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Advice for family of 5 traveling to Barcelona and Costa Brava

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Families first trip to Spain. We like to do a lot but also enjoy the little things. If I may share our plans so far and hear from those who know the area and experiences whether my plans are sensible or not. I appreciate any advice. We have three boys with us (ages 11, 17, and 18)

  1. Arrive in Barcelona Monday, June 13th around noon. We want to get the multi day Hola pass to do transportation while in Barcelona and to get to hotel from airport. We are planning on staying at hotel Catalonia La Padrera. That day we will settle in, walk La Rambla and do a private evening food tour.

  2. Tuesday...Park Guell, Sagrada Familia, Flamenco show in the evening

  3. Wednesday...morning at Parc de la Ciutadella, Casa Batllo afternoon at Barloneta and Montjuic castle and Miro museum with fountain light show and dinner in the evening

  4. Thursday Gothic Quarters tour, escape room at Palau de la Musica and Illusions Museum with La Pedrera night tour.

  5. Friday...Montserrat (want to hike, boulder or climb)

2nd part of trip we will rent a car to explore Costa Brava

  1. Stay three days in bottom half (where????) Want some were with nice beach kids can play in with enough going on so that older kids can explore safely at night and get ice cream. Would love a pool for the youngest.

  2. Saturday: Blanes, Tossa de Mar, Palamos

Would kids enjoy Marimurta Botanical Gardens, Sant Joan Castle, Adventure park in palamos, Castell-Cap Roig, fish museum??? My youngest is wanting to fish somewhere on the coast...where should we do this and is it very expensive???

  1. Sunday: Palafrugell, Calella de Palafrugell, Begur, Baix Emporda, Tamariu

Would kids enjoy cork museum, ebikes in baix emporda???

  1. Monday: Peratellada, Pals, L'Estartits or L'escala (boat to Medes Islands)

Staying at Hotel Monterrey Roses for three nights

  1. Tuesday: Roses...Roses Express, archeological sites, boat tour, fishing auction, kayaking???

  2. Wednesday: Cadaques, Portlligat, Figueres...Dali

  3. Thursday: Go inland: Castelfollit de la Roca, Besalu, Parc Natural de la Volcanica

  4. Friday: Day in Girona...tour and return car and take latest train to Barcelona for the night

  5. Flying back home

I know this is a lot but is it doable? Are there things worth giving up or adding? I really need a place to stay the first three nights in Costa Brava. Thanks in advance.

Posted by
28102 posts

For your arrival day: The Ramblas is a crowded street infested with pickpockets. I have no idea why Rick continues to highlight it. You'll be on it, off and on, as you head to other sightseeing targets. You really, really don't need to make a point of spending time there when you're jetlagged and the pickpockets aren't.

Also: It sounds as if you've been to Europe before, just not to Spain. Perhaps you know your entire family handles the overnight flight quite well. I don't, and the last thing I'd want to do is prepay for a (probably very costly) food tour on my arrival night.

I don't have kids and have no experience on the coast except for a trip to Cadaques, so I'll yield to others there.

Both Dali sights require reservations. The Port Lligat house is the trickier one, I think, so I'd book that one first. On my pre-pandemic (May 2019) visit to the Theatre-Museum in Figueres, I just reserved online a day or two ahead of time. I had the impression the place doesn't sell out early, but if you arrive without a reservation, you might be told to come back in a few hours, which would be a problem for most tourists. The Theatre-Museum ticket includes entry to the nearby jewelry collection. I found it entrancing in an over-the-top way, but I note that you have sons rather than daughters. For what it's worth, I was told one can see the jewelry collection before the entry time shown on the Theatre-Museum ticket, so if you arrive early, that's a good thing to do. Figueres is not a particularly interesting town by Spanish standards; there are other places I'd rather kill time. Cadaques (near Port Lligat) is charming, though touristy.

These sights in Barcelona have required prepurchase of timed tickets in the past; I'd assume they'll be needed this summer as well: Parc Guell (no tickets sold at park), La Sagrada Familia, Casa Batllo, Casa Mila/La Pedrera, Palau de la Musica Catalana. It looks as if you're in pretty good shape for scheduling things--not many situations where you'll be locked into back-to-back time tickets. Those are dicey, because who really knows how much time you'll want to spend at a sight?

Girona's great, and Besalu is also worthwhile. You seem to have done excellent research on other options in the area. The itinerary does seem busy to me, but I spend a great deal of time in every art museum I bump into, which really slows me down. Having a car will make you a lot more efficient than I am, as a public-transportation user.

Do you think your kids will be OK with the three indoor Dali sights (LSF, Casa Batllo and La Pedrera) on top of the Miro Museum? I love that stuff but I'm not sure how I'd have reacted to it as a teenager. I see that you've done a good of mixing in outdoor sights along with the indoor activities.

Is your family interested in soccer? Camp Nou can be toured, I believe.

Posted by
3643 posts

I think a couple of your days have too much planned; e.g., the Sunday on Costa Brava. However, since no reservations are needed, you can always eliminate.
I really enjoyed the Dali museum in Figueres, and I don’t even like Dali!

One thing you should consider is how the offspring will handle the very late Spanish dinner time (9 p.m.?). We have our main meal mid-day when in Spain, then lighter fare (tapas?) in the evening.

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