10 Things to do in Cádiz with Kids

Cadiz is one of the favorite destinations for tourists traveling to Andalusia and is also an ideal place to visit with family and children, because it offers family beaches, water parks for young and old, exhibitions of all kinds and a wide variety of attractions for children.

To the list of the best activities to see and do in Cadiz with children you can also add ice skating, an excursion with dolphin and whale watching in the Strait of Gibraltar, visit an amusement park or visit a youth fair. There are also many Christmas activities for the whole family during the winter in Cadiz and excursions to enjoy the summer.

If you are planning to visit Cadiz in summer you can't miss the beaches of Cadiz, which are some of the best on the Andalusian coast. If you visit the city with children I recommend:

• La Caleta, located in an area close to the historic center. It is ideal to visit with children because it has warm waters and is surrounded by gastronomic services and other leisure activities. In addition, it is a favorite of visitors and one of the largest in Cadiz, so you will never lack room to place the umbrella, although during the summer can be very crowded.
• Sanlúcar de Barrameda, ideal if you prefer beaches with a smaller influx of tourists. It is a seaside resort near Jerez de la Frontera that also stands out for being the epicenter of local activities. If you visit Cadiz in August you can attend the Sanlucar Horse Races, a traditional event that has been held in the city for over 100 years.
• Playa de la Calzada and Playa de las Piletas which, located in Sanlúcar, stand out for being quiet areas to take a swim.
• Bolonia Beach, located in Conil de la Frontera, Zahara de los Atunes and Tarifa, was chosen several years in a row as one of the most beautiful beaches in Spain.

The youngest members of the family will have a great time if you book a horse show in Jerez, an event that will allow you to enjoy a unique experience at the Royal School of Equestrian Art of Andalusia.

Lasting approximately three and a half hours, this proposal offers not only a show of horses dancing to the rhythm of Spanish music, but also the opportunity to explore the city of Jerez with a professional guide.

The guide will take you to discover the most emblematic monuments of the city such as the Alcazar of Jerez, the Church of San Miguel or the Plaza del Arenal. And at the end of the tour, you will enjoy the equestrian show, whose choreography will be accompanied by riders dressed in the style of the eighteenth century. An unforgettable memory for both children and adults.

The Parque de la Ciudad de los Niños y las Niñas which is located halfway between Cadiz and Jerez de la Frontera is not an amusement park or a theme park, but a fictitious town built to scale designed for children, where the whole family can enjoy the play and leisure areas, shows and a long list of activities.

In this park, children can learn about life in society and visit benches, public squares and do adult activities. They will also be able to use the zip lines, the aquatic areas, the bicycle and tricycle areas and the skating areas.

In addition, there are restaurants and bars for lunch. If you plan to visit Cadiz in December, you can also enjoy the Christmas activities. During the summer, the park also offers a series of summer movies and camps for children's groups, including arts and crafts, balloon twisting and painting workshops. You can learn more about this park by booking a guided tour of Jerez.

Interesting details

• Price... The entrance to the park has an approximate starting price of 9 € per person.
• Hours... Monday to Saturday, from 8 am to midnight. On Sundays the park is closed and is only available for private events.
• Where... Arcos de la Frontera s/n, Jerez de la Frontera.

If your travel itinerary includes a visit to Cadiz in October, you can opt for a dolphin and whale watching excursion in the Strait of Gibraltar, an experience that the kids will love and that will allow you to discover the beauty and history of the Strait.

The boats of the whale watching tours in the Strait of Gibraltar leave from the beaches of Tarifa during the mating and migration season of whales and dolphins, and during these tours you can also live the experience of sailing between two continents. In addition, on clear days you can also see from the boat the Rock of Gibraltar and the African coast of Morocco.

You can also make excursions with whale watching if you decide to visit Cadiz in January, although it is a cold and rainy season, so navigation becomes difficult, but during the warm days you can discover the marine species that live permanently in the area of the strait. And in case it is not the right season, you can book a private boat trip in Cadiz.

If you plan to visit Cadiz in December or during Christmas with children, there are many plans you can make to enjoy the festive atmosphere, including touring the Playmobil Expoclick fair, visiting the Christmas market in the Plaza de San Antonio and touring Juvelandia. Book the Cádiz tourist bus and go to the one that best suits your preferences. Below, I provide more information:

• The Playmobil Expoclick fair, in Chiclana, is an exhibition of dioramas and giant plastic dolls that became a tradition for the whole family. This event is enabled every year from the last days of November until Epiphany and in each edition has a different theme, which may consist of the recreation of famous series and movies like The Walking Dead and Star Wars, which makes it one of the favorite activities for children.
• The Christmas market in the Plaza de San Antonio is one of the most traditional in Cádiz and is the center of some of the most important activities during Christmas. There you can browse the stalls, buy gifts, Christmas decorations, enjoy the winter gastronomy and see the 12-meter Christmas tree that every year becomes the main attraction of the old town of Cadiz.
• Juvelandia, in Jerez de la Frontera, is a children's and youth leisure fair that takes place every year in the González Hontoria Park and that combines playgrounds, sports competitions, inflatable games, circus performances and children's music shows. This fair will also allow you to visit Jerez, which is one of the best activities to do from Cádiz.

If you plan to visit Cadiz in winter with children you can visit the Plaza de San Antonio, which during Christmas Eve becomes the landmark of the old town and one of the stops if you book the guided tour of Cadiz.

There you can visit the Christmas Market and the 12 meters high tree, in addition to the ice skating rink, which is enabled for young and old. The ice skating rink in the Plaza de San Antonio is open from the first days of December until Epiphany and admission is free. You can attend with your skates or rent a pair at the stalls of the Christmas Market.

To get to the area of the historic center you can take public transport or the tourist bus of Cadiz that includes a stop in the square. The Christmas Train, the Christmas story booth and the Professional Craft Fair are other children's attractions that you can find in the Plaza de San Antonio.

Details of interest

• Price... Admission to the ice rink is free.
• When... From the first week of December until Epiphany.
• Where... Plaza de San Antonio, Cádiz.

The Puppet Museum in Cadiz is one of the favorite activities for children. Located at the old Puerta de Tierra entrance to the city, it houses exhibits with information and history about the world of puppets and puppeteers, as well as 500 objects that represent what was for years one of the main industries of the city. Note that Cadiz was famous for the manufacture of puppets and ventriloquist puppets.

The museum also offers interactive activities for children, and tours in which the most significant historical events of Spain and Cadiz are reviewed in puppet performances installed in small theaters in which children can also embody characters and recreate their own stories.

Admission to the Puppet Museum of Cadiz is free and it is also possible to attend the performances of the Tía Norica Puppet Theater, which stands out for its musical shows for children and humorous monologues. Be sure to come, for example, after enjoying the bike tour of Cadiz.

Interesting details

• Price... Admission to the museum is free.
• Hours... Tuesday to Sunday from 8 am to 9 pm.
• Where... Puertas de Tierra, Bóvedas de Santa Elena, Cádiz.

Cadiz in summer stands out for its beaches, for its hot weather and for the number of summer attractions that the city offers. One of them is to visit one of the Cadiz water parks, an alternative that gains strength if you plan to tour the city with children. The most popular are:

• Aqualand which, located in El Puerto de Santa Maria, offers visitors giant slides, wave pools, playgrounds and water games. There is also a restaurant and beverage sales area.
• Bahía Park is located in Algeciras and is a water park with slides, five pools, trampolines and rest areas for all ages, with restaurants and bars.

Please note that the water parks are usually open during the high season months, between June and August, which are the hottest months in the city. To ensure your place you can book your tickets in advance online, especially because summer is when the city receives the largest influx of tourists.

The Genovés Park is one of the most emblematic places in Cadiz and its visit is included among the best activities to see and do in Cadiz. In addition, it is sure to be one of the points of interest if you book a guided tour of Cadiz. It is the most representative green lung of the old town. Located by the sea, it has a wide variety of local shrubs and trees, monuments, palm trees, a grotto with a pond and a children's area with games for children.

The grotto is also a favorite place for children because the area includes a waterfall that flows into a pond inhabited by a large number of ducks and surrounded by giant dinosaur sculptures. There is also an area to buy food and drinks.

Genoves Park also includes attractions for adults, since there you can access the Mirador de Santa Barbara, a place from which it is possible to contemplate the immensity of the bay and also the perspective of the park and much of the historic center. Entrance to the park is free.

Details of interest

• Price... Entrance to the park is free.
• Hours... The park is open daily from 8 am to 9 pm.
• Where... Av. Dr. Gómez Ulla s/n, Cádiz.

El Puerto de Santa Maria offers during the summer one of the most eclectic Cadiz experiences with the presentation of the medieval market, a fair where you can discover the past of the city during the Middle Ages and includes in its program dance performances, medieval food and craft stalls, and children's activities.

If you plan to visit the medieval market with children you can attend the circus shows and the performance of jesters, among other typical characters of the Middle Ages. The medieval market is held every year in June in the Plaza del Castillo, which adds to the atmosphere of the time.

El Puerto de Santa Maria is located very close to Jerez de la Frontera and the beaches of Levante and Valdelagrana, so you can make the most of your visit also touring these nearby sites, especially if you have planned a short stay in the city and want to save time. If that is your case, here is a list of activities you can see and do to discover Cadiz in 3 days.

Details of interest

• Price... The entrance to the market is free.
• When... Every year during the month of June.
• Where... Plaza del Castillo, El Puerto de Santa María.

The festivities of the Virgen del Rosario have a particular celebration in Los Barrios, a village in the interior of the province of Cadiz. There, the Town Hall organizes a solidarity amusement park named after the Virgin and whose aim is to collect donations.

The amusement park in Los Barrios has children's games, food stands, a roller coaster and a bumper car track for young and old, so it can be visited by the whole family. In addition, it has an initiative according to which during two hours of the day the attractions operate without music or animation sound so that children with autism can attend.

The park is open during the patron saint festivities, which are held every year during the second week of October, although Los Barrios is just over 100 kilometers from the capital of Cadiz, so it can be an uncomfortable excursion if you have planned a short stay in the city. If that is your case, here is a list of the best things to do in Cadiz in 2 days.

Details of interest

• Price... The entrance to the park is free and each attraction has an initial cost of approximately 3 euros.
• When... During the second week of October.
• Where... In Los Barrios, Cádiz.