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Itinerary advice for a family with two young children

Itinerary advice for a family with two young children

Old May 18th, 2015, 02:04 AM
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Itinerary advice for a family with two young children

I am traveling to Spain and Portugal with my wife and two kids (an 8 year old and a 3.5 year old). We are going to be in Spain for 13 days and 4 days in Portugal from mid July to early August. I want this vacation to be a relaxed trip rather than an attraction-packed hectic one, so I have planned the following itinerary and would appreciate input as to whether this is a good plan. Please feel free to suggest changes. Thank you all for your time and input.

Barcelona – Days 1-3

Day 1 - Fly in around 5:30 pm. For remainder of the evening relax in and around the hotel.

Day 2 -

Morning - Barri Gòtic, Catedral de Barcelona and Museu Picasso

Lunch in La Ribera

After Lunch – Parc de la Ciutadella & Parc Zoològic. Spend some time there and then walk along Moll de la Fusta to Mirador de Colón and Las Ramblas.

Evening – End the day at Montjuïc and Poble Espanyol.

Day 3 -

Morning - La Sagrada Família & Parc Güell.

After Lunch - L'Aquarium de Barcelona

Evening - Parc d'Atraccions

Madrid – Days 4-7

Day 4 -

Morning – Train to Madrid

Afternoon - Palacio Real (Royal Palace) & Museo de Cera de Madrid

Evening - Plaza Mayor & Old Madrid

Day 5 -

Morning – Museo del Prado & Parque del Retiro.

Afternoon/Evening - Parque de Atracciones & Teleférico

Day 6 – Day Trip to Toledo

Day 7 – Day Trip to Segovia or El Escorial (Leaning towards Segovia)

Andalucia - Days 8-13

Day 8 – Cordoba

Train to Seville with a stop in Cordoba to see the Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba & Calleja de las Flores.

Day 9 – Seville

Morning – Alcázar

After Lunch - Barrio de Santa Cruz, Plaza de Santa Cruz & Murillo Gardens

Evening - Catedral de Sevilla & La Giralda followed by a Flamenco show

Day 10 – Seville

Morning – Parque María Luisa, Plaza de América & Museo de Artes y Costumbres Populares.

After Lunch - Itálica

Evening - La Cartuja & Isla Mágica

Rent a car from Seville and drive around Costa del Sol with overnights at Torremolinos & Tarifa.

Day 11 – Torremolinos - beach time & Aquapark

Day 12 -

Morning – Mijas & Fuengirola

Afternoon – Marbella & Estepona

Evening – Tarifa & Mirador del Estrecho

Day 13 - The Rock of Gibraltar

Portugal – Days 14-17

Day 14 – Lisbon

Morning/Early afternoon – Return car at Seville and fly to Lisbon.

Afternoon/Evening - Castelo de São Jorge & Alfama district

Day 15 – Lisbon

Morning - Jardim Zoológico de Lisboa & Oceanário de Lisboa

Afternoon/Evening - Planetário Calouste Gulbenkian & Jardim da Estrela

Day 16 – Day trip to Sintra, visiting Palácio Nacional de Sintra & Castelo dos Mouros.

Day 17 – Beach day along Costa do Sol

Morning – Estoril

Afternoon – Cascais & Museu do Mar

Evening - Cabo da Roca

Thanks,

Shehzad
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Old May 18th, 2015, 02:13 AM
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I want this vacation to be a relaxed trip rather than an attraction-packed hectic one

But yet it seems that you have come up with a hectic itinerary.
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Old May 18th, 2015, 02:23 AM
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How are you getting from Tarifa to Lisbon? It will be at least a 6 hour drive. On which days are your travel days?

Hectic, hectic, hectic.
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Old May 18th, 2015, 02:52 AM
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Wow,

First are you and you family ready for the heat of day at the end of July start of August in Madrid and some of the other places mentioned.

Secondly you will find that even the locals tend to take 12 to 3pm off and go to bed. They extend the day so that you will find kids up at 11pm at night as it is just so hot and because they had a 3 to 5 hour siesta---- for a reason. Are you ready to modify your awake/sleep patterns to fit in?

Thirdly, and I am a Brit so very proud of Gib, but the place will be packed and if the Spaniards do their usual nonsense they may put up access barriers, make crossing slow etc. Not sure I'd want to stuff kids through that in the heat.

Finally, you have a lot planned (not a bad idea at all) but I suggest you ease back on actually achieving some of this. For instance I'd probably plat a fair bit by ear and have a park option for every day if you just want to chill out and eat ice cream
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Old May 18th, 2015, 04:17 AM
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You must understand that at this time of year souther Spain - and even Madrid - tend to be hellishly hot. A high of around 100 is average and highs can reach 120. MANY people spend the afternoon either in a pool or indoor in a place with AC. Make sur eyour lodgings have strong AC and a good pool.

Separately this is a VERY rushed itinerary - even for adults - and frankly I don;t think it's doable with two little ones. They will need more rest, time to relax and most important - get them out of the heat of the day. You must all be careful to remain hydrated - carry water at all times - and esp for the toddler serious symptoms due to overheating are a potential problem.

Strongly suggest you slow things down - and follow the local habit of getting out of the heat from lunch until early evening. Also - how will you deal with the late dining hours with such small kids - probably won;t want to wait until 9 or 10 pm for dinner.

I would really reconsider this itinerary. (If it were me I would be heading north this time of year - do Switz or Germany or even Scand. We don;t do Spain any later than April due to the heat.)
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Old May 18th, 2015, 05:03 AM
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Just to re-enforce NYT's point, supper in Spain starts about 9-10pm in the summer, depending on where you are you may find restaurants open before then but maybe not.
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Old May 18th, 2015, 07:37 AM
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First, NYT is AGAIN repeating the canard that she brandishes every time the notion of traveling in Spain in summer comes up on this board - SPAIN HAS NEVER RECORDED A TEMPERATURE OF 120 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. So be clear on that. Nonetheless, central and southern Spain do have Dallas-like summer days and that does suck, but it's not as bad as Phoenix.

Second, this goal will not be met: I want this vacation to be a relaxed trip rather than an attraction-packed hectic one, so I have planned the following itinerary and would appreciate input as to whether this is a good plan.

Not a chance that your itinerary will be relaxed and not hectic. Did you read it after you posted?

* There's no way you're going to visit BOTH Sagrada Familia and the Parc Guell in a morning. They're in different parts of the city and the Parc requires a cab, multiple buses or metro and bus to reach.
* You're trying to visit FIVE towns and the outskirts of the fifth on Day 12.
* You're wasting time in Gibraltar so that the monkeys can fling their poop at you and you can go to a local pub and hear the pseudo-brits complain about Spaniards instead of relaxing on the beach at Tarifa or Torremolinos, which the kids will need at that point.
* Of course, by then the three-year old will have long since revolted considering s/he will have been schlepped to Toledo and Segovia and Cordoba on consecutive days and then dragged around much of Seville.

And unless you don't have zoos where you live, why bother with them here? The Barcelona aquarium is good, and overpriced.

Ultimately, even if you could or would do this itinerary with just you and your wife, you cannot do it with the hobbits in tow. Rethink.
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Old May 18th, 2015, 08:04 AM
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can we not simply agree that it's going to be very hot and leave it at that?

whatever the expected maximum temp, you're going to struggle to do half of this. I would divide your lists into "must sees" and "possibles" and be prepared to miss lots of the second category.

you need to allow for afternoon sleeps, getting from one attraction to another, ice-creams, toilet stops, etc,
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Old May 18th, 2015, 08:40 AM
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I love "Day 17 – Beach day along Costa do Sol" from Lisbon, no less. He must be using information from TA as a planning guide.

This is a highly impractical itinerary, even for someone in a hurry.

Regarding high temperatures in the south. The following is from Explore Seville (www.exploreseville.com/weather.htm):

The one thing you likely know, or should know, is that it gets really, really hot in the summer. I mean it's damn hot in the summer in Sevilla, especially in August. Sevilla holds the record for the hottest city in Europe with a record of 50° C (122° F). That was back in 1888, but I do believe they tied or broke that in August of 2003, when the temperature in the street rose to 52° C, or 126° F! On those days the streets were literally empty during the middle of the day. If you wanted to go out you did so before 10am and then not until maybe 11pm at night. Friends of mine with little food in the house preferred to stay inside and be hungry rather than brave the heat.
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Old May 18th, 2015, 08:43 AM
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Would concentrate on Barcelona and the Med coast part of Andalucia. And in all of Spain, kids are everywhere. Just great to bring them to a tapas restaurant, small portions of whatever goodies you want, everone will be happy.

In Barcelona with kids: http://www.timeout.com/barcelona/kid...elona-for-kids

In the Malaga region along the Med coast, becahtime and Aqua park in Torremolinos is a good idea (had great holidays myself here as a kid some 40 years ago...).

Some other suggestions in the area that could be fun for both the kids and you:

Wolf park in Antequera, just north of Malaga city: http://www.lobopark.com/en/

The close by Torcal nature park. You can drive up here, and on a clear day you could see to Morrocco: http://www.andalucia.com/antequera/torcal/home.htm

The Roman theater and the 8-11th century Moorish Alcazaba (fortress/Palace) in the center of wonderful Malaga city: http://www.malagaturismo.com/en/tour...ail/alcazaba/6
http://www.malagaturismo.com/en/tour...tro-romano/413

The spectacular Nerja caves, a little east of Malaga city, lived people here some 30 000 years ago: http://www.cuevadenerja.es/index.php?lenguaje=en
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Old May 18th, 2015, 09:23 AM
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Big Russ -

Sorry but Seville has reported historic highs of 51 degrees - or 123 farenheit. Is it common - of course not! Is it possible - yes - it's in the records. Don;t see why you refuse to accept it - since you obviously weren't there.

But 100 degrees is quite common - and hauling a toddler around in that is NOT a good idea!
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Old May 18th, 2015, 11:46 AM
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Sorry but the 122 and 123 degree readings in Spain are unreliable, as the Spanish themselves state: http://www.abc.es/sociedad/20130617/...306171107.html

Thus, I refuse to accept it because Spain has REFUSED TO FORMALLY VALIDATE those claims. Just like your car doesn't sit out in 122-degree heat in Dallas when it only hits 105 - air temperatures are the correct measure, not the heated up surfaces that retain heat more than ambient air.

That said, my statements regarding the nature of the itinerary not matching the goals of "relaxed" and "not hectic" are less assailable.
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Old May 18th, 2015, 12:12 PM
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It's summer. It's Spain. It's HOT all over Spain. Cooler in the north but still hot. Every item from the Spanish Tourist Office has a blazing sun on it. Yes, nytraveler constantly makes remarks about the heat in Spain. I rather wonder what she does in NYC in summer when it's hot, humid, and miserable.
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Old May 18th, 2015, 03:41 PM
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"I rather wonder what she does in NYC in summer when it's hot, humid, and miserable." She probably heads for Spain.
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Old May 18th, 2015, 09:46 PM
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Every thread has to be pedantic about something. And this thread's pedantic portion is summer highs in Andalucia.
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Old May 18th, 2015, 11:49 PM
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hey Shehz, any thoughts?
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Old May 19th, 2015, 01:29 AM
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Hello All,

Thanks for all the responses. I appreciate the candid advice regarding the pace of the itinerary and the weather in Spain and Portugal in July/August. That is exactly the kind of information I needed as this will be my first time outside of Madrid and especially with children in tow. I know the siesta routine so we were kind of prepared for the late nights with kids, however, now that so much has been said we are on the fence about it.

From what I gather, I either need to rethink the destination or target the areas by the coast. Secondly, if I do decide to travel to Spain and Portugal, I think I will plan on a few (2-3) activities per day, rather than the "suggested family itineraries", which is what I originally based this itinerary on. Thirdly, Gibraltar needs to be replaced by more beach time in Torremolinos.

We did France and Switzerland last year; what other kid friendly countries would you all suggest for a 2 week to 18 days vacation from mid July to early August?

Once again thank you all for your valuable inputs.

Regards,

Shehzad
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Old May 19th, 2015, 02:26 AM
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You'll find in Spain and Portugal that the people are very kid friendly.

Mid July to Early August sort of rules out Italy, hot, crowded etc
I'd look at the Netherlands and Southern/Western Germany as well and you can treat them all as one due to the great public transport.

Some ideas would be to go to the Mosel and chill out in a village near the river, with train trips to Luxembourg, Trier, etc Similar in the Netherlands near either the sea or an inland lake/canal, but probably avoiding the likes of Bruges and go to some of the smaller dutch towns.

http://netherlandsbynumbers.com/2014...h-theme-parks/
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Old May 19th, 2015, 06:57 AM
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Shehzad - continue your trip plans for Spain. It is the most kid-friendly country I've come across. Just take a relaxed attitude to covering all on your list. Even if it were winter, it would be difficult to do so. And, yes, drop Gibraltar. You all will enjoy your trip and have great fun !
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Old May 19th, 2015, 08:08 AM
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>

How did you draw that conclusion? Just because your itinerary was nuts with a 3.5 year old in tow doesn't mean you need to scrap the destination.
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