Family visit during The Great Week @ Málaga and Bilbao

Posted by benedict_simpson on 11/24/19 09:31 AM

Since I am stuck with a few non refundable plane tickets to Spain this coming August, I am pondering on visiting Málaga during part of The Great Week (Aug 14-17) and then Bilbao (Aug 22-25) .

Would love to hear from your in-person experience on what to expect. Like, traffic, store closure, service interruptions, things to watch out for good night sleep, etc.

We are a family with two young kids - We would enjoy the food tremendously but we ain’t the party / alcohol-tolerant type (my wife and I are only occasional drinker, 2 glasses max). I’d guess it will be a great cultural experience regardless.

Posted by jaimeelsabio

Mid-Atlantic area

11/24/19 03:40 PM

7160 posts

From the question, it seems there is some flexibility in dates and/or locations. Why did you select those two places from all the other cities in the country? According to your other post, you will have already visited Malaga, so why return? I’m not certain what “the great week” is.

Posted by acraven

Washington DC

11/24/19 06:45 PM

28085 posts

The Great Week (Aug 17-25 this year) appears to be a major festival in the Basque Country. There are activities in San Sebastian as well as in Bilbao, and possibly in other cities in the area. Google didn't immediately turn up anything about that week in Malaga.

You didn't mention what cities you're flying into and out of. Bilbao and Malaga are a huge distance apart. There are only 2 daytime northbound rail connections, both departing between 11 AM and 12:05 PM and taking over 9 hours. Are you planning to fly? I hope you aren't going to have to take two internal flights during such a short trip.

On a trip of this length in August, I would spend all my time in northern Spain where you are less likely to run into high temperatures. There's plenty to do in the Basque Country or neighboring areas. However, this presumes you are not locked into flying into and out of Malaga.

Posted by MikelBasqueGuide

Bilbao

11/24/19 08:48 PM

745 posts

Aste Nagusia (the Big Week in Basque) is a great festival in Bilbao, with activities for all ages, lots of free concerts everywhere, street shows, food contests in the street, the Whale parade (your kids would just love it), etc etc etc...a unique experience that your family would greatly enjoy, no doubt.