5 Reasons to Choose Spain for your Family Holiday This Year

It’s that time of year again with grey and chilly days.  Dark mornings, dark evenings and getting back into a routine after the Christmas break. Christmas seems like weeks ago already and with it, has gone its glitter and sparkle for another year. The promise of a new year and new plans is a positive thing but it easy to get bogged down and you can see where the term ‘January blues’ came from.

For me, one of the first things I think about in the new year is our holiday.  Last year, we did a few short breaks away and tried our hand at camping, so this year I would love to take the children abroad.  Spain is the top of my list.  I want sunshine, I want amazing beaches and lots of fun things to do. With so many amazing Spanish villas for rent, I would love to find a villa with a pool in a great location, where we can really relax and enjoy a fantastic family holiday. A villa really appeals to me as you can find villas in perfect locations, close to the facilities but they give you your own space and no fighting over sun loungers. Plus it adds a little luxury to your holiday too.

But why have I chosen Spain as my perfect family holiday location?

Sunshine and blue skies

Enough of the grey!  Away with the rain and the cold.  I want sunshine.  I know that it does rain in Spain but in general, the weather is so much better in Spain and more importantly, there is plenty of sunshine and warm weather.  Warm weather.  Imagine that?  It is the one thing I would love at the moment, the thought of some sunshine in my life.

Photo by Victoriano Izquierdo on Unsplash

This article from The Telegraph sums it up perfectly.  It lists the 10 sunniest and 10 dullest cities in Europe.  Both Barcelona and Madrid feature in the sunniest list and the UK?  Well, it is probably no surprise that the UK counts for nearly half of the dullest list. Barcelona boasts on average just over two and half thousand hours of sun each year which is nearly double the average yearly hours of sunshine in our nearest city of Birmingham.

Did I mention that I wanted to go to Barcelona?

Interesting Cities

Spain has some of the most amazing cities in the world filled with culture and vibrancy and a wealth of things to see and do to suit everyone in the family.

Photo by Enes on Unsplash

Barcelona is a breathtaking city which will stop any cries of “I’m bored” from the kids.  Where else can you find such diversity?  With a mixture of medieval alleyways to explore, the promenade of La Rambla filled with human statues and entertainers, a live bird fair, the unique and stunning church of La Sagrada Familia Basilica, he wonders of Gaudi on display at Park Guell, amazing parks, a chocolate museum and let’s not forget the beaches.

Photo by Biel Morro on Unsplash

Like the Catalan city, the capital Madrid also has a lot to offer families.  Located in central Spain, there are no beaches but it has lots of family-friendly activities.  Parque Warner is a theme park based on the Loony Tunes characters.  There are parks, amusement parks, theatres with shows especially for kids, an amazing zoo aquarium, a natural science museum and some unique toy shops.

Photo by Greta Schölderle Møller on Unsplash

Those are just two, there are many more.  Malaga, Valencia, Vilanova, Toledo and Bilbao all come highly recommended as great locations for family holidays.

Good value

There is no doubt that a family holiday taken in the school holidays is not cheap.  But with some research, Spain can work out a lot cheaper than you might think. Look at different dates and different locations in Spain to see which region suits your budget as some are really reasonably priced.  Costa Brava is a really good example, it is not only home to the city of Barcelona but has some beautiful coastline and plenty to do.  Hiring a villa can be another way to cut costs and not only can it give you your own space, but can be much cheaper than a hotel.  The cost of living in Spain is generally less than here in the UK too, so if you are self-catering, buying food and eating out can be quite reasonable.

Photo by Matt Artz on Unsplash

The Best Beaches

With over 5000 miles of stunning coastline, Spain boasts some of the finest beaches in Europe, so if you are looking for a beach holiday, Spain is the ideal destination. The photos in this article showcasing some of the best beaches in Spain, are enough to make you want to book your holiday straight away and show what a beautiful coastline it is.  Ibiza, Mallorca, Costa Del Sol, La Concha in San Sebastien, La Barrosa in Cadiz and El Cotilla in Fuerteventura always feature in recommendations of top beaches in Spain.

Photo by Hello Lightbulb on Unsplash

Fabulous Food

When it comes to food, Spain is a wonderful place to take children.  It gives them the option to try so many different foods and the colours and flavours are truly wonderful.

Photo by Cel Lisboa on Unsplash

Tapas are the perfect way to get the children to try something new with lots of small savoury dishes to pick up with your fingers.  It is also worth taking the kids to the local markets, they will have never seen anything like fresh produce you can find there.  You might also be able to introduce them to the wonders of Spanish street food such as empanadas, patatas bravas (fried potatoes in a delicious sauce) or the wonderfully named bocadillo (a Spanish sandwich).  And you cannot go to Spain and not try churros which are a deep fried dough pastry which is rolled in sugar and cinnamon, best eaten warm and dipped into chocolate sauce.

If all of those things still haven’t convinced you, the other huge bonus of taking the family to Spain is the distance, having taken the children to America two years ago, a two to three-hour flight will feel like a breeze.  It is manageable to fly to Spain and if you don’t want to fly, you could even drive.  It is a long drive but you could stop off in France for a few days on the way and make it a bit of a European tour.

 

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