5 weeks in Spain with kids

bhs2010 - What drew you to Spain? What are you interested in? History, culture, food, art, hiking, beaches, flamenco...? What do your kids like? Your kids are old enough to look through guidebooks, search through the internet, and watch videos about Spain and pick places they would like to visit or activities to participate in. Without further details from you, no one here can provide feedback that will be useful. We are not paid travel agents, just volunteers who enjoy travel.

Good questions! 3/4 of our kids speak Spanish and this would be part of a sabbatical that is meant to refresh and rejuvenate us and give us time to be a family without the regular demands of work/school/etc. Our kids are quite varied in their interests so I know we will find things they enjoy and we are looking to do some touristy things but mostly experience towns and villages as a family. We were drawn to Spain for the different rhythm of life, the way children are included into the fabric of daily living, and the language and culture. Some posts from this forum have been helpful but they are several years old so not sure how COVID has changed things. Mostly looking for towns that are easily accessible by walking or public transport with potential for day trips on weekends. We will do Barcelona for sure. Not sure if this helps or not.

When we took our at the time 11 and 14 year olds to Spain a few decades ago, my daughter only wanted to swim while my son wanted to play basketball and wander through castles. Neither cared about art museums. The enjoyed the Royal Palace and Retiro Park in Madrid. In Mérida they loved wandering around the ruins. We did have a rental car. On that trip we visited Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, Sevilla, Mérida, Granada, Córdoba, Santillana Del Mar, and Rota.

If you want to visit the main tourist sights, then you’ll need to visit those main cities and deal with the crowds. If you want to see Spain, but not necessarily the main destinations, then consider medium sized cities like Zaragoza, Burgos, Cáceres, or León. As you stated, it will be hot in much of Spain that time of year.

Some posts from this forum have been helpful but they are several years old so not sure how COVID has changed things.

COVID hasn't really changed anything at all. Some of the main remnants are the continued use of QR codes for menus that you can view on your phone rather than a physical one. Some places may no longer accept cash most likely because they've recognised how much easier it is to conduct financial transactions electronically. There is also still some mask wearing but it is fairly uncommon and is typically confined to the elderly and others who may feel at risk.

Summer in Spain with children I would want to be close to water, whether that's the sea or a pool. Typically we've usually done some sightseeing in the morning then returned to the hotel/villa to spend the afternoon around the pool before heading out later in the evening for dinner. Even the smaller towns and villages have central squares where people gather for food and drinks. Often there's a playground for the younger kids to play on and it's very common to see young children from toddler age upwards to be out at 10pm playing in the square whilst their parents enjoy a drink outside close by.

I don't have any particular recommendations for towns to stay in as I feel that most will have the environment that you're interested in (the immersive experience with locals) and with most of your kids speaking Spanish I think that will help immensely with interaction with other kids.

I traveled with kids in Europe when they were young.

One thing, especially with a 6 year old, if you plan to visit museums, be aware that after 15 minutes they will want to leave.

Still, suggest that you have your older kids read some of the history of where you visit. When at a site, read some from a good guidebook on the history.

Caution your kids to stick close to you and be careful regarding auto traffic in cities.

@jaimeelsabio mentioned some good places and @jc makes some good points about the squares and parks being a summer fixture.

I am going to suggest Logroño. It is a small city, but it hits on some of the things that you might find useful.

One thing is that is will never be the hottest place in Spain, and during a heat wave, there is always someone worse.

Unlike some of the other cities, there is no "tourist" season, and you will not have to fight crowds.

While it is in land, and there are swimming pools, and rivers (not the Ebro) to splash around in, you can get buses to the beach for day trips.

You can also get buses to Burgos, Zaragoza, Vitoria, Pamplona, and Bilbao for day trips.

There is also the possibility to get the older kids in some summer camp programs. The swimming pool and the science museum usually have week long "ludatecas" for kids.

I've sent you a PM with some links

If you will be in Barcelona, you should consider Girona as a day trip (or stay there for a couple of days). If looking for beaches, consider Valencia.

Five weeks is a very long time to spend in Spain in the summer unless you craft an itinerary calculated to focus on the places where high heat will be unlikely. Seville gets many days with highs around 100 F. Other popular destinations with significant heat issues in the summer include Cordoba, Granada, Madrid, Toledo, Zaragoza, Caceres and Merida. Barcelona is somewhat milder but sometimes suffers from high humidity. Those are all wonderful destinations, but spending an extended period of time in miserably hot conditions is exhausting, and you won't be able to escape to an air-conditioned car.

But there is a solution: Spend most of your time in on or near the northern coast of Spain in the areas stretching from the Basque Country to Galicia. That area tends to be cooler and overcast when the rest of Spain swelters. Places at altitude in the Pyrenees would also be good options, but I'm not sure how easy it is to travel in that area without a car.

I'd suggest starting somewhere where you have plans to visit a few museums and cathedrals, maybe Barcelona, and stay a week or so. We find we have more stamina for those at the beginning of a long trip. In Barcelona, maybe the 10 year old would help the 6 year old with the Mission Barcelona scavenger hunt book.

Later in the trip, having a 2 or 3 day stay where the plan is the beach or hiking can be a good break before another destination that is more serious.