Adventuring Together: Our Family Trip to Southern Spain
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Last year, after my husband and I came back from Italy, we knew we were ready to try out a little international travel with our kids.
So, I did a little digging and tried to figure out where a unique place would be—where was a kid-friendly and affordable place to stay/eat with cool history and things to do? There are a lot of places that would check off those boxes, but Spain kept coming up as a kid-friendly place to go. So, I searched until I could find flights to book with airline miles (ones we had from getting the sign up bonus for this card) and managed to find tickets to Seville. All we paid was taxes and fees (win!).
From there, I built an itinerary based on suggestions, cute places I found, and what I realistically knew my kids would enjoy. We ended up going to Seville, a coastal town called Algarrobo Costa, and Granada. I’ll break down a little bit about what we did, where we stayed, and what we liked (and didn’t like). I’ll also share a bit about what we learned from our trip abroad with kids.
First up, Seville.
I had heard people gush and gush about Seville—but when we got there, I could see why so many people love it! It’s just so beautiful and fun to explore. Little streets everywhere to wander around, tile work, good food, so much culture, and color! Of course, we were with the boys, and they didn’t find all the old buildings and cute scenes as impressive as Josh and I—but, oh well! Here’s what we really enjoyed (and the kids did too!) in Seville:
María Luisa Park: María Luisa Park: I wasn’t sure that the kids would enjoy this, but they really did! After a day of walking streets, I think it was refreshing for them to just run and explore. There were so many places to scout out and run around. I loved just wandering behind them and taking in all the pretty flowers, tiled benches, and pretty gardens.
Plaza de Espana: Of course, we had to go visit this iconic plaza. We actually went twice! The first time, we got to watch some Flamenco and look around without a lot of crowds. And the next day, the boys got to do a boat ride (it was only 6 euro total to rent the boat). Even though it was hot, they loved it! And I loved meandering around, people watching, and looking at all the little details.
A Seville FC game: This was our splurge for the trip, but it was only on the top 3 of everyone’s favorite thing we did. So so SO fun to experience the excitement of the game and the crowd. Core memory for sure!
The Setas. Our airbnb was actually really close to the Setas, so we went past these all the time. In the evening, we’d hang out in the plaza with ice cream or tapas—and just enjoy people watching. They eat supper quite late in Spain (like 9-11 at night), but we adapted and loved experiencing the evening culture. So many kids and families out and about! We also went on the top and saw the city from up high at sunset.
What we also did: The Cathedral (it was cool, but it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea), visit the market (the kids weren’t impressed, but Josh and I thought it was fun!), went to a Bible church in Seville (and were so welcomed as visitors), rode on lots of buses, ate churros, and got haircuts (at a place that was on the Amazing Race—they were wonderful!). There was a lot we skipped, and we were happy that we didn’t cram more in. We walked a lot, but also enjoyed a lot of tapas, coffees, ice cream, and treats!
Where we stayed: I got this Airbnb for a sweet price because it was a new listing. But because the owners had other properties with awesome reviews, I took a chance. I am so glad I did! I really appreciated that it was near a small grocery story and lots of cute coffee shops!
After four fun days in Seville, we headed on a train to the coast for some much needed days by the sea. To be honest, our travel to the coast was a long day, but we made a fun pit stop at the Video game museum in Malaga since we had a few hours to kill. The boys LOVED it—of course, it was a highlight of their trip ;)
On the coast, we really just focused on keeping things low key. There were cappuccinos, churros, and chocolate every morning (we could feed all of us for 6 euro!). We also spent a lot of time walking along the beach, collecting rocks, and swimming (well, the boys—not me!). I loved how the town was quiet, relaxing, and gave us an excuse to take it easy.
While on the coast, we stayed here. I wasn’t sure when we booked this place if it was a good location (especially since we didn’t have a car), but it was perfect. Quiet, affordable, and not super touristy.
We did head to Nerja for one day and enjoyed the Balcon de Europe and going on a cave tour. To be honest, I kinda wish we had skipped the cave tour (it didn’t feel worth the money to me after doing it), but the kids did enjoy taking the little trolly train around town (which was part of the tour package we got).
After a few days along the coast, we had another long travel day up to Granada. Our kids were absolute troopers, so I was thankful for that. By late afternoon, we found ourselves climbing up cobblestone stairs to our final airbnb—a cave house in the hills of the Sacromonte neighborhood.
The boys LOVED this place—it was cozy, fun to play in all the nooks, and was tucked into a neighborhood with cave houses and flamenco bars built into the hills. I did enjoy this stay, but I didn’t love how it wasn’t as accessible to grocery stores, coffee places, or restaurants. We could take a small bus down into town, but I wished we had something more easy to walk to.
In Granada, we did a lot of trying new treats and food like Turkish treats, tea houses, and moroccan food (which was my favorite). We stumbled upon processionals with people in traditional clothing and felt like the city was buzzing with celebrations and excitement. So cool!
On last full day in Spain, we went to the Alhambra. It was also Mother’s Day—so my simple requests were happy attitudes and pictures ;)
The Alhambra was an absolute highlight for me! I’ve never seen anything like it—so, so stunning and beautiful. It was once a Moorish fortress—and the geometrical features and tile work were so cool. I took so many pictures of the tile (ha!) and felt like I was walking back in time as we explored. Although the kids were not as impressed as Josh and I, they still loved wandering around and running around the gardens too. And they took pictures with me—smiling and all ;)
Finally, after a few days in Granada, we headed back to Seville to fly to Paris (we had an overnight stay there) and then home. We surprised the kids with a chance to see the Eiffel Tower. Although it was quite the fiasco to get there, we did manage to arrive just when they started the light show (which was so cool!). Afterwards, we dealt with the frustration of trying to get back to our hotel near the airport when it was so late (thank you taxi for saving us at midnight when we had almost lost hope!). Even though we crawled into bed at our hotel at 1:30 in the morning and had to get up at 6 to get to the airport for our last flight—it was worth it! We stayed at a Hyatt near the airport (which we also booked with points), so it was a free stay too!
All in all, it was such a wonderful trip! I enjoyed using my Spanish (which was SO rusty!) and seeing how our kids handled the challenges (and fun!) of international travel. We had so much quality family time and felt like we managed to see a lot, but not overwhelm the kids either. Plus, we made those family memories that stick with you—like how one kid got stuck in a bathroom and how someone almost lost all the passports in the airport (oops!). The key for us was choosing a few sites to see, but also being realistic about what the kids would really enjoy. Of course, we learned some things that we’d change up for the next time we travel with our boys. Here are our takeaways:
Stick with two main places if we use public transportation. Even though we had two weeks and spent 3-4 days in each place, the travel between places took time and ended up to be some long days for the kids. We travel light, but it still meant that we had to store our stuff in some places or haul it with us. Next time, we’ll either rent a car (which didn’t make sense for us on this trip) or just stick with two places and take day trips out from there.
Eat out less. We found ourselves enjoying the affordable prices of Spanish food and ate out a bit more than we planned. I mean—it’s hard to beat $1.20 for a delicious latte! But, in the end, I got tired of trying to decide on places to go to eat (that had prices we liked) and that happy balance of getting items the kids enjoyed. We did eat quite a few meals at our airbnb, but I think next time we’ll opt to bring along some sandwiches/snacks and eat at a park more often. Not only does it save money, but it also helps with decision fatigue ;)
So, now the question is: where will we go next?
Ps. Our trip to Spain would have been out of reach if not for the help of using airline points and miles (mostly from the welcome bonus we got) to book our flights. And we also had a strict lodging budget—which helped us keep our costs down. If you are curious about how we did that point and mile thing, just ask! Also, I don’t think you need to go to Europe to have an awesome family trip! We’ve loved our stateside trips too! Like South Dakota and DC :)
