Spain by car

To provide the best answers, it would be helpful to know what you consider to be "the best countryside". Vineyards? Small villages? Looking for crafts? R & R? Gardens? How many days do you have in the country? Do you mean to reserve a B & B in advance? OR just on the fly? Bobbie

We just got back a couple of days ago. We did a circuit in So Spain using a rental car. We were pre-booked at each of ther towns that we visited. whch made things easy for us. I have to repeat the advice that Ed from Pensacola posted a month or so ago: "The east-west freeways are in the midst of reconstrucion/addition which has been going on for seven evers. Don't rely on a gps or a map if something seems out of wack. Know the next town/city" Best advice I received.

Hard to know what you want .. a day trip/a long weekend or few-day trip/ a full-Spain trip. If just a short trip, I would go to the Costa Brava. If later in the fall, any coastal town will be fairly void of tourists .. if September most will still be crowed. Cadeques is beautiful .. late fall would be fantastic. There are some great, historic old villages along the way that you can research on line. I once found a blog on Lonely Planet's travel site, Thorntree, from a long time local woman, specifying the best villages to visit. If a longer .. drive down to Valencia .. could even swoop-out to see Cuenca and return to BCN ... of course seeing sites along the way. If a whole Spain trip, I would head to Toledo, stopping in Cuence .. then follow Rick Steve's 3-week tour. You can find all sorts of great villages on line. Spain is diverse .. if you drive long enough you will see the empty vast areas of La Mancha, the beautiful coastlines, historic Cities with rich history, and small villages like the white villages of Andalucia ... even alpine villages. Some might find the long drive through La Mancha boring .. I liked it. The smallest towns can be very charming ... funky hotels or beautiful, upgraded hostals (not hostel) behind stucco walls.
There is a series of books called "Charming Small Hotel Guides" .. you might want to get the one for Spain to help you decide where to stop en route.

Thanks to those who have replied. To be a little more specific, we're looking at a late Sept. early October, 10-12 day trip. But don't expect or even want to try to see the whole country, more to get a flavor and maybe see one or two famous areas.