Also, we were thinking of renting a car when leaving Granada, and driving to Ronda for the day on our way to Seville. The question came up, that we may need an international license to drive in Spain. How and Where do you obtain this, and what is involved?
Also, where do you rent a car and pick it up in Granada, and where do you drop it off in Seville? We do not feel like we will need it once we reach Seville.
You can obtain an International Driver's Permit at AAA, where they will check your driver's license, take your photo (passport size), & give you the document once you pay a fee.
Don't know how much the current fee is, but it used to be $15 for AAA members.
If you're not a member of AAA, you may have to pay a bit more.
If you only plan to travel to Ronda & Sevilla, from Granada, you can easily do this via public transportation.
I just got back from Spain on Monday June 27th, and a friend and I rented a car in Sevilla on 6/22 and drove to Ronda, where we spent the night before we proceeded on to Granada. We stayed there from 6/23 to 6/26, and drove back to Barcelona on 6/26.
I'm from the US, and I obtained an International Driver's Permit from my local AAA office in Atlanta before I left. You'll need to do this before you leave! The price recently increased from $15 to $20, and the permit lasts for one year. You'll need a valid US driver's license, along with two passport sized photos, which were taken at the AAA office. I don't know if you need to be an AAA member to obtain this permit, as I'm a AAA member, but I suspect not. After I rented the car in Sevilla I was told that I didn't need the IDP to rent the car, although I did show it to the agent, but she said that I would need to have it if I was stopped by the police.
My (German) friend and I were initially planning to drop off the rental car in Granada, which I rented from Avis, and I found out that it could be left (and, presumably, obtained) at either the train station or the airport in Granada. The train station in Granada is considerably closer to the center of Granada than is the airport. In Sevilla we picked it up at the Santa Justa train station; the office is located within the station itself. You can also pick up a car at the airport, but, again, the train station is much more centrally located.
We stayed in the Hotel Doña Maria, which is on the same plaza as the Catedral de Sevilla and not far from the Real Alcázar de Sevilla. We arrived in Sevilla by train from Barcelona on 6/19 and left on 6/22, and we didn't need a car. I would highly recommend a visit to the Real Alcázar, and we took Rick's suggestion and went on a guided tour by Concepción Delgado's colleague, who was able to purchase entrance tickets for us when none were available for sale last week.
We loved Ronda! We stayed at the Hotel Ronda, a five room hotel close to the New Bridge in the Old Town on the Calle Ruedo Doña Elvira. The manager was a lovely middle aged woman who spoke English fluently, and she recommended dinner at the Puerta Grande (http://restaurantepuertagrande.com/) on Calle Nueva next to the Plaza del Toros, the bullfighting ring and museum. Our meal was outstanding, and it was easily my favorite restaurant in all of Andalucía.
I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions about Sevilla, Ronda or Granada.
Best wishes,
Darryl M.
In May, I rented a car in Granada and dropped it off in Sevilla five days later, after visiting a few of the pueblos blancos. Both pick-up and drop-off were at the train stations. In Granada, we walked from our downtown hotel to the station in about 15 minutes. In Sevilla, we cabbed into the centre, as it was a little too far, and too hot, to walk. Driving out of Granada and onto the highway was pretty straightforward. Driving into the station in Sevilla was considerably more stressful, but with GPS, and a couple of laps around the station, I found the rental location. I used Europcar, but Avis and at least one other company operate out of adjacent offices in both stations.
If you are planning on visiting a few places between Granada and Sevilla, a car is useful. However, as Priscilla noted above, if Ronda is your only stop, the train makes more sense. We took the train from Ronda to Granada a few days before renting the car, and it was quick and easy. We had to transfer to a bus just outside of Antequrra, as the rail line was still under construction, but there were dedicated buses waiting at the station to continue the journey, and the bus went directly to the train station in Granada.
Anyone can get an International Drivers Permit (IDP) at AAA - you do not need to be a member. If you do not bring photos, they will take them there for a small additional charge. And the one year of validity can start at any time - it doesn't have to start January 1.
For US drivers, it is legally required to have an IDP in Spain. It may or may not be checked when you rent the car, and it may or may not be checked if you are stopped by the police. But if it is checked, you'd better have it. So, just get it and then you don't have to worry.
Note that we're all speaking of an International Drivers Permit, which you carry with your US license. There is no International Drivers License.
Yes, the International Permit is basically just a translation of your license into a standard form. Go to a AAA office with your regular US license. You will need passport style photos - bring some or pay for them to be taken at the office. Then a small fee and they give you the license on the spot. Very, very easy - no test or anything and the cost is somewhere in the vicinity of $20.
There will be multiple car rental agencies in Granada - by the train station is probably the best combo of good choices and convenient. The airport will have plenty, as well, but getting out there will require more time and a taxi. Same thing in Seville. You just need to find an agency that has locations in Sevilla and Granada, so you rent it at the Hertz Granada Office and return it at Hertz Sevilla (or whatever company you choose). There will be plenty - these are well-touristed places. My last rental I used Europcar and they have locations in both cities, near the train stations. Shop around for the best rates for whatever type of car you need.
Yes, getting a car to go to Ronda makes sense, especially if you want to stop at the smaller towns along the way. You do not need it while in Granada or in Seville (unless you want to make specific day trips), and a car is a hassle in these cities. You are right to get it as you leave Granada and return it upon arrival.
Thank you all so much! That is all the information that I was looking for. We are thinking of renting a car for two reasons. 1 - because we thought it would be a fun and interesting way to see perhaps a little more of the countryside than we would on a train. And, 2 - for scheduling purposes. I didn't even think about renting a car in a foreign country, but as I am trying to piece together the perfect itinerary, the buses and train schedules didn't seem to work. For example, it [appears] as though we would have to leave Granada at like 6am, to get to Granada, but the only train back was at 12:45. So, what? That gives us 30 minutes in Ronda? Perhaps it was where I was looking (I couldn't tell you right now where that was; I had some difficulty just googling train and bus schedules, if I were being honest).
Then I thought that we could reasonably see the best parts of Ronda in a day trip, on our way to Seville, and had seen (on TA) that some people had, with little effort, rented a car and driven this trip. The cost seems about the same, and we would have the luxury of going at our own pace (although I do not think we should try to navigate our way to Seville from Ronda in the dark). Before we make our final decision (which I am hoping to do in the next week), I will check to see if I can find the information I need on other websites. Perhaps I was looking at the wrong schedules.
If we do decide to rent a car, how do you find pick up and more importantly, drop off areas? Are they marked in English? I've been to some Hellish rental return areas in some US airports (my only basis), and I cannot imagine trying to find places like that by reading signs in a foreign language. Yikes!
You're right about the limited time you would have in Ronda if you tried to make it a day stop on the way to Seville by train. I looked on both Renfe.com and Loco2.com, and even the 6:45 a.m. train from Granada doesn't give you much time in Ronda before you'd have to catch your next train. However, a night in Ronda can be very nice, after the day-trippers have left. As for car rentals, finding your chosen company is easy at the Granada station, as it's pretty small. If you drop off at the Seville station, it's not unlike finding a rental return location at an airport. There are (small) signs indicating the rental companies' locations as you drive the ring road around the station. As I said in my previous post, I had to do a couple of laps, but that wasn't a problem. Ask for directions to the drop-off location when you pick up the car. A GPS is also a good investment, especially if you're only renting for a day.
Picking up the car is easy, just make sure you know the address and have your confirmation printed (so you can show it to them if there are language difficulties). The offices are just like in the US - storefronts, or kiosks within train stations/airports, with big signs and such.
Returning it can be tough, just like in the US. No worse than my experience at the San Francisco airport ;) In my experience, there are signs and they are usually visual - the rental car company logo and the like. What I did last time is find out where the return was and use google maps street view to see the location. It was at Madrid's train station and it wasn't all that well marked - there was a sign with the company logo but it was kind of small. Before I went to return it, I looked up europcar rental return Madrid Atocha and actually found some guy's blog detailing exactly what to do. Then google maps street view to actually view the street.
If you need an automatic car, be prepared for it to be more expensive and to make sure it is listed as such. The default is stick-shift. If you can drive stick, no problem. If you can't, you can still find a car but will need to make sure your search and reservation specifically says automatic.
Thank you all. That is a great idea Mira, to look at the street view on google maps. Thanks for the tip! I can also see if there are Youtube videos of getting to the drop off, I suppose. I have done that to investigate how the drive is from Granada to Ronda. You can find videos on just about anything on there! I actually prefer to drive a stick shift, and my friend can drive one as well, so no problem there.
Thanks for all the help and advice. I couldn't plan a trip without people like all of you!
One thought, on the way to Ronda make a brief stop in Antequera to see the passage tombs. It's really something you can only do with a car, but it's worth the stop. The museum and tombs are free, two are next to the museum and a third is short drive from there. When we were there, there were a couple of school groups but nothing close to crowds. We let them clear out then viewed the tombs alone.
Warning, the drive through the hills is very scenic and there are pull-outs to admire the views. Allow enough time for driving ☺ Is there any way you can add an overnight stay in Ronda? That would be so much better.
I have put Antequera on the list - thanks for the suggestion! I wish we could stay 1 night in Ronda, but Im not sure we can make it happen, but I am looking at ways we could maybe work it out. I heard the drive is very scenic. I guess, if nothing else, we will just have to get up extra early to allow enough time for sight seeing, on our way to sight see:)
So, there's a possibility that our itinerary will change slightly. Our original trip was to visit Spain and Portugal, but now, for various reasons, we are thinking of just keeping it to Spain, and ending our trip on the beautiful Island of Mallorca. That said, we would have time to spend a night in Ronda, instead of it being just a day trip. Yay! Then I was thinking we would continue from Ronda, to Malaga for 2 nights, before heading to Mallorca, for 4 nights, then back to Barcelona for our last night and to head back home.
So, has anyone made the trip from Ronda to Malaga? Would we need the car in Malaga? Malaga hotel recommendations?
Yay, indeed. That gives you time to see a couple of the small villages and a few hours to see the highlights of Ronda, a lovely town. You don't really go through the pueblos on the road to Malaga, but you could go through Antequera. If you have the time, go up to the old city center for 2-3 hours as well as visiting the dolmens. Much of Antequera closes early on Sunday and is closed on Monday, as are the dolmens - which I learned the hard way.
You don't need a car in Malaga. It's a highly walkable town.
So now, what is your plan? Granada to Seville by bus/train, then car from Seville to Malaga?
Actually, Chani, since our plan is to head to Mallorca, from Malaga, we will be skipping Seville. So our whole itinerary is Barcelona, fly to Granada, pick up the car in Granada on last day and drive to Ronda, spend the night (maybe even 2?), and head to Malaga for 1 or 2 nights, then to Mallorca. Since Seville is in the opposite direction of malaga, it seems to make more sense to just head to Mallorca from Malaga.
That said, arrangements have not yet been made, and I am still researching a bit, if Seville is a preferred location over Malaga, maybe there are cheap flights from Seville to Mallorca (or flights at all, for that matter??)
Oh, one other question, has anyone bought plane tickets for travel within Europe through a site like Expedia? How well does that work? Any airline we should not fly with?
For flights within Europe, it's usually easiest to buy direct from the airline; you get an e-ticket, so you can buy from anywhere and print it at home. You should call your credit card first, so they don't block the "foreign transaction" (I just forgot to do this myself and ran into problems).
You can find flights on Skyscanner or Expedia. If there's more than one alternative for your route, check each of them to see the final cost. A legacy carrier like Alitalia or Air France can be cheaper than a budget carrier like Easyjet or Ryanair once you add all the charges.
Do check ALL the fine print when booking; the budget airlines make their money from people who don't read all the rules, or think that exceptions will be made for them. If they say you are limited to one carry-on item, they don't mean a bag plus a purse; they will charge you to check the second item, and charge you more at the airport than if you had paid in advance online. Some budget airlines require that you print your boarding pass before you get to the airport, or they have a huge surcharge if you print it at the airport. Etc. Again, read all the fine print - direct on the airline's own website - so you won't have any unpleasant surprises.
I'd choose Sevilla over Malaga, if all other considerations were equal.
That's the impression I got, so Seville it is! Hotel is booked.
I will be making all of our inter-Spain flights in a week or so, unless there is reason to wait (for example, if these flights change frequently?) I just like to get all reservations, pre ordered tickets, etc. done and out of the way, as much in advance as possible.
For flights, the prices go up as the flights fill up, so you should book as soon as you are sure of your plans.
We head to Spain in just a few weeks, and we did decide to rent a car to drive from Granada to Ronda, and then to Seville. That said, can anyone tell me where I can get a list of road signs and their meanings (that part is really important); a website were I can print them off to take with us?
I posted this question on TA, but did not get a helpful reply. I've found that most websites have pictures of the road signs there, but no description. Not helpful.
Thank you Enric, that's what I was looking for; I just need to get them translated in English.
You'll have to do that yourself... You can find official documentation in different languages, but not in English, as it's not an official language here. But I wouldn't fret about it, after all, the vast majority of countries in the world follow the standardization of the Vienna Convention of 1968 for Road Signs so the signals you're used to are not that different from those you'll find here.
That's is good to hear. I'm sure it won't be a problem, we just wanted to make sure our international driving went smoothly. Thanks for you help!
You might find this free brochure from Gemut.com helpful: http://www.gemut.com/car-rentals/free-rental-car-booklet.html. It's about renting a car and driving in Europe.
