Please sanity check my 6 week Spain itinerary with kids

We have been to Spain several times and love it.

Haven't been to Mallorca, can't say much about that, but will recommend the mainland.

You have Barcelona, Valencia and Madrid covered.
Not sure that I would spend 5-7 days in Valencia. What else do you plan to see in that area? Malaga and Ronda come to mind.

You didn't mention Seville or Cordoba. Seville is one of my favorite places, plan several days there. Cover Cordoba on your way to Madrid.
Do visit Toledo (it is marvelous) from Madrid, also, Segovia (it has an intact. 1800 year old Roman aqueduct). Avila is great, as is Salamanca.

The Basque region, is worth 5-7 days, Bilbao, San Sebastián and the Rioja wine region. Also, cross the French border and visit Biarritz in the Basque region of France.

It does get hot in Spain in the Summer, so recommend doing southern Spain first. Still, wear a hat and keep hydrated.

If you have the time, we felt Sevilla was a great city, and Cordova is a good day trip from there, or the hilltop cities (e.g. Ronda, or Arcos de la Frontera). Sevilla is known for flamenco dancing and it has quite the bullring and a bullfight museum within the walls, plus a magnificent cathedral and the Alcazar (not to be missed). I would give Sevilla five nights, (4 full days) with 2 days in the city and 1 day trip to Cordova and I day trip to Ronda or Arcos. Train time from Madrid to Sevilla is around 3 hours. This gives you ample time to sightsee and not feel rushed.
When in Madrid take the train to Toledo for the day. Avila and Segovia are not long train journeys away either. From Barcelona take the bus or train south to Tarragona, the "balcony of the Mediterrean". They have a really lovely art museum there, and it is the main hub for the Human Tower competitions. Also, north of Barcelona is Figueras, home of a great Salvador Dali museum. Both places are a day trip option.

Re your extra time. Have you considered spending time in Portugal? It's best to fly there from whatever city in Spain you might be in, at that point in your trip. Train travel between the two countries is not especially convenient. Fly to Lisbon or Porto, both worth a full five days (six nights), with 1 or 2 day trips thrown into the mix).

Your dates are coming up soon. I do hope you have begun securing your lodgings. At this late date you may find that many places are already full up.

What are the children's ages? That might affect the plans.

skdette13 you might want to edit your query to include some of the key details from your other thread so people know you're traveling with young children https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/4-6-week-trip-with-two-kids-6-and-3-5

I also don't know about Mallorca, but all of those flights seem like a lot considering you have kiddos to move around. I'd use the good train system and keep focused on the mainland. You already know it's going to be HOT in late June and July, so I suggest heading north for the last two weeks (or more). Are you not planning to spend any time in Ireland? Or are you only flying back from there? If the latter, get yourself there a day ahead of time (to mitigate travel drama) and get to the airport at least 3 hours early as you go through US immigration at the Dublin airport.

Thank you for the quick feedback. Should I not be worried about the heat in Sevilla?

CL, we could skip Mallorca to stay on the mainland and add Seville and the northern region instead. I was just thinking it would be a good idea to have a really relaxing beach moment in between but open to thoughts here

For me it would be too hot in Andalucia in July, unless you wanted to stay on or near the beach or in a hotel with pool and do a lot of relaxing around the water during the daytime..

You have time to go north from Madrid..train to Bilbao, for example; There are beaches at the edge of the city and it's a good city for wandering. Or go to the Costa Brava from Barcelona, maybe spending a night or two in Girona.

BUT since you are flying to Mallorca, why not spend more time on that island. Or go to Minorca, too.

That hotel is in Palmanova, a purpose built resort that will be packed in summer..I don't think it is the nicest place you can stay on the island.....it's got miniature golf, lots of pubs, not so pretty buildings..no real character.

If this were my trip, with kids, I would spend two nights in Palma and then head to Port de Pollenca or Port de Soller, or other town in the north. You can take the cute little train from Palma to Soller:

https://trendesoller.com/eng/routes/train

Also look west of Palma, not east.

The south and the center of the mainland are going to be very hot at that time. So I'd either spend more time on the islands, or head north of Madrid.

Another possibility is to go from Valencia to Denia. I mention that town only because we spent 5 nights there last year, and loved it....great, long sandy beach....pedestrian streets in town, good seafood. Easy to get to from Valencia. But maybe you will spend time on the beach when you are in Valencia so not sure if this would be of interest.

For me it would be too hot in Andalucia in July.

Same for me. Sevilla and Cordoba are fantastic, but you wouldn't catch me in either in July.

I have been to Seville in the Summer. It was hot, but no hotter than where I am from in South Georgia.
It may depend on what temps you have at home.

I was just thinking it would be a good idea to have a really relaxing
beach moment in between but open to thoughts here

You know your family and travel style, so you do you. As you're hearing from the other replies, the weather is likely to be uncomfortable the further south you go. The average temps in Sevilla in July are near 100F (see https://www.accuweather.com/en/es/seville/306733/july-weather/306733).

I fully understand decision paralysis but at this point you may find that your itinerary will be determined by the availability of accommodations that suit your family situation. Best of luck.

Heat can be a problem almost anywhere. In 1999, we had 106 F in Madrid … and a week later it was 68 F. On the coasts, you and the kids will have beaches and swimming.

Off the beaten track spots? La Ruta Plata, Roman Temple of Diana and Roman bridge in Merida. City walls in Caceres.

Los Pilones in the Valle de Jerte link and the cherry harvest in the Valle de Jerte in late June, though that would involve rearranging your schedule a bit. The older child can hike the trail to Los Pilones. The little one would need to be carried part way. But the pools would be a great, fun reward. Between the Valle de Jerte and Madrid is Segovia and the walled city of Avila; Salamanca is not far off that route.

Big cities have airconditioned museums.
I think a week in each city will be easy to fill, and then I’d put the extra time toward Mallorca and rent a car to explore the island and stay somewhere less hectic. It will be a “vacation from your vacation” — then maybe tack on a little wiggle room for Dublin.

Vala that’s what I’m leaning towards at this time. I’m happy to leave enough to warrant another visit in the future!

I really appreciate those who are sharing feedback on the temperatures, for reference we currently live in Phoenix. Born and bred here. Summers are routinely 118°+++, so excruciatingly hot but very dry. I totally recognize that 90° with 90% humidity is very different from our summers. So any context around those details is very helpful and I appreciate the responses.

We used the Mission Barcelona scavenger hunt book with our 7 and 9 year old. Their favorite thing in Barcelona was the living statue performers on La Rambla, along with seeing giant puppets and human towers at a festival. Going up the Tower at Sagrada Familia was something they liked but going down the winding spiral stairs with the kids made me nervous. We also went to the beach.

In Madrid, the playgrounds at Retiro Park are nice and we went to the splash pad and wooden playground at Madrid Rio one day. I think the archeology museum had activities for kids some days, but this was almost a decade ago.

About the heat: when you are home you can schedule activities to avoid being outside for many minutes at the heat of the day. And you have good a/c. In Andalucia you will be walking and visiting sights at the hottest times. And hotels may not turn their air conditioners as low as you might prefer.

Thats why I avoid the South from late May to late September.

I’d generally agree to skip Andalucia in summer, but you may want to limit Madrid too in that case— it must get nearly as hot. At least with Valencia and Barcelona you have the seaside at hand.

Skip Mallorca. Take the train from Valencia to Madrid. Use the time which was allotted to Mallorca and go to Bilbao instead by train from Madrid. Fly from Bilbao to Dublin (Aer Lingus likely). Also consider Alicante, Denia instead of/in addition to Barcelona / Valencia. Note: If you do want to go to Mallorca you can take a ferry there from Denia. Possibly easier than going back to the airport depending on where you are.

Joe is the Mallorca airport that much of a mess?

Joe is the Mallorca airport that much of a mess

I don’t know anything about the airport(s) on Mallorca. But you can get to Mallorca from Denia on a ferry which would make sense if you happen to be there as opposed to a city that offers a direct flight. Denia itself is a nice town on the coast, south of Valencia and North of Alicante. Worth visiting as being someplace other than a large city.

We love Mallorca- and while Palma is lovely - to us it’s 2-3 days then off to a smaller seaside place - we like Calla D’or . In mainland we also liked small Tossa de Mar !

Kids tire with too many “ city “ days - my then 11 yr old burnt out from too many “ churches , museums , and statues “ - so when we travelled with kids we made sure to include free days to visit parks and playgrounds and beaches.

Thank you, Pat! So you would recommend keeping Mallorca, then? that was my thinking too, a good break for the kids where they can relax and indulge and not really have a bunch of places to be, although I want to do a little bit of sightseeing on the island. Is the airport pretty easy to get in and out of? I heard somewhere else that it can be tough, and it has me second-guessing it. Any other places you recommend?