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Spain Travel with Kids - Help with Itinerary and Expectations

Spain Travel with Kids - Help with Itinerary and Expectations

Old Mar 27th, 2013, 05:25 AM
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Spain Travel with Kids - Help with Itinerary and Expectations

HI,
We are a family traveling with 3 kids and a mother-in-law this June to Spain. My youngest is 7 years of age and my other kids are ages 19 and 14 so I do not worry about them except for the time it takes to organize and get everyone ready. We plan to go be in Madrid (5 days), Toledo (day-trip), Segovia (day-trip), Cordoba (day-trip), Granada (2 days) and Sevilla (3 days) for a total of 10 days.

My questions are:
1) is this itinerary too aggressive with all the people we have, in particular a 7 yr old?
2) Comments on hotels -- it seems it is too late to get an apartment that can accommodate 6 for our 4 nights in Madrid.
3) Car traveling issues

Madrid - I'm currently considering Ateneo Hotel and Hostal Gonzalo. My concern with Ateneo is the proximity to the red district (prostitution). Can anyone comment on either?

Granada- Hotel Anacapri
Sevilla - Hotel YH Giralda

Also, traveling by train is too expensive for all of us (over $4000!) so we will be renting a minivan. Concerns: insurance does not cover windows or tires? what is the likelihood that we would get a brake-in? Will parking a large van be a problem?

Finally, my main concern is whether this trip will be daunting for me (with such a large party especially with a 7 year old. She is happy and pleasant and rarely complains but we will be doing lots of walking and the food/eating times will definitely be a challenge (no seafood allowed). I want this to be an enjoyable trip for my family but given the cost involved and all I want to do, I am not sure if I should proceed. (I will be purchasing non-refundable tickets within the next week!)

Comments and suggestions, please. I would love to take everyone but I do have the option of just going with my husband (which would mean we could stay at the Ritz in Madrid, Parador in Granada and the Alfonso in Sevilla!)
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Old Mar 27th, 2013, 06:25 AM
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well, good description of what you are trying to do and the concerns you have.

Madrid whould be nice and hot in June say 28C, the streets aren't aircon but there are fountains everywhere.

Generally streets are small in each of the towns you mention (though Toledo is small enough to use the town car park) but you must have a vehicle that hides everything that you have from criminals but you will find that driving (rather than parking) a big van through some of these will stress you out.

The Spanish rail price looked way too high, which website did you use to get them?
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Old Mar 27th, 2013, 07:02 AM
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I got a quote for Spain pass - 4 trips for 6 people. The cost for each individual trip on renfe was equally expensive.

I was not able get multi-city cost on renfe because some trains still are not listed for those days. But I would need 6 tickets from Madrid to Cordoba to Granada to Sevilla and back to Madrid. I would still rent a car for Toledo and Segovia, park and then walk everywhere. It just seems more economical to rent a van (though gasoline is more expensive in Europe) than to pay for day tours which ranges around 30-50 euros per person per city.

I think was stresses me out the most is that I am relying on hotels rather than apartments which would give me some "home" comfort.

Does anyone know of rentals just outside Madrid but near-by that we could use? I am only planning on going to Prado, Palace, Reina Sofia and Retiro Park so I could stay on the outskirts of Madrid, get free parking, and a home/condo...if I can find where to look. I have searched vrbo/spainselect/losjeronimos/etc. but I don't know the neighborhoods and surrounding areas well enough to make choose a location and expand my search. Any help appreciated
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Old Mar 27th, 2013, 07:08 AM
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Well 28C isn't hot - it's 83 degrees and if that's the worst you get in Spain in June, you'll be in good shape.

Dunno Madrid areas but you may just want to be non-central like in the Chamartin or Quatro Torres area or somewhere near the Bernabeu instead of completely outside the city. Madrid is larger than Chicago and staying in the 'burbs would be inconvenient but staying outside the tourist centers would be more likely to net you a decent apartment.

Are you considering a Cordoba day-trip from Madrid? Why? Do it from Seville, which is less than 90 miles away.
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Old Mar 27th, 2013, 08:01 AM
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BigRuss,

Thank you for the recommendations. As for Cordoba, I plan to make it a 6-hour-max stop before continuing to Granada. Does it make sense to do it on the way down to Granada or should I do it on the way up from Seville to Madrid?
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Old Mar 27th, 2013, 08:29 AM
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You gotta break the little travelers in sometime! The only aggressive part of the trip are the day trips from Madrid. Are you doing three trips during the five days you are there? Are you allowing a day for jet lag? Time to travel between cities?

I think anything is doable with kids as long as you add some things that they might be interested in. I remember researching either Toledo or Cordoba and they had a little sightseeing train that looked like fun. We were in Spain when my kids were just a bit older than your youngest. We cut Toledo and Cordoba from our list, too bad as I know they are supposed to be lovely cities.

The hotel we stayed at in Granada was not in the center but had an outdoor pool. You don't have huge amount of excess time in Granada but if your child needed to chill that could be an option.
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Old Mar 27th, 2013, 08:32 AM
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Preface to say we booked our Spanish rail tickets through Rail Europe website provided you live in the US. The tickets were sent to a home address in the States and I was absolutely pleased as punch with the ease in selection and purchasing.
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Old Mar 27th, 2013, 10:35 AM
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Hoo boy. I'd think Cordoba as a stop from Seville to Madrid not as a stop from Madrid to Granada (that's more of a trip and makes a really long day).

I liked Cordoba generally. Had little use for Granada - Alhambra and . . . rather drab city.
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Old Mar 27th, 2013, 12:22 PM
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Thanks BigRuss. I was wondering whether it would be too long a day but I do want to stop on Cordoba to see the Mezquita. I went on google and was overwhelmed with how big is Granada so I planned on 2 days and gave Seville 3 days. But everyone tells me, Seville is worth a week.

Finecheapboxofwine, I went to the us Rail Europe site and the Spain pass was less expensive. I think the difference may have been that I was at first pricing everything (to include Toledo, Segovia, and Cordoba). The pricing for 4 days is still $1600+ (no Cordoba and no Segovia which I can live with). I guess I have to put a price on my time to compare but a van is less than 1/2 the cost of the pass (have not added cost of gas, highway fares, if any). The only thing positive right now is that the euro is trending down and not up!
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Old Mar 27th, 2013, 01:19 PM
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Petrol is expensive and the tolls may be too. But you'd be hard pressed to blow 4K on a rental, especially if you DO NOT get the van until you must (e.g., see the museums and Palace on days 1-2 or 1-3, obtain vehicle and do day trip 1, day trip 2, go to Granada, blah blah blah).
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Old Mar 27th, 2013, 05:55 PM
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4K seems really excessive to me, even for six people. I don't think you need a rail pass. Check costs of individual trips. Point to point purchased early might be better.

Short trips like Madrid to Toledo is only about 30 minutes and 10 euro.

Seville to Cordoba is only about 45 minutes and costs between 7.50 to 30 euro.

Also, in some cases the bus might work nearly as well for a lot less money. Example there are frequent buses to Granada from Madrid for 20 euro.

I also would not do Cordoba on the way from Madrid to Granada, but do Cordoba as a day trip from Seville.

Driving is OK in Spain outside of cities, and great for exploring some small towns, but you are visiting cities. Driving into Toledo is basically impossible and Madrid, Cordoba, Seville and Granada can be a bear, depending on where you go.

Related to that, I do not recommend being outside of the cities. It is too much time wasted going back and forth with so many people, plus the cost of doing so. It is nice to be located so you can easily walk to restaurants in the evening, etc.

I like your 2 days in Granada. Fun areas to walk around.

Segovia is lovely, but you can always do it at the last minute after you are there.

Look at this web site for lots of info on getting around in Spain.
About.com Spain Travel (by Damien Corrigan).

If your hotel does not provide free parking, be sure to add it in when you figure the cost of car rental compared with bus and train.

Are you flying in and out of Madrid? If so, see if you can get a cheap flight directly on to Granada, start there and put all your time in Madrid at the end so you will be there the night before you fly out. Or - see if you can do a multi- city: fly into one city and out of another, perhaps for only a little more money and probably for less than a separate trip by train or car.
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Old Mar 27th, 2013, 09:26 PM
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Sergovia is easy via bus from MAD. Bus travel in Europe is not like Greyhound or Trailways in the US. Very comfortable and reasonable..as are the trains..point to point..not passes. Senior discounts, student discounts are available..Driving is no problem except in cities..If you stay in Sergovia the Infante Isabella is nice, right on the plaza valet parking and very resonable. Hot is hot and there isn't much in the way of airconditioning in many places. Keep H2O handy and enjoy it often. Take your time and if there are roses "stop and smell them"!!! BTW Parking ran 10 to 12 Euros for us on our driving trip.
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