Spain vs. Italy

I believe you have at least one destination too many on your Italian list for the time you expect to have, so keep that in mind.

Where will you be coming from, and where will you be headed after Italy/Spain? Have you checked train/air/bus options to see whether it will be much cheaper and/or faster to get to one of the two countries? This might help you make a decision.

Both are fabulous destinations, and I feel like the weather in May should be OK in either one. I believe (but haven't checked historical weather stats) that there's some risk of coolish, wet weather in your northern Italian destinations and some risk of quite hot weather in Spain, especially in Seville and Cordoba.

I found the food in non-fancy Spanish restaurants a bit cheaper in 2016 than in similar-level Italian restaurants in 2015. If you just wander into restaurants without advance research but do avoid touristy areas (that is important!) you will almost certainly eat better in Italy than in Spain. Food in Spain is fine, but if you want really good/interesting meals, you need to do research ahead of time. That may not be a priority for you. The Spanish meal hours (lunch 2-4 PM, dinner beginning at 10 PM) can be a challenge, though you can usually find tapas earlier than that, and places targeting tourists will probably serve earlier (but those are not usually the best place to go).

I suspect that it will be easier to find budget-level accommodations in your Spanish cities, overall, than in the Italian ones, but you can go to booking.com and check this out by setting price and other filters. Check Venice first.

It has been a long time since I have been to Seville and Granada, but I feel like your proposed Spanish destinations are stronger on art (Madrid) and interesting architecture (Seville and Granada) than on natural beauty. For instance, none of those cities exposes you to an attractive coastline, or to the water views you would experience in Venice.

Let's see what other folks think.

I have been to all the places you mention in very recent years, and they are all wonderful, without exception. While of course I don't know your particular offspring, in general I would think most kids would more enjoy the diversity and uniqueness of Venice, the Cinque Terre coastal villages, and the Colosseum in Rome, than they would the Spanish cities. (Although the Mesquita in Córdoba is also pretty sensational!) Madrid is especially known for its Prado and other excellent art museums, for which many kids, and even adults, might have a limited attention span.

I would opt for Spain. The weather will be better, but not hot in May. The cities are manageable in your timescale and transport is good. The Spanish eat annoyingly late, but their main meal is lunchtime, so do as the locals do. If you have apartment rentals, you could do some self catering in the evening. The scenery around Granada is stunning and you could visit the white villages.

You are trying to squeeze far too much into your time, particularly if you only have a week and especially your Italian option. Getting 6 people coordinated takes time and they will no doubt have different interests.

Italy - Rome needs a minimum of 4 days. Cinque Terre (the most overrated place in Italy?) has become hideously busy and therefore expensive. Venice isn't best appreciated when you are 6 or 13 and it's eye wateringly expensive. Take them when they are a few years older and can appreciate it more. You need 4 full days in Venice, as there will be queues.

Early May is a long Bank Holiday weekend in much of Europe, so places will be busier and booked up. Pin down your itinerary asap and get flight/ train tickets booked, as prices will only head in one direction.

Italy
Rome (3) > Florence (2) > CT (2) > Venice (3)

Spain
Seville (4) > Granada (2) > Madrid (4)

I would lean towards Spain due to it's easier logistics. Drop the Cinque Terre from Italy, and it's a difficult call.

Hi everyone, thank you for replying so fast, I'm truly amazed. You all have been so helpful already. A little update; Our plane tickets are pretty much covered by our flight points. As far as the number of destinations for Italy, we were originally going to have 18 days in whichever country we'd choose, but then circumstances with my father's work cut our trip down to a week and a half. So if we did go with Italy, we'd really have to shave quite a few destinations from the list. But from what you all have been saying, it seems like Spain might be a better fit for us based on our sadly shrunken timeframe.

Both are great destinations! I suggest developing a list of things you want to do/see in each country and then decide as a group where to go. Italy will be more expensive and likely more crowded at the major sites. Spain will be more relaxed and less touristy. I've visited both countries (Italy first) and am sure you'll have a wonderful time either way you go!

I've been to all the destinations you have listed and think Italy is the better bet. Italy is IMHO more family friendly. The Spanish eat and stay up very late and it can be taxing on little guys. We found the siesta hard to work around. I was also there in May one year when it was intensely hot.

It's cooler in Italy. Plus, I like the sites better. Many kids love the ancient Roman stuff. My kids also preferred the food in Italy over Spain. I was just there last May and found the prices reasonable. I would cut out the CT. Do Rome, some hill towns, and either Venice or the Alps. Italy's magic is in it's hill towns. Pompeii is amazing, but if you don't want to go down that far, you can tour Ostia Antica, which is a very neat ruined town near Rome. I also suggest a agritourismo stop. My kids enjoyed the culinary tastings and visiting with the animals. We bought cheese, jellies, and wine.

I prefer Spain to Italy for a number of reasons. Probably first on the list is value. Second is customer service and third is cleanliness. Spain wins on all three counts. Both have incredible history and both are family friendly - they love kids.

I think if you have two weeks or less, you're best bet is to pick north or south Spain. Madrid is my least favorite place in Spain (but I love El Prado and nearby Toledo).

I'd immediately connect from Madrid to Granada or Sevilla and my stops would be some combination of Sevilla, Jerez, Ronda, Granada, Gibraltar. I also like a stop in Cordoba, if you can make it work. There are some other great choices, but checking those out will get you started.

I did this trip report a few years ago:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/spain-clean-toilets-affordable-lodging

Like Larry, I think Italy offers more diversity for the kids, and happy kids are a lot easier to travel with.

I strongly urge you to limit your trip to 3 locations. Moving a group is harder than moving a couple. Every time you move (with or without luggage), your group can only go as fast as the slowpoke (and that role will probably alternate among you), so don't expect to manage many day trips either.

If you choose Italy and want to see a bit of Tuscany, then you should stay in Florence or Siena or another Tuscan town. The Cinque Terre are too remote to make day-tripping a good idea. Ditto the alps (Dolomites).

Count nights in Europe. How many do you have? Is a one-week trip 7 nights away from home or 7 nights on the ground? If you have 8 nights or less, 2 locations is what you can do well. You will lose too much time with packing/unpacking and getting to/from the train stations, etc.

If you follow Chani's advice and go to Tuscany. I'd pick Siena over Florence. Florence has great sights, maybe the greatest, but the lodging and food is better in Siena.