We're planning a 2-week driving trip around Spain this summer, perhaps starting and ending in Bilboa and hitting the usual suspect cities, including Madrid and Barcelona. Is this practical? Anyone have and do's and don'ts about such a trip?
Posted by
Port Coquitlam, BC, Canada
629 posts
We enjoyed our auto tour of Spain in April, 2010 - over 4000k. The roads are great and the north is very scenic with all of the tunnels. There are more toll booths on the northern Autovia than in the south but the fee is not excessive. My wife used a ziplock bag full of cash & coins and had the exact amount ready by the time we reached the booth. This way you can use the automatic gate rather than the manned one. We brought our GPS & a map. With a car you will have certain mobility, after leaving San Sebastian we drove up to Saint-Jean-Luz (small seaside French town) for a short visit on the way to Pamplona. This is not easily attempted by train or bus. At www.viamichelin.com you can get a rough idea of time, distance & toll costs along the way. Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6788 posts
There are parts of Spain that (IMHO) are best done by car. There are also places in Spain where having a car will be an expensive headache - most of the "usual suspects" (big cities, the inner old core of historic cities/towns). Consider using a car for some portions of your trip, and trains for other portions.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
It might be smarter to look at flying into one city and out of another to save having to go back north to leave. You could maybe fly into Madrid, make a circuit of the other cities you want to see, and leave out of Barcelona, for example.