Trip Planning - Spain & Portugal

As an educator, I have the luxury of having summers off to officiate weddings and to travel.  This year was a milestone birthday for me, so I planned a 3.5 week trip to Spain, Portugal and London.  Many of you have seen my IG photo posts and wanted BTS detail, so I've committed to follow though and focus this upcoming series of blogs to do just that.   

Where to start?  I subscribed to a few travel publications and started paying attention to the Costco travel brochures available in the membership area.  I also asked my colleagues who love to travel and I researched/read a ton of travel blogs. 

Flight-wise, I started with Google flights, searching for the cheapest flights available, varying departure and return dates to maximize my savings. 

Accommodations/Itineraries:  The blog I found most useful is Wheatless Wanderlust | Gluten Free Travel & Detailed Itineraries.  Admittedly, I don't have a gluten tolerance issue so their culinary recommendations were of no use to me personally; however, their accommodations and itinerary suggestions piqued my interest.  Matt and Alysha's site includes neighborhood detail, convenience to top attractions, average pricing for either a hostel, boutique hotel or apartment, parking and, of course, photos.  With each recommendation, I'd cross-reference, Apple maps looking at satellite views and cross-reference Booking.com as well.

Spain and Portugal are top destination spots for the summer months, so making/paying for reservations needed to be done 4-6 months in advance. 

​Next Blog:  Barcelona