I have a son who will be attending the University of Salamanca in the fall. My wife and I are planning a 10 day trip in November. This would be our first trip to Spain. We are considering a plan that would have us use Salamanca as a base of operations and strike out in various directions to visit cities/towns/sites. We would also like to spend a couple of days somewhere in Portugal (as yet to be decided). Aside from spending time in Salamanca I would appreciate some recommendations on 1) things to see and do in that region, 2) would it be prudent to rent a car, 3) suggestions for visiting Portugal, 4) any other advice.

This would be our first visit to Spain and neither of us speak any Spanish. We are, however, pretty adventurous travelers and tend to avoid organized although we wouldn't rule one out if it makes sense.

Hope this gives you enough to make some suggestions.

Thx,

10 days isn't a whole lot, depending how you like to travel. Two ways to go. Use Salamanca as the base, and take side trips. From Salamanca you can do easy day trips via bus or train to: Avila, Zamora, even Segovia.Also, Ciudad Rodrigo. Cooold that time of year in Castilla. Check out the great bancotel.com deals in Salamanca: the Rector is fab (a few others, too, but some to be avoided. check with the board). For this kind of trip you don't need a car. If you like to drive, tho, then you are best served w./ an itinerary like: Madrid to Salamanca, spend a few days there, then on to some of the cities mentioned, cross over into Portugal (Lisbon is a bit far but you could make it)...You do NOT need or want a car in madrid, salamanca, etc. If you have one you'll only be parking (and most likely paying for parking!). If you plan to spend some time in madrid, do it before/after you pick up the car.

Check out the parador.es deals, too, under 5 nights, special packages. 2 summers ago i did Madrid-salamanca-whole bunch of towns in extremadura and castilla-back to salamanca to pick up son studying-back to madrid. it was awesome, if a bit TOO MUCH.

saludos