Spain self drive map & highlights
Spain is well connected by road and going by car is often the best way to get around if you want to explore beyond the cities. Once you get away from the major airports, the resorts dwindle and the coastal roads are a pleasure. Northern Spain road trips tend to focus on the coast, where beaches lie between rugged headlines. If you go inland, you’ll discover the Picos de Europa mountains and La Rioja’s wine regions. The Mediterranean Coast is great too; here you can drive from Barcelona along the Costa Brava to discover why Salvador Dalí found the area so inspiring. Andalucia, in Spain’s far south-west corner, deserves a longer trip. Start on the Atlantic coast at Cadiz before heading into the hills.
1.
Andalucia’s white villages
2. Basque Country
3. Cantabrian coast
4. Costa Brava
5. Picos de Europa
6. Pyrenees
2. Basque Country
3. Cantabrian coast
4. Costa Brava
5. Picos de Europa
6. Pyrenees
Andalucia’s white villages
1. Andalucia’s white villages
Yes, Andalucia has sizzling cities, but it’s by car that you can leave town and see its famous pueblos blancos (white villages). Whitewashed settlements connected by lonely roads crown scalding hilltops. You can find many within easy reach of spectacular Ronda in Malaga province, and clifftop Arcos de la Frontera in the province of Cadiz.
Basque Country
2. Basque Country
You’ll know you’re driving in the Basque Country almost instantly, as the alphabet on the road signs spontaneously erupts with Xs and Zs. The Basque language might be tricky, but the driving is not. You can get between the cities of Bilbao and San Sebastian in just over an hour. Pamplona is just another hour inland.
Cantabrian coast
3. Cantabrian coast
Cantabria’s coastline is an assortment of fishing villages and sandy beaches, which makes frequent stops on a road trip a must – for sea dips and seafood. Santander and Comillas are popular towns, and in the latter, El Capricho de Gaudí – a fantastical villa designed by one of Spain’s most famous architects – adds a fairy-tale dimension to your drive.
Costa Brava
4. Costa Brava
Spain’s romantic ‘wild coast’ extends from Barcelona to the French border. Look out as you drive for small sandy beaches hidden from the road under outcrops of stone pines. Salvador Dalí designed a house for himself here in the village of Portlligat. The landscape here is really pretty – but is it surreally pretty? You be the judge.
Picos de Europa
5. Picos de Europa
The roads are narrow and winding, and there are occasional herds of cattle to negotiate, but the mountainous scenery of the Picos de Europa – revered in Spain but still relatively unknown to outsiders – is well worth the climb. By car, you can enjoy scenery that changes with every switchback in this small but dramatic corner of northern Spain.
Pyrenees
6. Pyrenees
Surely one of the greatest drives in Spain is over the Pyrenees – the mountains that form a massive natural border between France and Spain. Starting in Bilbao, you can drive up through the peaks, crossing at their highest point. A dramatic descent down the other side takes you to the coast. You’ve crossed Spain at its narrowest point, but your route hasn’t been short on drama.
Spain driving distances
A rough idea of the travel times by road between attractions in Spain.
Bilbao to San Sebastian: 1 hour
Bilbao to Picos Mountains: 2 hours 30 minutes
Bilbao to Barcelona: 6 hours
Seville to Granada: 2 hours 30 minutes
Granada to Córdoba: 2 hours
Córdoba to Malaga: 2 hours
Northern Spain
Andalucia
Spain tailor made vacation, Green Coast
Tapas, mountains, authentic charm, lovely towns and hotels!
From
€1295 to €1450
12 days
ex flights
Northern Spain self drive vacation
Northern Spain’s best places in a 8 days self-drive tour
From
€1150 to €1490
8 days
ex flights
Motorcycle tour of Morocco & Southern Spain
Ride the famous hair pins curves of Southern Spain & Morocco
From
€4179
15 days
ex flights
Northern Spain vacation by train and car
Coastal routes and mountain landscapes of Northern Spain
From
US $4000
16 days
ex flights
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Recommended driving routes in Spain
Northern Spain road trip
There are routes all along Spain’s northern coast, also known as its ‘Green Coast’. You could drive from the Basque Country all the way to Galicia on an eight-day trip, using a local guide’s personalised recommendations to inform your stops along the way. Take in San Sebastian, Bilbao, Santander, the Picos de Europa, before relaxing on a Galician beach. Driving distances are small, so it’s easy to shorten the trip if you have less time.
Southern Spain road trip
Driving from Cadiz, on Spain’s Atlantic coast, to Mediterranean Malaga is a driving distance of just over 230km if you stick to the fast roads. But why rush a good thing? Go inland via famous towns and cities: Seville, Ronda, Cordoba and Granada. The real highlights are lesser known: walking in the Sierra de Aracena and Cabo de Gata Natural Park.
Bilbao to Barcelona road trip
Simply driving across Spain from the Atlantic-facing north coast to the Med-backed east, is distance of 600km – a day’s driving. But detour into the Pyrenees is a must if you want to make the most of what’s between the coasts. Over two weeks of driving you could go from the Basque Country to the Costa Brava, stopping for hikes in Irati, Ordesa National Park and Aiges Tortes National Park.
Tips from our travelers
We think the best people to advise our travelers are often... other travelers. They always return from our tours with packing tips, weather reports, ideas about what to do – and opinions about what not to.
We have selected some of the most useful Spain self drive travel tips that our guests have provided over the years to help you make the very most of your vacation.
We have selected some of the most useful Spain self drive travel tips that our guests have provided over the years to help you make the very most of your vacation.
We called in on Burgos Cathedral which I’d never heard of – absolutely stunning!![]()
– Matthew Lee
“Acquaint yourself with Spanish eating habits. Most restaurants don’t open until after eight and in many places tapas kitchens don’t open until then as well.” – David Lomita on our Northern Spain self drive vacation
“Learn a bit of Spanish before you go – it helps a lot!” – Joanna Choong on our Spain self drive vacation in the Pyrenees
“The roads were very quiet, although narrow and winding in places, so one or two longish journeys weren’t a burden. We called in on Burgos Cathedral which I’d never heard of – absolutely stunning!” – Matthew Lee on our Northern Spain self drive vacation
“Learn a bit of Spanish before you go – it helps a lot!” – Joanna Choong on our Spain self drive vacation in the Pyrenees
“The roads were very quiet, although narrow and winding in places, so one or two longish journeys weren’t a burden. We called in on Burgos Cathedral which I’d never heard of – absolutely stunning!” – Matthew Lee on our Northern Spain self drive vacation
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