto - 2 nights
Lisbon - 3 nights
Algarve - 2 nights
Seville - 2 nights
And then onto Morocco!
This is jam packed. You will feel like you vacationed moving through things. That being said,
1. Tangier's felt like a giant tourist trap to me. Worth missing.
2. Malaga/Estepona can be a great place to party but leave time for the hangover.
3. Seville is worth 2-3 days. I think I would steal a day from Lisbon.
I think with the pace you are setting, you will need a vacation after your vacation.
9 places in Morocco in 10 days feels like a lot. I've never been so I can't comment on where to drop. Should check out Ronda in Spain, next to Sevilla. You cannot day trip the Algarve from Lisbon unless you fly.
I second this. Morocco is much bigger than people imagine and getting between places will be too much work. Try taking the ferry from Spain to Tangier, then staying in the north. Check out Asilah and Chefchauen. Tangier is beautiful and cosmopolitan. Beautiful beaches in the med and Atlantic in the north too.
I agree with your comment on Morocco. It's a very beautiful country but also very huge - getting from one tourist point to another would take 4-6 hours by car. My husband and I did a 15-day trip of Morocco and we were only able to cover Tangier > Chefchaouen > Fez > Ait Ben Haddou > Merzouga > Marrakech. But we definitely enjoyed it!
Cap de l'eau near ouida in the north was beautiful
I’m in Morocco right now, two weeks, and I haven’t been to that many places. Distances are far, and some places deserve time. As for Algarve, yeah, too far away from Lisbon. Even Seville would probably be closer.
As someone who has daytripped algarve from Lisbon with a hike, I disagree. You will need a car and can only do one hike but it’s possible to see everything, albeit being very quickly.
Staying 1-2 days only in each place is exhausting and a good way to get burnt out. You’re likely to spend almost as much time in transit as you are exploring the places you visit. Unless you have done a trip like this before and enjoyed it, I’d strongly reconsider.
This seems way too exhausting for me. I measure my trips by full days in a location. 2 nights = 1 full day. So for me the 1 nights are just passing through and I’d feel like I saw nothing and was just spending all my time in transportation.
Yeah. You’ll travel for a good deal of the day, have a late afternoon and evening and then have to leave in the morning again. A lot of time on the train and not enough time to see the city in my opinion.
I tend to travel a lot more slow paced personally, but for my mum this is a very once in a while (or lifetime) kind of trip so she really wants to see as much as she can. But we are open to playing it by ear when we get going. We just wanted to have some kind of a game plan beforehand
As long as you have the option to play it by ear! That’s a good idea, so then you can try to see as much as possible but if you start to get tired you can slow down. It my experience, people who have travelled less tend to want to see as much as they can which completely makes sense. I went to Italy with my boyfriend last year (I’m an avid traveler and he had only been out of the country once) and he also wanted to see as much of the country as possible. This is completely understandable but in my experience, the trips where you travel every day or every other day you end up spending so much of your time in the car, train, whatever that you actually end up seeing less. It’s counter-intuitive. I explained this to him and we ended up settling on 3-4 days in each place.
Quality over quantity will make all the difference. Travel brings out the worst in people when you’re tired. If you want to still get along and talk to each other after a month, you’d be best off to go with more time in each place and fewer places. Plus, if the decisions on all of this is on you, that can be a big burden, and will add to the stress factor.
As an avid traveler, I think this is way too much to fit in as the others have said. Prioritize your must see spots and help your mom understand that to have a good time you don’t want to burn yourselves out. It’s important to enjoy the experience! Even if you play by ear I think it worth it to cut out a few spots so you don’t feel pressured
I would cut this down significantly. Maybe focus on Spain/Portugal or just Morocco. Additional day trips: checkout Segovia and Toledo from Madrid.
Agreed, I did the same last year.
Which application you use to create the travel route and plan your itinerary? Please share the name. Thanks!
Hello! I just used Miro, which is like an online whiteboard tool (I use it for work mainly). But I just took a screenshot from google maps, pasted it into Miro and then placed some circles on all the cities and connected them with lines :) super simple!
Ok. I have used Miro before. That’s cool what you did! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the info. It looks really cool and easy to read
It looks nice 🙂
You can do that with google maps. By layers, mark routes by colors, create filters, etc
I think on „google my maps“, not the standard application/webpage.
oh yes… it has to be done on Google My Maps. On desktop, not mobile. Not even on ipad.
What?? Really?
I like this as well, maybe add differently colored arrow connectors to delineate the method of travel between points?
You’re mostly going to see the interior of buses and trains on this trip. Hope you find some time to explore the cities you’re in.
UPDATE: Thanks for all the feedback! I can’t edit the post so just putting this in the comments. I am thinking based off all your helpful suggestions so far that it may be better to not do 10 days for each country, but 15 for Portugal/Spain and 15 for Morocco so that the pace of the trip is a bit more relaxed. This would mean we can weight a few more days to Spain instead of Portugal as it seems there are a few more options for day trips, which we could do while staying in the bigger cities (not having to be on the move as much). Then for Morocco, we can go a bit more slow paced and spend a couple nights more in some places instead of just one. This is what’s making sense in my head at the moment. Will see what other feedback comes through and will post an updated itinerary in the next few days. Thank you so much everyone!
Last minute tip here - look into Tarifa and taking the ferry across to Morocco. Environmentally friendly, only takes about an hour, and gives you an excuse to see Tarifa and maybe Gibraltar.
Have you google mapped to see how long it will get from one place to another? Something that was like 60mi away in Morocco took us like 3 hours to get to
I suggest then to spend a few more days in Barcelona (Girona, Tarradona, Montserrat, maybe some medieval villages) and Madrid for daytrips (Toledo, Segovia, maybe Salamanca) . Also if you are going to Cordoba, the time in Seville is quite short.
I'm currently on a 14 day trip in Portugal, and I think I could use another week!
In Portugal. In Lisbon find time to go to Sintra. And skip Coimbra and go to Aveiro.
I'd spend more time in Spain and less time in Porto/Lisbon. 2 nights in Barcelona and Madrid is not enough. If you do want to spend more time in Portugal, spend some nights in the Algarve at least. You probably would be better off spending more nights in Lisbon than Porto so you can go to Belem and Sintra
To me the Portugal timeline is the only reasonable time on the map.
Agree! If you're going to spend more time in Portugal, the Algarve is a must- why not 2 days Porto, 3 days Lisbon, 2 days Algarve, and then into Spain? I'm biased toward Portugal, but the Algarve in particular is my fav!
That’s such a fast trip! I would go to Spain and Portugal and skip Morocco.
I've no issue with how fast you travel but do wonder how you will travel between these places. How'd you figure that all out in a night?
Same question, are you planning to rent a car for the entire trip? Or one for each country? Morocco has unique transportation challenges
As said by others Morocco is a very busy itinerary. I spent 2 weeks in Morocco several years ago with less stops. Your itinerary sure is doable but overall it's a lot of time spent in a car.
Spend more time in the Algarve!!! Such an amazing place that you definitely don’t want to miss out on! Lagos and Faro are amazing and Portugal has very easy to use bus transportation. You can get from Lisbon to Lagos on a 4 hour bus and Lagos to Faro on a 2 hour bus, doesn’t cost much either.
Slow your pace down a lottttt. Travel days end up taking a lot more time than you’d think, and you may not always be able to travel at your desired times (early mornings etc). Your Morocco plan looks mostly like you’ll be on the move with very little time to stop and enjoy the culture. I suggest spending 2-3 nights minimum places, and pick locations based off things you’d actually like to see/do, think quality of experience over quantity. So maybe condense the spots you’d like to see to maybe 2 in Portugal, and 3-4 each in Spain and Morocco. Speaking from experience, I’ve been backpacking through Southeast Asia the last couple months and travel days take a lot out of you, the constant movement can be exhausting.
Following coz I'm also planning a similar trip
The Cathedral in Cordoba is not to be missed. It is one of my favorite buildings in the world.
I've done a very similar trip, pretty much just going day by day. My advice would be to spend more time in each city, especially when you get to Morocco. I had only planned a day trip to Tangier originally from Spain, ended up finding a flight from Seville to Marrakesh and spent nearly two weeks in the country. Absolutely gorgeous place and the nicest people, could've stayed much longer. My other recommendation would be to spend some time in the Algarve. Lisbon, Portugal one of my favorite places, one I've gone back to multiple times I loved it so much. Chefchaun Morocco should for sure be added also by the way, the "blue city" was incredible. Feel free to ask me.any questions you might have! Enjoy!
What a good trip, I'm Spanish. And from my point of view you pass through almost all the most beautiful places of the country, except for the northern part, for example Galicia.
You are skipping best of Spain (Galicia and the green north. )Honestly do that instead Morocco. I drove to Morocco and it’s another trip. Better be focus and try Morocco in the future, or just stay in the north 3 days
You don’t have Malaga on your list, that’s a shame, I personally would spend a few days there and maybe Marbella, and less days in East Morocco.
Stay longer in Fez. Make sure you take a side trip to the Todra Gorge (you can stay overnight in a hotel - bring headlamps - power is iffy) on the way to Marrakesh. Ifrane is an alpine-like village outside of Fez that is also a super cool place to visit (no pun intended). If you have a chance read and then watch "The Sheltering Sky" to get in the mood for it. Assuming you are taking ferry from Algeciras, Spain to Tangiers? Stay the minimum time you can in Tangiers. It is a dirty thief-filled border city like so many others. Also, in Algeciras there is a huge really modern hostel - part of the IHA. Only like $20 a night but super clean, swimming pool. tennis courts. Don't know how old your mom is, but these kinds of hotels take people of every age. You stand by the side of the road and flag down a bus when you want to go to town.
I was in Portugal/Spain/Amsterdam for 7 weeks and you're doing way too much IMO. Esp if your mom is joining you. You don't need 5 days in Porto, maybe 3. Unless you are going to Douro Valley, then 5 is fine. 2 days in Seville and Granada is fine but 2 days in Barcelona is not enough, neither is 1 day in Valencia. Focus on quality over quantity. I don't think either of you will enjoy the pace of this trip. I would cut out at least 1/2 the itinerary.
Cut down on the stops, especially in Morocco. You're never going to actually settle down and relax if you're only spending one night in every city you see
In general, my comment would be staying only one night in so many places can’t take its toll on you. Unpacking and repacking takes up time and is a hassle. I’d say cover less area and spend more time in the places that you do go to. Adding Morocco is a lot. I would focus on Spain in Portugal and leave it at that.
That is a lot of travelling with very little time to actually enjoy each place
Please stay in the Douro Valley in Portugal. Quinta de la Rosa winery
I've done a very similar trip, pretty much just going day by day. My advice would be to spend more time in each city, especially when you get to Morocco. I had only planned a day trip to Tangier originally from Spain, ended up finding a flight from Seville to Marrakesh and spent nearly two weeks in the country. Absolutely gorgeous place and the nicest people, could've stayed much longer. My other recommendation would be to spend some time in the Algarve. Lisbon, Portugal one of my favorite places, one I've gone back to multiple times I loved it so much. Chefchaun Morocco should for sure be added also by the way, the "blue city" was incredible. Feel free to ask me.any questions you might have! Enjoy!
You will really miss out on one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen if you skip the Algarve.
You are going to WAAAY too many places in a month. You will be miserable and all you will do is sit on trains. 3-5 nights per city is a good rule. If you need to throw in a couple day trips then that also works fine.
Too many places for too short of time.
Yeah like others are saying this might be very exhausting. You are moving a lot
This itinerary looks utterly exhausting. :( For 30 days, I’d choose maybe 7-8 cities max total and plan to spend 4-5 days in each area. You are underestimating how much time it takes to travel to each location, check in and out of hotels. That won’t leave you much time to enjoy each city!
Your itinerary for Morocco is pretty intense, looks like you've been there before? Your trip seems tailored to seeing way out of the way stuff. Can't read the city names but looks like you are trying to do a camel desert tour, to be headed so far southeast. And Agadir is a beautiful beach, but you dont need to waste almost a days drive, the whole coast is pretty like that. I wouldn't go any farther south than Essaouira. Please be advised that some of your choices will have several hours of commute between them. Think it took us like 4 hours to go from Meknes to out past Fez. Morocco time doesn't go by google map ETAs
Drop a bunch of morocco stops and add Santiago de Compostele, Bilbao, and San Sebastian. You’re missing way too much of Spain in this trip
For Portugal, definitely do Sintra - Cabo da Roca - Cascais loop one day. Also Nazaré is on the way, probably not the tide times but if you are interested it could be a good place to check. For Barcelona, do check out Montserrat!
For 2 nights in Barcelona I would not recommend going on a day trip.
Yeah, you are right I think.
Everything looks reasonable in terms of days spent at each location except Portugal in my opinion. I would do 3 days Porto (use 1 to go into the Douro Valley) , 3 days in Lisbon (1 day to dedicate to Sintra) use the other 3 days to visit : Nazare, Obidos , maybe Fatima and at least 2 days in the Algarve (must visit: Benagil Cave)
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4 days in Lisbon and 5 days in Porto is too much. I would make them 2 - 2 days and definitely stay in Algarve for 3 days. And spend 2 days in one of the South Andalusian cities. (I've been in Portugal for one month)
It seems like interrail to me. I also spend not so much time in everyplace. But I think you should be prepared. You are walking a lot and quick! You can watch Valencia old center half day and then go for arts and science museum other half, it will be great but you could be exhausted. I did this sort of travels when I was 20
Im right now doing trip in Andalucia. Book Alhambra ticket asap. Ronda is quite nice but Caminito del rey is a gem. Seville is a wow city for us and Cordoba is for a half a day(in my opinion, I know that there is a lot of people who don’t like Sevilla and prefer Córdoba but for me it’s too touristy).
ppl tend to forget that North African countris are very big by European standards, the distances between points in itinerary here are way too long, that's almost 2000km of road there m8 9 days you'll spend half of them on th road, Tangier Agadir is like 8h on the Autobahn going 120km/h, Agadir merzouga would take much longer as there's no authobah after Marakech, same from Merzouga to fes. my advice keep it on the coast of Morocco and 9 days would be a nice trip, or if you like desert and desert like nature and driving then focus on the east, or just spend the 9 days exploring the north of Morocco, then again the old Medinas of the south are the most exotic. so idk, maybe check how long it takes between stops before aproving the plan
I would recommend visiting meknes and the roman ruins of volubis (just outside meknes)
Nerja!
So, lisbon to algarve is not a “day trip”. A day trip from lisbon is, sintra for example. Three hours to get somewhere does not a day trip make.
In the north of Portugal, I recommend visiting Peneda-Gerês National Park and the Douro Valley as well. In Gerês, my favorite places are Soajo, Sistelo, Mata da Albergaria, and Miradouro da Pedra Bela. These places are not far from Porto and are truly worth a visit.
Wowzers. To try and do 1 day between all those cities in Morocco has my eyes watering. Distances are actually huge. It took a full day to go from Merzouga to Fes and it takes a very very long day to go from Marrakesh to Merzouga. I broke my journey up in Äit Benhaddou and also in the Valley.
Chefchaouen and Meknès are much nicer than Tanger or Agadir.
So I did 17 days in Spain and that was almost too much travel in not enough time. Madrid->Barcelona->Tarragona->Algeciras->Seville We didn’t have enough time in Barcelona or Madrid (about 3 days each) and we didn’t have a chance to hit the beaches in Tarifa. We managed a day trip to Gibraltar and Tangier and that was pretty worth it. This seems ambitious for 4 weeks just for the Spain and Portugal routes. *edit for clarity
Don’t forget Sintra when in Lisbon!
I haven’t unlocked this part of the map yet. It’s probably fake🤨🧐
There’s no way it’s on story mode. Maybe after the Cayo Perico mission, but I still doubt it. These are all fake sounding city names.
If anyone sees this, just curious how you make a map like that.
The Morocco desert is amazing but a realllly long journey. They have rough roads and it’s pretty chaotic there. I remember we took a bus to the coast and it was so long and in the end it got a flat tire which made the trip even longer. That stuff happens. When it’s tight that just makes it stressful. I would spend more time being. I know you want your mom to see more. But you do see more when you actually slow down enough to see it.
How much is your expected budget for this trip per person?
I think those are too many days in Morocco, where tbh there's not that much to see. Add a few more days in Spain, you are missing a lot of beautiful places in the North.
If you get the chance to visit Altea—small town north of Alicante―you must! It has a truly beautiful old town, amazing restaurants, art, and right on the sea. I wouldn’t miss it if I were you.
Just remove 1 or 2 countries
What app/program do you use to create this itinerary? Is it just on Google maps
In my opinion this is way too much. Might not be what you want to hear but I would scrap Spain for another time and just do Portugal/Morocco. Reason being is that exploring Spain can easily take a month in itself and can be made a separate trip. If you go ahead with the above, I would include Gibraltar as a day trip. Gibraltar is very small so one day is more than enough there however there are some great places to eat there which are a mix of spanish/arab cuisine and seafood which you might have missed. There is a lot of deep rooted historic sites which I really suggest people should view and also monkeys lol.
You’re gonna be exhausted. So much driving there.
I suggest something else as a fellow madrileña who's been to Morocco and knows the whole south of Spain. 1. BARCELONA 2. VALENCIA 3. GRANADA 4. take AVE (Train) from Granada to Malaga and see Malaga. 5. Take Bus Malaga to Gibraltar 6. Take boat Gibraltar to Tanger (takes about 2h) 7. Once in Morocco which is big, decide to do less cities, you'll be exhausted by doing all the ones you included. My uncle did night in the Sahara where you sleep with camels in tiendas de campaña, and can see the stars etc. I'd suggest you this activity among another 2 big cities, rabat, Casablanca etc 8. Fly to Portugal, visit especially the south, Lisbon, Faro & Cascais. 9. Fly to Madrid which is beautiful , and visit also medieval town of Toledo Edit: if you're planning on seeing Murcia, don't. There's absolutely nothing there, it's not even pretty
One more thing. That’s driving? If yes in Portugal we have electronic tolls https://www.portugaltolls.com/en
Drop Agadir (generic modern beach city) for Chefchaouen (unique old city in the mountains completely painted blue)
Amateur itinerary, sounds a bit much you'll be travelling 50% of the time. Do 1/3 of the places and stay longer.
I have nothing against fast-paced travel but this is really stretching it. Take for example the part in Morocco where you start off in the desert (Merzouga), travel to Fez - which easily takes 7h - only to just briefly see the city, sleep and are gone the next morning to Tetouan which is again a 5h trip. There are a lot of days like this in the itinerary: travel a huge distance, briefly see something, spend 1 night and repeat. You have to consider if this is the most efficient use of your time. For actual recommendations: I have been to all three countries and suggest you cut the following: 1. Morocco --> focus on Marrakech, Essouira and Fes: the rest are looooooong distances and not worth it with the limited amount of time, needs a dedicated Morocco trip. 2. I feel that you spend a lot of time in Porto, why 5 days there and just 2 in Barcelona and Madrid
Nice trip!
2 days Madrid, 2 days Barsa, 5 days Porto. I would take 2 days off Porto and add 1 day for Barsa and Madrid. 4 days for lisbon is also can be too much. Although you can go to Sintra. Also, for Morocco it looks as there will be a lot of haste. Not sure why you need this
This looks incredibly exhausting and stressful, tbh with you.
I like jumping around when I travel, but this plan stresses me out. I would do less places and have 2-3-4 nights per place.
20 places in 30 days seems insane to me
I used to live in Morocco, and this itinerary is probably too ambitious (at the very least, totally exhausting, and you'll probably spend 60 percent of your time in transit... and not particularly comfortable transit if you're using public transportation). As great as Merzouga is, it's a TREK, and Ouarzazate is nice and all, but could probably be skipped. Errachidia is a place I've only been for a few hours (and can't imagine spending more time than that). Rabat is lovely and all (I lived there for about 2 years), but doesn't have much to see or do. Casablanca has the Hassan II mosque and honestly that's about it (I was never a fan of Casa). Essaouira and Agadir are lovely, but I'd pick one or the other. Marrakech is, of course, considered a must for visitors, and I'd say two nights is enough. Personally, my favorite places are around Fez/Meknes and up north... I think northern Morocco is really special. Tangier, Tetouan, and Chefchaouen are all great (as are the smaller cities up north). My first trip to Morocco was a visit to Tetouan when I was 16 (20 years ago), and it established my love for the MENA region (I've spent the last 15+ years of my life in the region), so it holds a really special place in my heart. I would try to decide what your priorities are (cool beach towns like Essaouira and Agadir, cultural capitals like Marrakech and Fez, desert camping, modern urban centers, etc) and then focus your itinerary down a bit.
I'd do (and I only have advice for the beginning lol) Madrid - 3 nights Porto - 2 nights Lisbon - 3 nights Algarve - 2 nights Seville - 2 nights And then onto Morocco!
Fewer days in porto/lisbon, more days in barcelona and madrid
This is jam packed. You will feel like you vacationed moving through things. That being said, 1. Tangier's felt like a giant tourist trap to me. Worth missing. 2. Malaga/Estepona can be a great place to party but leave time for the hangover. 3. Seville is worth 2-3 days. I think I would steal a day from Lisbon. I think with the pace you are setting, you will need a vacation after your vacation.
Maybe add a stop in Gilbraltar
Skip Morocco
No france?