The first time we took our kids abroad, they ranged in age from 4 – 8 and we stayed here in this lovely home in the Cotswolds region of England (think rolling hills and lots of sheep.  It was the perfect place for our family of 5.  From our little home in the Cotswolds, we saw Gloucester, Bourton on Water, Bath, and several castles in Wales. We also took the train into London for a couple of days, and to Edinburgh, Scotland for a few more days, to enjoy the sights and sounds of those very different cities.

For our next adventure, we braved Rome (hotel), Florence (hotel), and then rented this villa in Tuscany for our final week.

Complete with its own olive grove and a pool for summer guests, it was pure heaven.  From our home base, we were able to visit Assisi, Cortona, Castigione del Lago, Orbetello, Cascate del Gorello and Siena.  Needless to say, we didn’t want to return to our real home.

Our latest excursion took us to Spain, where again we split time between a hotel (in Marbella) and an apartment in Madrid.

beautiful pool at our hotel in Marbella

view from our Madrid apt.

Marbella is in the south of Spain,
and we used the hotel as a base to visit the picturesque town of Ronda, Puerto Banus, the Alhambra in Grenada, Sevilla, the Rock of Gibraltor, and the beautiful Mesquita in Cordoba.

After all that sightseeing, we were ready to relax and enjoy the sights and sounds in the city of Madrid, including our all-time favorites, the mercado de san miguel, and Retiro Park, which we visited every day for a little R&R.

So how did we find these places?  How did we decide where to stay?

It takes a lot of research (time), a little luck, and a leap of faith.  But in our experience, it’s completely worth a bit of extra work to fully immerse your family in another culture.

1. First, decide what kind of vacation you’re looking for:  Do you want to sit by a pool every day for a week or do you prefer to sit by the pool for an hour, then kayak through the mangroves, body surf in the waves, and visit the local tiki hut?  Do you want to see one city, and see it all, or use your ‘home’ as a base and sightsee like crazy?  A bit of both?
2. Explore the area online and in guidebooks.  When we first considered Spain, it was hard to choose where to go.   In addition to seeing the south and Madrid, I’d love to explore the western and Basque regions, and to return to Barcelona which I loved visiting years ago.  However, it’s a big country, we had two weeks, and we’re travelling with three kids.  
3. Narrow your choices.  Given our parameters, I decided that Barcelona would be better with older kids or as a couple and that we’d be able to see an awful lot of cool historic sights, as well as natural beauty, if we stayed in the south for our first week.   We decided to stay at a resort, rather than a regular hotel or B&B, because hotels in Europe are smaller than in America and we have 5 people.  Getting a 3BR, 4 bath hotel “room” was a no-brainer since we were staying for a week.
4. Do your research.  The second week, we wanted the more authentic experience of living in the city of Madrid.  To get it, we decided to rent an apartment.  That one little decision cost me hours in research time.  What do you want to know when you’re looking for a place to rent? Before you even Google Madrid Rental Apartment, you want to consider the where–what part of the city do you want to live in?  Prices will be all over the board but it won’t mean anything unless you know whether you’re in the seedy or swanky district, close to the metro, or in a neighborhood far, far away.  Do you want a yard?  When we rented homes in England and Tuscany, we decided ‘yes.’  But for Madrid, we wanted to be in the heart of things, so we were willing to forgo a yard in favor of being close to the metro (which we hardly used).  When we made that decision, though, we also made another:  we wanted to be within walking distance of Retiro Park (think Central Park in NY) so the kids could get out and run a little each day.
5. Choose your sights.  Beyond understanding the general layout of the city or town you’ll be visiting, you want to think about which sights you want to see.  Very often, museums are closed certain days of the week–you’ll want to know what’s open and when before you leave, so you can plan accordingly.  We looked at the places we definitely wanted to see in Madrid and chose an apartment as close to those sights as possible, in the neighborhood we had decided upon.  Your plan doesn’t have to be in ink, but it’s a good idea to pencil in when you plan to see what–including which days you’re just going to chill at the park.
6. Consider your budget.  Oh, I know, this one isn’t any fun at all.  But if you aim too low, you’ll end up in a skeevy place with bad mattresses and who knows what else.  If you aim too high, you risk ruining the joy of your trip with unnecessary worries about money.  Know your price range, and be willing to go to the high end of it to get the right place.  Your home away from home and your airfare are your biggest expenses.  Choose wisely!
7. Hit the web.  There are a bazillion websites from which you can rent homes and apartments in Europe.  I suggest looking through a few guidebooks, as well, to see if they have any suggestions. Websites vary by country–I always look at vrbo.com and Trip Advisor, but I also Google around to see if there are agencies that deal specifically with the region we’re visiting.  When we went to Italy, for example, we booked through Villa & Charme (www.villa-charme.com), where you can rent everything from a wine country villa with cooking staff and maid service, to a simple, beautiful, countryside villa with a pool.
8. A word to the wise:  If your style is to pack as much in as possible, make your list then revisit #3.  Narrow your choices!  Traveling abroad with kids is a fantastically wonderful experience, but you’d be crazy not to build in a little down time.  On big trips like these, we plan a day “off” every few days to just wander olive groves, skip rocks at the beach, and enjoy long, leisurely meals.  Trust me, if you’re traveling with your kids, you’ll need it!