4 adults and my 18 MO son are travelling to Spain for a friend's wedding. We arrive in Madrid on 5/28 and depart from Barcelona on 6/6. Itinerary ideas? We have to be on the coast in Estepona (an hour from Malaga) on 5/31 afternoon for the rehearsal dinner and 6/1 for the wedding. I was thinking we'd start in Madrid and Toledo, take the AVE down to Malaga and rent a car for the wedding part of the trip, then fly to Barcelona to wrap things up. Should I allow an extra day in the south and visit Ronda or should I head to Granada before travelling on to Barcelona instead? As for my toddler-does anyone have any advice about travelling with a toddler in Spain? Thoughts on a car seat? Are they required in taxis and buses? For the time when we have a rental car, should we buy a cheap one over there or lug ours from the US? Any advice on itinerary or travel with a toddler is appreciated very much. Thanks!
Posted by
Carlsbad, CA, USA
5 posts
Haven't been to Spain (although we are going in 3 weeks) but I have traveled quite a bit with our daughter, who is also 18 months old. The last trip we took was 16 days to Costa Rica at Christmas, so she was 15 months old. With respect to the car seat, I think it is worth it to lug it along. We took ours to Costa Rica because we rented a car for one week while there. We also used it on the transport van to and from the airport. I liked having the security of having something familiar to my daughter that I also knew was safe for her. Plus, it doesn't usually count as a piece of luggage when checked and you can throw stuff in the bag with the car seat, like diapers and other bulky but light items. We have a bag for ours that has wheels on it so it's pretty easy to move it around. Another option that might be handy for you with an 18 month old is to get a "frame" for the car seat that has wheels - i know some friends that use this option and the child just sits in the car seat and they wheel him/her around the airport or whatever. It's serves as a make-shift stroller. (With your plans, this might be a better option for you.) I have lots of tips for traveling with a toddler. Not sure how much traveling you've done with your son. I've got a good portable high chair/booster seat option, etc.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
You might want to make sure that the car seat attachment hardware of the seat you bring is compatible with european attachment points on the car you rent. Something I've read makes me think this might not be the case and that you'd have to bugger-rig something with a seatbelt (which probably isn't long enough. I'm past the problem, but I rent cars all the time and can't picture anything that would work with the grandkid's seat that sits in one of our cars most of the time.