Travel with Children - Barcelona August 2012 with kids

Travelling to Barcelona with my wife and 3 kids (ages 12, 9, and 5). We booked award tickets with AA and will be staying approximately 8 days in Barcelona before a cruise. Can anyone suggest a safe, convenient apartment or villa rental; or do you suggest hotels. There seems to be lots of kids activities outseide the city as well (ie water parks) - should we rent a car? Any suggestions of what to do would be much appreciated...

Definitely go with an apartment rental--it makes things much more manageable with kids. We were there in spring and found a place through vrbo.com: http://www.vrbo.com/23937 (though that may be too small for your family). Lots of great neighborhood choices.

It's nice to get a car for a couple of days to go outside the city, but you shouldn't need one the whole time you're there. We picked up a rental car at the end of our stay to head up into the mountains, but didn't miss it in the city at all.

We rented from Inside-BCN, check their website with the same name. Great customer service, in English, and the apartment was great. I took my 10 and 13 year old and we loved BCN, such an awesome family city. We ditched our rental car when we arrived from France, and used the metro system to go everywhere.

We stayed near Sants main train station which is about ten mins ride from the city centre. It was great, a residential area with restos, shops, parks etc. we pondered staying in a way more central area but we thought with the kids it would work better. We were very happy with our choice.


You will have a blast with the kids. But, do be aware that pick pockets are all over BCN, do not carry wallets etc. bring just what you need for the day and place money and cards in inside pockets. We did not get targeted, but we did see it happen to others.

Excellent points. I just read an article about how the law works in BCN means that pickpockets are rarely prosecuted and it's basically a haven for them with all the tourists...

Like the pp said, take the minimum and keep it close to you. Definitely put the passports in a safe where you're staying.

I haven't used VRBO but my sister is a big fan of them.

ITA about not needing the car the whole time. There is the Aqua Brava water park a little north of BCN that my kids loved. I assume you're going in a warm month...

If you want to see the Dali museum in Figueres, get up early in the morning as the lines can be incredibly long later in the day.

My kids loved the hop-on-hop-off bus. Touristy but it's a hit with kids.

We started and ended a cruise there. Really great location for it. The port is right there (as opposed to Rome, where it was ages away). Take advantage of their very nice porters (tip them well, great service!)

My suggestion is to go to Sitges - a very nice, family friendly, typical beach resort one hour down the coast that can be reached by train or car (rentals are often not very expensive). Rent an apartment facing the beach. I'd do day trips to Barcelona or at maximum stay only 3 days in BCN - it is sufficient to see the highlights and August can be hot.

Sitges is lovely, but it's a completely different kind of experience than staying in the city. It really depends on the activities you like to do. I get bored at a beach resort after a day or two and prefer the vibrancy of the city and getting to know different neighborhoods, markets, and grocery stores. Other people find the city more stressful and expensive.

Sitges is lovely, but it's a completely different kind of experience than staying in the city. It really depends on the activities you like to do. I get bored at a beach resort after a day or two and prefer the vibrancy of the city and getting to know different neighborhoods, markets, and grocery stores. Other people find the city more stressful and expensive.

The kids would enjoy Sitges/shorter time in BCN is my best guess.

We stayed for a week in BCN we didn't run out of things to do, but we did run out of time to do things. I would stay in BCN but choose a more residential area.

I also agree with the hop on hop off bus tour, my kids loved it as did I.

Buy a good guide book and do as much as you can. We had no bad experiences in BCN, just walking about was interesting.

Thanks for the advice. We're looking at apartments, but I am very concerned about the safety aspect of Barcelona, especially with young kids. All I hear are stories of snatch and grabs and pickpockets. When you stay in these apartments where do you lock up your valuables - camera, lenses, laptop. You certainly don't want to carry anything unnecessary around with you. I worry with kids as I think you are a target then as your unlikely to put up any resistance nor leave your kids to chase the guy down. Any suggestions....

Again - why not stay close to BCN on the beach and make your kids happy. A week in sweltering heat in a city (even if it is BCN) is not ideal. I've been many times (also with small kids) and a day (trip) or 2 to visit is enough. Again, Sitges is nice but there are quite a few other options near BCN that are very family friendly, safe, and a fairly short drive.

Please don't be too concerned about pickpockets. You take reasonable precautions like putting your wallet somewhere safe, keeping the passport in the safe, etc. and then don't be overly concerned. They're not after your children but the fact that you are with children means that you might be more distracted. That's all.

Pickpocketers generally are not hardened, violent criminals. Often they're children making a game of "relieving" people of their wallets. They love when people stop to watch the street performers. If you give money, for example, they might take note of where you pulled your wallet from...

We had a pilot "stabbed" once in Madrid and it turned out that it was a child purse snatcher who took his wife's bag and then the pilot took off after him. He managed to corner the boy, who pulled out a small pen knife and give the pilot a very superficial wound.

My purse was actually slashed in a crowded market in Madrid once. My wallet was in an inside jacket pocket and all that was in there was some make-up, tissues, etc. and a cheap camera, which they didn't bother to take. I was more concerned with the fact someone had a knife so close to me than any concern for my belongings. It did hit me how fast and skilled they were. But I had taken precautions and didn't lose any sleep over the incident. I later stitched up the purse and continued to use it, pointing it out as a conversation piece sometimes.

Decide if you want a beach vacation or a city break, or a combination of both. Personally, I find the Spanish beaches okay while Barcelona is one of my absolute favorite cities in the world. My kids loved it and there was plenty to do. Seems a bit of a shame to go all the way to Europe, just to sit on a mediocre beach near one of the premier destinations over here. You will see plenty of nice beaches on the cruise and have the pool to lounge around on the ship.

But that's the beauty of travel-the freedom to choose. Do what works for you and your family.

Seems a bit of a shame to go all the way to Europe, just to sit on a mediocre beach near one of the premier destinations over here. You will see plenty of nice beaches on the cruise and have the pool to lounge around on the ship.

But that's the beauty of travel-the freedom to choose. Do what works for you and your family.

I don't agree - residents of Barcelona do just that in Summer - and it will be a very authentic Spanish experience while easy to combine with the city.

I do agree that safety is not a big issue if you take proper precautions- and violent crime is extremely rare.

I don't agree - residents of Barcelona do just that in Summer - and it will be a very authentic Spanish experience while easy to combine with the city.

Agreed! It would be "authentic"! I've done it with my family myself. It's just that it's soooo packed that time of year.

The logic was that the OP could probably visit nicer, cheaper beaches closer to home on other vacations. If they were going to Thailand, I would say, definitely go to the beach because Thai beaches are fabulous. Spanish beaches? eh...

Barcelona doesn't strike me as particularly unsafe compared to other large cities. Crowded tourist areas are always rife for pickpockets/purse snatchers, so just use normal precautions. Some of the apartments will have a safe much as any hotel room, but I don't typically use them.

I had contemplated a more beach oriented trip when we went to BCN, but after seeing the beaches I was glad that we focussed on the city and culture. Beaches can be had anywhere, but some of the incredible sights my kids saw could not be.

Do not miss the museum of history, we simply loved that. Plus all that is Gaidi the kids found him fascinating and took their own cameras and sketch books for their own Gaudi moments.

Don't worry too much about the pick pockets, they are not dangerous and they are not after children. They want to snatch something easily and leave, so if you have nothing obvious for them they will leave you alone. No purses on the floor, backs of chairs or tables. No wallets in pants pockets, front or back. I carried a cross body bag for the camera etc and just kept my hand on the top just so any curios folk would see that I was aware. My sister in law who stayed with us was told three times by resto workers to be more careful with her bag.

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Agreed! It would be "authentic"! I've done it with my family myself. It's just that it's soooo packed that time of year.



BCN will also be packed - especially the sites (long lines). My suggestion is to combine the two. Also, some of these packed beaches are great fun, with good swimming, tons of kids, and not at all like just any other beach. If my experience is anything to go by - your kids will last only so long in a hot city - especially the 5 yr old.

Trust me, the aquarium wasn't hot at all! We definitely spent a lot of time there!

BCN is actually quite mild in summer, since it's right on the water. There was always a breeze. The kids were never uncomfortably hot and the crowds, except for specific places, weren't too crushing. We did a Med cruise from there mid-August, peak season.