My husband and I are traveling to Europe for the first time in 10 years in June with our 9 year-old. Before that we both lived and travelled in Europe. Our 1st stop is Cudlierro, (El Pito), Asturias where my father-in-law grew up in the 1910's. we've never been there and know no one there. We're going by car,at least 5 hours each way. Our daughter isn't thrilled to go -we'll she's getting a little excited but she's scared of flying.We need to juice it up from then on. From a few days in Madrid we would like to go to Seville and Granada,maybe Cordova, all places with 'wow' sights. We know the biggest turn off for our kid is hours of getting from A to B stuck in a seatbelt, so we'd like to do most of the trip by rail or coach. Rail's good because you can move around and besides trains are cool,
but then we have to spend more time with transferring, finding hotels,arranging tours. We're also considering an escorted coach tour, but we've never been on a tour more than a day before. Can anyone tell us what they're like, particularly on the road for long drives. Do they entertain you with lots of facts? Anything besides just sitting there? Decent hotels? Any pros or cons compared to rail? Price perhaps?
It's important for us that our kid have a great 1st europe trip since now that she's older, we plan on travelling much more. We just don't want her seem bored with an ipod stuck to her head.
Also, if anyone knows of any cool kid stuff to do or have travelled to Cudillero, we'd be grateful for you ideas. Rick Steves talks about travel with teens and tots but not so much those funny tweens.
Thanks!
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9369 posts
Asturias is a gorgeous place, and Cudillero is a very picturesque, tiny town, but I'm not sure you're going to find anything to do there other than admire the view of the sea. Though I understand wanting to visit there because your father-in-law lived there, I'm not sure it's going to be worth a 10-hr drive to see (though the mountains are beautiful in that area).
My two experiences of coach tours were in China and Costa Rica, not Spain, but I'm sure it would be much the same there. They have information ranging from history, to holidays, to local daily life to share along the way, as well as information about things you are passing and about where you will be visiting next. For ease of traveling, a coach tour might be the best option for you, but you'd probably want to have things for your daughter to do besides listening to the tour leader. Most people on such tours will be much older (unless its a family tour), and I'm not sure a child would be very interested in, say, the local higher education system.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23548 posts
I don't know why you would want to use a coach tour when those locations are so easy to hit via rail. Over this past New Years we flew into Madrid for a few days, AVE train to Cordoba for one night, train to Seville for three nights and train to Granada for three nights and then a bus to Malaga and flew home. Most of the train rides were less than two hours. The train rides would be far better than a bus.
Posted by
Trenton, Ontario, Canada
204 posts
We took the train from Barcelona to Madrid then drove to Toledo, Sevilla, Portugal, Hill towns and Granada. Though the roads are great,long driving from Toledo to Seville and then Granada- getting into the old scenic parts of towns to a hotel takes some maneuvering.
I would suggest train - they are super.
Seville - Hotel Alcantara - in the old part of the city but in the heart of it all- great room - www.hotelalcantara.net
Madrid- Hotel Europa - right off the Puerta del Sol- 100E in 2007- it is again right in the heart of things- walking distance to palace-big department store across the street - highly recommend - beautiful rooms- ask for room in the back of the hotel to avoid noise from the street.Restaurant next door
www.hoteleuropa.net
Enjoy your trip