Roadtrip across Spain and Portugal - Alicante - Merida - Lisbon - Figueira - Toledo

For a long while, we had dreamt of doing a road trip from our home in Alicante to Portugal in August.

August is the hottest month in Spain and Portugal, yet the Atlantic breeze makes it feel slightly cooler in Portugal, compared to our home on the Mediterranean coast.

So this August, we finally booked accommodation for a week in Lisbon, and another one in a smaller coast town Figueira da Foz, and started our trip across the Iberian Peninsula at 6 o'clock in the morning.

Our navigator showed a distance of 1002 kms to Lisbon from our home in Alicante.

As the early hours are quite empty on the highways, and we weren't restless at all yet, we wanted to make a trip all the way to Ciudad Real.

So the first leg of the trip was 380kms.

The best things to see in Ciudad Real seem to be a triumph called Puerta de Toledo and some cool historic sights in the centre of Ciudad Real.

Realistically, though, during long distance road trips you can not have a pitstop on all kinds of attractions and sights, so we decided to just enjoy a nice Spanish breakfast and continue our journey.

I would say we found quite a gem for the purpose; simple, good quality Spanish cafeteria with local prices and awesome tostadas called Casa Lluis.

The area was slightly industrial, but for a roadtrip the combination of terrace, good coffee and avocado toast, easy access from highway and possibility to see our car while eating (as all our belongings were in it, of course) was just what we needed.

So, we thought the roads were empty and there were not much places to stop on the way from Albacete towards Ciudad Real, but boy we were wrong.

Until Ciudad Real we had a double-lane highway and gas stations relatively frequently.

But onwards from Ciudad Real, the highway was switched into a one-lane 90km/h road.

We continued on the empty roads, through tiny villages in the middle of nowhere, where men smoking cigars on the side of roads with a big mustache made it look like we were in an old, Spanish movie.

The emptiness and rural, hot Spain makes you wonder what kind of life they are living and how different the reality can be by just driving a couple of hundred kilometres.

We continued our road trip through Castile La Mancha in the central Spain, towards Merida, a town known for its ancient Roman history and well-preserved sights.

There is a great parking garage next to the tourism information office of Merida, where we parked our car and belongings safely during roaming around Merida.

(Parking Hernán Cortés, if you want to know for your road trip)

As we arrived to Merida around 1pm, we had started with a lunch here, before our visit to the Amphitheatre and Roman theatre of Merida.

PS. You should always ask for a Menu del dia in resturants in Spain during lunch time.

They usually have a reasonably priced three-course menu off the a la carte list, that you just need to know to ask for.

We ate a typical Spanish menu del día and continued then our way to the Roman ruins.

It was the hottest time of the day when we had finished our lunch in Merida, but we could not miss out on this amphitheater and Roman theatre in Merida.

We bought the tickets online here to access the place, and due to the 34°C we had the place almost for ourselves.

Maybe you know this TikTok trend about aking boyfriends how often do they think of Roman Empire. Well, safe to say, this visit wa sa dream for my boyfriend, who has also spent his fair share of time thinking of Roman empire.

But for real though, this place was really worth a visit, as the place was almost better preserved then Colosseum.

Was crazy to walk in the parts where gladiatos would be released to the field, and sitting alone in these amphitheater stairs.

If we had more time, though, we would have strolled around all the ancient sights in Merida centre.

Our next pitstop was at a gas station in Badazos near the border of Portugal.

Our minds and bodies became more tired kilometre by kilometre, so we took a moment for some stretches, ice teas and date protein bars and other healthy snacks.

(Ps. I have the recent years ordered my, on-the-road healthy snacks from Portugues brand Prozis - it is affordable online store with workout clothes, healthy snacks and cosmetics. Use discount code SINIMALISM10 if you want to also order some stuff to test from there)

Crossing the border between Spain and Portugal may seem anticlimactic, as it is just a small sign, as both countries belong to the EU and Schengen.

The only con about getting to Portugal was the toll roads starting immediately. On our way to Lisbon we paid about 18€ for the toll.

Our accommodation for first week was located near Alfama district in Lisbon.

The streets are curvy, random and constantly going up and down.

We had read about parking in Lisbon beforehand, and after reading all the towing service warnings and the impossibility of parking in Lisbon, we were relieved to see there were parking spots right near our accommodation.

All of it was paid parking, though, but only Mon-Fri 9-19, and we arrived on Friday evening 18.45.

So parking next door and only 15 minutes to pay for the first two days was a gift from the universe.

We slept so well and long after the 1002-kilometre trip in our lovely accommodation.

We found it via Home exchange, so the stay was actually for free, which felt unreal during the high season in Lisbon. Just for curiosity, I checked the hotels around were like 250€/night.

This is my link to Home Exchange: You get extra points when registering if you utilize it: Home Exchange with extra points

Anyway, there was a nice Saturday flea market near our place. We went there first for me favorite thing; brunch with specialty coffee and then discovered the stalls.

I didn't buy anything, but it was loads of cool stuff and it was worth a visit.

It was Alfama Flea market, Feira Da Ladra, which is organized every Tuesday and Saturday.

You can read all my tips to Lisbon here: Slow Travel Guide to Lisbon.

One of the main pros of traveling by car is to be able to discover places that locals go to.

On Sunday we wanted to finally have a beach day by the Atlantic, so we headed to Praia da Fonte da Telha.

It is a long beach strip south from Lisbon, which turned out to be a great one.

We saw mostly only locals there, and later when Matt had a business metting with two Portuguese guys, they also confirmed we went to the best beach.

I had been to Lisbon once before, but during this trip I only realized how big the city actually is.

Going by car lets you see places in a more holistic way, and with freedom.

Just to list you some highlights during our Lisbon trip, during the week we did the following things:

Some of the coolest castles of Portugal are located in national park of Sintra, which is located nearby Lisbon.

We had planned to visit the Castle Pena and Quinta Da Regaleira.

Well, our dream of visiting Castle Pena was cancelled, as it was sold out.

Then, we bought tickets to visit Quinta da Regaleira.

Well, turned out for the days we were in Lisbon area, all attractions in Sintra were closed due to forest fire warnings.

So castles need to wait for another time.

We decided anyway to drive to Sintra and Cascais for a daytrip.

The park indeed was completely closed off, and in some entraces police was guarding the entrances.

So our plan changed into a little hike over the cliffs of Cascais and a beach day.

We ended the day with great Pizza.

So not too bad, but it's important to have a flexible mind and opne heart, as things may not always go as planned.

After a week in Lisbon, we started driving to our second destination of the Spain Portugal road trip: Figueira da Foz.

It's a small beach town between Lisbon and Portugal.

On the way we wanted to pop by in surf town Peniche.

The beach was lovely and the vibe of Peniche was nice. We had nice Poke bowls at Bowls Nature food and continued the trip towards north.

Figuira da Foz is mostly a relaxed beach destination.

Luckily, I had found us an accommodation very nearby the beach (via Home exchange as well).

Dips in the refreshing Atlantic Ocean, surf sessions, walks over the wooden paths on the dunes, sushi delivery, and yoga flows at the rooftop of the building were the vibe of the first days.

In other words, can't really think of anything better.

Ps. Random weird thing about Figueira da Foz: there are many cars from Luxembourg. I am used to seeing Dutch, French and German cars everywhere in Iberian Peninsula, but this multitude of Luxembourgish cars is new.

The last days in Portugal were spent working remotely, cooking healthy meals, and doing some bodyweight workouts by the beach. We were enjoying the glorious 24°C instead of 38°C how it was during the week back home in Alicante.

Last night we went to eat in a Michelin restaurant. It was a cozy restaurant located next to a park, inside an art/library building.

The meal was amazing and, to be honest, reasonably priced (2 starters, mains and drinks 75€).

Only sad thing about the end of the trip was my sciatica pains raising their head again.

Maybe some of you know already, how I struggled with huge sciaica pains after we did a roadtrip from Finland to Spain.

I was baiscally paralyzed for a few weeks, not able to sit, walk or stand.

I have luckily healed from it fully, but too much sitting and lack of workout routines can cause me issues.

So I had quite a lot random pains. Luckily I know exactly which movements to do on those moments, so that the 1000-kilometre roadtrip back home went actually very well.

(If you are suffering with the same issue, check out this 4-week sciatica course )

To be honest, there's not much to tell about the trip back home.

It felt much shorter and smoother than the trip to Portugal - maybe we somehow got used to this slow travel lifestyle in the car?

We also decided to blast on, without too many breaks, as my parents were coming the same evening from Finland to Alicante.

So we kept on driving, went for lunch on the way to a small place called Talavera, and popped by to fuel up the car and ourselves later.

The higlights of the trip back were;

Not to make this just another travel journal listing things done and seen, lets get some depth to this.

To be honest, this trip was one of the most transformational trips both me and Matt have had.

The reason for this is;

1. Doing kundalini yoga every morning

2. Reading transformational books that really changed our perspective on things

3. Talking loads and healing from some traumatic experiences

I am not going to tell all the details, but we had big realizations, how we both have carried with us an emotional bargain for quite a while.

Pretty much since I became a full-time entrepreneur 2 years ago, I've mostly been anxious and worried.

I quit my full-time job for freedom, but decided to live in the prison of my own mind and emotions instead.

(For more context, you can read my confused story of becoming a travel creator)

We have had some big and difficult things happening to us within a year, and after that we have been extra worried.

This trip, though, has changed everything.

Reflecting and reading Mind Magic and Mind to Matter books really shifted something in us.

Ps. I recommend checking: the best spiritual books to read when traveling.