Portugal or Southern Spain?

[nickelfish1]

Hubs just told me to decide and I'm not sure. Thinking northern Portugal or Southern Spain. Had been working on JFK-UK-GLA-KEF but nixed it bc it was too hard to use awards and fuel charges on BA are crazy. (It was only $860 to pay out right.) Neither of us have been to Portugal or Southern Spain and we'll have our two 16 yrs olds with us. (We'd even consider a day trip to Tangier.)We need things to do teens would enjoy...art museums are out but torture museums are in. They loved Slovenia, Croatia and Iceland if that helps. I'd love to use miles but I can't deal with BA's fuel charges. Time frame is late Aug and first week of Sept. 10-12 days. Any opinions from those who have been to either parts of these countries around those months?

Open to other suggestions too! Poland, Latvia...we absolutely aren't settled on Portugal and Spain.

 

[Haley]

No help on picking a destination, but if you are ever in L.A. I bet your kids would like the very creepy store: Necromance

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Necromance-Hollywood/220655601292728

Mine loved it.

 

[nickelfish1]

I just checked out their FB page. That place is awesome!!!

 

[Matt]

We loved Spain on our last trip, Father/Mother in law hated Spain and loved Portugal. I imagine based on that Portugal is pretty good, as is Spain. Hope that solves everything

 

[Barb]

We were in Budapest with our two young adult children for Thanksgiving Week 2014 and absolutely loved it. A beautiful grand old European city. One of the little known facts about Budapest is it the epicenter of escape games. There are over 100 escape rooms in Budapest. Basically, you are locked into a room or series of themed rooms and have to solve puzzles within a set period of time to get yourself out. Super super fun. And not easy either! We did three very different games with three different companies while we were there and it was amazing. I think your teens would love it. Gave us something to do at night and a bargain compared to similar games in the US at $10/$12/person.

Something we really enjoyed was the Schzenyi baths which are thermal baths set in and outside of a palatial building. Great cultural experience - lots of Hungarians there for medicinal reasons, old guys playing chess in the baths. There's even a (very) strong current in one of the baths that literally sweeps you off your feet. Our kids loved it.

Budapest is cheap on the ground. We rented a terrific centrally located apartment for $75/night. Food is great, wine is cheap. We also did a quick side trip on the high speed train to Vienna for 29Euro each return.

It was really cold at Thanksgiving and we still loved Budapest. I figure it even better in August/September!

 

[nickelfish1]

We loved Spain on our last trip, Father/Mother in law hated Spain and loved Portugal. I imagine based on that Portugal is pretty good, as is Spain. Hope that solves everything

What did they dislike? Too touristy, the food...?

 

[nickelfish1]

you are locked into a room or series of themed rooms and have to solve puzzles within a set period of time to get yourself out. Super

Funny you mention this! There are two in NYC that we were just talking about this. my kids turn 16 in two weeks and we were discussing taking their friends into do it. It sounds like a total scream!

 

[Barb]

You should go to Budapest then! Your kids will love these escape rooms. The two we liked best were lockedescape(dot)hu and trap(dot)hu which were very inventive with the puzzles. (Locked escape was very hard btw and we didn't get out.) Claustrophilia was ok. We honestly could have done one every day and not gotten bored of them. Best to book your time in advance as time slots get filled up I think if we haf realized how much we liked them, we would have done more. A great family activity.

 

[Barb]

Oops I guess I should weigh in on Southern Spain. Absolutely love it. The Moorish architecture is fantastic. The Alhambra in Grenada, the Alcazar in Sevilla and the Mesquita in Cordoba are spectacular. We rented a car and stayed in some lovely little villages as well. We thought the food was great. Kids enjoyed the tapas style of eating.

My only hesitation would be the weather. We went for the month of June and it was super hot. I would guess it would be the same in August.
Can't really comment on Portugal as I have only been to Lisbon and was not super impressed by it.

 

[smittytabb]

OK, I have spent a lot of time in both Spain and Portugal. Love them both and they are more different from each other than most people realize. I have been to a lot of corners of Spain, and consider Madrid, Barcelona, Toledo, Salamanca, Granada and Bilbao and the Basque region all worth the trip. I've been to Portugal every year for five years, so I have done a good bit of exploring there as well. I love Lisbon, Cascais, Evora, Porto and the Douro valley and I have also explored some other more remote areas in the mountains and also have been to the Azores. I will say that there are fewer tourists in Portugal and it is a lot less expensive than a lot of Europe. I have taken car, train and buses in my travels and I can say that the highways in Portugal are greatly improved with the EU money that has rebuilt a lot of infrastructure in the country. There are social issues in both countries and a lot of joblessness especially among the youth, but I travel to both countries regularly and consider both to be fairly safe. I love the food and the culture and I do speak the languages.

 

[nickelfish1]

I've been to Portugal every year for five years, so I have done a good bit of exploring there as well. I love Lisbon, Cascais, Evora, Porto and the Douro valley I do speak the languages.

We were looking at Porto and feel like its a much different experience vs Lisbon. Agree? And if you didn't speak the language, would you have a hard time communicating? Our daughter has a severe allergy to tree nuts. (Hazel, pecan and walnut) Her first reaction at age 10 was anaphylaxic. It was out of the blue and thankfully it happened at home since we were completely unprepared. So, we need to be able to communicate. We've found Europeans like Nutella and put it in lots of things and call it "chocolate".

 

[nickelfish1]

The Alhambra in Grenada, the Alcazar in Sevilla and the Mesquita in Cordoba are spectacular. We rented a car and stayed in some lovely little villages as well.

This was one trip? Did you loop in order to fly in/out of the same airport or you straight shot it? Sevilla is def on my list!

 

[Barb]

@nickelfish1, this was one trip. my son and I spent two weeks in the Pyranees rock climbing and then met up with my husband and daughter in Madrid. We spent the next 16 days or so in Madrid and and then travelling around the south by car. It was wonderful. Seville is lovely, we ditched the car there and then picked another one up when we were done ready to move on.

I also have an anaphylactic allergy to tree nuts and peanuts and have managed to travel all around the world without any serious incident. Just got back from Thailand and not one problem. PM if you would like more details.

 

[smittytabb]

We were looking at Porto and feel like its a much different experience vs Lisbon. Agree? And if you didn't speak the language, would you have a hard time communicating? Our daughter has a severe allergy to tree nuts. (Hazel, pecan and walnut) Her first reaction at age 10 was anaphylaxic. It was out of the blue and thankfully it happened at home since we were completely unprepared. So, we need to be able to communicate. We've found Europeans like Nutella and put it in lots of things and call it "chocolate".

Well, I love Lisbon, but Porto is very special. Of course a lot about that region involves port wine and tastings and such. Not sure if you would indulge with them around or how you would handle all of that. In terms of language barrier, it is hard for me to know. Obviously not everyone speaks English, but that would be true in Spain as well. In terms of the nut allergy, that is tricky anywhere. And yes, Nutella is popular in Europe but less so in Iberia. But making sure you don't have nuts is tough.

 

[zeitgeist]

the problem with spain is it's filled with the spanish.

 

[smittytabb]

the problem with spain is it's filled with the spanish.

Please tell me you don't mean that.

 

[TheBOSman]

Well, I love Lisbon, but Porto is very special. Of course a lot about that region involves port wine and tastings and such. Not sure if you would indulge with them around or how you would handle all of that. In terms of language barrier, it is hard for me to know. Obviously not everyone speaks English, but that would be true in Spain as well. In terms of the nut allergy, that is tricky anywhere. And yes, Nutella is popular in Europe but less so in Iberia. But making sure you don't have nuts is tough.

In Portugal, despite me being relatively conversant in Portuguese, almost all of my interactions ended up being in English as most people in service locations spoke English (only the train ticket sales clerk did not speak English). Admittedly I stayed at the Radisson Blu in Lisbon and the Sheraton in Porto (one of the better Sheratons out there, and a great use of SPG points in my opinion depending on the rate), but if you learn just enough Portuguese to ask if something has tree nuts or not, you should be alright. I also didn't see much Nutella in Portugal. I personally would recommend Portugal over Spain, but I admit bias due to my fondness for Portuguese cuisine being from eastern MA (one of the largest Portuguese expat communities is here in MA).

 

[smittytabb]

There is also a really nice Intercontinental hotel in Porto and an AC which is the Marriott chain. I stayed in a wonderful hotel right on the river that was the Pestana chain (same group as the posadas of Portugal) and since I go to Portugal every year, I collect their points as well. I am jealous @TheBOSman of your access to Portuguese cuisine in MA. I am a huge lusophile and it is next to impossible to get outside the east coast.

 

[TheBOSman]

Yep, I have it quite good on that front @smittytabb, Portuguese bakeries, Portuguese restaurants, plenty of Portuguese language overheard, and even Portuguese language radio stations in eastern MA. And BOS have the only regular USA nonstops to the Azores as well, and can connect from PDL throughout the Azores, to Madeira, or to Lisbon or Porto .

 

[smittytabb]

Yep, I have it quite good on that front @smittytabb, Portuguese bakeries, Portuguese restaurants, plenty of Portuguese language overheard, and even Portuguese language radio stations in eastern MA. And BOS have the only regular USA nonstops to the Azores as well, and can connect from PDL throughout the Azores, to Madeira, or to Lisbon or Porto .

Yep, last year I flew Sata from BOS to PDL, spent some time on Sao Miguel and then flew to Lisbon from there. The Azores are wonderful. Have you been yet?

 

[SanDiego1K]

We were looking at Porto and feel like its a much different experience vs Lisbon. Agree? And if you didn't speak the language, would you have a hard time communicating?

We were in Porto two weeks ago and enjoyed it very much. There was much more to do and see than I realized from a prior visit long long ago. We stayed at the Intercontinental which has a superb location on the central square from where the sightseeing buses depart. Should you stay there, ask if they will give you a suite if you pay $200 for the IC ambassador package. They did this for us. Mind you, we were there in the post holiday doldrums. We got a bowl of fruit, bottles of water, and a significantly discounted breakfast as ambassador benefits.

 

[zeitgeist]

Please tell me you don't mean that.

It's a line from Braveheart... 'The problem with Scotland is it's filled with Scots' Ha ha ha

 

[growler]

You really can't go wrong with either choice. Should you choose Portugal, you might want to take a look at Evora. It is a lovely university town not too far from Lisbon. There is a church there with a chapel made from bones, a unique site. While the meaning goes beyond the obvious, the site alone is fascinating and likely of interest to teens.

 

[VDebs]

If you can't speak Spanish then you're unlikely to find English speakers unless you're in the really touristy areas of Southern Spain. Portugal has a lot more English speakers and they're more laid back. I much prefer Spain, lived there for a while in fact, but if you don't speak the language Portugal is more inviting.

 

[KevLe]

The ferry ride from Tarifa to Tangier is an amazing experience. Morocco is a fantastic country and Tangier is very interesting. I stayed at an Airbnb in the medina December 2013. You can rent a driver to show you around along the coast where you can actually see Spain in the distance and ride a camel. I think Tangier alone is worth it. Southern Spain is great too but I will say that Tarifa is a port town so it's not really Spanish. You will find some great places for seafood though. Good luck!

 

[KevLe]

If Tangier is where you want to go to, you don't have to book a ferry ticket ahead of time. Just walk up to the port in Tarifa and look for the FRS booth inside. They will try to sell you on an expensive package that includes a ferry ticket. It costs about 45euros 1 way per person.

 

[smittytabb]

We were in Porto two weeks ago and enjoyed it very much. There was much more to do and see than I realized from a prior visit long long ago. We stayed at the Intercontinental which has a superb location on the central square from where the sightseeing buses depart. Should you stay there, ask if they will give you a suite if you pay $200 for the IC ambassador package. They did this for us. Mind you, we were there in the post holiday doldrums. We got a bowl of fruit, bottles of water, and a significantly discounted breakfast as ambassador benefits.

Staying in the Intercontinental Porto right now. Didn't pay for Ambassador status, but got upgraded to Duplex Suite anyway. Enjoying this property. Had my eye on it since the last time I was here. Very elegant and great location and staff.