Traveling by car from Granada to Barcelona

Hi,
We did a two month trip last autumn which involved driving down from North Italy to Andalucía and back, most of the time was spent in Andalucía. Here is some useful information about driving in Spain, it was the first time we had done such a long trip but it was all less stressful than I imagined. Let me know if you have some specific questions, I'm happy to help.

https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2018/11/impressions-driving-in-andalucia.html?m=1

Firstly, I've never driven that route, so the following are more general/random observations -

a) that is a long drive. I'd only do it if planning to split it over two days at least. Fortunately, there are places worth visiting and overnighting along the way. Better still, make it a three day / two night road trip.
b) Granada centre is confusing to drive through, so if hiring I'd pick up your car more on the outskirts such as at the railway or coach station. I'm not familiar with driving in Barcelona, but it is a big, busy city (the impression I have is it's a bit more straightforward than Granada to drive in; nevertheless I suspect there are slow moving rush hours and parking is probably dear there)
c) The fastest route is diagonally through the north of Murcia towards Valencia and along the AP7/E15 coastal motorway north, which has tolls. The tolls further north in Spain are notoriously expensive. The stretch I use is Cartagena/Alacant which is about €8. You'll miss that portion, but for the northern part you'd use I wouldn't be surprised if the toll is approaching €40.
d) You can avoid the toll motorways, but lots of us do that so the downside is busier/slower travelling. Go back to a), above and consider a cross-country route stopping overnight in Castile-La Mancha, say heading towards Cuenca, or a coastal & inland route stopping in Valencia.
e) Driving in Spain is fairly easy and the main roads are in good condition. Signage can be confusing and the route numbering is maddening as it seems to randomly change for no good reason, so plan ahead. Spain drives on the wrong side of the road, of course, but presumably you're used to that. Spanish drivers are not good at moving over to let you in or out, but otherwise they're fairly polite, at least compared to Greece or Italy. And they're not insane like in Malta.

Not certain what type experience you’re looking for. Taking the coastal road takes much longer than taking the autopista/autovia (interstate), but you get to go through all the towns the interstate bypasses.

Spain drives on the same side of the road as in the U.S., so that isn’t an issue. Once you figure out the numbering system, the basic road numbering system is fairly easy to understand. Unfortunately, if you’re only there on vacation about the time you figure it out, vacation will be over.

Nick, the only road numbering I’ve yet to figure out is that odd 3rd letter on some very rural small roads, like LU-P-6010. LU=Lugo and 6010 is the road (4 digits tells me it’s an extremely rural road). It’s the P I can’t figure out.

Thanks everyone. Great tips!

We made that exact drive a few years back. Do stop in Valencia. We also enjoyed Tarragona. alicante was okay, but not as nice as the other two cities. Think about driving north of Barcelona to Cadaques and visit Dali's home. Well worth the time. Cadaques is a beautiful little village. Also, his museum in Figueres is a must see. The eastern most point of Cap de Crues is also beautiful. It was raining cats and dogs most of the ride up so we skipped some of the villages along the way