Spain help

[traveljunkie13]

I asked a few weeks ago for help in deciding on a vacation spot with my two kiddos while DH is deployed this fall (thank you to those that responded!!). I was leaning more towards Italy but the thought of dealing with two car seats & rental car in Tuscany has me rethinking. Almost everyone who responded to my post voted for Spain so I am intrigued and trying to figure out the logistics....but I need help! 

I would be be flying in/out of Rota and have approx 4-6wks (length depends on how well we do with $$ while there!). I will have DD & DS (4.5yrs & 1.5yrs at travel). We usually jump around every 4-5 days when traveling to Europe but I really want to slow down this time and relax/enjoy the culture. I would love to find a "home" city and rent an apt for 3-4wks before moving on to another city for 2wks or so. I know I will not see all of Spain this way...but I'm ok with that! Any recommendations for where to base myself? Day trip ideas?
Ideas for kid friendly things (most important!)

Wants:
- city with good public transport options for day trips (I do not want to rent a car if possible!)
- large enough city where there are things to do/explore for a few weeks but prefer not something as metropolitan as Barcelona! 

Spain has never been high on my travel radar so I'm having a hard time getting excited but everyone always raves about it! 

[neonpink]

Spain wasn't on my travel radar until my now husband booked our honeymoon there as a surprise. Now I long to go there every time I travel.

Some of the smaller cities will take a bit more time to get too. If you flew in to Madrid you'd have to take the train to reach Granada, Seville or Cordoba. All of these cities are lovely and have a lot going for them, but I don't know if it would be feasible to travel for a day trip to one of the other cities.

Madrid is a great central hub though it is more cosmopolitan than you asked for. You can easily take a train to Toledo so beautiful, El escorial, or Avila. Those trips are a short easy train ride.

You mentioned something not as cosmopolitan as Barcelona, I personally think this would be a perfect place. It has great public transport. It's very walkable. It's a city but not a huge city. There is a lot to see and do there.

I haven't been to Bilabo but it is on my list.

[frlcb]

I also think Barcelona would be a good base (or Madrid), why don't you want to consider it? It is so easy to travel by train between cities, you could set up in Barcelona and take the train along the coast to Sitges, Calafell, other beach towns. You could take the train between Barcelona and Madrid. If you are in Madrid you could go to Leon, Toledo, Segovia, and we love Chinchon. We have been to Madrid with our kids and really enjoyed it, as well as other parts of Spain.

We loved the Galicia region of Spain, but it isn't really convenient to everything else. But, Santiago is amazing. And A Coruna is nice too.

Check out this family travel blog:

wagonersabroad.com/

[traveljunkie13]

I think I just fell in love with the idea of staying in a smaller town in Italy and really getting a feel for living there (not sure that makes sense!!).....for some reason thinking of staying in a huge city like Barcelona just doesn't give me the same warm fuzzies! . Plus all I hear is how Barcelona doesn't feel like "real spain"....though I know nothing of Spain so not sure what that means!

[frlcb]

Feb 18, 2014 13:52:32 GMT -5 traveljunkie13 said:

I think I just fell in love with the idea of staying in a smaller town in Italy and really getting a feel for living there (not sure that makes sense!!).....for some reason thinking of staying in a huge city like Barcelona just doesn't give me the same warm fuzzies! . Plus all I hear is how Barcelona doesn't feel like "real spain"....though I know nothing of Spain so not sure what that means!

Barcelona does have a different sense than some areas of Spain, but really Spain is very different throughout. NW Spain (Galicia) is very different than Basque country than Andalusia. I think if you stay in Barcelona (which is really an amazing city) you can get a sense of the real Spain and you could take day trips all over. Same with Madrid. You could stay in Seville, not as big as Barcelona or Madrid but an amazing city as well.

[gaudi]

I did a summer in Madrid and it was way too big city for my liking. I just remember it being someone complicated when planning to get out of Madrid because there are 2 train stations and so many trains and buses. I think my screen name shows, I love Barcelona. It is by far my favorite travel destination in the world. DH and I always try to tack on a day in Barcelona on any European trip. Very easy to navigate and feels like a small town. There are lots of smaller towns that are easily accesible via the train, but are large enough to have the amentities to be comfortable. The only names I can think of now are Seville, Toledo and San Sebastian? I think I remember Segovia being pretty, but small and everything shuts down early. I have heard good things about Salamanca.
I think I would start a list of everything you want to try and see while you are there and then look at some of the train schedule and transportation options to figure out what city would give you a good home base to be comfortable and still travel easily.

[vampsterdam]

Barcelona is one of my favorite cities in the world (for my H, too) and I used to live in Spain (two different cities).

If you want something of "typical" Spain, I would suggest the region of Andalucia. Sevilla is the 4th biggest city in Spain, but it's so easy to get around. From there, it would be very easy to get to Granada. Or from Sevilla, you can do day trips to Cordoba or a smaller town, Arcos de la Frontera.

But honestly, I've loved every region I've been to Spain. You really can't go wrong.

[traveljunkie13]

Ok I'm rethinking Barcelona since it is getting such rave reviews! I'm thinking of splitting the time between BCN and Seville to mix it up a bit (2 or 3wks in each place). Thanks!

[pittpurple]

I've never been but all of my friends rave about Barcelona so it is a really good bet. Personally I'd look around for a place you want to rent and go from there, particularly if you're planning to rent a car while you're there. You could easily find a villa with a pool somewhere tucked away that would be a lovely place to relax with your family. If you're not planning on using a car, then I'd look at cities as the public transport in Spain isn't fantastic - really well connected by train between the major cities, but we had to take buses to the smaller places like Cordoba.

If there are any places you definitely want to see (the Alhambra?) then I'd start looking in that area and move outward.

[dulcemariamar]

My vote is for Madrid. I lived there for almost ten years so I have to choose that over Barcelona. Barcelona is a fantastic city but I dont think there are a lot of great day trips that you can do from there. However, since you have so much time, have you thought about adding a cruise to the trip? There are a lot of different cruises that leave from Barcelona so you could add Italy to your trip.

Madrid is a big city but it is a compact city and you can see everything in 2-3 days. From Madrid you can visit Avila, Segovia, Toldeo, Escorial.

You can take the train and visit Valencia in 1.5 hours. And Barcelona, Cordoba, and Malaga in about 2.5-3 hours.

Good Luck

[Deleted]

H and I are very much small-town travelers. When we went to Spain, we rented apartments for about 5 days each in Jerez de la Frontera (the center point of sherry production) and then in Andalucia, in a small beach resort town called Nerja. Its a challenge to get to, but we adored Nerja. We had a spectacular apartment overlooking the Mediterranean (it was insanely cheap too), great beach grills with paella and grilled fish, and active adventures like kayaking. Good for families, I would think. You can do day trips to Granada or Malaga.

[Deleted]

Salamanca is a really great city. It has a university so definitely has a "college town" feel, but it also has a lot of history and is absolutely gorgeous. There is a train station although not with as many easily accessible destinations as Madrid or barcelona. No public transportation within the city (besides buses, no subway though) but its not super big so you can definitely walk around it and explore. It also puts you a good distance from Portugal for long weekends and the like.

[CloudBee]

Can I ask why you're flying in/out of Rota and not a larger hub?

I was going to suggest Barcelona until I saw you mention you wanted to avoid such.

It is SUCH a family friendly city, IMO. And if you stay closer to the water/piers, it will be quieter. Or stay on the outskirts. It's such a walkable city, and not overwhelming. There are street vendors left and right, and lots of museums with hands on activities for kids.

[CloudBee]

Feb 19, 2014 8:14:14 GMT -5 dulcemariamar said:

My vote is for Madrid. I lived there for almost ten years so I have to choose that over Barcelona. Barcelona is a fantastic city but I dont think there are a lot of great day trips that you can do from there. However, since you have so much time, have you thought about adding a cruise to the trip? There are a lot of different cruises that leave from Barcelona so you could add Italy to your trip.

This is an excellent suggestion. You can even cruise to Egypt, Israel, Greece, etc., from Barcelona. AND there are Disney cruises out of that port if you time your visit right.  Many cruises go up the coast of France as well, or down to Morocco, through the Strait of Gibraltar, to the Canary Islands, and up towards London..

[traveljunkie13]

In/out of Rota is a pain but we are taking a free military hop to the base there. Free > convenience

The original plan was BCN for a week and then the Disney cruise to Puerto Rico....but the times were not working and honestly cruising alone with small kids kinda sucks! Spain sounds great but trying to plan out the logistics is stressful since I do not want to move around a ton. Last time I did this type of trip it was just DD (who was 2.5yrs) and I and we moved around every 5 days and while tons of fun it was exhausting doing it alone.....I'm going to guess having 2 small ones will not be easier! . Travel between the cities is hard dealing with bags/strollers/kids (especially since most of europe seems to hate elevators! Haha!)

[msturtle143]

traveljunkie13 I hope you don't mind me piggybacking but I am also considering 7 days in Barcelona with DH and DD. Wondering if anyone has a recommendation for where to stay. It seems Ciutat Vella is the central location? Anyone has vrbo or others they can recommend? Thank you.

[lolo]

Feb 20, 2014 15:36:48 GMT -5 msturtle143 said:

traveljunkie13 I hope you don't mind me piggybacking but I am also considering 7 days in Barcelona with DH and DD. Wondering if anyone has a recommendation for where to stay. It seems Ciutat Vella is the central location? Anyone has vrbo or others they can recommend? Thank you.

Barri gotic is the best place to stay IMO. It's the old part of the city--lots of character and very central.

[lolo]

Feb 18, 2014 21:09:35 GMT -5 traveljunkie13 said:

Ok I'm rethinking Barcelona since it is getting such rave reviews! I'm thinking of splitting the time between BCN and Seville to mix it up a bit (2 or 3wks in each place). Thanks!

Those are my two favorite cities in Spain!

I think Montserrat would be a great day trip with kids. You ride a cool train up to a monastary and then can take a funicular further up. There are walks you can do or you can explore the monastary a bit.

The history museum in Barcelona is quite hands on; you can sit on a horse, put on knight's armor, etc. The cafe at the top has a great view.

When you settle on a place, I'd be happy to continue brainstorming.

ETA: the Catalan history museum, not the city history museum, is the one I described above.

[msturtle143]

Feb 20, 2014 20:56:18 GMT -5 lolo said:

Feb 20, 2014 15:36:48 GMT -5 msturtle143 said:

traveljunkie13 I hope you don't mind me piggybacking but I am also considering 7 days in Barcelona with DH and DD. Wondering if anyone has a recommendation for where to stay. It seems Ciutat Vella is the central location? Anyone has vrbo or others they can recommend? Thank you.

Barri gotic is the best place to stay IMO. It's the old part of the city--lots of character and very central.

Thank you

[msturtle143]

traveljunkie13 another ? hope you don't mind!


What about beaches near Barcelona best suited with a 3 year old? We prefer less crowded ones if there's such a thing near the city.

[elenetxu]

Feb 19, 2014 8:14:14 GMT -5 dulcemariamar said:

My vote is for Madrid. I lived there for almost ten years so I have to choose that over Barcelona. Barcelona is a fantastic city but I dont think there are a lot of great day trips that you can do from there. However, since you have so much time, have you thought about adding a cruise to the trip? There are a lot of different cruises that leave from Barcelona so you could add Italy to your trip.

Madrid is a big city but it is a compact city and you can see everything in 2-3 days. From Madrid you can visit Avila, Segovia, Toldeo, Escorial.

You can take the train and visit Valencia in 1.5 hours. And Barcelona, Cordoba, and Malaga in about 2.5-3 hours.

Good Luck

This is totally right. Even if you want to do a short trip up north (Bilbao, Santander), you're here in just over four hours by train. Madrid is probably the best bet.

[anna7602]

I have lived in Madrid and Seville and traveled all over Spain and I have never rented a car there. Okay, disclaimer, when I visit family members who live in suburban areas, I do ride in their cars, but I've been to Barcelona, Santiago, Pamplona, San Sebastian, Malaga, Granada, Cadiz and lots of other Spanish cities and small towns and relied only on my feet, public transportation and buses to get between towns if I was doing day trips.

If you're planning on spending 4-6 weeks total, your money will go further in cities besides Barcelona, like Seville for example. But really, spending 4-6 weeks total just about anywhere in Spain would be dreamy.