lovesienna

Hi everyone,

Planning a family trip with my husband and 22 month old to Spain next year in October. I'm thinking of flying into Seville from Italy and have this itinerary in mind so far:

Seville 10 nights (with possible day trips to Cordoba, Cadiz and Malaga) - train to
Ronda 2 nights - train to
Granada 2 nights - flight to
Barcelona 4 nights
Home to Australia

Any thoughts, feedback, improvements on my itinerary would be much appreciated. Any family members who have travelled with a toddler your input would be very very useful.

We are slow travelers at heart and with a toddler don't really need much of a night life, I hope what I have planned isn't cramming too much in.

Thanking you all in advance!

pgriffin

Some thoughts:

As amazing as Seville is, I wouldn't spend 10 nights there. I had 5 and that was loads, one week max if you want to do a day trip or two (Cordoba). I am also a slow traveller.

I think a day trip to Cadiz is seriously selling it short. If it's early October you will be able to visit the beaches so I would allocate 4 nights minimum to Cadiz. Definitely try and do this as it is a great city. If you like seafood, the arroz marinero is to die for there.

You don't say if you will be renting a car or not. If you are, you should definitely try and visit the white villages of Cadiz province, especially Arcos de la Frontera and Zahara de la Sierra. Ronda is nice but I would prefer to stay in Zahara and day trip to Ronda.

I haven't been to Malaga or Granada.

For your first 12 nights, how about:

Seville - 6 nights (incl. day trip to Cordoba)
Cadiz - 4 nights
Ronda or white village - 2 nights

chiccaa_x

I personally think this plan is amazing, there are alot of places you are going to visit and as you have a toddler there will always be places you can go with he/she.

The only negative thing might be the transport and if your travelling with a toddler it may be hard work as you may already know. But go for it

lovesienna

Thanks pgriffin, exactly what I needed to know, happy to reduce time spent in Seville. We love seafood and the beach too and will be there early October so will definitely think about staying in Cadiz now.

We are still thinking about whether we should hire a car or not or just try to train everywhere. I was going to look through some of the forums for more info. I did read the drive to Ronda was a bit difficult so that's why I thought I should try to train it as much as possible. I will look into Zahara now that you mention it.

Thanks chicca, we are so excited. We love travelling to Europe and this will be our first trip with a little toddler, we are practicing as much as we can with her now to get her use to sitting in restaurants etc. she loves being on any mode of transport and is fascinated by everything so fingers crossed.

yorkshire

Only Cordoba is doable as a day trip from Sevilla, Cadiz (at least 2 hours) would be a stretch for a day trip. I agree that instead of 10 days in Sevilla, you should distribute some of those days to the other places.
I have never traveled with a child, so take this with that in mind, but I always prefer getting from city to city by train or bus, and then renting a car by the day if necessary. For example, while in Ronda you could rent a car and do some scenic touring. Or, you could drive from Sevilla or Cadiz to Ronda with some stops on the way. The bus makes the drive, so I don;t think it would be too difficult.
I am a huge fan of Ronda, but I regret not going to Zahara on my last trip. That said, not sure how much hiking you can expect to do.
good luck!

kja

I agree that 10 nights would be a bit much for wonderful Sevilla; the question is how to redistribute the time. Since I have never traveled with youngsters, my perspective may not be useful. But for what it's worth, I loved Cordoba and was glad I had nearly two full days there.

Enjoy!

Sassafrass

I also would spend less time in Seville, no more than five nights, and because of the little one, I would do Cordoba as a day trip from Seville.

I would definitely up the time in Granada to three nights. It is a more interesting city than many think, and perhaps you can find a park or something for your child.

Depending on early or late, and weather where you are, you might find beaches to be getting a little cool.

One little town I like is El Puerto de Santa Maria. Once past the highway and entrance to town, it is pretty and has good food. If it is running in the fall, there used to be a lovely little train that ran through town in the evening that your toddler might enjoy. I tried to find if it is still there and couldn't. Hope someone else knows.

I think I would rent a car at the end of your time in Seville and turn it in once settled in Granada. It would give you more flexibility with a child.

lovesienna

Thanks for recommendations, after researching Granada I agree it would also be worth a 3 night stay.

I do love the feeling of staying in a town after all the tour buses leave for the day, but I think I might be moving around too much if I try o stay overnight in cordoba. Hopefully a good full day spent here will suffice.

Do you think Ronda is worth 3 nights?

kja

> Do you think Ronda is worth 3 nights?

I did not - I spent just under 24 hours, which was less than I had planned. To be clear, I did enjoy it very much - just not enough to stay any longer than that. I know that others had different reactions.

Christina

Another who agrees with less than 10 days in Seville. If I were you, I'd add a couple days to Barcelona. There is a lot to see and do there, and there are some day trips you can do also (at least one I know about, a monastery people like).

kpiepen

What I would suggest with a toddler is to try to enjoy the city parks and playgrounds at the times that local families are there. There are beautiful parks in both places and I find if you go mid week day time they sometimes feel a bit deserted and you don't get to see many other children. Evenings are so much more bustling and energetic. In Seville, many families go out for the day on Saturday and enjoy their city and parks, stopping to enjoy a long lunch and little snacks in the outdoor cafes.

We really enjoyed Maria Luisa Park in Seville.There are lovely parks and shops in the Arenal area too. In Barcelona we loved Parc de la Ciutedella - ponds, paths, fountains, ducks, playgrounds and a giant elephant. There are lots of playgrounds along Passeig Sant Joan near the park and lots of families out and about in the early evenings. If possible I would try to stay in an apartment near this area for that reason. You could shop at Santa Cristina market somewhat nearby - less chaotic than Boquaria. Staying near Passeig Garcia/Playa Cataluna etc is just too busy and not restful at all with a child. And Parc Guell is jammed with tourists, nowhere for kids to play that I could see, and not really worthwhile making the detour to get there IMHO. You can't even see the architecture through the throngs of people holding their Ipads up in the air. And we were there mid-October mid morning.

You might wish to do your "tourist" stuff midweek and enjoy the weekends strolling in the parks and hanging out in the cafes.

In terms of car v. train we have been using a car (travelling with two kids) and it has been very convenient. Trains between some of the white villages and the cities are very complicated sometimes and if you are lugging baby equipment it can be very challenging. I just tried to organize a train ticket for my son from our village to Sevilla and it would have taken a full day of travel and 2 connections. By car it took 2 hours. A car in Seville and Barcelona is a pain but we found economy lots (from advice here!) and left the car there while in town. So I would rent for your white villages portion of the trip.

lovesienna

Thanks kpiepen that was very useful. Yes we really want to spend lots of time outdoors in parks as my husband and I have been to Europe before and done lots of the art galleries and restaurant dining so looking for a family experience.

Thanks also for the accommodation recommendation too, and looks like we will be hiring a car at some point too.

Hmmm Christina good point 6 nights in Barcelona sounds good.