Where would you go to for a week from Madrid?

[Thedownstream]

Hi all, I’m hoping someone will come up with a gem of a location.

I think we’ve pretty much decided to spend a week of our family holiday this August in Madrid (yes I know it could be really hot and we might be mad). DC will be 10, 6 and 3. DH wants to take eldest to watch a football game or two and there seems to be a great theme park, water parks, aquarium etc.

We need somewhere to go to for a second week. Ideally a drive but could be a flight. We’re not sit on the beach types (well we used to love sitting on a sun lounger on a beautiful exotic beach but our experience of cramped European beaches with 3 kids who are covered in sand and need constant suncreaming has not been fun or relaxing), so beach not essential. We’d need accommodation with at least 3 bedrooms, so villa, apartment either standalone or within a resort (IKOS is well out of budget). We don’t mind benefiting from the water parks, child friendly day outs etc associated with the big package resorts but don’t actually want to stay in one.

We’ve done the Costa Brava (stunning), Barcelona and Port Aventura, Mallorca and Menorca. I feel like we might have done the best bits of Spain for balance of beauty and things to do for kids already. The beaches of the Costa Del Sol and Costa Blanca look fairly uninspiring, but there does seem to be lots to do in those areas for kids.

Pre kids we’d have probably done a bit of a road trip to Seville, Granada, Córdoba, but with all our stuff and the driving I don’t think that’s doable. Maybe somewhere staying near enough to be able to visit one of those?

Has anyone got any gems of a location we might like?

Would you consider going North? We really enjoyed our trip to Bilbao and San Sebastian last summer. There are water parks across the border in France, but didn't go to them. There are like rafts moored in the bay in San Sebastian that you can swim out to and some of them have slides. The city is fairly expensive, but if you have a car you could stay a bit further out. Or ... you could head to Portugal, I have only seen the cities, but I hear bits of the Algarve are gorgeous. Someone else will surely have good recommendations.

We did Madrid in winter, really enjoyed the city and the churros, took trips out to Toledo and El Escorial whilst there. I would have liked to see Segovia as well, but didn't have time. If you plan to use public transport at all, I don't mean the metro, I mean for trips out of the city, you may need to book at least 24 hours in advance. They were big on seat reservations on the trains and, at peak times, it's not necessarily possible to turn up at the station and just jump on a train like you might in England.

He was to the east coast. Anywhere really , Cadaqués, and around there is absolutely stunning

Head too. Damn no edit on the android

Zaragoza is one train stop away and is nice (not sure here is much to do with children if you have any)

Salamanca is beautiful.

How long a drive? Lisbon, Porto?

Valencia is a great combination of city break and beach

You’re nowhere close to having done the best bits of Spain! Head north towards Asturias, Santander or Galicia. Mild summer weather, beautiful mountains and countryside… You could base yourselves somewhere rural and do some hiking, lake swimming and outdoor activities, or in a smaller city, and use it as a base for day trips etc. There are lots of options I won’t list but it’s a beautiful, green part of the country with amazing food, that shouldn’t get overlooked in favour of the east and south costas - especially if you’re not the type to do a beach holiday every year!

PS you can fly to a few northern airports from Madrid - Asturias (Oviedo), Santander, Santiago, A Coruña… or get a train or ALSA bus. These are probably more economical and an easy trip, if you’d rather not drive.

You’ll probably want to escape the heat so I’d advise heading north for lower temperatures and fewer crowds than the costa del sol. La Coruña in Galicia has a town beach and a tramway that goes along the seafront which my kids couldn’t get enough of, you could get there by train or coach ( more comfortable than National Express). Then maybe hire a car when they’re to explore the countryside. I agree with a PP you definitely haven’t had the best of Spain yet!

Cuenca, Valencia, San Sebastián, Burgos

San Sebastián has a beautiful huge beach (La Concha) and is very family friendly. Plenty of facilities on the promenade and it's really geared up for children. There's an aquarium, vintage fairground and a little island in the bay to explore. We have been twice in the summer holidays and loved it. The first time we combined it with Madrid (drove) and it was a good contrast. Accommodation can be quite expensive but there was lots of choice when we went. We have stayed in a 3 bed apartment on a side road off the beach, and then a 2 bed closer to the town centre.
Not sure if you are flying, but you could potentially return via Bilbao airport.

Thank you for your detailed response. We are seriously considering the Algarve as the beaches do look decent (if I’m going to “sit” on a beach with the kids then it needs to have a lovely view 🤣). Your tips around travel around Madrid and other places to consider visiting from there are also really helpful.

@RobinHood19 @TheGander @Pusspot Thank you very much for your suggestions. The North / North West of Spain is lovely. I worked near Santander for 3 months 20 years ago, and have visited many places there with my parents.

I think perhaps it might be a holiday for when the younger kids are a bit older. At present we spend our holidays predominantly doing activities geared to them to appease our guilt of working too much and at the moment they really love a pool or waterpark, and I only love a pool or waterpark if it’s warm enough to not feel cold in one. For that reason I think we need to go further South. I remember a quite cold windy week spent in Galicia (we may have been unlucky) where my dad and I walked to Finistere in jumpers and coats.

I used to live in Galicia - it's lovely (great food) but I wouldn't choose it for the weather!

How about Valencia ? It has tons for kids plus decent beaches. Also v reasonable prices.

A stopover in Cuenca and then travel to Alcossebre or Peñiscola. Alcossebre is a lovely beach resort and peñiscola has a stunning old town in the castle and a lovely seaside resort, I think they filmed game of thrones there. Had lovely holidays at these places.