Hi KarenWoo, I use cheapair.com, which has a calculator that you can use to figure out the best time to buy tickets between different locations, depending on when you ar going. It also sets out how much you will likely pay for tickets, depending on when you buy them. They update their statistics every year and they are based on actual prices paid for airlines tickets. I put in Barcelona and Madrid because I thought it would give a good idea of when to buy flights to Spain, and figured there was a good chance we would be flying into or out of one of those cities. It is a great resource and I always consult it now before buying tickets.

Thanks ribeirasacra. I will check that out. That would be another good reason not to rent a car! ��

Ok, ribierasacra, I read that and if the child is over 135 cm tall (which luckily both of mine are) they don't need a booster, even if they are under 12 years old. This is addressed in the text and in comments section with a specific question. Phew!

glad about that, one less thing to bother about.

Daria, if you're willing to fly out of Oakland, they're now offering nonstop flights to Barcelona.

Thank you PegS, yes we are definitely willing. I use Kayak and take th best deal I can get. :)

So now the fam is thinking of maybe limiting this trip to Northern Spain and wondering if we should go to Tassa De Mar instead of Nerja. Thoughts? I might be willing to do that if it was easier to get there on the train, and cheaper to get there, from Barcelona or our other destinations, although it would mean giving up the Alhambra. I will look into it.

Daria - Although it's a complete cryin' shame to miss the Alhambra in Granada and the Mezquita in Cordoba, here is an idea for you if you want to stick to northern Spain:-

Recently we saw on Netflix a film called Finding Altamira. It's in English btw. Way back in the 60s I visited Altamira which you can no longer do. They have a replica cave nearby. After some research I found a site that says there are 41 such caves in the area and six of them are open. I think both you and the kids would find them fascinating. Here's the site - totallyspaintravel.com and the article is, "Are the Cantabrian Cave Paintings in Northern Spain the Oldest Art in Europe ?"

If you are still going to San Sebastian, they would be easy to visit, Santillana del Mar, Santander, etc. There are beaches all along that coast. Something to investigate.

That sounds great Bedar. Thank you! We are definitely still going to San Sebastián. I will check out that movie and website.

I would strongly suggest you get a a good idea on what YOU want to do and where YOU want to see.
We can fill in the gaps, but the idea of fitting in somewhere way off your original route is looking as if you are going to have to use a car and not have enough time to give locations the justice they need.

PS The offical tourist website for Spain gives a great list of all the caves from there you can get to see the relevant websites for each one.
http://www.spain.info/en/que-quieres..._altamira.html