megkelly0667

Hi all,

My family will be travelling in Spain in late Dec/early Jan 2023-24. It will be me, my husband and our 12 yo daughter, plus my brother, SIL, and their 2 teenagers. We have booked our flights and our Sevilla accomodations, but almost everything else is somewhat flexible. I have been to Barcelona before which is why only 1-2 days there planned. I'll put our tentative plan below. We are mostly interested in walking around the cities, touring castles/mosques/churches. Less interest in museums. I'm not planning restaurants in advance for the most part because we aren't foodies, and we also have so many allergies we can't always eat at suggested places. I'd love to hear if this seems like a reasonable itinerary, and appreciate any thoughts or suggestions.Dec 27 arrive Seville late afternoon, stay air bnb -

Dec 28 Seville

Dec 29 daytrip to Cordoba, tour guide already booked through Tours by Locals.

Dec 30 Seville

Dec 31 daytrip to Granada, stay Granada (Palacio de Santa Ines?)

Jan 1 train to Madrid (Hotel Mayorazgo?)

Jan 2 Madrid - go to royal palace, eat at La Lina (gluten free). Not planning to go to Prado due to lack of interest from 12 yo.

Jan 3 daytrip to Segovia (unless we can get tickets to Real Madrid, not released yet).

Jan 4 train to Barcelona - see park guell in afternoon (Hotel Condes de Barcelona?)

Jan 5 Barcelona -sagrada familia in early morning, 3 kings parade in afternoon

Jan 6 fly home
Here are my questions:
1. Do we need to book train tickets in advance? (for daytrip to Cordoba, then Sevilla to Granada, Granada to Madrid, daytrip to Segovia, Madrid to Barcelona.)
2. Do I need to make restaurant reservations for Dec 31 and Jan 1? Will places be open these days or closed for holiday?
3. Am I trying to do too many cities? I could cut out the daytrip to Segovia while we are in Madrid, but so many people have told me it was their favorite part of Spain.

Thank you so much!

Melnq8

Am I trying to do too many cities?

It would be way too many for me.

We spent 16 nights on our most recent trip to Spain, split between Barcelona, Granada, Seville and Madrid; it was plenty hectic and we missed more than we saw. We spent five nights in Seville with no day trips, and I could have used a few more, but hey, we all have different travel styles (and energy). I'd allow a minimum of two nights in Granada, which is only one full day.

Don't underestimate travel time and the time needed to get oriented in each new place, etc. Plus, traveling that time of year means less daylight and possible holiday closures.

studenttobe

Melnq8: Not to hijack this thread, but just wanted to say I found your comments useful (and on point) when thinking right now as a matter of fact about a trip to Andalucia that I'm planning (and bugging people about in this forum). Thanks for the reflections on Seville and Granada-very timely for me.

megkelly0667: I don't have experience traveling with largish family groups or with children, but I'd just add that it seems like too many stops in general and with a large group in particular. When I've had large family groups (with kids of all ages) as houseguests there is so much coordination and "getting out of the door" time involved that I admit it makes me a bit nuts. For that reason, moving everyone in and out of lodging and onto trains or into cars seems to me like it would necessarily slow things down or make for some complicated dynamics. Re reservations Dec 31/Jan 1--have never been to Spain at that time, but I feel like everywhere in the world those nights need a reservation, esp if you are limiting the subset of restaurants to those that work well around allergy restrictions. How exciting that your family is traveling together.

Maribel

Am I trying to do too many cities?
This would be for me a very, very rushed itinerary but as Melnq8 says, we all have different travel styles and energy. If you need to cut back, I would save Barcelona for another trip because in only 2 days you'll barely scratch the surface, hardly worth the 3-hour train ride.

1. Yes, you absolutely must book train tickets in advance during the Christmas-New Years-Epiphany holiday period.

2. Yes, you'll need restaurant reservations. The fine dining restaurants that will be open will have gala, very expensive, tasting menu only, holiday meals. Even the hotel restaurants will have these. If you don't wish to throw caution to the winds, you should look for modest ethnic restaurants for those 2 nights-----Indian, Thai, Chinese, etc. The ethnic eateries tend to open then.

3. I would eliminate Barcelona. Save it for a future trip when you have time to do it justice.

As for the hotels, the Condes de Barcelona will be your nicest, most upscale lodging by far. I've stayed there in the modern annex.
I'm not a big fan (not at all) of the Mayorazgo given its hectic location right off the always teeming Gran Vía (think Broadway), especially during the holidays. It can't compare with the Condes de Barcelona in style, upscale location or comfort.
I've stayed at the Palacio de Santa Inés in the Albaicín, and it will require some climbing. The bottom section, along the Carrera del Darro is much easier.

Melnq8

Melnq8: Not to hijack this thread, but just wanted to say I found your comments useful (and on point) when thinking right now as a matter of fact about a trip to Andalucia that I'm planning (and bugging people about in this forum). Thanks for the reflections on Seville and Granada-very timely for me.

studenttobe - FWIW, we spent three nights in Granada and five in Seville. I could have easily used another two in Seville, and that would have allowed time to make a few day trips without rushing.

This may or may not be helpful:

Spain: Take Two

Maribel

To give you an idea of the high cost of these gala New Year's Eve and New Year's Day meals in Madrid at city hotels-- for NYE the hotels, especially the 5 stars, often offer a cotillón, or dancing after dinner, making the price even more prohibitive.

Prices per person from last year:
Gran Meliá Fénix, 325
Hesperia, 299
Orfila, 280
Only You, 240
Vincci Soho, 195
Intercontinental, 475

These are the ethnic restaurants where Madrid NYE dining, per person, was more reasonable:
Bangalore Indian: 50
Mestizo: 49
Janatomo: 45-39
Purnima Indian: 35
Oam Thong Thai: 35
Diwali Indian: 25

This is why last year for Christmas Eve we went to a Chinese restaurant, an upscale one, Asia Gallery, on Lagasca, that did not require a prix fixe. We dined very well a la carte. We spent 120 euros for 2 with a very nice bottle of wine. It's one of the city's well regarded Chinese, along with sister, China Crown. For New Year's Eve, we had a catered picnic in our hotel room with delicacies bought inexpensively at the city's markets.

studenttobe

Maribel-thanks for the info on pricing at these two different types of NYE dining options. Very helpful. Am saving the thread (and others) for a future NYE trip—certainly the ethnic options are more our price point and speed.

studenttobe

Melnq8–thanks so much for the reflection on Seville and Granada—perfectly timed and so helpful. And have now bookmarked your report for a careful read tomorrow morning. Somehow I missed it in the pile of TRs I’d previously downloaded. Thanks for sharing.

dreamon

megkelly, if your flights are booked to fly home from Barcelona (and can't be changed), and you plan to take a day trip to Granada, I would skip Granada altogether. For a day trip, it's too far and you wouldn't be able to see enough to justify the travel time. I'd spend that time in Seville (or maybe Madrid) instead.

As for visiting the Prado, I have two suggestions. If your 12 year old is speaking from a position of knowledge and she knows what's in the Prado and is not interested, then the group can split up, with those interested going and those not not. But if she's pre-judging it and thinking it's not cool, then I would make her go - but perhaps only for an hour and trying to make it engaging for her. Just as we told our young kids that they couldn't tell me they didn't like a particular food until they'd tasted it, well it's the same with art. If you want to see the Prado don't not go because she doesn't want to go (that's way too many negatives in one short sentence!). Sorry if that sounds a bit off but I have had similar experiences with my kids sometimes being reluctant to go to galleries but invariably enjoying themselves and finding favourites, familiar works, and things they thought terrible. They are a million miles from being art lovers but they'd end up having a good time and forming opinions (ice creams afterwards never hurt either).

It's decades since I've been to the Prado but I read of someone who visited and bought half a dozen selected postcards from the gift shop and challenged their child to find the art works and see the real deal. Sounded like a clever idea.

megkelly0667

Thank you all so much! This is all very helpful, and I'm going to work on re-thinking the itinerary with your advice. Unfortunately we can't cut Barcelona - the trip was prompted by the teens wanting to meet their online Spanish tutor in person, and she lives in Barcelona. As for all the other cities, it's been a bit hard trying to get the large group to agree on which cities are a priority. I'll sit everyone down to revisit this soon.

Maribel - I love your idea of looking for ethnic restaurants for NYE. And thanks for the hotel feedback. I'll look for a different place to stay in Madrid.

studenttobe

Melnq8, I just read both of your TRs on Spain—I’m so impressed with your and Donna’s resilience in connection with Covid-era trip 1. I loved reading your report on trip 2. You both seem to have such a “roll with it” fun attitude. You are also remarkably energetic travelers. I’m taking detailed notes on report #2 in connection with planning my late Nov-early Dec trip to Andalucia. I also loved the photos and will revisit them when I start to work on lodgings in the coming week or so (esp since DH is a light sleeper and so noise really matters). Thanks for flagging your report and for taking the time to write such wonderfully informative and interesting ones.

Melnq8

Thank you studenttobe, I hope they helped.

Maribel

Since you can't cut Barcelona, I agree with dreamon that to make the trip far less rushed and more enjoyable, I would (reluctantly) cut out Granada and spend that night in Seville.

plambers

we spent 2 weeks in spain last year with our 19 and 21 year old over chirstmas. we flew home dec 31. we spent 3 nights granada, 2 in cordoba, 5 in seville (including christmas eve and christmas day), 3 in malaga and final night madrid.

maribel was a huge help. we ate a late lunch 3 ish i think, at brunilda on christmas eve in seville. went to market near the setas that morning and we bought meats, cheeses, breads etc for a late informal dinner in our apartment. we found a place for christmas lunch and dinner without problem. seville was perfect bc plenty to see and do outside.

buses and trains were full so yes reserve in advance. we had every dinner and many lunches reserved in advance as well as tours and museums et.