Four city bases with a substantial cross-border travel day between Porto and Madrid.
Iberia · Published planning example
Open a day to read the plan and its spending notes.
Choose the airport journey for your room and leave time to settle in. Walk a short central stretch if you have energy, with dinner nearby. Save the larger attraction booking for tomorrow and check the Sintra product before choosing a timed palace entry.
€140.00 for one whole private room, €45.00 for meals, €8.00 for local travel and €10.00 for extras. Add the paid visits, excursions, intercity tickets and airport journeys you choose. These are allowances; replace them with your bookings.
Estimated day spending: €203.00
Group Alfama with the riverfront or choose Chiado and Carmo, allowing for the hills. A Carris/Metro day ticket can help if you expect several rides, but it is a different product from one including CP trains. Take a proper lunch break and avoid crossing the city for every short stop.
€140.00 for one whole private room, €45.00 for meals, €8.00 for local travel and €10.00 for extras. Add the paid visits, excursions, intercity tickets and airport journeys you choose. These are allowances; replace them with your bookings.
Estimated day spending: €203.00
Keep your bags and room in Lisbon. Take the urban train, then allow the separate monument approach. Choose Pena's specific ticket or Regaleira as the main visit, with enough time to eat in town. Return to Lisbon tonight before tomorrow's northbound move.
€140.00 for one whole private room, €45.00 for meals, €8.00 for local travel and €10.00 for extras. Add the paid visits, excursions, intercity tickets and airport journeys you choose. These are allowances; replace them with your bookings.
Estimated day spending: €203.00
Take the reserved mainline train and add the connection from Campanhã to your accommodation. Keep the arrival evening for a short walk and meal near the room. A booked tasting can wait until a full day when the travel connection cannot shorten it.
€125.00 for one whole private room, €42.00 for meals, €7.00 for local travel and €10.00 for extras. Add the paid visits, excursions, intercity tickets and airport journeys you choose. These are allowances; replace them with your bookings.
Estimated day spending: €184.00
Choose a walking route through the historic centre, then cross the bridge at the level you need. Book a cellar visit if it interests you, or choose Clérigos for a central paid stop. Leave room for the hills and a relaxed meal rather than filling both riverbanks with appointments.
€125.00 for one whole private room, €42.00 for meals, €7.00 for local travel and €10.00 for extras. Add the paid visits, excursions, intercity tickets and airport journeys you choose. These are allowances; replace them with your bookings.
Estimated day spending: €184.00
Choose the €24 Serralves general visit or €15 park-only option if you want time there, including the local journey. Otherwise, explore a neighbourhood and keep the day less structured. Prepare the airport or coach connection for tomorrow's longer move to Madrid.
€125.00 for one whole private room, €42.00 for meals, €7.00 for local travel and €10.00 for extras. Add the paid visits, excursions, intercity tickets and airport journeys you choose. These are allowances; replace them with your bookings.
Estimated day spending: €184.00
Compare a direct flight with the complete coach journey. A flight needs both airport transfers; a coach uses much more of the day. Spain is one hour ahead of Portugal. There is no simple direct Porto–Madrid train, so keep the arrival evening for settling in and eating near the room.
€150.00 for one whole private room, €48.00 for meals, €8.00 for local travel and €10.00 for extras. Add the paid visits, excursions, intercity tickets and airport journeys you choose. These are allowances; replace them with your bookings.
Estimated day spending: €216.00
Choose a paid Prado visit if you want several unhurried hours, or a smaller collection visit in the final two free hours. Temporary exhibitions have their own rules. Take a break before walking in Retiro, and treat rowing boats as an optional extra rather than part of free park access.
€150.00 for one whole private room, €48.00 for meals, €8.00 for local travel and €10.00 for extras. Add the paid visits, excursions, intercity tickets and airport journeys you choose. These are allowances; replace them with your bookings.
Estimated day spending: €216.00
Leave your main luggage in the Madrid room. Take the booked Atocha–Toledo train and allow for the uphill approach beyond Toledo station. Choose a main interior, have lunch and return to Madrid with time to prepare for tomorrow’s journey. This is a day trip, not another hotel move.
€150.00 for one whole private room, €48.00 for meals, €8.00 for local travel and €10.00 for extras. Add the paid visits, excursions, intercity tickets and airport journeys you choose. These are allowances; replace them with your bookings.
Estimated day spending: €216.00
Compare the full Madrid–Barcelona ticket, including luggage and flexibility, without relying on an old €15 promotional fare. Allow roughly 2½–3½ hours on the train plus local travel. Arrive at Sants, reach your room and keep the evening for a short walk nearby.
€175.00 for one whole private room, €52.00 for meals, €8.00 for local travel and €10.00 for extras. Add the paid visits, excursions, intercity tickets and airport journeys you choose. These are allowances; replace them with your bookings.
Estimated day spending: €245.00
Reserve the Sagrada Família ticket that matches your visit, checking tower access separately. After a break, walk part of Passeig de Gràcia for Casa Batlló and the neighbouring architecture. A paid house interior is another substantial visit, so choose it deliberately rather than entering every building on the route.
€175.00 for one whole private room, €52.00 for meals, €8.00 for local travel and €10.00 for extras. Add the paid visits, excursions, intercity tickets and airport journeys you choose. These are allowances; replace them with your bookings.
Estimated day spending: €245.00
Book ordinary visitor admission to Park Güell and allow for the slope before the entry time. The €18 ticket is separate from other Gaudí buildings. Spend the rest of the day on a shorter Gràcia walk and a meal, leaving the evening open instead of another cross-city booking.
€175.00 for one whole private room, €52.00 for meals, €8.00 for local travel and €10.00 for extras. Add the paid visits, excursions, intercity tickets and airport journeys you choose. These are allowances; replace them with your bookings.
Estimated day spending: €245.00
Choose the hill’s gardens, a museum or the castle, and check the transport and admission for that choice. The cable car is an extra product. Later, return towards the waterfront if you want a meal near the sea, reading the full menu price before ordering fish or shared dishes.
€175.00 for one whole private room, €52.00 for meals, €8.00 for local travel and €10.00 for extras. Add the paid visits, excursions, intercity tickets and airport journeys you choose. These are allowances; replace them with your bookings.
Estimated day spending: €245.00
Keep any beach walk short enough to collect bags and reach the airport with the airline’s required margin. Aerobús A1 and A2 serve different terminals. An airport metro ticket and a city multi-ride ticket are different products, so choose the route and ticket together.
No overnight stay; €52.00 for meals, €8.00 for local travel and €10.00 for extras. Add the paid visits, excursions, intercity tickets and airport journeys you choose. These are allowances; replace them with your bookings.
Estimated day spending: €70.00
The Portuguese section uses three nights in Lisbon and three in Porto. Sintra is a day trip returning to Lisbon; the next mainline move starts from the Lisbon room. Use the full Porto day for a chosen city visit before the longer move to Madrid.
Use the Lisbon guide, Porto guide and CP planner for the local arrivals and mainline connection. Keep palace tickets and the local Sintra transfer separate from the city-to-city fare.
Use three nights each in Lisbon, Porto and Madrid, followed by four in Barcelona. Compare a direct Porto–Madrid flight with the complete coach journey; there is no simple direct train. Toledo returns to the same Madrid room.
Choose the timed interior you most want, then place it on a full day with a comfortable approach. Museum admission, a tower, a mountain connection and an airport transfer may be separate products. Read the whole ticket before comparing totals, and leave moving-day evenings flexible.
Madrid · Barcelona. Use these guides for local arrivals, visitor choices and places to begin a day.
Choose three cities for a shorter trip and price the new connection before removing one. The transfer day cannot count as a full sightseeing day in both cities.
The day figures add up to €2,859.00 for one traveller before paid visits and extra journeys. A private-room line buys the whole room; divide only that part when sharing. These are chosen spending allowances, not available room offers or measured averages. Replace the stay amount with the full booking cost, including taxes and cleaning.
Add paid visits, excursions, intercity or inter-island tickets and airport journeys. The day notes separate accommodation, meals, local travel and small extras. The final day has no extra overnight allowance. The city budget cards are an alternative plan, so do not add them on top of this subtotal.
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How to get from one stop to the next. Journey times are approximate; use the ticket and timetable links to choose a departure for your travel date.
Train · About 3–3½ hours on the mainline train
Take the booked train from the Lisbon station on your ticket to Porto Campanhã. Add the local connection to your room. CP Promo allocation is limited, so use the actual dated quote rather than an old starting fare.
Compare this journeyFlight · About 1¼–1½ hours in the air
Compare the direct Porto–Madrid flight with its baggage terms and add both airport transfers and airline arrival time. Spain is one hour ahead. A direct coach is a much longer alternative; there is no simple direct passenger train.
Train · About 2½–3½ hours
Choose the complete high-speed fare to Barcelona Sants, including luggage and the flexibility you need. Read the Madrid departure station and follow the operator’s arrival instructions.
Compare this journeyChoose three cities for a shorter trip and price the new connection before removing one. The transfer day cannot count as a full sightseeing day in both cities.
Compare your room and daily spending choices in the cost calculator. Check each journey fare, including local transfers, and count tickets covered by a pass only once.
Change the days in each city, leave out stops, and update the estimate without changing the published itinerary.
