Chase the wise men through the Sahara desert.
Family getaways are much more enjoyable at Reyes. An incentive when organizing a trip during these dates is that It's a magical time in which, as a general rule, everyone is happy for the arrival of a new year full of new resolutions and positive intentions.
In addition, our Christmas tree is not going to move anywhere by itself and, in case it is essential not to break the tradition of unwrapping the gifts on the morning of the 6th, remember that the three Kings are Magi and you can locate us either here or in China. That is why we propose a series of trips in which the time together will be of quality, but above all different.
PEOPLE OF SANABRIA
If this town in Zamora is already considered one of the most beautiful towns in Spain, imagine yourself now illuminated by Ferrero Rocher. Puebla won the contest Wrap your People with Light and since last the 15th it presents an idyllic aspect in which the facades of the houses and the historical monuments of its old town shine in a spectacular way thanks to the one hundred thousand light bulbs installed by the brand of chocolates.
You can walk calmly through its cobbled streets, visit its 15th century castle and have an aperitif at Posada Real La Cartería. an 18th-century building whose bar and dining rooms span a maze of medieval caves with paved walls (in some cases with original ashlars) and wooden beams.
The little ones will entertain themselves peeling the roasted chestnuts (in the bar's own fireplace) that accompany the drink and the older ones, with the views of the Tera River from the exterior viewpoint while you try some creative dish in which typical ingredients are used. from the area, such as a silky cream of nettles with carabineros (around €2).
Puebla de Sanabria, winner of the contest 'Wrap your Town with Light', organized by Ferrero Rocher.
Choose one of its rooms and suites –or its older sister from the 15th century The Posada de las Misas, on the castle wall– to spend the night, you will see how the most modern pieces of glass and steel are intertwined with the original architectural elements (from €80 in both cases).
Complete your visit to the area with a hiking route to the Tejedelo forest, a unique and preserved ancient yew forest –some with several meters in diameter– belonging to the town of Requejo de Sanabria. Or maybe with a boat ride on Lake Sanabria, the largest lake of glacial origin on the Iberian Peninsula. In a wind-solar catamaran with underwater vision, while the adults taste Sanabria cider, the little ones will get to know the flora, fauna and geology of the Lago de Sanabria Natural Park on a tour that reaches the islands of Moras and Bouzas.
And if you want to add more excitement to your getaway, continue on the regional road to the border town of Rihonor de Castilla, right next to its Portuguese namesake, Rio Onor. You will perceive for yourselves, without the need for boundaries or frontiers, the part that belongs to Zamora and the part that belongs to Portugal, just by looking at the type of architecture of their houses and the different crops grown in their orchards. Two countries in one day!
To eat, of course, at the O Careto restaurant, in the nearby Portuguese town of Varge. The €15 menu couldn't be simpler and more delicious at the same time: cod, conger eel, steak or grilled ribs, with potatoes, rice and salad with some tomatoes that will bring tears to your eyes. You will see it prepared with your own eyes over the firewood, you can repeat it as many times as you want and it includes the drink and the dessert (sweet pumpkin or cherry, quince...).
Tour the Sanabria lake in a wind-solar catamaran with underwater vision.
FIFTH LAKE
And without leaving the Portuguese country, only much further south, a few kilometers from Faro airport, we find the exclusive complex of Quinta do Lago. A kind of mini-community where the most luxurious homes in the Algarve are located, in a wild environment, in the very Natural Park of Ria Formosa.
Do not think that because it is a cold month you will not be able to enjoy water activities or outdoors, because today the temperature in the area is 18 ºC at noon. That is why the best option is to choose a hotel-destination that facilitates access to its golf courses, riding lessons or any sport required without losing the comforts of a home away from home. Martinhal Quinta do Lago Family Resort offers villas with two to five bedrooms with a pool and garden (from €200) where you can share time with your family in such a private way that you can even request a home massage at reception.
Motorhome area of Martinhal Quinta do Lago, in the Algarve.
And after they let their imagination run wild in the motorhome area or you all go together a game of miniature golf (never underestimate the fun that can be generated in so few square meters), a relaxed meal based on pizzas, pastas and vegetarian dishes at the resort's O Terraço restaurant – next to the Hangout pool, with water games and slides and heated from Easter.
We recommend reserving a table for dinner at the Bovino steakhouse, located within the Quinta do Lago complex and with a view of the lake and the Ria Formosa Natural Park. In this old farm renovated by Lázaro Rosa-Violán traditional Portuguese elements such as calçada (cobblestone) and tiles coexist and masterfully complement each other with more urban and sophisticated ones.
Specialized in meats from Ireland, Argentina, the United States and Australia, at Bovino, quality prevails over artifice. For a complete experience ask to share the Bovine Signature Cuts Experience, a stone with the best beef cuts: bife do acém, bife do lombo, bife da vazia... Ah! and do not forget to accompany it with cheese and onion empanadas. Dessert, rice pudding with creme brulee.
Bovino, a steakhouse decorated by Lázaro Rosa-Violán.
REGION OF LIÉBANA
hasten to ride the Fuente Dé cable car, in the heart of the Picos de Europa, because it usually closes a whole month after Three Kings (adults: from €11, children: from €6). With this out-of-season getaway you will save yourself the endless queues that are generated in summer at the lower station from where 'the cable' (as mountaineers call it) starts, which crosses the 800-meter drop in less than four minutes.
Do not be scared by the thickness of the clouds, because once in the cabin you will probably end up passing through them before reaching the upper station, where there is a viewpoint and a cafeteria. The vision of the snowy Cantabrian Mountains is a spectacle for the senses!
The Fuente Dé cable car, called 'el cable' by mountaineers.
And what better dish than a Lebanese stew to put your feet on the ground that nourishes the Cantabrian pantry: soup, chickpeas, compango, cabbage and stuffing balls. Reserve a table at the Hotel del Oso, in Cosgaya, where it is served hot, slow-cooked for hours and delicious, as it should be, or at the Parador de Fuente Dé (from €70), a mountain hotel at the foot of the Cableway.
Lebaniego is also the path that allows you to win a pilgrimage jubilee called La Lebaniega. It starts from San Vicente de la Barquera, crosses the municipalities of Val de San Vicente, Herrerías, Lamasón, Peñarrubia, Cillórigo, Potes and Camaleño, and ends at the Santo Toribio monastery. In this monastic center, the Beatus of Liébana abbot wrote in the 8th century the Commentary on the Apocalypse of Saint John, one of the most copied books of the Middle Ages, and the Lignum Crucis, which they claim is the largest piece of the cross of Christ.
Lebanese stew at the Parador de Fuente Dé, Cantabria.
MOROCCO
The places for the experience Meeting the Three Wise Men of Viajes El Corte Inglés are limited and there are only two departure dates available (December 26 and 31), so if you are determined to embark on the adventure of pursuing to their majesties the Kings of the East through the desert it's time to book (from €1,510, child up to twelve years free for every two adults) .
Departing from Madrid, as soon as you land in Errachidia you will ride the 4x4 vehicles that will accompany you during the trip. The first stop will be at the gates of the Sahara, in the small town of Erfoud, in the Ziz River valley and next to the Tafilalet palm grove.
The next day the Rissani market will arrive and, along the tracks that the Paris-Dakar Rally ran through, a visit to a fossil quarry over 300 million years old and to a nomadic Berber settlement.
After lunch in an oasis, already in the great Erg Chebbi (Desert of Dunes) we you will ride camels to see the sunset and, before reaching the Belle Etoile haima camp, find the Three Wise Men in the middle of the dunes. The children will be able to deliver their letters and receive a first advance of their gifts.
On the third day there will be a desert safari, lunch in Erfoud and a Berber workshop; the fourth you will go through the Route of the Thousand Kasbahs, the Route of the Fortresses and the famous Todra Gorges next to the Moroccan High Atlas; On the fifth day, the destination will be the mountainous landscapes and the nomadic caves of the High Central Atlas until reaching the Dades Gorges to finish in the Valley of the Roses. The trip ends at the Kasbah of Aït Ben Haddou , declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco (yes, the one from Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator and Game of Thrones).
Kasbah of Aït Ben Haddou, a Moroccan movie set.
TENERIFE
But Tenerife outside the tourist circuit, away from crowded beaches and with a clear message: you are a family concerned about the environment and sustainability and not by being during your leisure time you are going to stop being.
Choosing one of the ITER Bioclimatic Houses located in front of the sea and next to the Montaña Pelada Natural Monument will be almost as much fun as staying in them. They are all energy self-sufficient, with zero CO2 emissions, but above all different and peculiar: the geometric and vaulted El Cangrejo, the traditional La Arcilla, the one integrated into the landscape La Geria, the spectacular La Geoda...
As the accommodation regimen does not include any type of food, you must go to shop Wednesday at the local farmers market for fruit and vegetables from El Médano, where there is also an eco-store and bio-cafe called Madre Tierra. And if you want to go out for dinner, the nearby Fuori di Zucca offers an extensive menu full of vegan and vegetarian dishes.
Views from one of the different Iter Bioclimatic Houses, in Tenerife.
GREENLAND
It is no longer time to visit Santa Claus at the Santa Claus Village in Finland, he finished his deliveries on the 25th and surely he is resting, which is why we suggest you go a little further to the northwest, to Greenland. There the plan offered by Pangea is to live the Inuit experience visiting different local populations as if you were authentic Eskimos.
You will have to take planes, boats, sledges... the villages are not connected to each other by road and getting from one to the other will be quite an adventure. In addition, the itinerary includes a visit to an Inuit settlement with remains from about 200 years ago. Contemplate the immense ice floes –the territory is 85% covered by it– is one of those experiences that leave a mark for life.
Tour the villages of Greenland like a true Eskimo.
ANDORRA
No, it is not a cliché to go skiing in January, it is fun and snow in its purest form. Can you remember the first day you put on ski boots and tried not to fall on your face when braking with the wedge? Well, imagine that feeling being small, but very small, because in Grandvalira they have six snow gardens for children between three and six years old can start in this sport both indoors and outdoors, in learning areas equipped with inflatable objects, mats and modules that guarantee fun.
The classes –individual or group– at this station (from €53) are quite an incentive (remember that you will have to bring the sports equipment because there is no possibility of renting it), but even more so are the six children's themed circuits (four are from Imaginarium).
It also has four nurseries, in the event that the children are younger, and with a zip line in the Mon(t) Magic de Canillo –which runs at 80 km/h for about 550 meters– for teenagers. In the Imaginarium Park (Grau Roig sector) there are a snowmobile circuit , snow tubing, jumps...
And since adults also deserve a little fun, book a room at the Sport Hotel Hermitage & Spa (from €500), whose Sport Wellness Mountain Spa distributes its 5,000 m2 in five floors dedicated entirely to health and wellness.
In Grandvalira there are six children's circuits for children to learn while having fun.