juliepedraza0270

Hi! My family will be doing probably a 3 week long trip to Spain and Portugal this August. We have 4 active boys, ages 8-14. We plan to fly in and out of Madrid. Given the heat of August, I'm thinking that perhaps we just do quick stops in Granada and Sevilla, but otherwise try to spend 5-7 days exploring northern Spain. Santiago de Compostela is definitely on our list. Where else would you recommend? We live in North Carolina, so we're not looking to spend lots of time on the beach (unless it's a fun area to explore, rock scrambling, or something really picturesque). Just trying to get a grasp on what might be the best fit and most fun for us / our boys. Thanks! (and if it helps, one of our boys' all time favorite vacations was to Arches National Park, where they had so much fun rock scrambling, climbing and exploring. Obviously Spain/Portugal will be lots of culture/history/touring, but if there's anything like that on the coastline, that would be of interest!)

ekscrunchy

If you insist on going to the South, where it will be very, very, very (guess I got the idea across there about the heat!!), you need first to find hotels with pools.

If you are going to the south, fly into Madrid and connect from the airport to a flight into Sevilla or Granada. Much easier for you that way, again, in the heat, instead of transferring into Madrid city to the station and taking a train south.

After your visit to those 2 cities, you mention, try to find a direct flight, probably from Sevilla, directly to then North, on Vueling or Iberia Express--you might find one direct to Santiago, or Bilbao, or San Sebastián. So you would not have to backtrack into Madrid. (So you would fly to Granada as your first overnight in Spain)

Travel around the north; I would rent a car but you do not have to...we need more info about your wishes to advise on where exactly to go, but you will surely want to see San Sebastián, which will be very crowded with others escaping the heat, so you need to book for that city NOW. And of course you will go to Santiago, and make stops between those 2 cities, perhaps in the region of the Picos de Europa mountains which will be beautiful and have opportunity for adventure, (and great food in that area, too)As for the rest of the north, offer more info on whaat you like to do.

Then at the end, you can either take a train back to Madrid, or fly back on one of there airlines I mentioned.

Again, for the north, I would book hotels as soon as possible.

I'm sure others will have more, maybe better, information; what I gave you is what I might do, taking into account only a quick look at your plans.

Personally, I would focus totally on the north of Spain in the heat of summer, and go south at another time when the heat is not as intense. There is SO much to do in the North!!

juliepedraza0270

Thanks for that info! I should have mentioned that we plan to rent a car during our time there. Since there's 6 of us and we wanted the freedom to stop in smaller cities, etc. as we travel. And I don't know that I have specifics on what we'd like to see or do, other than a nice combination of exploring, local culture and sights, adventure, things that would interest kids, etc. We don't want to spend time laying on a beach or doing things that we could easily be doing back here in the US. Should we skip Granada / Sevilla altogether? I doubt we'll be back to Spain any time again soon, so was thinking it would be at least worth trying to do a quick visit, but please advise if you feel otherwise! And I should mention that our kids are old enough (and have good stamina, etc.) that we hope to try to fit as much in as we can in our almost 3 weeks traveling... My initial thought was fly into Madrid, head to the north of Spain for 5-7 days, then Porto, Lisbon, Algarve, ending with perhaps brief visits to Granada/Seville on our way back to Madrid. Thanks!

tailsock

Ha! I live in North Carolina as well where cutting your grass in August can reduce your lifespan. My brother and I visited Spain and Portugal for a couple of weeks last year in October so the trip is still fresh in my head. It looked like this: Barcelona>Madrid>Sevilla>Lisbon......We started in Barcelona with a side trip to Tossa de Mar. I know you said you weren't looking for any beaches as we're spoiled with the OBX and others but this one is really gorgeous. Rock cliffs, cafes and restaurants nearby, and a castle you can visit.



Madrid is an easy train ride. There are a bunch of fun places for side trips like Toledo and Segovia. We did the latter and it was amazing. Finished in Sevilla for Spain. I don't know what your comfort level is for humidity but it was pretty darn hot in October. We did get a bunch of rain though. Fortunately there are some pretty cool water parks your boys would love in Spain. Portugal is rather small and easy to get around but we had pretty bad luck with the weather........the clock ran out on us so only really got to see the area around Lisbon.

juliepedraza0270

Wow, that is just so gorgeous! Unfortunately I don't think we'll be making it that far east in Spain, since we're trying to combine it with Portugal. But I'll make some mental notes for any future trips - looks amazing! Fun that you're from NC, too! We live in Cary.

tailsock

Raleigh here. My in-laws live in Cary. Hope you guys have a great trip!

shelemm

Granada is higher elevation than Seville or Cordoba, so the heat is not as big a deal. In Seville it will be like walking on the sun. But you can mitigate that by taking a siesta in the afternoon and gear back up in the evening. Everything stays open late.

However, there are many great places to visit in Spain, so Andalusia is not mandatory.

Michael

I would stick to northern Spain, Basque country and the Asturias, on your way to Santiago, and depending on your itinerary back to Madrid, plan to visit Salamanca


or Segovia and Avila.



I can’t give much advice for your children’s interests. A guide book might be useful in this instance. The Basque country near Navarra does contain caves but seen only by guided tour, and not particularly spectacular.


There are witches legends connected to a small relatively wild wooded area.


And farther west the Altamira cave or its facsimile would be a must destination.

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/310/

Revulgo

I'd do from Madrid to
Asturias https://www.spain.info/en/region/asturias/

Then,
Galicia https://www.spain.info/en/region/galicia/

Then, Portugal

ekscrunchy

I agree with Michael: Stick to the north and certainly include Asturias, where the mountains of the Picos de Europa are within a quick drive of the gorgeous coastline!
We spent about 2.5 weeks in the region, alone, awhile back and it was one of our best European trips. Asturias does not get nearly as many foreign tourists as its merits seem to warrant...
You could spend time there between Santiago and San Sebastián....

And look into what the region of Galicia has to offer as well, outside Santiago de Compostela..

virginiafish

Suggesting Barcelona, Montserrat and up the Costa Brava.

Sassafrass

Agree, especially Barcelona.

Christina

I would never go to most of Spain in August. I haven't been to the north coast, though. Barcelona is not cool in August. I was there maybe 5 yrs ago in July, thinking it wouldn't be horrific as it's on the water and probably not that different from some other parts of France where I went after. It was very hot, in the 90s. And that was years ago, the world is not getting cooler. Andalusia in August sounds horrific. I've been there in early October and it was hot, 80s and maybe even 90 at times.