Maribel Thank YOU for all your tips and feedback! I couldn't have done all this planning without your help. You have helped so many of us here on Fodors for so long; I was re-reading my old TR from almost 20 years ago and you were already a huge help back then.

danon , where are you heading in May? My son will still have Spanish language arts through 8th grade (next year). When he enters HS, we will see if he wants to continue with Spanish or if he wants to swtich to another foreign language.

No surprise..Spain again. I usually fly to Madrid and stay for a while. ( my favourite place) .
This time I’ll also revisit Valencia. And, probably .make a day trip to one of the towns near Madrid.

We visited Hong Kong decades ago. Fascinating place, but I stick with Europe now.( big cities, direct flights)

Your son will decide what interests him . He seems to be curious and appreciative of new experiences.
. And a good traveler ,too !

yk,
I'm in awe of your photos of the Caminito. I'm sorry to say that I took none, not one single photo, because I was hanging on for dear life to those metal cords attached to the sheer cliff rock that I didn't dare take out my camera. My husband did snap some photos, as he had a grand time!
All your photography is wonderful.

My burning question: how did you get that magnificent shot from afar of those walkers crossing the swinging bridge? It's spectacular. On our trip, it was very, very windy and the bridge did swing quite a bit. That for me, was the scariest part. The most strenuous was, after crossing the bridge, having to climb 3 flights of narrow steps up to the end. And my arms are shot and thus, I couldn't grab hold of both sides of the rail to help me up those final narrow steps.
The guide told us they were going to build another hanging bridge to eliminate that final staircase. I read that it would be finished in March 2026. Was it finished when you did your walk?

I think you, the greatest Mom, have made m-yk into quite the adventurous eater. You do such a wonderful job creating exciting, really special trips for m-yk. He will have wonderful memories of these. Kudos to you! And so glad that he had a great chance to practice his Spanish on this trip!
Your photos of Antequera, the dolmens and all of of Málaga are also beautiful.

danon, I need to read up on Valencia (and surrounding area) as possible options for our next trip to Spain.

Maribel, thanks for your kind words. The photo of the hanging bridge - i took it shortly after the glass balcony spot (after 2690 m of the route). I guess I don't really have a fear of heights! It was windy the day we went too. I was too busy filming my son crossing the bridge - I have one hand on the cable, the other hand on my phone - so I probably don't even have the chance to feel scared. But halfway through the bridge I decided it was too windy so I put my phone away and so I can have both hands on the cable.

The funny thing is after we crossed the bridge, our guide said it's only a 5-10 min walk to the exit. I'm sure he lied about it on purpose. Like you said, it was a long walk, uphill, and it was more like a 20-25 min walk instead. My feet were definitely feeling it as we had exceeded 20000 steps that day by that point!

I don't recall crossing another hanging bridge after! There was some construction happening after the bridge but i thought it was maintainence work? But I also don't remember 3 steep flights of stairs, rather it was just a long gradual incline. i didn't take any pics after we crossed the hanging bridge and my memory is a bit fuzzy.

Trying to travel as much as I can with my son while he's stil willing to travel with me!
.

Hi yk,
Yes, it's really a 20-25 minute to the exit (during our walk in the blazing May sun!) to hand in your helmets, and in our case, the headsets, as we took the guided tour with the official guides who gave us headsets (could hear the interesting commentary really well).

I think when you did the Caminito there was still construction after the bridge, as this new bridge, which will apparently avoid those nasty 3 tiers of final narrow staircases, I just read, will be finished sometime in the late spring. It should make the final stretch a lot easier!

Looking forward to your future yk/m-yk trip reports. I love the detail.

I wish that I would have prepared more properly for the Caminito. We did take snacks, as in bocadillos, fruit and bottled water for the rest stop that our official guided provided for us in the shade of valley between the two gorges, but I didn't carry a super light weight backpack, like the ones sold at the souvenir shop at the very end of the walk.

Nor did I take a lanyard for my phone, although I was too freaked out to take photos and depended on my husband, who even stepped out on that glass balcony for his photos (yipes!).
I did wear super grip sneakers, but some of the members of the group wore hiking boots. I managed fine with my sneakers. And for May I doused myself with sunscreen. The sun was intense.

If m-yk has a hankering to return to Spain to practice his Spanish, you might consider Valencia during Spring break for a future trip. I think he would really enjoy it.

Again. I look forward to reading about yours and m-yk's European adventures.

Would Valencia be too cold and rainy for Feb vacation or will it be fine? As long as it's >10C (>50F) I'm happy. His other break is 3rd week of April. I usually have trouble finding places to visit in Feb that isn't cold and rainy. Tentatively I have pencilled in Palm Springs/Joshua Tree for Feb 2027 and cinque terre for April 2027 (need to start researching for both). Maybe Feb or April 2028 for Valencia? He will be freshman year in HS at that time 😱 Too many places, too little time, especially since we lost 2 precious years of traveling during covid 😭

I'm glad the weather was cool-ish but sunny when we were at Caminito del Rey. I can't imagine walking it under the hot blazing sun!

It should be mostly fine in Valencia in February before Fallas. I've attended Fallas in Valencia 3 times, and I´ve arrived pre Fallas on March 2 and have left on March 20, and it's been quite pleasant and sunny during the day.
Wow, how time flies with m-yk! A freshman in high school in 2028!
In April 2028 Holy Week will be celebrated from April 9 to April 16 when buses and trains will be very, very busy and lodging prices high, if you choose Valencia during those dates.

This is the first chance I've had to finish your awesome trip report after returning from a 2-week vacation to warm weather destinations, which were much needed and appreciated after dealing with the cold and snow in Massachusetts this past winter. I love all of your photos; you are a meticulous travel planner. I am so happy that you enjoyed Malaga as much as we did. So many people questioned why we were going there during our 2017 trip, as I've mentioned before. We loved Malaga! You chose some very interesting daytrips, too. I have a feeling your son will want to continue traveling with you for a long time to come!

I enjoyed your report, reading about all the places you went, and of course learning the costs is always interesting. I took some notes as Malaga is somewhere I might visit next year. Thanks for the details you provided!

KarenWoo Thanks for your comment! I have a few acquaintances who are now thinking of going to Malaga after seeing my photos! Like me, it was not on their radar previously. When I get a break, I need to start planning Cique Terre for April 2027!

JoanYUL Glad this is useful! hope you will visit Malaga next year