My family, including three children aged 10 and under, are heading from Australia to Spain for a wedding in Seville in early April. We are flying into Barcelona (following a week in the UK) where we plan to stay for three nights. We then have four days to fill in before we meet other family in Seville. We are staying in Seville for four nights before flying out of Madrid.
We were thinking of heading from Barcelona down the coast to Valencia (2 nights) and then across to Cordoba (2 nights) either via train or hire car however are seeking input. Is this too much? Or would we be best to fly south and focus on that region?
Look forward to some feedback and ideas.
Posted by
Whittington
984 posts
'would we be best to fly south and focus on that region?'- Yes, but you will see little in those few days in a region. Establish yourself in Seville where many spend three days with ample to do. Cordoba is an easy hour each way by train for a day trip if you want more.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15593 posts
Here are some things to consider.
Changing locations means packing up at one end and then settling in at the other. How efficient will you be with 3 young ones? How stressed will you be? 2 night stays are a bit rough on adults, especially when they come in a row.
Train vs. car. Long drives with 3 kids in the back seat . . . well, you know yours better than anyone. Use michelin.com to estimate driving times (they tend to be optimistic, add some time for traffic, wrong turns, and pit stops). It will also give you estimated costs (fuel, tolls) so you can compare with train prices. Train travel is more comfortable, everyone can relax, kids can move around. Use renfe.com to get train schedules and journey times. Trains only appear on the site when they are offered for sale, so instead of looking at April, look at next week, just choose the day of the week you expect to travel.
Where to visit depends on what you want to do.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
Option 1
Fly from Barcelona to Granada (2nts). Train to Cordoba (2nts). Train to Sevilla
(make sure you can secure Alhambra tickets in Granada)
Option 2
Extend your stays in both Barcelona and Sevilla by 2 nights each, allowing for some easy day trips.
Girona & Figueres from Barcelona. Cordoba from Sevilla.
Option 3
Extend Barcelona by one night, then arrange a hire car for 2 days.
Drive via Girona to Cadaques on the Costa Brava for a night.
Return to Barcelona, stopping at the Dali Museum in Figueres.
Fly to Sevilla, arriving 2 days earlier, allowing for a day trip to Cordoba.
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
I kind of like option 3 above. The only possible issue is the weather. It's normally nice in April but was mostly freezing when we were there in April 2012 (in May, 2012 it was excessively hot).
If you want to see Valencia, I'd go with either a car or bus for both the leg down and the leg to Cordoba. The buses are great for point to point when you plan to stay put for a day or two, rather than making day trips and moving on.
If you are there March 20-27 (early this year), It's Semana Santa (Easter week). This is a great time to be in Spain but I wouldn't spend it in Barcelona. There is nothing going on in Barcelona at all. We had an incredible experience spending Holy Thursday in Zaragosa. Another great option is Valladolid. Both are very non-touristy festivals. Seville is world famous for their Holy Week celebrations but also more crowded during the week.
Right before that this year, mid-March, Valencia has their Las Fallas festival.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you all for your help and advice; a great help!
Back to the planning books!!
Posted by
San Diego, CA
344 posts
When my children were 10 years old we stayed in Barcelona for a week and then we went to Sevilla for four days. I I love train travel in Europe and so do the kids but we found it faster and more affordable to fly from Barcelona to Sevilla. It was a very quick flight. We used Vueling and had no trouble, renting an apartment using vrbo.com (bliss: having a washing machine + having room for kids to spread out.peace!)). Feel free to private message me for things to do. Enjoy.
PS we were there in earl April and weather was beautiful sunny high 50s to mid 60s.
SuzieeQQ