Portugal or Spain?

[jenny_ell]

So I may be visiting my SO again in England this summer, and might have the opportunity this to go visit somewhere else in Europe for a few days. We were thinking somewhere warm with a beach and he brought up Spain or Portugal. Which one would you chose, and why? What cities should I consider? I have been doing a bit of research but I don't know much. I was looking at Lagos, Portugal, it looks so beautiful

[snow_girl]

Never been to Portugal but Spain is nice. I was in Barcelona and Valencia and would recommend both.

[Joyce:)]

BARCELONA is GORGEOUS. go to spain, seriously, i went to barcelona and i loved it. the art, the shops, the food, the view.. it's all so lovely and all i could think about was how lovely it would have been to be there with my SO.

[lucybelle]

I've never been to Portugal so I can't give advice on that side, but I hear the surfing is excellent in Lagos and Porto.

As far as Spain is concerned I spent about 3 months going everywhere there. If you want a beach, do NOT go to Barcelona. The beach is about 10 yards long with tons of people and the water is filthy. Here's some Spain beach towns I would suggest:

Malaga: Has the Picasso Museum which is seriously amazing, and also an old fortress thing
Cadiz: The city/town area is really nice and has a very "European" feel.
Tarifa: If you like wind/kite surfing this is the PLACE TO BE.
San Sebastian: By far my highest reccomendation. This city is in the Basque country so some of the natives don't consider themselves "Spanish". There's an awesome history, SUPER food (try the cider), the town is beautiful, the beach is amazing (has a surfing beach and a "relax" beach), and the nightlife is great. It's also not as dangerous for tourists as Barcelona is. I never had a problem in Barcelona, but while traveling in Spain I met TONS of people who got held up and got all their stuff taken. It also happened to my brother when he was living there about 8 years ago.

Anyways... that was long winded but you can also check out www.lonelyplanet.com and read up on all the places. Though I don't recommend buying the Spain book, info was kind of out of date.

Good luck! Have funnn!!

[Jess!]

Hi! Im portuguese I think actually.... both. It's hard to pick. Spain is bigger and the cultures have a lot in common, but at the same time there are lots of differences. you can always go by bus from Spain to Portugal and so on. I love the small villages in Portugal, specially in Algarve. This is the most touristical place here and where the nice beaches are.
If you need any advice, I hope I can provided it to you!
Hugs,

Jess

[mllebamako]

Hmm, I have been to Spain twice and am not the biggest fan. I don't love the food there and I have found the people to be less friendly than in Portugal. But I know so many people that love Spain, so it must be my own issue!

I went to Portugal for the first time last spring and fell in love! We didn't go to Lagos, we just stayed in Lisbon and did small day trips from there. I loved the food, the people were fantastic, and the sites were really enjoyable. I went with my brother and we taught ourself a few key phrases in Portuguese and were surprised at how friendly and welcoming people were! They were so excited that we knew a few Portuguese sentences and it often led to really fun, interesting conversations. Plus, the majority of people we spoke to, spoke impecable English which made it really easy getting help.