Spain spring break- can’t decide

[Anonymous]

Speaking of Alhambra, one alternative city you didn't mention is Granada, home of the Alhambra. Very manageable--perhaps a good complement to Madrid.
You're going to want to be in Madrid the night before you depart...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She’s got tiny babies. They’re going to want to swim and have lunch and roam / walk around. No one is going to museums and the like.

Temper expectations for this trip

+1. Temper expectations. It’s a short trip and long flight likely with a little jet lag. When traveling with little kids, particularly solo, you’re just parenting somewhere else.

Agree with this.
I’d go straight to coastal area w hiking pool walking etc and then spend last 3 nights in Madrid.

Can you change the tickets?

[Anonymous]

OP here - thanks for the feedback! I had thought about Seville, as it looks gorgeous and seems like a good size for a few days with kids, but there will be a religious festival going on the week before Easter and it was recommended to NOT go :/

I also had thought about Barcelona, but when I was doing my initial planning it seemed like it was not recommended to do both Madrid & Barcelona in 1 week...just too much.

My kids are seasoned travelers and are actually better behaved when it is just the 3 of us because they KNOW there is no one else to help, so my big kid takes it upon himself to be my helper (also reduces conflict between him and little bro). The stroller helped too. We went to London for a week last year just us and it was terrific.

My big kid loves museums and is very into history. He's learning a lot about ancient civilizations this year. My little guy does NOT love museums that aren't kid-focused, but does appreciate beautiful architecture and some art (he loved Sainte-Chapelle but only for like 10 min). I'd like to visit some museums and spots that my big kid and myself will enjoy but not for long periods.

My kids absolutely love playgrounds and I love the ones that are fenced-in with cafes lol, so that's a priority too.

I will look into the Marabella! I am open to staying in Madrid the whole time and just doing some day trips, but most of the train rides are just 2 hours so that's also fine. We are trying to keep it affordable. I don't usually struggle this much with planning but my mind has been so scattered!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Valencia is my least favorite city in Spain, it smells like swamp and is ugly. Many people will disagree with me, but i said what I said.

Girl, go to Barcelona. Yes. The whole week. Just book a flight on iberia's hourly "puente aereo" (air shuttle) from barajas to el prat, and book an airbnb or nice hotel in BCN, and go live life. Enjoy the architecture, your kids can dig in the sand on the beach, bask in the sunshine and palm trees, eat pan amb tomat, etc.

When you have only 6 days and two kids solo traveling, do not bother with second rate coastal cities like Malaga (overrun with tourists now), Valencia, marbella, etc.

Have a solid back up plan in terms of credit cards and phone etc in case you get pick-pocketed. With juggling two little kids as a solo traveler mom who will probably be taking the subway etc, I highly recommend a money belt or something similar under your clothes.

As others have said, you can also stay in Madrid. There are a lot of pros to Madrid--no extra travel, super efficient and clean metro, lots of parks and plazas and playgrounds. But Madrid is kind of a perpetually dreary city, and if it rains, it makes it a lot harder to entertain little kids because there are very few indoor kid-friendly activities in the city.

Thanks! Of course Barcelona is popular and it seems to be split between people who love it and hate it. I think there is more pickpocketing in Barcelona from what I've heard and that makes me feel pretty anxious. I always take precautions, but being solo as a small woman with 2 young kids, puts me at greater risk and I'm sure we'll be spotted as tourists immediately so I don't know if I'm up for that kind of risk. I'd like to keep it less stressful and my husband wants to come to Barcelona so I think I'll save it for when he can come.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks for the feedback! I had thought about Seville, as it looks gorgeous and seems like a good size for a few days with kids, but there will be a religious festival going on the week before Easter and it was recommended to NOT go :/

I also had thought about Barcelona, but when I was doing my initial planning it seemed like it was not recommended to do both Madrid & Barcelona in 1 week...just too much.

My kids are seasoned travelers and are actually better behaved when it is just the 3 of us because they KNOW there is no one else to help, so my big kid takes it upon himself to be my helper (also reduces conflict between him and little bro). The stroller helped too. We went to London for a week last year just us and it was terrific.

My big kid loves museums and is very into history. He's learning a lot about ancient civilizations this year. My little guy does NOT love museums that aren't kid-focused, but does appreciate beautiful architecture and some art (he loved Sainte-Chapelle but only for like 10 min). I'd like to visit some museums and spots that my big kid and myself will enjoy but not for long periods.

My kids absolutely love playgrounds and I love the ones that are fenced-in with cafes lol, so that's a priority too.

I will look into the Marabella! I am open to staying in Madrid the whole time and just doing some day trips, but most of the train rides are just 2 hours so that's also fine. We are trying to keep it affordable. I don't usually struggle this much with planning but my mind has been so scattered!

Oh yeah, you don’t want to be in Sevilla during Holy Week. I did that without kids and it was still extremely intense.

[Anonymous]

<Granada poster>
With this added info, I would consider EITHER a couple of nights in Granada or just base in Madrid and take a couple of day trips--maybe offer a few options to your older child.
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/day-trips-from-madrid

Depending on what day trip(s) you choose, figure out which train station is best and locate yourselves accordingly.

[Anonymous]

I think your kids would like the Alhambra. It does feel like walking through a dr Seuss book—just very visually striking.
Or stay in Madrid and do a day trip to Toledo and one maybe to Segovia or Avila. Avila is a walled medieval city and Segovia has a castle that looks like one of the disney castles. Segovia also has a great Roman aqueduct that your older kid might enjoy. Here’s a blog of a day trip to Segovia with kids about the same age as yours:
https://we3travel.com/sightseeing-in-segovia/

[Anonymous]

Valencia and Granada!

[Anonymous]

I liked Madrid a lot more than Barcelona. I'd recommend just staying in Madrid and doing 1 or 2 day trips - Toledo and/or Segovia. I know your kids are on the young side but do not miss the Prado - amazing. Madrid has a great park in the middle of the city - kind of like Central Park. You can rent boats, bikes, these cute four wheel bikes for two.

[Anonymous]

I vote to stay in Madrid and take a few day trips. My kids are 5 and 10 and also good travelers. But jet lag is real.

Stay in one spot, keep expectations in check for the first few days. Figure out what local families do and do that!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks for the feedback! I had thought about Seville, as it looks gorgeous and seems like a good size for a few days with kids, but there will be a religious festival going on the week before Easter and it was recommended to NOT go :/

I also had thought about Barcelona, but when I was doing my initial planning it seemed like it was not recommended to do both Madrid & Barcelona in 1 week...just too much.

My kids are seasoned travelers and are actually better behaved when it is just the 3 of us because they KNOW there is no one else to help, so my big kid takes it upon himself to be my helper (also reduces conflict between him and little bro). The stroller helped too. We went to London for a week last year just us and it was terrific.

My big kid loves museums and is very into history. He's learning a lot about ancient civilizations this year. My little guy does NOT love museums that aren't kid-focused, but does appreciate beautiful architecture and some art (he loved Sainte-Chapelle but only for like 10 min). I'd like to visit some museums and spots that my big kid and myself will enjoy but not for long periods.

My kids absolutely love playgrounds and I love the ones that are fenced-in with cafes lol, so that's a priority too.

I will look into the Marabella! I am open to staying in Madrid the whole time and just doing some day trips, but most of the train rides are just 2 hours so that's also fine. We are trying to keep it affordable. I don't usually struggle this much with planning but my mind has been so scattered!

WE went to Madrid and Barcelona last spring break and loved it. I think we spent about 4 days in each but we also did day trips to Toledo and Segovia (i think both of these are less than an hour from Madrid) while in Madria. In Madrid we did the palace and The Prado but there is a playground near the palace that my kids loved. It is HUGE. Not fenced in but there are cafe's nearby (and ice cream). There is also a hedge maze near the palace that my kids were obsessed with and it was probably their favorite part of spain. Barcelona we did one day at the beach and then visited the Picasso museum and all the Gaudi stuff. We also ate a lot lol and went on a lot of walks. The kids loved both and cried when we left. Great trip!

[Anonymous]

OP, be glad airbnb cancelled. The places we had in Spain were all horrible and even DH thought they were horrible and he's not picky at all.

Spain has an amazing high speed train network so it is definitely possible to stay in Madrid and do a lot of amazing day trips.

Barcelona wasn't really fun with kids that age for us. It was crowded, touristy and dirty. We left early and were really happy with all the other places we visited.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Valencia is my least favorite city in Spain, it smells like swamp and is ugly. Many people will disagree with me, but i said what I said.

Girl, go to Barcelona. Yes. The whole week. Just book a flight on iberia's hourly "puente aereo" (air shuttle) from barajas to el prat, and book an airbnb or nice hotel in BCN, and go live life. Enjoy the architecture, your kids can dig in the sand on the beach, bask in the sunshine and palm trees, eat pan amb tomat, etc.

When you have only 6 days and two kids solo traveling, do not bother with second rate coastal cities like Malaga (overrun with tourists now), Valencia, marbella, etc.

Have a solid back up plan in terms of credit cards and phone etc in case you get pick-pocketed. With juggling two little kids as a solo traveler mom who will probably be taking the subway etc, I highly recommend a money belt or something similar under your clothes.

As others have said, you can also stay in Madrid. There are a lot of pros to Madrid--no extra travel, super efficient and clean metro, lots of parks and plazas and playgrounds. But Madrid is kind of a perpetually dreary city, and if it rains, it makes it a lot harder to entertain little kids because there are very few indoor kid-friendly activities in the city.

Madrid is rarely dreary, especially compared to Paris in the spring.

OP, get your kids a rainsuit.

[Anonymous]

OP here- update. We traveled to Europe for Christmas break and to say it was a challenge would be an understatement. I did London solo with my 2 kids spring break 2023 and it was fabulous (sure, we had a few hiccups but really, it was terrific). Our trip started off badly when my DH forgot luggage, I was sick with a bad head cold and he was also a little sick with a head cold and he forgot to download things to my kids tablets and then it rained daily....

I will book an apartment in Madrid for the week and I'm bringing our travel stroller. To h*ll what others think about my petite 5 yr old in a stroller. I'm not carrying him around. That is all lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- update. We traveled to Europe for Christmas break and to say it was a challenge would be an understatement. I did London solo with my 2 kids spring break 2023 and it was fabulous (sure, we had a few hiccups but really, it was terrific). Our trip started off badly when my DH forgot luggage, I was sick with a bad head cold and he was also a little sick with a head cold and he forgot to download things to my kids tablets and then it rained daily....

I will book an apartment in Madrid for the week and I'm bringing our travel stroller. To h*ll what others think about my petite 5 yr old in a stroller. I'm not carrying him around. That is all lol.

So you haven’t been to Spain yet?