Help please
#1
Help please
G'day,
Ex pom here in Australia, we are planning a trip to Europe and Spain is my favourite place. I would love some really good advice, we are planning a week away in September and have a 3 year old who will need to be entertained and we are going with my mum and step dad who love the arts and culture, architechture etc. So we are looking for a place where we can relax and have a holiday and so can everyone else.
As we live in Australia we are not used to hotels like the old package deal with fun and entertainment for kids, they don't have it here. So we are open to all offers. But the best advice comes from those who live there. I am open to holiday rentals in great places, to big hotels I am easy but jsut want to make sure everyone is covered.
Thanks in advance for you help
Carrianne x
Ex pom here in Australia, we are planning a trip to Europe and Spain is my favourite place. I would love some really good advice, we are planning a week away in September and have a 3 year old who will need to be entertained and we are going with my mum and step dad who love the arts and culture, architechture etc. So we are looking for a place where we can relax and have a holiday and so can everyone else.
As we live in Australia we are not used to hotels like the old package deal with fun and entertainment for kids, they don't have it here. So we are open to all offers. But the best advice comes from those who live there. I am open to holiday rentals in great places, to big hotels I am easy but jsut want to make sure everyone is covered.
Thanks in advance for you help
Carrianne x
#2
Re: Help please
Dewpends on what you want out of it
Places like Benidorm have a busy seaside area, and in September the loonies will have returned to the UK! Nearby is a water park, sea life centre, several golf courses
See HERE
The Northern far end is a bit British and tacky IMHO, but the old town and the South Beach are far better
Its also central for trips to Guadalest, Calpe, Simat and even Valencia If you like architecture and Denia for days out.
Just a place that jumps to mind that has something for the kids and you ... as I say, depending on what kind of thing you want. I pop down there every so often and its fun
Places like Benidorm have a busy seaside area, and in September the loonies will have returned to the UK! Nearby is a water park, sea life centre, several golf courses
See HERE
The Northern far end is a bit British and tacky IMHO, but the old town and the South Beach are far better
Its also central for trips to Guadalest, Calpe, Simat and even Valencia If you like architecture and Denia for days out.
Just a place that jumps to mind that has something for the kids and you ... as I say, depending on what kind of thing you want. I pop down there every so often and its fun
Last edited by Mitzyboy; Feb 28th 2010 at 9:16 am.
#3
Re: Help please
Hi Carrianne, I no longer live in Spain, and when I did it was in Madrid which may not be the best destination for a three year old! You mention your mum and step dad who love the arts and culture, architecture - so I'm wondering if a place close to Barcelona may be a good option? Alternatively you could choose a resort like Almunecar or Salobrenas on the Costa Tropical, and thus be able to visit Granada.
Another option would be the Basque coast - Bilbao is a fascinating place to visit and isn't really too far inland. Great food and scenery there - the drawback is you won't get the Mediterranean 40C heat, but maybe that isn't such a bad thing.
Another option would be the Basque coast - Bilbao is a fascinating place to visit and isn't really too far inland. Great food and scenery there - the drawback is you won't get the Mediterranean 40C heat, but maybe that isn't such a bad thing.
#4
Ex Expat
Joined: Oct 2006
Location: West Midlands, ex Granada province
Posts: 2,140
Re: Help please
Whilst in Granada Province, visit Las Alpujarras and see a little bit of traditional Spain in the mountain villages (it won't be like this for much longer).
Trevelez is the highest inhabited vilage in Spain and is famous for its cured ham (jamon). Yegen is another famous village and has a book written about it (Gerald Brenan 'South from Granada', Penguin) by an Englishman who lived in Yegen in the 1930s (I live round the corner from the house he rented ).
See Mulhacen, the highest mountain on the Iberian Peninsula, in the second highest mountain range (Sierra Nevada) in Western Europe. Here you will find the most southerly ski slopes in Europe (but not in September).
Sevilla and Cordoba are also worth a visit whilst in Andalucia.
Trevelez is the highest inhabited vilage in Spain and is famous for its cured ham (jamon). Yegen is another famous village and has a book written about it (Gerald Brenan 'South from Granada', Penguin) by an Englishman who lived in Yegen in the 1930s (I live round the corner from the house he rented ).
See Mulhacen, the highest mountain on the Iberian Peninsula, in the second highest mountain range (Sierra Nevada) in Western Europe. Here you will find the most southerly ski slopes in Europe (but not in September).
Sevilla and Cordoba are also worth a visit whilst in Andalucia.
#5
Banned
Joined: Dec 2006
Location: Living in a good place
Posts: 8,824
Re: Help please
The 3 year old will love that tour!
#7
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 5,368
Re: Help please
That's the problem, she has the whole age rang there, it'll be difficult to satisfy everyone. I agree with somewhere along the coast with access to places like Granada, the Alhambra, Córdoba, Sevilla, Ronda etc if you want culture. Might just have to bite the bullet and accept that some days the folks might be bored with the beach, and the three year old might be bored stiff with the Alcazar! Or perhaps your parents could take off for the odd day on their own, loads of organised trips for culture vultures.
#8
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2003
Location: Chiclana
Posts: 3,327
Re: Help please
Chiclana on the Costa de la Luz. Wonderful beach for the little one, plus a water park nearby. Historic cities of Cadiz and Sevilla for the oldies and Gib if you want a UK fix.
#9
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Valencian Province
Posts: 346
Re: Help please
Stay at Valencia beach. Hotels hostals and pensiones to suit all pockets, Great bus service to the city, wonderful parks, squares, museums and little one would love the aquarium with sharks swimming above his head. Elspeth
#10
Re: Help please
I think you will find that read through all of the answers to this sort of question is going to confuse you even more. Look at the variation with all the answers you have got so far.
Spain is a large (about 505000sqkm) country, with a varied culture, a lot more than just tapas, flamenco, and bullfighting. That surprises a lot of first time visitors to Spain.
Here are a few links for you to browse through and help you hone down some ideas,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain
http://www.spain.info/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...ies-Spain.html
Yes that last one is a different forum but it does cover a lot of vacation ideas.
The two best websites for accommodation rentals in Spain are; first hotels of all sizes, but mainly located in towns and cities:
http://www.booking.com/hotels/countr...6773d49248c09b
and second for mainly accommodation is the countryside have a look at:
http://www.toprural.com/Casas-rurale...3%B1a_9_h.html
The last one is used to be the best listing site for Casa Rurals, but I have to say it went downhill earlier this year when they made it harder to do a search for properties.
Here is a map of Spain with all of its different autonomous communities marked on it.
Hope this helps in your initial planning.
Spain is a large (about 505000sqkm) country, with a varied culture, a lot more than just tapas, flamenco, and bullfighting. That surprises a lot of first time visitors to Spain.
Here are a few links for you to browse through and help you hone down some ideas,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain
http://www.spain.info/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...ies-Spain.html
Yes that last one is a different forum but it does cover a lot of vacation ideas.
The two best websites for accommodation rentals in Spain are; first hotels of all sizes, but mainly located in towns and cities:
http://www.booking.com/hotels/countr...6773d49248c09b
and second for mainly accommodation is the countryside have a look at:
http://www.toprural.com/Casas-rurale...3%B1a_9_h.html
The last one is used to be the best listing site for Casa Rurals, but I have to say it went downhill earlier this year when they made it harder to do a search for properties.
Here is a map of Spain with all of its different autonomous communities marked on it.
Hope this helps in your initial planning.
#12
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 360
Re: Help please
I think the Malaga area would be good: there are castles, mosques and art galleries, botanical gardens, loads for the little one to do, you could stay in an aparthotel (highly recommended when travelling with young children in my opinion) with activities for the children (my friends stayed in a place in Benalmadena and their daughter had a ball whilst they relaxed). If you choose carefully, the Costa del Sol has a lot to offer, perhaps around Nerja so you could visit Granada and Malaga? Barcelona is also a great city, but better perhaps to base yourselves in the Costa Brava so that you can have the best of both worlds (gorgeous coastline, family friendly hotels and proximity to culture and architecture in Girona and Barcelona).
#13
Re: Help please
Wow,
Thank you everyone, some great food for thought. It has been a while since in Spain, but your ideas are great.
I really appreciate it and if you ever nedd advice about Australia, let me know.
regards
Carrianne
Thank you everyone, some great food for thought. It has been a while since in Spain, but your ideas are great.
I really appreciate it and if you ever nedd advice about Australia, let me know.
regards
Carrianne