Of course you can do this trip on your own if you are adventurous and have some understanding of the

My Wife and I have travelled quite a bit and have driven inTurkey, England and Ireland. Did the tour thing (Odessey) in Russia, Eastern Europe and Egypt . Now wonder how easy it is to get around by auto in Spain. Would like to see Barcelona, Sevilla, Cordoba, Madrid (Just a day or two here to see the Prada) travel trailer manufacturers Would also like to get into Portugal.
I think travel by train would definitely be easier to see a few of those cities, which have high-speed rail--Barcelona, Madrid and Seville. And of course Cordoba is on that line and can be done on the way or from Seville. I just don't get the idea of renting a car to drive around Spain to see very large cities. travel trailer manufacturers What would you do with the car in them.
You don't need a tour for Spain, unlike some other countries such as in Asia, and you want to see some of the major cities. I'd take the train myself it will definitely be easier. I don't know about fitting Portugal in, though. You can take a train from somewhere in Spain to Portugal, travel trailer manufacturers sure. I suggest you use trains for the major cities and if you want to drive around a little and see some countryside, maybe rent a car for a few days down in Andalucia or something like that.
Train from Spain to Portugal is not frequent - I know of one line from Madrid to Lisbon that runs once a day and is a night train. Bus between Spain and Portugal is easier. Renting a car in Spain and returning in Portugal can be very costly.
Depending on how long the OP has for the trip it may be better to drop Portugal as it would certainly be easier to use public transportation and visit the cities specifically mentioned. It would probably work well to have base cities and then do daytrips to smaller towns and villages.
Of course you can do this trip on your own if you are adventurous and have some understanding of the language (s). As CathyM mentions, you need at least three weeks to cover this much ground and have the time to relax at each of your destinations.
You don't mention how long ago you drove in Turkey, England and Ireland, but renting a car might present some problems because of the age of the driver. Some rental agencies will restrict the type of car you can rent depending on age. It's also recommended that you get a IDP from AAA to drive in Spain unless you are fluent in Castilian.
Howell, we spent four weeks between Spain Portugal with a combo of car rentals and train. While it is easy to train between the larger cities, driving gave us a good feel for the in-between spaces. After flying into Lisbon, we returned our car at the border of Portugal and picked up another in Galecia.
We spent the next few weeks driving to Segovia,Toledo,Granada Ronda and returned the car in Seville before visiting Cordoba Madrid by train. It takes a bit of planning and time, but we definitely prefer this type of travel for Spain. Do check though on age requirements...that could be the tricky part.
Barcelona is so far from your other sites, that high speed AVE train between it and Madrid travel trailer manufacturers rail is probably a good thing to fit into your itinerary. From Madrid, Seville and Cordoba are also on an AVE route so they can easily be seen via that mode of transport.
I second the idea that rail travel between Spain and Portugal is spotty - the lack of fast or even frequent connections really surprised me when I was investigating the prospect of it. If you want to drive some of your trip, then renting a car after finishing up in Seville and driving to and through Portugal makes the most sense. Having a car anywhere but to visit Andalucia around Seville and/or to get to Portugal is an absolute liability
We are retired and tend to spend 17 to 19 days on our trips. Haven't really looked into Portugal yet but based on your responses we may save it for another trip. Also just beginning to research which cities would be best for us and what to see in each. Looks like Barcelona, Madrid, Seville and Valencia get good reviews - how about Cordoba and Toledo? Is it realistic to attempt all of these? We move pretty fast but don't want to make this a marathon, have to take time to really enjoy the trip. We enjoy art, museums and especially historical sights travel trailer manufacturers and buildings. travel trailer manufacturers Given our likes and the time we will have, which cities would you recommend. travel trailer manufacturers The open jaw itinerary suggested by Aramis looks promising - will check into this further.
With 19 days you could do something like Barcelona (4-5), Madrid (4-5), Sevilla (4), Valencia (3). I'd also add in Granada for 2 nights. You could visit Toledo travel trailer manufacturers as a daytrip from Madrid and Cordoba as a daytrip from Sevilla. This is covering alot of ground in 19 days but it's at a moderate pace and you'd have an overview. Personally I'd prefer to focus on a smaller area and do it more in depth. Madrid Andalucia would be an excellent combination in early May. Andalucia has many festivals in the Spring and the weather should not be too hot. If you devoted more time to Andalucia travel trailer manufacturers you could even spend a couple of nights in Cordoba, Malaga and rent a car to explore the white villages. But if there's a chance you'd never return to Spain then I understand the other approach. Logistically this could be done many ways. One approach would be to fly into Barcelona, then train to Valencia, fly to Granada, train or bus to Sevilla, train to Madrid and fly home from Madrid.
Don't let your age hold you back from driving part of the trip if that's travel trailer manufacturers what you want to do. I'm 76 now, but last year I drove from Sevilla to Zafra, M rida, and finally to Madrid. We had done the earlier part of the trip by high-speed train with one leg by bus.
In 2004, when I was 68, my sister and I drove to Cuenca, Segovia, Avila, Caceres, Ronda, C rdoba, Sevilla, Madrid, Granada, etc., in a three-week trip. We're both interested in geology and found the countryside in Spain to be quite interesting.
I can't recall how we managed to drive everywhere except in the big cities like Madrid and Sevilla, but my guess is that we picked the car up on the way out of Madrid, then dropped it off at Sevilla, followed a few days later by a plane to Barcelona.
I'd agree that driving is a great idea when the areas you want to visit are not as well serviced by public transport - like Extremadura, La Rioja, the white villages in Andalucia. But if the main interest is in Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla and Valencia then I believe that a car would not only take more time but also be a hinderance and costly with parking. With 19 days if the focus is on a smaller geography it may be a good idea to rent a car for part of the trip and do some exploring.
I would take cathys advice. All of the cities you mentioned are great. Cars are a major hassle in all of those cities. Public transport is so good, especially travel trailer manufacturers the high speed trains. There are a lot of long boring drives in Spain and I wouldn't waste time I could be exploring the great cities you want to visit. And save Portugal for another trip.
There is so much to see.. you will have to pick and choose as your time is somewhat limited to go investigating too much in depth. However, I find these smaller towns to be representative of the soul of Spain and interesting to the eye, each with its own charm.
The trains are excellent and remember, if you are over 60, if there are no webfares available, you can buy a 5 euro senior card ( Tarjeta dorada) and get aprox. 40% discounts on most trains across the country.
I would spend a week in Madrid. They have three spectacular museums Prado, Thyssen, and Reina Sofia. I find museum walking tiring, so I would go to a museum every other day. Toledo is an easy and worthwhile day trip from Madrid bu bus or train.
One thing people omit from their itinerary travel trailer manufacturers is sitting and watching travel trailer manufacturers the world pass. It is very Spanish and highly salubrious as is the paseo at dusk where people just walk and see what everyone else is doing.
And do not forget to go to see the Sardana being danced on Saturday night or Sunday noon at the Cathedral in Barcelona. Put your coat and bag in the middle of the circle and join in. The Catalans are gracious about it.