I'm planning on driving from Valencia to Granada. With no direct flights, only one flight is scheduled in the morning (one fare exceeds the cost of a rental car w/gas), and time wise (arriving at the airport early and the changing planes) it's 5+ hrs either way.
Any advice on the route I should take and short stops along the way? I'm not looking to detour far because I'll pick up the car at 9am and want to be in Granada by 4pm. I'm a bit worried about merging on the freeway - saw a video that shows that there is no merging lane. Looks like you enter from a short ramp and floor it. Is there much traffic on this route?
Posted by
Washington DC
27057 posts
There's a 9 AM train that gets you to Granada at 3:44 PM after two changes. No driving worries.
I've never driven in Europe, but one source for routing information is ViaMichelin.com.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
6503 posts
There are only a couple direct routes. Valencia west to Manzanares, then south to Granada, or, Valencia south to Murcia, then west to Granada. Murcia city is nice to walk around for a couple hours, and there is a castle at Lorca. The roads (they are like U.S. interstates) are all in good repair and well marked no matter which route you take. Not certain what video you watched, but merging onto a highway in Spain is no different than merging onto one in the U.S.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23240 posts
From our limited driving experience in Spain, I would concur with Jaimeelsabio's comments. The multi lane highways are not much different that standard US interstates. I do not remember the merging lane being unusually short or non-existent. As I remember there is no pasting on the right and stay out of the left lane unless you are passing. And speed camera's show no preference.
Posted by
OP
US
20 posts
Thanks everyone! Your advice is reassuring and I feel less apprehensive. I saw a YouTube video about driving in Spain and the gentleman videotaped getting on the freeway twice. The ramp was very short and he said there are times when he had to start from almost a dead stop to.
Now I feel more confident, maybe we'll drive from Granada to Rondo to Arcos de la Fronterra to Seville. Any advice for this route? Otherwise I'll just take the train between Granada and Seviile and make a day trip of Arcos and probably skip Rondo.