- My wife and I wanted to connect with our Spanish heritage, so we started planning extended stays.
- We are now spending two month stays in Spain with our two young children who love to travel.
- Surprisingly, traveling to Europe for two months is cheaper for us than a trip to Disney.
When I was in middle school, I had a project on family history. I didn’t know it then, but this project would spark a lifelong interest in my heritage.
In 2018, my wife (who is Cuban and Hispanic) and I took a road trip through the snow-covered Spanish mountains and met new family members I never knew existed. When we met these relatives, we all became close to each other.
Then my wife and I wanted to reconnect with our Spanish heritage in a whole new way. We decided the best way to do this was to travel to Spain for extended periods of time with our young children.
Over the past three years, we have spent two months in Europe as a growing family.
At first, we thought long-haul travel seemed impractical and expensive
When my daughter was 2 years old, she had a 45-minute breakdown at Miami International Airport. While we were sorting out tickets for our toddler, our daughter was having a loud tantrum. We endured a lot of flak from soon-to-be passengers (one even attacked us), and eventually, an airline employee frantically asked us to call it quits.
I thought we would never travel again, but the idea of an extended trip stuck in our minds.
On shorter trips, we kept going and learned tricks that made traveling easier, like using inflatable beds that go on airplane seats, little trinkets to play with, and lots of snacks. As time went on, we knew we had a chance.
We are now staying in Spain for two months at a time
With the flexibility of freelancing and some downsizing practice, we learned we could travel to Spain for two months for about the cost of a typical family Disney trip.
A trip to Disney for a family of four can cost $6,000 to $10,000 per week. I quickly learned that a long flight to Spain ranges from $4,220 to $4,900 for an apartment in the central parts of major cities.
When we book an apartment for a month or two in Spain, for example, we get much lower prices than for a shorter trip because Airbnb offers discounts for longer stays.
To get the family to Europe, we collect airline miles from credit card offers and fly most of them for free.
During the trip, we rely on public transportation and transform our stay from a “touristy” experience to living like a local to continue saving money.
This worked well for our trips in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
We lived like locals in Spain
When we transitioned from visiting to living in Spain, we focused on the city we were in and the people around us. We didn’t eat out every meal, but cooked traditional dishes using local ingredients.
Our neighbors became friends, and our children played in parks with familiar faces. Eventually, these friends invited us to their homes, and we kept in touch after our travels.
To explore the country, we focused on different regions. For example, the first year we stayed in Valencian CommunityThen on other trips Basque country and Andalusia.
When we were in these areas, we mainly focused on our home base and explored nearby towns on weekend trips.
Our children have gained a lot so far
Our little ones are now willing to try different foods without hesitation, no matter where we are. They understand and use words they do not typically hear back home in the United States.
As they grow older in school, some of the places and events they learn will be personal because they have been there and touched the stones.
My son learned to walk in Spain and has had all his birthdays there. Spain has also become a base for exploring other countries thanks to cheap short flights.
More families can do this than you think
Our experiences in Spain have inspired many of our friends and family. I help my cousin and a neighbor plan similar trips with their kids.
Thanks to budgeting and smart planning, it’s much less expensive than a two-week vacation in many parts of the United States.
I’m not sure how long we’ll be able to have extended stays like this, but I know these memories will be ingrained in our family.
They have helped shape my children’s lives (our third child is on the way), and they continue to inspire us even back home in the States — by cooking Spanish meals, and enjoying the present through walks, late-night stays, and hour-long dinners.
John Paul Hernandez is a marketing writer for technology companies. It is based on the Treasure Coast of Florida. Connect with him on LinkedIn.
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