MRod

My family and I are planning a two month trip to Spain to visit the areas of Andalucia, Barcelona and Northern Spain. We are planning around a need to conduct a meeting with colleagues in Madrid, Alicante, Valencia, Barcelona, A Coruna and Santiago de Compostela. The ;ength of meetings is brief and dates are flexible. We plan to fly from Los Angeles to Madrid on or about third week of June, 2010. We plan to rent a van (five in the family including children who will be 6, 13 and 15) and the following is our initial thoughts on a plan:

Madrid 3 nights
Andalucia for 10 days visiting Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada as well as white villages such as Arcos de la Frontera and Ronda.
Alicante 3 nights
Valencia 3 nights
Barcelona 7 nights (possibly Ribera)
Costa Brava 3 nights (somewhere near Begur or Tamariu)
Rioja region 3 nights
San Sebastian 3 nights
Ribadesella(Asturias) 3 nights
A Coruna 2 nights
Santiago de Compostela 3 nights
Salamanca 2 nights
Madrid 2 nights

The above itinerary is 47 days so we have an additional several days to add where we want. I appreciate any suggestions and/or thoughts on the above plan? Since we are traveling as a family during peak tourist season I want to make some decisions first about destinations to stay overnight and use as base camps for day trips. I seek destinations where the young teens will be able to safely roam without the need for constant parental supervision (all are Spanish fluent). Ideally destinations that are quiet (tourist lite) for us adults but not too boring for the kids. Thanks so much for your time considering and responding to this post.

Egbert

Sounds great to me. I would not drive wherever possible but maybe it's cheaper with 5 people. 3 nights in San Sebastian is not enough for me.

Viajero2

Rent a place for a week somewhere near Andalucia (Costa de la Luz), Barcelona, and Madrid.

Michael

Consider a lease. There may be some stiff pick-up and drop-off fees, but given the length of the trip, it may be worthwhile. This is particularly true in that you cannot have the CDW carried by your credit card because will not insure a rental of more than 31 days. Splitting the rental in two automatically increases the per day cost of the rental.

http://www.renaultusa.com/

http://www.autofrance.net/index.html

Paragkash

If you have not been to Portugal, why not go to Lisbon. One of the most amazing city. I liked it the most on the entire Iberian peninsula. You can explore some more places like Sintra, obidos, Nazare etc.
I hope you are planning to visit Jerez, Toledo and Segovia and Girona.

portuense

if you're in andalucia in june you'll beat peak season so why not have some days on the coast early in your trip. for me costa de la luz is always better than costa del sol: more spanish, not built up, not so busy, way better beaches...there's no contest. as suggested, rent a place for a week - somewhere around conil/el palmar/el colorado would be good because it's very central and you could easily day trip to cadiz, jerez, sanlucar, cape trafalgar, tarifa, even gibraltar (even morocco) from there; beaches are broad and very well kept and safe. plenty of options if your search the web but i would recommend andaluciahideaways.com.
i would also think about winding up with some r&r in the north - somewhere around santiago would be lovely (in theory) in high summer though this year wasn't the best. i guess ribeirasacra will spot this thread and give you more info as the local.
poster is right, portugal lovely and lisbon wonderful but you're already doing the whole of spain. take it a bit easy and save that for the next trip.
as for driving, well in your case you have to - and it will enable you to get the most out of the trip. it's really not that bad outside a couple of cities.

MRod

Great feedback. Perhaps San Sebastian for more days and have a day trip to Bilbao and other places...I was toying with the idea of a place for a week in Andalucia on the water, lovely ideas for Costa de la luz. Conil and El Palmar look like great locations. As far as another coastal r&r location I was thinking about Costa Brava not so much about coastal areas around Santiago but do have time so welcome any suggestions....While Lisbon is tempting, I have concerns about packing too much into an already packed agenda. Jerez is a planned pass through as are Toledo (leaving Madrid) and Segovia (returning to Madrid). Had not included Girona but could do that while on costa brava. thanks also for the rental care advise!!

kja

Sounds like a great trip! I'm glad to hear you are planning to visit Toledo. You might want to consider an overnight there - it is magical after day-trippers leave! Enjoy!

annhig

hi Mrod,

for a long trip, it does seem a bit bitty to me.

I agree with you trying to fit in another 7 day stay and I thought about San sebatian too. long stays give you the chance to rent an apartment which would be good for the kids, and I should think that it's a fairly safe place for them to wander about. our DS, then 15, had no problem going out in the mornings in Rome to buy our breakfasts, so i don't think you really need to worry about them.

have a great trip

mikelg

You may consider these two options for your stays all over Spain and in the Basque area. Since you will have a van, transport will be no problem.

www.toprural.com and www.nekatur.net. It´s cozy, first class "rural" accommodation at excellent prices and many of them will fit you all in one room (or two). Very well prepared for stays with children. Some will also have a pool and offer horse riding, trekkings, activities with kids,...

You are really touring Spain!! In many areas it´s not still peak season, so prices will be lower. Climate varies enormously from one area to the other, even in close ones, so be prepared for all kind of weather.

MRod

I appreciate the kind, supportive and helpful comments. I will certainly fit at least one if not two other 7 day stays to enable us to rent an apt or villa. As for Costa de la Luz, Conil looks bigger and El Palmar and Colorado seem like they might be nice quieter places to hang out and explore away from it all...but would there be too little to do for adolescents?? any additional comments about conil/el palmar/el colorado (or other place) to help me prioritize a Costa de la Luz base camp for the family?

I will also lease as opposed to rent. While the companies each charge a $400 surcharge since they need to bring the car out of France, it is still much cheaper than a rental car. I also like the nice selection of the rural accomodations and they make for a nice balance to the urban experiences we will have. Weather is going to be a challenge but that is why we are headed South first to avoid the extreme heats that come later in the summer and will be in the North last.

Michael

It might be worthwhile get an open jaw ticket arriving in Barcelona and departing from Madrid. That way you could spend your time in Barcelona without paying for parking the car while visiting the city, take the train to Perpignan to pick up the car and then start your tour of Spain. You would only have to pay the drop-off fee in Madrid.

ribeirasacra

I too recommend Toprural website.
For things to do in Galicia read www.turgalicia.es The official website for tourism in Galicia. But no reviews of accommodation, but any Galician accommodation you find is not listed there it is illegal and you should steer clear.
You have said you want to stay in SdC for 3 nights and A Coruña for 2. It is too many nights. I have some ideas but I would like to know more about what you want to see and do on this trip. I.e. do you only want to see cities? Do you want countryside wine tasting or other things?
As for transport I would also suggest you look at renting a long term Renault or Peugeot. I think they can be picked up in Spain too. The English usage of the word van means a vehicle to carry goods. You need to look for a people carrier or in Spanish monovolúmene. Just ensure it ahs a big enough carrying capacity for your luggage. Getting say a 6 seater can mean a small luggage space.

mikelg

Peugeot 807, Citroën C8, Lancia Phedra, Seat Alhambra, Mercedes Vito, Ford Galaxy, Renault Grand Space...may be good options for 5 people and a good trunk.

portuense

el palmar/colorado...you're right in as much as they are spread out communities with the focus on proximity to the beach. but...you will do well to follow the local pattern in terms of using your days. Many Spaniards don't go to the beach until after 6pm in the summer (though many do). That's because it's a bitt cooler though still v pleasant and because it will be light in June until 10ish.
It would make sense if you follow this sort of programme: Morning - beach for a couple of hours. Afternoon - long lunch if out, relax in villa (presumably with pool) if at home. Evening - out to beach, back home, shower, out to venta (like a cross between a bar, cafe & restaurant) or restaurant for supper.
Alternatively you could get out early while the day's still cool and do sightseeing in the mornings and wind up back at home late afternoon.
The kids will have plenty of chance to meet other kids on the beach - lots of nationalities down there, surfies, a really lively scene for youngsters. There are a couple of very pleasant ventas on the beach at el palmar so you could even be there all day, have a good lunch and watch the kids playing as you do so.
Towns like conil even Vejer (v pretty white hill town) are close by and good to visit in the evening. I think they'll be happy spending their time out in the open.
if you do book through andalucian hideaways speak to the guy who runs it - Gary. He was a director of one of the UK's biggest villa holiday companies before setting up on his own and knows the area as well as anyone

mikelg

portuense, that is applicable to southern Spain...in the north we go to the beach early, as sunny days are scarce...

MRod

These forums are great! I am a newbie and impressed at the wealth of knowledge. Michael, open jaw is a great idea to save $200 pick up fee and parking costs for a week. Downside is it has us starting up in Barcelona and costa brava ending up in Andalucia closer to August when it is hotter...

ribeirasacra, I appreciate your caution about too many nights between A Coruna and SdC. We want to see, taste and smell the various cultures in Spain and stay in places long enough to meet some locals and relax while enjoying the surroundings..this would certainly include some wine tasting but given ages of our kids (6,13,15) will not want to do too much of that lest we invite a multitude of complaints...We live in Los Angeles so while visiting some cities is a must in Spain, we would like to balance with Spanish countryside offerings. Thanks also for the language information about cars..

Mikelg thanks for your specific suggestions of cars that I could lease and may fullfill our needs of comforts with luggage space. Thanks also for pointing out some North/South differences

portuense I appreciate your suggestion of el palmar/colorado...Sounds to me that el palmar has the edge at this point for a generally great spot to park it and relax as well as for the kids to enjoy the scene and meet some friends...

mikelg

Be prepared to find big differences in climate, landscape, food, language, architecture... between the various regions of Spain you are going to visit. Flamenco and paella are not common in many parts of Spain, as you already know. This relatively small country is really heterogeneous, 17 autonomous communities (kind of states) and each with a strong personality.

I forgot the Volkswagen Sharan.

Egbert

Andalucia in July and August is not a good idea. It is crazy hot, like western texas. That's when you want to be on the north coast.

Michael

Yes, it is beastly hot in August. I remember being in a town between Seville and Cordoba around 2 p.m., and not even the lizards were out. On the other hand, one really appreciates the water gardens of the Generalife, and others in Seville and Cordoba.