inetface

Greetings everyone. I’ve been reading a lot of the information on this forum and it has been extremely helpful so far. I’ve decided to reach for help regarding our upcoming trip. My wife and I are taking our kids (boy 13, girl 13, boy 10) for a 10-day trip to Spain during spring break this year. All I have confirmed so far is our tickets in and out. We will be arriving in Barcelona on March 25th very early in morning and leaving out of Madrid on April 3rd late at night. I was recently in both cities for a short stay without the family, so I have some ideas on what to focus on while we are there but I’m kind of torn on whether we should spend our full week between Barcelona and Madrid with day trips from there, or whether we should take a quick jaunt to Granada to see the Alhambra. My mind tells me that it probably makes more sense to stay within both cities especially since we are traveling as a family but my heart would love to make the jump over to Granada. We obviously want to make the trip memorable for the kids and want to focus on activities and sights that will inspire them and stay with them moving forward. The kids love to walk and they enjoy the traveling aspect of our trips so I’m not too worried about that component. We are definitely planning to focus on the visuals like the unique architecture, parks, streets, plazas, and definitely food. I think we will stay away from big museums because we will most likely lose their interest quickly. When we told them we were going to Spain, the one request they had was to visit some castles, which is why we are thinking of doing a day trip to Segovia from Madrid. It is also why Alhambra comes to mind. I’ve always heard that this was a must see in Spain. Based on that I would appreciate any thoughts or recommendations any of you may have. The following are the two options we are currently considering:


Option 1:

Barcelona (4.5 days (4 nights) – Saturday to Wednesday mid-day)

AVE train from Barcelona to Madrid (Wednesday mid-day)

Madrid (5.5 days (5 nights) - Wednesday afternoon to Monday night)
(This will include a 1 day trip to Segovia and either Coca Castle or Manzanares el Real Castle and 1 day trip to Toledo via AVE)

Option 2:

Barcelona (4 days (4 nights) - Saturday to Wednesday early morning)

Direct flight from Barcelona to Granada arriving ~8:30am

Granada (1.5 days (1 night) – Wednesday morning (~9am) to Thursday noon)

Bus to Malaga from Granada and AVE to Madrid on Wednesday afternoon

Madrid (4.2 days (4 nights) – Thursday afternoon (~6pm) to Monday night (10pm)
(We would still include a 1 day trip to Segovia but not do Toledo)


Again, any thoughts, recommendations, or reality check would be greatly appreciated.

Bedar

Option 2 seems doable with that jaunt to Malaga. Have fun !

lindygirl

I can't speak to Madrid but I went on a solo trip to Spain and covered San Sebastian, Barcelona, Granada, and Seville. I would definitely recommend Granada but yes you have to fly there which eats into your time. The Alhambra and Generalife are worth a visit. Wander the streets in the Albayzin and check out the caves in the Sacromonte district. I would recommend more than just one night there but that would impact the amount of time you have in Madrid.

If your kids are up for it, I recommend free walking tours with Runner Bean in Barcelona. It's such a great way to get acquainted with the city. Buy your tickets to the La Sagrada Familia online ahead of time and skip the line!

Here my trip report that I put together with pictures, itinerary, and tips:
http://fanofblank.blogspot.com/2014/...-in-spain.html

Enjoy trip planning! Would it make sense to get a feel of what your kids would be interested in? There are also cooking classes which could be a lot of fun for the entire family.

PalenQ

Book trains really early - AVE type trains -to get neat discounts- www.renfe.com though it can be difficult for many it seems to work; For info on Spanish trains in general check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Option 2- much warmer nicer weather in March than Madrid and to me more interesting places.

Robert2016

You can book your trains at www.petrabax.com as soon as they become available.

With only 10 days, and two children, I would stick with Barcelona and Madrid. There is a lot to see and do to fill the day and you end up traveling a bit less, saving a day or two, and changing hotels.

If you want to get an overview of Barcelona or Madrid on your own, then take the HOHO bus. If you want to take a tour of the city, then hire a professional. There are a number of excellent ones in both Barcelona and Madrid.

The following may be of some help:

http://www.maribelsguides.com/mg_bar...ightseeing.pdf
www.maribelsguides.com/mg_madrid.pdf

cdnyul

http://www.castillosnet.org/espana/index.php

There are over 1000 castles and castle ruins between Barcelona and Madrid

Ask your kids which castles they would like to visit and figure out how to get there.

Other places between Barcelona and Madrid that, given a chance your children would enjoy;

Zaragoza and the nearby castle in Loarre.

Albarracin and the surrounding area would keep them exploring for a week.

It would be unfair to go to Spain and not let them experience Merida.

inetface

Wow! A lot of good ideas. Thank you all for quick replies.

PalenQ

You can book your trains at www.petrabax.com as soon as they become available.>

Again try renfe.com as I always would rather book direct with source as possible and petrabax though they have similar fares may have a minor fee - but many cannot get renfe.com to work so petrabax is a good backup that will work for most.

daria

We are planning a trip to Spain with our 10 year old twins, and so I would love to hear how it goes when you return. Thanks!