Best City to rent a car and venture out

All four cities have excellent public transportation to the top day trips. The only time you may need a car is if you decide to venture out to the Pueblos Blancos from Sevilla.

Is this trip in this April, like this month? Do you have an international driving license yet?

Thanks for your reply. To clarify, it's not that I think I'll NEED a car, but rather that I want to spend a day on my own with a vehicle exploring. I'll get a nice luxury vehicle and just enjoy the ride and sights.

I'd be most interested in an area that is easy to get around in the countryside and see smaller towns, etc.

I just don't want to pick a city that is very difficult to drive in, or doesn't have anything more compelling to see within a few hours that what can be seen within the city itself.

Yes, I will have an international permit from AAA.

It would be fun to rent a car for the pueblos blancos. We rented in Sevilla (from Santa Justa train station) and drove thru white villages to Granada. In some cases, it did get the adrenaline going, but all ended fine and the scenery magnificent. I would see no scenario that would be "fun" to rent in Barcelona, Sevilla or Madrid. I haven't been to Valencia, but it is another big city. Correct me if I'm wrong, but those are the largest four cities by population in Spain.

Seville is a good town to rent a car from - I rented in Seville, did the white hill towns (awesome) and dropped off in Granada. The car rental in Seville is at the train station and is 2 minutes down a wide street from the freeway.

From Seville there is Cadiz, Jerez or the white hill towns - Los Arcos and the Sierra park - depending on what interests you.

But I cannot stress strongly enough that if you are going to do any historic towns do NOT rent a large car. I tried to get the smallest car I could and got what would be considered a compact 5 door in America and it was huge in Los Arcos. Even in the parking garages of the Costa del Sol the giant scrapes on the walls attest to people who were overly confident or their cars were too big.

Also - get full coverage (see above) and get an International Drivers license before you go. I'd never gotta one before - driven in France, Italy, England and Ireland but they car in Spain.

Have a great trip!
=Tod

I am going to venture past the traditional 'white towns' recommendation. Why not drive from Valencia to Barcelona? Drop the car at the airport or El Prat and get the metro into town. I will confess to not having stopped along the way, but travelled by bus. I jotted down the names of several small towns with interesting looking hillside fortresses along the way. I suspect there isn't a lot of tourist infrastructure, but it doesn't require a lot of commitment. If you want to extend it, do an overnight in Tarragona.

Maria makes a good point, even through it's well service by public transport, the drive from Valencia to Barcelona, along the Costa del Azahar and Costa Dorada, is very nice, full of old olive groves, orange blossoms, sandy beaches, lazy beach towns, time-warped castles, and Roman Ruins.

Here's a good article from Rough Guides about this area:
The Orange Blossom Coast: the Spanish Costa you’ve never heard of

Hola,

My wife and I spent 30 days in Spain 14 of which were with a car.

Autoeurope is a good starting point to check prices and locations. We got our 14 days with a drop off in a city apart from where we picked up, the so called dead head, for just under $150 + $19 for train station pickup.

4 days in Madrid, train to Cordoba where picked up our car after being resident for 6 days. Then to Baeza, Granada, and Ronda before returning the car in Sevilla followed by a train to Madrid. Parking cost us about 120€. Parking is often 10 to 15€ per 24 hours, it can be more. We were able to park for free in Baeza (if you go there, go to the Cafe Teatro, a must, it opens at 16:00). And about 80€ for gas.

So pick the time when you want or require a car and schedule your rental for only that time.

Get the smallest car you can, many of the medieval streets are too narrow for a mid-sized. Don't let them upgrade you.

Use a credit card that provides foreign auto insurance, and decline all insuances offered at the time of booking, when there is no pressure, and at pick up when they stare you dead in the eye and say, "Tire insurance?", sign the papers and your card gets swiped. You MUST use the same card through out. Best to use a card, take it with you but don't use it as it might get lost or compromised. You need THAT card, don't compromise its safety.

Getting an accident reimbursed is the same whether it is your credit card, or the rental agency's policy. You need a traffic report and documentation. We have used our card's insurance once. Decades ago in the Czech Republic when no one in the countryside spoke English. In that case I included a long, hand written letter explaining the circumstances, and almost in return mail I recieved a check for the full cost of the repair.

Spanish drivers obey the speed laws pretty closely and they use their blinkers when passing and turning. Pedestrians have the right of way.

The roads in Spain, Portugal, and France make you embarrassed of the USA. When you come home, you can't believe the difference. They have new paving, we have patches on patches on patches.

Enjoy,
Wayne freshly home from Spain

I’ll assume you haven’t been outside the large cities. You could go from Madrid to El Escorial, then over to the Valley of the Fallen. If there was still time, head up to Segovia then head back to Madrid, stopping at the Castle at Manzanares el Real. You could also go over to Toledo then head east to Consuegra with its castle and windmills, then over to the windmills at Campo de Criptana. On the way back to Madrid you could stop in Chunchon for a short stop if there’s time.

I believe the town hiredman is referring to when he says Los Arcos, is Arcos de la Frontera. Los Arcos is near Logrono in northern Spain. The road leading to the overlook in Arcos de la Frontera is indeed narrow with a couple 90 degree turns on the way down.

Thanks everyone for your replies! I have a car arranged in Sevilla. Just for the day, not planning on keeping it overnight. I will venture out and explore some of these recommendations, enjoying the sights and the freedom of my own car. Thanks!