We have been a little quiet on the blog lately. It’s because we are busy planning our first grand escapade of the year. In the spring, we are heading over to Europe for a ninety-day BIG adventure. We will be hiking 500 miles on a pilgrimage through northern Spain then hopping in a car to road trip through all of Portugal and southwestern Spain!
Highlights of the Trip include:
- Exploring Madrid and Lisbon, the capitals of Spain and Portugal
- Hiking El Camino de Santiago, a legendary excursion
- Discovering Peneda-Gerês National Park, the only national park in Portugal
- Hanging out with wild monkeys at the Rock of Gibraltar
- Strolling through white-washed villages of Andalusia
- Touring fairy tale castles in Sintra
- Visiting the most western point in Europe
- Sightseeing in mountaintop cities
- Swimming in the picturesque beaches of Algarve
El Camino de Santiago: May Our Feet Forgive Us
We are taking six weeks in the beginning of our trip to walk the Way of St. James, one of the oldest pilgrimage routes in Europe. Our journey begins in the small town of Saint Jean Pied de Port in France. Our route will take us over the Pyrenees through small villages, lush vineyards, quiet countryside, a few big cities and finishes at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. The path travels 500 miles through four of Spain’s fifteen regions. I will have separate posts in the near future dedicated to the Camino like why we are hiking it, how we are preparing for it and more details of the route.
Portugal Road Trip Itinerary
After completing the Camino, we are renting a car and heading south to Portugal for 20 days. So far our stops and overnights include:
• Paradamonte • Braga • Ribeiro • Guimaraes • Pinhao • Tabuaco • Porto • Aveiro • Coimbra • Fatimah • Obidos • Marvao • Lisbon • Sintra • Evora • Lagos
RELATED POST: 15 MUST-SEE PLACES IN PORTUGAL
Southern Spain Road Trip Itinerary
The rest of the road trip will include southwestern Spain with stops and overnights in:
• Toledo • Consuegra • Cordoba • Granada • Nerja • Mijas • Malaga • Marbella • Estepona • Ronda • Los Barrios • Jerez • Cadiz • Seville
Total Cost of 90 Day Portugal and Spain Trip
Just like our summer road trip, we are going to track every travel expense we incur. We will share with you the in-depth details of how much a trip like this costs.
*Tip: Read here about how we easily track our travel expenses and more*
Below is the breakout so far with airfare, car rental, ground transportation, and lodging. We were going to use credit card points to book our airline tickets, but the flight was cheaper than we anticipated so we are saving our points for future travels.
During the Camino hike, we will stay in hostel-type lodging available to pilgrims. We have not booked any ahead of time with the exception of a few at the beginning and the end. We averaged $20 per day for the ones in between. From what I can tell, some will be more and some may be less depending on if we get a private room versus dorms. For the entirety of the trip, we will be staying 64% of the time in hostels and 36% of the time in hotels.
Have you ever been to Portugal or Spain? If you have any recommendations, please tell us in the comments below!
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Plan Your Trip
We have been budget traveling for over ten years and love finding deals. Here are a few websites that we used to save money and time booking accommodations, flights and car rental.
Accommodation
- Hotels.com has a best rate guarantee program that allows you to price match up until 24 hours prior to arrival and its rewards program gives one free night for every 10 nights collected.
- Booking.com has more options in the small towns of Europe versus Hotels.com so we used both websites when booking this trip.
Best Flights
- Airfarewatchdog.com is a comparison website that searches through tons of flights. It compares airline pricing up to three times a day, having up to date information and also includes airlines such as Southwest and Allegiant that other websites do not include.
Car Rental
- Priceline is usually the cheapest for car rentals and has a best rate guarantee program as well.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, if you book through our link we will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your help supporting of the cost of the blog.
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Chris Travels
What a great upcoming adventure! To mimic the words of newly elected president, Donald Trump…”It’s huuuge!”
Spain is a beautiful country with many warm and friendly people. Will you be including Alhambra in your itinerary? If not, you need to consider adding it if you have time. I’ve never been, but after watching Rick Steve’s video about it several years ago, all I can say is WOW!
I’ve never been to Portugal, but look forward to hearing more about it. 😉
Dang Travelers
Yes, we will be including Alhambra in our itinerary Chris. We are going to be in Granada for three nights and hope to spend at least half a day there. We haven’t seen Rick Steve’s video so thanks for the tip!
Jasmine @makingrestorations
This looks epic! Can I please please tag along? At the very least, can’t wait to follow along. Also, impressed with the planning skills on this one. The logistics must be insane
Dang Travelers
Come on over with us! Yes, the logistics have been tough. We have the basic route planned with some places already booked, but we may change that as we go. Maybe add one day here and take one day away somewhere else. So excited! Thanks for following along!!
Leigh | Campfires & Concierges
How fun! I was *this close* to kicking off my career break with a Camino walk this year, but ultimately decided it was too long to leave my dog back home. I’ll be hiking the Haute Route through Switzerland instead.
Looking forward to your tales from the road! Buen Camino 🙂
Dang Travelers
Wow, the Haute Route will be amazing!
Anisa
Wow this sounds amazing. I actually hiked a section of the Camino by San Sebastian and really enjoyed it. I look forward to hear about what it is like to do the whole thing!
Dang Travelers
Thanks Anisa. We are excited…a little nervous but excited!
Tarah Vongbouthdy
This looks so awesome! We have visited Lugo and Santiago de Compostela and have been thinking about the El Camino hike ever since then. It will be so beautiful!
Dang Travelers
Follow along! I will be giving my honest opinion. I’ve heard good and bad things. It’s our first thru-hike so I’m not really sure what to expect but I am excited for the new adventure!
Nancy
Check out Montserrat outside of Barcelona! It’s a Benedictine monk retreat with unbelievable views and hiking.
Dang Travelers
Unfortunately, we are not hitting the east side of Spain on this trip. I’ll save it as a must-see for later though!
Jing
Your whole itinerary looks exciting. Reading it makes me want to squeeze myself into your backpack. hehe. I’ve been dreaming of walking the Way of St. James someday and I’m so looking forward to your stories especially on that. 🙂
Dang Travelers
Thanks Jing! Haha If you could fit, I’d say why not?
Punita
90 days in Spain and Portugal would be bliss. These wonderful countries do deserve that much dedicated time. Often when one travels, one is hard pressed for time, but if that wasn’t a factor, we would all be like travellers of the bygone era, who just explored and were never bothered about their return.
Dang Travelers
Now that we have time, we are trying to slow travel vs counting countries. Excited to explore Spain and Portugal for 3 months. Maybe I’ll even pick up a little Spanish
Gokul Raj
Wow….that is a great route, clinging to the coast. I bet the views will be a treat to the eyes. I have never been to Europe, but will visit Spain and Portugal when I take me Euro trip.
danik
I done most of this area and totally agree with you (OK, haven’t done the hiking route yet). Love reading this post and it sure brings back memories 😀
Dang Travelers
Happy to bring you down Memory Lane! The hiking will be interesting. We’ve never done anything like it so I’m excited and nervous.
Nathan
These are two of my most favorite countries in the world! I have a friend planning to do the El Camino this summer. It sounds interesting but I don’t know if it’s for me!
Dang Travelers
Haha Nathan! I’m not sure the Camino is for me either but, I’m going to try it out to see!
Vicki Louise
What a fabulous adventure! You’ll have such an incredible time exploring Spain and Portugal and you’ve got some real highlights to look forward to! I hope you have an incredible trip (and you’re feet forgive you for the Camino!)
Dang Travelers
Thanks Vicki! My feet better because I’m not going to get through this journey without 100% participation! LOL
Sandy N Vyjay
Wow! That’s a really long trip! I really liked the way you have already sorted everything out! Planning becomes a necessity for a 90 day tour! Wish you all the best for your journey!
Corinne
This is a really big help for all of those folks that want to hike the Camino. I get questions about it all the time, so I know it’s on many people’s lists. I love that you included a budget, which is always the hardest part. Wow, you did a lot in 90 days!
stacey veikalas
Sounds like it will be an amazing trip and my two favorite places in the world! Looks like you have all planned out very well – Im looking forward to hearing about the trip!
G&D Blog
Cool to check out. My hubby just told me now that Spain and Portugal are really on his bucket list. We will work on this trip, for sure. 🙂
Mike
This is such an epic journey! I want to go on a huge trip like this. I love that you mixed hiking and some actual transportation. Thank you for including the budget, hard to believe you kept it so cheap and that’s super helpful for planning my own trip.
Dang Travelers
Thanks Mike. We will be updating our expenses as we go along to include gas, food and any excursions. Now that the dollar is so strong the trip will be a little cheaper than we were originally anticipating.
Cristobal Anaya
Hello there! My brother-in-law, Jim, is a friend of yours and connected me to your blog. I recently spent a little over a month in Spain and Portugal and I’ve been working on putting together a list of recommendations which I’ll be happy to send. I’m wrapping it up today as I know your trip is coming up next week. I had a fantastic time and I’m super jealous of your trip! I easily could have spent a year there and still not have seen everything.
Dang Travelers
Thanks so much Cris! We really appreciate it. I just sent you a private message so we can exchange info.