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Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

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Spain with a toddler... where to go !?!

12 replies

mumtosp · 29/04/2015 11:57

Hi all,

Neither DH nor I have ever been to Spain and we are thinking of going there sometime in August... with our almost 3 yo DS.

We have no idea where to go and which places are toddler friendly... We were thinking Barcelona as that would be a good place to start. Would love to hear from anyone who's been to Spain with a toddler...

TIA :)

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YouMakeMyHeartSmile · 29/04/2015 12:01

My in laws live in Spain (Valencia) so have been with DD as a baby or toddler. In my honest opinion August may be too hot, we went in September last year expecting it to have cooled down a bit but it was 38 degrees plus and far too hot for DD. We have just got back from another trip there and it was around 24- 25 degrees which was much more manageable. If you do go in August 100% make sure you stay somewhere with air con!
Barcelona is fab though and generally would be good for a toddler.

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mumtosp · 29/04/2015 12:09

Weather is something I am not so sure about ! 38 degrees would be pretty unberable for me and DS... even if we get a place with air con!
Maybe I need to look at other options too...

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YouMakeMyHeartSmile · 29/04/2015 12:14

DD got awful heat rash and it was too hot for her to play on the beach/splash around in the sea so it felt like a bit of a waste!

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PiggyBeekman · 29/04/2015 12:17

I would avoid Barcelona in August. It's rammed with tourists, hot, sticky, beaches are crowded, restaurants are full.

Do you want a city break or a beach break? I can recommend Menorca as a destination, it's quiet (not a 'party' island at all), family friendly, clean, lovely beaches with shallow water.

If you're going to Spanish city I'd be looking at either Easter or late September.

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drspouse · 29/04/2015 12:43

How about Northern Spain? I've been to Asturias/Cantabria/Basque country and they are all nice, they have holiday flats/Eurocamp style places. Galicia is rather like Ireland with sun, very pretty and the beaches are really lovely over most of the North except not as hot as the South!

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mumtosp · 29/04/2015 14:29

Hi all, thanks for the recommendations!

Piggy I wasn't very keen on Barcelona myself... that's why when DH suggested it, I decided to come to MN for advice :) And you got it right... I am not looking for a party destination, but a family friendly place.. Will put Menorca on the list...
Our childminder if off for 2 weeks in August and so we decided to get away for at least one week... September isn't an option...

drspouse wuold you recommend Northern Spain to someone who knows zero Spanish? Actually, that question even applies to any Spain destination that isn't a major city...

thanks again :)

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drspouse · 29/04/2015 16:35

You'll find someone most places who speaks enough English to serve you food, definitely, and in an emergency most professionals (e.g. doctors) will speak quite good English. Northern Spain is a bit less economically blighted (e.g. more industrial in parts) so has quite a lot of families that send their children for English studies overseas.

A lot of the Spanish go on holiday to Northern Spain to escape e.g. central Spanish heat.

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YouMakeMyHeartSmile · 29/04/2015 19:40

Northern Spain is beautiful.

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mumtosp · 29/04/2015 19:52

We've had a think about it and decided to keep Spain for some other year when we can get away when the weather is more moderate... (Read lesser heat)
So we are back to the drawing board and currently the short list contains France, Hungary, Austria and Ireland....
Any advice on how to decide ? :)

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drspouse · 29/04/2015 21:33

Austria is lovely (no more English spoken than Northern Spain though!). Summer in the Alps is gorgeous. We looked into Kinderhotels after someone on here recommended them (we've been to the Alps in winter with DCs, only pre-DCs in summer)

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anyquestions · 29/04/2015 23:28

If you're relaxed about driving abroad, France has the advantage that you can take the car, making packing much easier!

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mumtosp · 02/05/2015 23:06

I came across a travel article on Northern Spain today and it has me interested again ! :)
Is it possible to visit north Spain if we didn't want to drive ? We really want a car free holiday...