Family Girls Trip to Spain

Family girls trip to Spain to visit my daughter studying in Granada. We were a party of 5 including 2 young adults, 2 aunts and a grandmother. After landing in Barcelona we took a short flight to Malaga and our rental property was 45 minutes from the airport.  We used BLACKLANE to pre-arrange all of our transportation and the app was easy to use.

 Our condo was rented through Homes and Villas by Marriott Bonvoy and Casa Valentina did not disappoint!  Working through Marriott and the local management company Finest Rentals the communication was great.  The townhome was located on Casablanca Beach which is part of Marbella's Golden Mile.

The first day we enjoyed renting chairs on the beach and relaxing.  Dinner was at Lalala Puerto Banus located at the marina. Beautiful setting and the Mediterranean food was delicious.

 The second day we spent the afternoon at the Ocean Club enjoying the pool and the music.  Dinner that evening was at Calma by Kopparberg located on the north end of the beach in Marbella. The location was beautiful and we enjoyed the Paella. 

We took the train from Malaga to Granada, which was a pleasant experience. We arrived in Granada in time for brunch at D'Sano which we would highly recommend.

Granada was the highlight of our trip! The city is quaint and easy to navigate. We spent the afternoon walking the shops and enjoying the culture that Granada offers. Even in July you can still see the snow capped mountains of the Sierra Nevada. We were able to spend time with my daughter’s host family which was a wonderful experience.

We had dinner at Carmen El Agua which overlooked the Alhambra (medieval palace). Once we navigated the cobblestone streets and steps we had a table that offered us a wonderful view and we enjoyed the unique menu.

We stayed at the Hotel Palacio De Santa Paula, which was a converted monastery. Although the hotel was very beautiful, we would not recommend. The hotel was hosting a wedding and was having issues with electricity and there were many flights of stairs required to reach the lobby and restaurant from the guestrooms.

We took a flight from Granada to Barcelona for our final weekend in Spain. We stayed at the Renaissance Barcelona which was centrally located. We had an easy walk to the Gothic District and La Rambla. The first night we had dinner at Restaurante Italiano Rossini, which was in the Gothic District. We had a late night at the Dow Jones which was really fun.

We did plan for a guided tour of Sagrada Familia through Julia Travel. Having this pre-planned, skip the line tour, was very simple. The tour was scheduled for 60 minutes but did run over. After the tour we headed to the Barcelona beach and enjoyed the views at Salt Beach Club.

We had dinner reservations at Altamar which is definitely a hidden gem. The restaurant is located on top of a tower and offers 360 views of Barcelona. The menu was creative and this was the perfect spot for our last night. The tower is also where you can access the Teleferic de Montjuic which s a cable car/gondola that links 2 park stations and ends at the Montjuic Castle. This is something we would have looked into if we had more time.

We had breakfast twice at La Fuga which was located near the hotel. We enjoyed the food, coffee options and the atmosphere.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time visiting Spain!!