Barcelona to Torrevieja

cullenswood

HI,

Planning holiday for June this year. Will start with a few days in Barcelona, then are driving down to just below Torrevieja.

Going to do this drive in one day, but was looking for some advice on the trip.

Will probably start off around 9.30 on a Sunday morning and aim to get down sometime early evening.

Will have three kids with us (ages 6 to 2) so was hoping to get some pointers on where to stop off for a few hours. Was thinking of breaking the trip into 3 ( 3 x 2 hour segments), or might just try and do it with just one stop, but two three hour journeys might be a bit much on the kids.

Would love to hear others experience, and some suggestions on where to stop off etc.

Thanks

cullenswood

Anyone take this route?

laoisman11

cullenswood wrote: »

Anyone take this route?

There's not a whole lot to see between Barcelona and Valencia, maybe Tarragona (Roman amphitheatre), the delta of the Ebro (should be some parks, picnic areas). Just north of Valencia is Sagunto, an old Roman city on a hill. Have to say that I have not been to any of these, despite taking this road countless times.

Calp, about 1 1/2 hr north of Torrevieja is worth a stop.

I'm assuming that you don't want to stray too far from the motorway.......

cullenswood

Thanks Laoisman,

Correct, want to stay as close to the motorway as possible.

Had pencilled in Calp for the second of two stops alright. Have heard its nice.

Will take a look at your other suggestions for the first stop

faceman

I recommend stopping in Valencia, it's a beautiful city. Not sure how long you plan stopping for though?

laoisman11

faceman wrote: »

I recommend stopping in Valencia, it's a beautiful city. Not sure how long you plan stopping for though?

Valencia is great (it's where I was living) but it deserves a full weekend. It might be a lot of hassle getting in and finding parking if you've a car, a family and one day to do a 6hr road trip.

cullenswood

Thanks guys. Yeah thought about the Valencia option alright but as you say it probably demands more time than an hour or two stop off in the middle of a journey. Would take too much time getting into the city and finding a spot and then navigating out.

Have heard good reports about a place called Peniscola (anyone ever been?), so am thinking of that being my first stop, and then maybe Calpe as my second. Both seem close enough to the motorway too.

laoisman11

cullenswood wrote: »

Have heard good reports about a place called Peniscola (anyone ever been?), so am thinking of that being my first stop, and then maybe Calpe as my second. Both seem close enough to the motorway too.

The only thing that I know about Peniscola is that it is famous due to the similarity of it's name to a male body part. Cue tourist shops selling teapots and whatever you're having in the shape of a penis. Not sure if that is your idea of a family day out?

cullenswood

laoisman11 wrote: »

The only thing that I know about Peniscola is that it is famous due to the similarity of it's name to a male body part. Cue tourist shops selling teapots and whatever you're having in the shape of a penis. Not sure if that is your idea of a family day out?

Ah, ok. The old castle is what was attracting us

TheFairy

Calp is a beautiful place to stop off and have a look around.