Hi - I'd be grateful for any help I can get. My family and I are planning to be in Spain over Christmas/New year 2005/6 for about three weeks. At this stage the plan is to arrive in Barcelona on the Genoa-Barcelona ferry, and then end up taking the ferry across into Morocco to Marrakech.

Anyway, It's not our first trip to Europe, but it will be our first trip to Spain, and so I know already from reading many posts that there are many of you that have the knowledge that can help me. I have lots of questions, so may put them in a couple of posts.

There are six in my family including 2 late teenage children and 2 under 10.

First, we find it more relaxing to travel by public transport in Europe rather than coping with driving on the wrong side of the road (we're from Aus), so your feedback here would be welcome. Is it reasonable to travel around by trains etc?

Secondly, I'd be very grateful for ideas re itinerary. About 3 weeks starting in Barcelona and ending in perhaps Algeciras. We love the coast, but hate the idea of rows of high rise apartments. we have plenty of sun and sand in Australia, so Spain will be more for culture - enjoying the rich tapestry of Spanish life - well, as well as a tourist can.

TIA for your thoughts.

very extensive itinerary to comment on without a bit more preparation.

but.. in general, you will find transport from barcelona to valencia/Alicante EXCELLENT on euromed high speed train.

but the small towns that i would find interesting might be easieer in your own van, or prearranging tours frm larger cities, which will get expensive.

knwoing you are not coming for beaches.. since yours are so wonderful, the small towns and inland villages all downt he mentioned coast can be quite charming.

spain is the 2nd most mountainous country in europe, so you will have some fine scenery off the beaten track.

actually, from valencia, madrid and barcelona, malaga you can find some fine tours of morrocco, tunisia , etc. for bargain prices with air/hotel/HB included. perhaps add something organized to end of trip?

remember the weather may not be very accomodating at that time of year down any of the coast until you hit africa.

Thanks for your thoughts lincasanova. Sounds like the small towns you are interested in might be of interest to me as well. We don't really like city-hopping that much, preferring to find a nice place and settle in for a week, getting to know the place a bit. We had a great week in Amalfi (Italy) last year at about the same time and two weeks in Chania (Crete) and maanged to avoid the kind of high-rise British-package-tour places, but we saw signs of plenty of them.

If we travel down the Mediterranean coast I guess that would mean a side-trip to Madrid. Would it be sacrilegious to miss Madrid?

weather is going to be your biggest ???? for planning, and it will be difficult to even decide what you can do off the beaten track til closer to the date.

if next year is anything like THIS year.. most of mountainous spain was snowed under for DAYS.. with absolutely no unnecessary traffic on any roads.. includng some major ones.

i will try to get back to you with some ideas on smaller towns.. bu take a look at www.toprural.com to see country homes which may prove very good deal for a family.. there are some lovely ones in every part of the country.

you could use as base.. and play it by ear.
i don't know how you would get to any of these quaint areas without a van.

driving is really not that bad.. roads are in good shape.. public transport is going to be a bit limiting, not that it can't be done, but the time consumed just trying to find out the information and schedules to lesser known areas would be difficult even for a local.

it was an average of 35 degrees C here , has been the coldest winter in 50 yrs, so please realize that this is not "spring or beachy weather". it will be cold everywhere in spain, unless we have a welcomed winter heat wave.

Re the weather, we spent 3 months travelling through Europe last winter, including Scotland (which was quite cold) and New York, where the cold was so bad that it mde the front page of their newspaper. We loved it. Don't get a lot of cold here in Australia.

We were lucky though - hardly had any rain - one day in Paris and another day in Scotland and that was about it.

Thanks for the toprural tip - looks like a great website, although will need much consultation of maps to work out where everything is.

I've been thinking about where we might go, and been thinking along the lines of Barcelona-Valencia-Alicante-maybe a small town near there for a while-Madrid-Seville-Algeciras to catch the ferry.

You have me thiking though: maybe I could get a cheap flight to Marrakech from Seville or package deal as you suggest. Any ideas about a website where I could look for that sort of package? At the moment the plan is Seville to Algeciras by train (which seems to involve a change at Cordoba), then a ferry to Tangier, then another train to Marrakech. I think it sounds adventurous, but I suspect the kids won't and about halfway the chants of 'are we there yet' will have rubbed out some of the magic for me too. Maybe discretion is the better part of valour... or something like that. Practicalities over romance.

Anyway - what do think about that itinerary? I know I said I didn't want to city-hop, but as long as I spend 4 or 5 days in each place at least it won't seem too rushed. I thought there might be a more traditional coastal village near Alicante where we might stop for a week - any ideas?

Sorry for all the questions. You've been so helpful I hate to push my luck.

first correction : 35 F!!
i make so many mistakes it is embarrassing.

anyway..
chekc out www.ultimasplazas.com for all sorts of offers. hope you speak a little spanish. but it will give you good idea of what is out there.

then at one point, hopefully we will find (through here??) english speaking travel agency in sevilla! hope locals are reading.

you will be able to get to marrakesh on tour , plane, hotel from many cities in spain, includng madrid/valencia /barcelona/sevilla and probably granada, although maybe not there as it is not major airport.

www.iberia.com /vivas tours, has good offers, too, from many cities.

will help more later. must rush out door!

Hello
I just spent a week in Spain in november with my son. IF you can make the trip to Montserrat from Barcelona (weather permitting) it is worth the view! IT was a little chilly in late November, but there was no snow (yet). We spent time in Madrid and Barcelona, with day trips to Segovia and Toledo. I have pictures at http://travel.aburke.org/trip10/tenx.html

Thanks for the links lincasanova - yeah, I kinda figured you meant farenheit rather than celcius. We use c here in Australia. And we know what 35c feels like and it aint cold lol.

Anwyway, I contacted a couple of those tour people you suggested - waiting to hear back.

The paradors look like interesting places to stay (well some of them anyway - some of them look like golf resorts). Do you think they are suitable places to take children under 10? Are they stuffy places?

Andy, thanks for posting the link to your photos - I had a look at all of the Spain ones. Looks like you had a great time despite Winter. Montserrat looks magical, but I don't know how easy it is on public transport - any clues?

Montserrat is very easy to get to from Barcelona. We used the local train connection, which was not a part of Renfe, but rather a Catalonian regional train. They sold return trip tickets that include the funicular or cable car (depending on how you wish to get to the monastery). Then you have the option of going farther up the mountain, or half way down on different funiculars.
The regional train is located at Placa Espana (not Placa Catalunya, which is a train/subway hub, and is where we arrived from the airport). You can get there by subway, and once you are in that station, you will see signs for the regional train.
There are also numerous half day bus tours that will take you there, with or without a lunch and a visit to the choir perfromance. We saw JuliaTours offer several flavors of this tour, sometimes combined with another half day in Barcelona.

Sorry - just read your response andyb2112 - the train trip to Montserrat sounds great - especially the funicular. I'll add it to my agenda!