Best way to get around Spain with a family?
 

We'll be traveling to Spain at the end of March 2013. Our son will be studying in Alcala & Madrid, and the rest of us will visit for a total of about 8 days on the ground (i.e. not including travel). Our group will be DH, me, 20yo, 18yo & 12yo.

We haven't decided yet where we want to go - obviously we'll just choose a section of the country.

My question is, what is the best way for the five of us to travel around? We've always rented a car in the UK & Ireland, but those are countries where we speak the language. Is it feasible to rent a car? Are we better off taking trains?

Thanks!

Unfortunately the answer is yes. It all depends where you are going. The roads are good, they have AVE high speed train for certain routes and cheap but reliable airlines like Vueling.

Sorry, one crtitical bit of info. Having a car in most Spanish cities is a royal pain in the butt, so it should be used when visiting smaller towns.

'Is it feasible to rent a car? Are we better off taking trains?' - when you have decided what you want and where you go then you can have advice on whether car, train, bus or flight, all may have a place.

If you want to see the countryside, then a car is a must. Trains are reliable but don't go where you might want to go. But that's the question, you are in central Spain in Madrid and can go in any direction, yet where you go is governed to some extent by where you are flying back from.

If you haven't booked flights yet, then fly into Madrid and home from Barcelona. Catalonia is a great drive from Madrid and if you're into wine, you can take in some lovely wine country. When you get to Barcelona, ditch the car--you won't need it.

For five people you will find that a car is a cheaper way to get around. But, you'll be there for a short time so it may make more sense to use the train or air.

Rent the car! A train would be a pain to find 5 seats together,constantly looking for/getting to the stations!

Our family of four traveled through Spain a few years ago, incorporating a combination of cities (Seville, Granada) with smaller towns such as Torremolinas and Ronda. We found having a car was indispensable for easily and economically getting to all of these places. Driving and parking in Seville was a bit of a challenge, but we managed. It did help that we speak Spanish, but you could probably do fine without speaking the language.

Having a car will give you so much more flexibility in your travel and I expect it will be much cheaper than buying 5 train tickets for wherever you want to go.

I just returned today from 3 weeks driving around Spain with husband and kids (20, 18), with only the most basic spanish. No problem, just don't rent a giant truck that will get stuck up tiny alleyways.

With 5 people I would definitely rent a car. Gives you the freedom to see and do much more - on your own schedule. I just hate the idea of sitting on a train and seeing a cute town or gorgeous monastery pass by - and you have to way to get to it.

As for parking - just make sure your hotel has a garage.

Thanks all for the replies. Haven't decided yet, but this is helpful for our planning.

With only 8 short days and 5 people, you will have things pretty well planned out so you see the things you most want to see. You won't have a lot of time for meandering off the road anyway, so I wouldn't worry about missing anything.

If you plan on visiting only cities with short day trips: Madrid + Toledo & Segovia, Seville + Cordoba and Barcelona, then, IMHO, no car because none is needed in any of those places, and it isn't fun to drive and park in them. If you want countryside and other small towns, then a car is best.

Roads are very good in Spain, and the traffic, except in the cities, is light. If I were you, I would arrange my itinerary so that you use the car for trips between smaller towns and cities. Pick the car up and drop it off at airports. Driving in towns like Madrid or Sevilla is just too crazy.

Be aware that parking may be quite expensive. In Mérida, I was surprised to find that parking my car at the parador cost $25 per night. In other cities, I don't recall it being that expensive, though.