savethewild

Hello helpful travelers! I am looking for guidance.

We are a family of four with two kids 8 and 11. We are traveling to Spain for 10 weeks from mid January through the end of March 2018. I know the weather is challenging that time of year, so we are trying to spend most of our time in the South and on the eastern coast.

We are trying to spend more time in fewer places to give our girls a real sense of living in Spain (we all speak Spanish to varying levels of proficiency. Alas, mine is the worst!).

We are planning to spend the first 6 weeks in Andalusia, keeping a home base in Seville and traveling around from there (we fly into Seville). We will have time to get most of the sites and grab a few beach days (weather permitting).

We will spend the last two weeks of our trip in Barcelona (we fly out of BCN).

The question is where to spend the middle two weeks (the first two weeks of March).
Valencia? We aren't fans of huge crowds or fires/fireworks so if we go it would have to be the first week of March before the Fallas start in earnest.
Madrid? With trips to Toledo/Salamanca/Segovia?
Stay in Andalusia? A week in Granada? Mijas?
Somewhere else?

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Cheers!

PalenQ

Granada to me is worth about a day - I found the city so-so but Alhambra worth the journey.

Madrid and those delectable day trips would be my choice.

Going by train - trains are superb between Seville and Madrid and Madrid and Barcelona- www.renfe.com is the official site of Spanish Railways - booking early can save a ton over walk-up fares - check www.thetrainline.eu too -rfenfe.com can be a real struggle for many outside of Spain but the other one usually has similar fares and easier to use folks say.

For lots of info on trains check www.seat61.com (expertise is discounted ticket buying); www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

Donostia (S Sebastian in the local Basque that is preferred by locals is sweet too - but too cool in winter for swimming so I would skip that.

Christina

YOu can't go swimming in January in Europe. Even off Malaga, the sea temperature is only about 60F in January and February (16C). Actually, the outside temp is about that, also (about 60F high in the afternoon). SO if you mean you just want to walk along the beach, I guess you could do that.

danon

Madrid is the place to be.

PalenQ

In winter - Madrid is alive as any city its size in Spain is. Of high aldtitude though - about 5,000 ft? it can get cooler than seaside cities but rarely really c o l d!

But especially great day trips -consider Segovia for the castle of your kids' dreams - has been associated being a model for Disney for his Sleeping Beauty Castle in Dysneylands (but it seems Disney actually used Bavaria's Neuschwanstein Castle as a model). The Segovian Castle was in the 12th-century also a Moorish Alcazar- so if you don't get to Granada this may suffice for a historical Moorish monument (great altered however in ensuing centuries).

but Segovia'a castle is one for the dreams (about 1 hr or so by local train ride from Madrid, maybe a big longer):

https://www.google.com/search?q=sego...w=1749&bih=864

savethewild

Very helpful advice so far, thanks. Valencia is the city I am having the hardest time deciding whether to visit. I have never been there (unlike the other cities on my list all of which I visited on a whirlwind 3 week tour 20 years ago). It seems out of the way and not great for day-trips, but maybe the kids would prefer it to Madrid??? I definitely have no interest in the Fallas though. Too smokey and loud for our taste.

danon

We liked Valencia very much...stayed a week.
The City of Arts and Sciences would be great for the kids to explore.
A lovely park (with many sport prions) could be fun
The beaches are wonderful. ( even for a walk)
Valencia is 1:45 min. By AVE fro Madrid..( 3 hours by train fo Barcelona )

Also, a couple of day trips are possible.

Avoid Fallas...

danon

sorry,
options..
from..

savethewild

Thanks. Very helpful. Hmm. I could do a week in Valencia and a week in Madrid. I would be in Valencia for the very beginning of the Fallas (March 1 - 5) but hopefully could avoid the serious croeds and noise/smoke.

savethewild

-- "crowds" not croeds

hetismij2

If you want to go swimming get a flight to one of the Canary islands for a week. Even in February you can swim in the sea there. Maybe choose one anyway as something different to mainland Spain. La Palma is my favourite, because it is warm, and green, and has good walking. Only a couple of black sand beaches though.

danon

You know what your kids would enjoy
Xativa and Sagunto are easy day trips from Valencia ( both have castles)

MyriamC

How about spending a few weeks at the Costa Blanca? Moraira, Jávea, Benissa are really nice small towns halfway between Valencia and Alicante. We love the beach and the atmosphere in Moraira (going for a month in October). It's a quiet town with a lovely boardwalk lined with good restaurants and cafés, but no party scene. Nice villas for rent in the hills just above town.
Even in mid March of this year it was warm enough to sit on the beach and to play in the water, although it has been the coldest and dreariest winter ever on the Costa Blanca.
Valencia is about 1 hr drive from Moraira. Easy for a daytrip!
If you don't like crowds, avoid the Fallas week. We were in Valencia during Las Fallas of this year and, while it was special and unique, it was a one-time experience for us.

kimhe

Málaga city on the coast could be an idea, the temperatures are usually higher here than inland Andalucía (Sevilla, Córdoba, Granada).

The first two weeks of March could even be beach time in Málaga, I swim here at these times (Norwegian...), and weather statistics for first half of March says average 70F and 7 hours sun/day.
http://www.wetteronline.de/klima-temperatur/malaga

3000 year old Málaga is great historic sights right in the city center, it's the major museum city in Andalucía and genuine and laid-back Andalucian atmosphere. https://www.lonelyplanet.com/spain/andalucia/malaga

And fabulous food, especially the typical chiringuitos/seafront restaurants is something to exceperience. The freshest fish and seafood grilled over open fire. Especially Sunday lunch at a chiringuito is a highlight of the week for many local families and groups of friends: https://www.spain-holiday.com/Malaga...nt-restaurants

Fine video intro to Málaga, "Spain's best kept secret": http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/de...pt-secret.html