We will travel to Spain next October (around Oct 10) with our kids (ages 2 and 6). We are used to backpacking, independent, budget trips (budget is mandatory with our currency exchange rate)and I love to plan in advance. I'd appreciate your advice in several aspects:
1)We plan to stay for 10 days. We will probably fly to Madrid, stay a couple of days and then travel elsewhere. My husband wants to go to Barcelona, I want to go to Seville. Can we compromise or should we just pick one?
2) Should we rent a car or take the train? What would be less boring to children? What about cost comparison?
3) What about the weather in October? Should we go in September instead?
4) Any advice for special places to go with kids in Andalucia/Madrid/Barcelona?
5) Any suggestions of budget accomodation in Barcelona/Andalucia? What about renting an apartment? Any recommendation?

As you can see, we are kind of lost and would appreciate your advice! Thanks!

Daniele - Brazil

With kids that young I would not plan on traveling around a whole lot. I'd pick one place and base yourselves there, and just do day trips around it.

If you are going for 10 days I would pick two home bases max. I would pick Southern Spain (Andalucia), where the October weather is balmer (pleasant 70's) and hence, more convenient if traveling with kids. I would pick a hotel or apartment in Marbella or Malaga with a pool or near the ocean (check www.vrbo.com; apartment rentals by owners in Southern Spain, reasonably priced, VERY convenient if traveling in Spain with kids).

Hi, Chatters! Thank you for your advice! In addition to Marbela and Malaga, would you suggest any other cities in Andalucia to be included in this itinerary? Would you recommend us to rent a car or take trains to move from one city to another?

danielef--- sorry for the delay in answering your inquiry. October in Southern Spain can be very, very enjoyable. The key with kids is the setting; two places come to mind: beaches and national parks. On that note, I already recommended Marbella and Malaga as home bases (did you checked the vrbo.com site? what do you think?). For national parks, I would recommend staying in towns close to the delta of the Guadalquivir River; Seville is a good choice. Around there the Parque Nacional de Doñana is a wonderful national park with great trails, beautiful natural scenery, great birdwatching tours and walks. I strongly recommend renting a car. Auto Europe and Avis out of the Malaga International Airport seem to always have very good and reasonable rates. I don't think that securing lodging for all ten days in advanced is a must, at a minimum have a place set-up for the first couple of days and then take off from there. I still think you ought to look into apartment rentals.

We spent five days in Madrid last October, with our daughter. Shes a bit older than your kids, but in general, we found some very kid-friendly things to do.

Here's a link to the trip report my husband posted; hopefully there might be some ideas for you in this.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...archText=mr_go

BTW, it was absolutely beautiful in Madrid in mid-October last year.

I second the recommendation of not moving around too much. With some day trips from one of the locations, you can do and see a lot.

Have you asked your children what things they might be interested in doing or seeing. Depending on that answer it might be easier to make recommendations.

Are you willing to fly between Seville and Barcelona so you can do both? Flights are frequent and fares can be quite reasonable.

Have a great trip.

One place I highly recommend with kids would be the caves in Nerja.

If you're going to Southern Spain, I suggest flying in and out of Malaga.

A car might be easier with children, except in Seville--impossible to drive there.

Hi,

Funny, as I was reading your question, I thought my husband had posted it. We are planning a trip right now for Spain this October (18-28) and taking our 1 year old. My husband wants to go to Barcelona (the only thing he wants to see) and I want to go to Granada and Seville.

I would love to hear any advice that you have received and what you have decided for your travel plans.

We are going to try to do 5 days in Andalusia and 5 around Barcelona -- renting a car, making a base and taking day trips. We will probably try to fly to Barcelona instead of the train.

For those of you on a budget, I recomend staying a little ways outside the city. In Barcelona you can take a local train for a few dollars to the small town of Granollers. There I stay at Hotel Ciutat which is very nice, reasonable and includes breakfast. The train ride is about 1/2 hour and scenic.

In Madrid, the neighborhood "Barajas" is close to the airport but very quaint. There is a little Best Western there that is excellent although tiny - also cheap and includes breakfast. It is also family owned.

Ib17,

Indeed I have gathered a lot of information so far, both here on this forum and on travel guides. Feel free to write to me: [email protected]. We can exchange some ideas then!

Daniele

Are we talking Oct., 2004? If so you should proceed directly to Sevilla for the closing ceremonies of the Flamenco Biennial (Teatro de la Maestranza, 10 Oct at 21:00).
http://www.bienal-flamenco.org
It's a month-long festival of concerts and competitions that happens every other year. Check out the website for performance venues & times. It's not like the Tablao Flamenco (i.e., late at night in dark, smoky clubs); so it may be suitable for children especially the outdoor venues.

Just west of the Donana (south of Almonte in the province of Huelva) is el Santuario de la Virgen del Rocio (Our Lady of the Dew?). The last time I was there you could take a horse drawn carriage ride thru the vicinity (i.e., into the Donana).

After Sevilla, you could take the all-preferente Talgo 'sleeper' to Barcelona. Compartments have an upper and lower berth: two adults and two children could probably fit comfortably. If not, bring a sleeping bag so someone can sleep on the floor. There's plenty of room.

Then you could return to Madrid by train to wind up your visit.
BTW
There's an Avis location at Sevilla's Santa Justa. I concur with the person who advised against driving in Sevilla. But if you want to make the most of the days you have available, you may have to just 'bite the bullet' and daytrip by car to Arcos de la frontera, Jerez de la frontera, Cadiz, el Puerto de Santa Maria, etc., etc.

A great place for kids (of all ages) in Barcelona is Parc Guell!