Today I’m sharing our 2 week Spain and Portugal itinerary with kids.
My family and I just returned from a big jaunt around Spain and Portugal, so I wanted to share an overview of our itinerary.
I hadn’t been back to Spain or Portugal since I studied abroad in Valladolid in 2013, and this was Tyler’s first visit! We had SO much fun experiencing it all together for the first time, and I’m already trying to figure out how we can get back to Spain ASAP.
In this post, I wanted to share our exact 2 week Spain and Portugal itinerary with kids and walk through a few “mistakes” we made (or things we would do differently next time).
I’ll share where we went, transportation details, the links to where we stayed, and our general opinion of each location. I will also talk through our thoughts on the family “friendliness” of each spot we visited.
I will also link to all of my location-specific guides that I have published so far as we go.
Our 2 week Spain and Portugal itinerary with kids
We went against what I normally advise for families and really packed a lot into this trip. It was definitely a whirlwind itinerary that I would, on the whole, not necessarily recommend for families, but our girls rose to the occasion and had a blast.
Here is an overview of our itinerary:
Mallorca: 4 nights
Granada: 1 night
Ronda: 3 nights
Sevilla: 1 night
Porto: 1 night
Lisbon: 4 nights
Barcelona: 1 night
For this trip, we had a few logistics we were trying to work around which made planning a bit more complex. First, we bought our flights last summer during an Iberia sale, and we booked nonstop flights from LAX to Barcelona for a super affordable price in points (21k each way for 4 people = 168k ). Since we wanted to hold onto those flights, we needed to make flying into and out of Barcelona work as opposed to booking a multi-city flight like we normally would.
Typically, I suggest limiting “travel days” when you are traveling with kids (or without!), meaning the days you are moving from one location to another. Being mindful of travel days helps to maximize that amount of time that you are actually exploring a new place and enjoying your trip! We often underestimate how much time (and energy!) it takes to pack completely up, get to and from the airport, check into your hotel or Airbnb, unpack, get settled. No matter how short that flight, drive, or train ride is, it often kill the better part of the day!
Additionally, we try to limit 2 night stays if at all possible and almost never book 1 night stays. However, for this trip, we had four 1 night stays, lol! I would not recommend this, especially if you have kiddos in tow.
And at the end of the day, we had so much we really wanted to see and do in Spain and Portugal, so we decided to just go for it. The girls are now almost 4 and 5 and really great travelers, so we thought they could handle a more complicated itinerary. And even though they did great, it was VERY tiring.
Also, we did a lot of big cities which is another thing that I normally recommend against. These were all places that Tyler and I really wanted to see, but in hindsight, I wish we had cut out at least one, if not two, of the big cities. More on that below.
(BTW, here is a list of everything I wore in Spain and Portugal, if you’re into that sort of thing!).
2 week trip to Spain and Portugal with kids
Travel day: LAX to Barcelona to Mallorca
The travel day over was actually quite easy, one of the easiest we’ve done in a long time. Flying direct from LAX to Barcelona was ideal. Our flight was in the evening, so we all slept on and off for most of the flight. We landed in Barcelona around 5pm local time, breezed through customs, got our bags, and then re-entered the terminal at departures to board our easy Vueling flight over to Mallorca. The flight to Mallorca took only 50 minutes, and by the time we rented our car, drove 30 minutes across the island, and settled into our Airbnb, we were tired but not exhausted. It was honestly not bad.
4 days in Port de Soller, Mallorca, Spain
We spent 4 nights in Mallorca and used Port de Soller as our base. Tyler and I agree that Mallorca was one of our favorite locations we have ever traveled to. Mallorca was unbelievably beautiful, and there is so much to do and see. We took the vintage wooden train to Soller a few times, did day trips up to Deia and Valldemossa, and spent every evening at the beach. We barely scratched the surface, and I’m already dying to get back.
Mallorca was SO great for kids. We saw babies everywhere we looked, and everyone was so kind to us and the girls. I could go on and on (and will do so in the Mallorca blog post, I’m sure), but for now I will say that this is one of my top family travel destinations EVER. Mallorca is an absolute must on any 2 week Spain and Portugal itinerary with kids.
Port de Soller was the perfect little family beach town. We stayed in an Airbnb that was just steps from the beach, so we spent nearly every evening at the beach after we explored during the day. It was idyllic.
We stayed in this Airbnb. Location wise, it was perfect. The terrace had the most amazing view, and the property had tons of space and felt super private. I would stay there again in a heartbeat. My only complaint was the weak shower water pressure and the fact that the only bathroom was on the bottom floor while the two bedrooms were on the top floor. Also, note that the stairs were very steep and hard—this would have made me very nervous if the girls were any younger than they are now.
Read our full Mallorca guide here. (Plus some tips on day tripping to Valldemossa here).
Travel day: Mallorca to Granada
We flew via Air Europa for the first time ever to travel from Mallorca to Granda and had a great experience. The flight took 1:20 and was also very easy. We rented a car in Granada and drove 20 minutes into town. You certainly don’t need a car in Granada itself, but we needed it to drive to Ronda the next day and then Sevilla which is why we went ahead and grabbed it while we were at the airport.
1 day in Granada, Spain
Granada was absolutely beautiful and a place that both Tyler and I have wanted to visit for years. We spent the first day doing a little self-guided walking tour and exploring the Albaicín. The next morning, we visited the Alhambra which was the most beautiful man-made site I have ever seen.
The girls really enjoyed wandering around Granada and the Alhambra, but like any city, it was busy. I think a day and a half was the perfect amount of time for us to be there with the girls.
We stayed in this two-bedroom Airbnb which I would definitely recommend. It was very spacious and perfectly located. Also, the parking was free and super convenient.
You can check out my Granada itinerary and a bunch of tips for visiting the Alhambra here.
Travel day: Granada to Ronda
We drove our rental car from Granada to Ronda in the afternoon after visiting the Alhambra. The drive took about 2 hours and was relatively easy.
3 days in Ronda, Spain
Ronda was incredible and one of the most unique places we have ever visited. The town is situated on the edge of a dramatic cliffside. A deep gorge divides the old and new town, and every vantage point is more stunning than the last.
The real highlight of Ronda was our Airbnb. This property was located in the hills outside of the town (but only a 5 minute drive!) and had the MOST gorgeous view of all of Ronda and the rolling hills below it. I’ll never get over it as long as I live. The property had a pool and a playground and was so peaceful. We loved this spot so much.
This Airbnb was actually the reason we ended up staying for 3 nights in Ronda. As soon as we saw the listing, we knew we’d want to enjoy it for as long as possible, so we shaved a night off Granada and a night off Sevilla in order to allow for three full nights here. This was a great decision and made our stay so relaxing. Ultimately, it was worth it to turn Granada and Sevilla into one-night stays for us to have the extended stay at this beautiful property.
Many Southern Spain itineraries I looked through before the trip either overlooked Ronda altogether or left only one night or even just a day trip for it. We loved having a few days to explore this unique town at our own pace. You can definitely see the highlights in a day, but this was a great location for us to “hunker down” in, especially because we had the girls with us.
Check out my Ronda travel guide here.
Travel day: Ronda to Sevilla
This was another fairly easy travel day. We drove two hours from Ronda to Sevilla first thing in the morning and had the rest of the day to explore Sevilla.
1 day in Sevilla, Spain with kids
I feel similarly about Sevilla as I did Granada. It is beautiful, full of life, and has a bunch of amazing restaurants and things to explore. It is quintessentially Spanish and a MUST on any Southern Spain itinerary. If it was just Tyler and I, we could have easily spent a few days.
Since our flight left the following morning, we really only one full day to explore. I think another day or half day would have made it the perfect amount of time with the girls in tow.
Our Airbnb in Sevilla was SO cute, but note there was not convenient parking if you have a car with you. We had to find street parking about a 10 minute walk away which was rough with suitcases.
Bookmark my Sevilla itinerary here.
Travel day: Sevilla to Porto
We took an hour and a half flight from Sevilla to Porto to kick off the Portugal leg of our journey. We flew RyanAir which is my least favorite budget airline (they don’t have family boarding?), but it was fine.
1 day in Porto, Portugal
Honestly, Porto was not our favorite city, but it was very unique and I can see why everyone raves about it (Livraria Lello was the highlight for me!). I am glad we saw it, but I was also very glad to head to Lisbon.
We stayed in this Airbnb which was fine and about a 10 minute walk away from the waterfront.
Check out our Porto itinerary here.
Travel day: Porto to Lisbon
We had picked up a rental car at the Porto airport the day before when we flew in and then drove it 3 hours down to Lisbon the following afternoon.
4 days in Lisbon, Portugal
Lisbon is such a fabulous city. I had visited once before during my study abroad semester in college, and I had such fond memories of it. I was so relieved when it lived up to my memory!
We had an amazing time exploring Lisbon with the girls, and 4 days was a perfect amount of time. We walked all around the city and spent our evenings chasing the sunset in the Alfama district. We day tripped out to Sintra which was a highlight of the trip for the girls. Also, we managed to secure last minute tickets to the Eras Tour—this was seriously the best night ever and SO much fun.
Our lodging in Lisbon was incredible. We stayed at Baixa House which is an apartment hotel in the heart of Baixa in downtown Lisbon. The apartment was SO cute and had gorgeous high ceilings and perfect natural lighting. I told Tyler a million times that I would live in it if I could. I will cover the property more in our Lisbon family travel guide that I am going to publish next week, but please bookmark this place if you are planning a trip to Lisbon. I cannot recommend it enough.
Check out our Lisbon guide here and our Sintra guide here.
Travel day: Lisbon to Barcelona
This was our silliest, hardest travel day. We stupidly waited too long to book our flights from Lisbon back to Barcelona, and because of the Eras Tour, all of the flights left were astronomically priced. We ended up finding really cheap flights from Porto to Barcelona that day, but that meant we had to make the 3 hour drive back to Porto at 7am after the Taylor Swift concert. This was just as tiring as it sounds.
1 Day in Barcelona, Spain
We had just one evening to explore Barcelona before we flew home the next day. We toured La Sagrada Familia, had an amazing tapas meal, and ate ice cream as we walked La Rambla. Barcelona is cool to see, but it was another huge city that we were a bit too tired for at that point in the trip.
I am not going to link our Airbnb because it was akin to a prison cell and would absolutely not recommend it!
Check out our Barcelona itinerary here.
Travel day: Barcelona to LAX
One advantage of flying back to Barcelona the day before was that our travel day back home was not nearly as difficult as it would have been. We just had one long flight to LAX and a bleary eyed drive down to San Diego, and then it was done.
In hindsight, what would I change?
If we were to plan the trip knowing what we know now, Tyler and I both agree that we could have easily enjoyed 1-2 more nights in Mallorca. We would have extended Sevilla to two nights just to make things a little more smooth. We would have skipped Porto altogether. Lastly, in a perfect world, we would have flown home from Lisbon instead of Barcelona to avoid that second-to-last travel day.
Here’s what I would plan now if we were to redo the trip and what I would recommend to others:
Fly to Barcelona, then Mallorca
Mallorca: 5-6 nights
Fly from Palma to Granda, rent a car
Granada: 1 night
Drive from Granada to Ronda
Ronda: 3 nights
Drive from Granada to Sevilla
Sevilla: 2 nights
Fly or drive from Sevilla to Lisbon
Lisbon: 4 nights
Fly home from Lisbon
Of course, hindsight is always 20/20! Hopefully this little exercise was helpful for those planning a trip to Spain or Portugal–with or without kids.
Okay, I think that pretty much covers it! Keep an eye out for my travel guides for each location. I will work on these over the course of the next couple of months. Better yet, sign up for my newsletter below so you can get the links straight to your inbox, hehe.
If you’re planning a trip or looking for travel inspo, click here. And if you’re traveling as a family, click here.
On that note…
Our 3 week Europe itinerary with kids
