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November in Spain & Portugal - 10 nights, 10 & 13 yr olds

Looking for some help!

I am trying to decide where/how to best maximize our time in Spain (Thanksgiving 2018). I lived there over 20 years ago, so some of my memory is a little faint! I have seen most of the big sites, but my family has never been and I want them to experience Spain and hopefully love it as much as I have. We would like to find some off the beaten path things to do, not just going to museum after museum. Our trip will definitely include some La Liga games once the schedule is released.

Our family enjoys:

  • Food & cooking
  • Wine
  • Exploring
  • Historical towns
  • Castles & ruins
  • Adventure in nature, horseback riding, ecoturism, etc.
  • Shopping
  • Meandering through quaint little towns and enjoying the culture
  • Soccer!
  • Hotels/AirBnB/Pensions that are UNIQUE!

So, my questions are:

1- Recommendations on what region to focus on? Looking at the weather, it seems that it will be upper 50's to mid 60's, so beaches areas are out
2- Any great tours or experiences that might fit the interests above?
3- We have driven throughout Europe, so don't mind it to reach other sites that may not be on main train routes.

Any advice would be fantastic!

Posted by
28085 posts

I wouldn't attempt both Spain and Portugal in the time you have. Either of those countries has plenty to fill your time, and ground-transportation links between them tend to be awkward. Crossing that border would waste precious time.

Andalucia is miserably hot in the summer, so November seems like a good opportunity to see classic destinations like Seville, Cordoba and Granada. For places that see very few American tourists, consider Ubeda and Baeza.

I have a vague recollection that there are horse-riding possibilities somewhere down there. There's a horse show in Jerez, but I don't know whether it's year-round.

The Alhambra sells out extremely early and is the top sight in Andalucia (arguably in the entire country).

Elsewhere, Barcelona offers something called the "Camp Nou Experience". All I know about it is that it is very popular and has to be booked well in advance. Barcelona has a lot going on. It would be diffucult for me to cover Barclona plus Andalucia--even sketchily--in ten days.