Driving in Spain!

Omega28

Hey! I just booked a multi city trip in spain, Im going from Barca-Valencia-Madrid, two of us going, 1 week, Im considering driving, has anyone drove over in these cities?! I hear its a good trek between them and Im considering getting a train, any ideas how the drive will be or do u recommend takin the trian?!

thanks in advance guys!

trad

Get an air conditioned car!!!!

Outkast_IRE

Did a bit of motorway driving over there this year, The motorways are top class, but if you have only driven in ireland before they might be a bit daunting, at one stage i was where 2 motorways converged and it was 8 lanes going each way!!!

They are good distances that your talking about driving at a guess Barca to valencia is a good few hours driving and to madrid might be most of the day.

Then you have the hassle of finding the right turn off and finding hotel etc.
Personally if it was me id train it, but if your prepared to lose your way etc then go for it.
The most dangerous thing on the spanish road are the spanish drivers they loco!!!!

Omega28

cheers guys! appreciate it!
Iv never driven outside Ireland, just thought it would be good craic drivin to each city, but I feel the roads would drive me crazy and Id end up needing another holiday:)
Maybe the train is a better option, but me n mate had our hearts set on the driving, Id be doing all the driving of course. Id def get an air conditioned car anyway, any tips on takin such a long drive over there if i was to do it?

Westwood

Roads are excellent huge motorways and no traffic. only problem is the tolls are very expensive and their isnt much scenery. I'd train it for a different experince.

have a good one.

Outkast_IRE

Just get the most up to date map you can and have the route planned out , know what exit off the motorway, thats the most important if you miss your exit it can be many miles before another, i missed one and it took half a hour to get back there to take it. As long as you take the right exit you can ask for directions once your off the motorway if your unsure .
If your doin that much driving take a day or two to get used to the car and the roads before setting out learn where to get onto the motorway, there are rest areas on all the motorways so take advantage of them .
As i said just map out

Berty

Driving in Spain = Easier than driving here.

Difference = Driving on the other side of the road.

Tip: Driving anywhere you are unsure, take it slow and have a good navigator in the passenger seat.

Never be afraid to drive abroad. It is fun and exciting most of the time except for when you have to pay for renting the car. Always be wary of other drivers because their driving style attitude will be so different than here. Remember on thing if you remember anything:

YOU ARE BASICALLY A LEARNER DRIVER IN ANOTHER COUNTRY. Treat the roads with the same respect you would have when learning to drive at home.

mambo

If you just want to get from city A to city B to city C, train sounds like the way (no parking hassles, etc.). Should be cheaper than trains in Ireland (unless you take the high-speed 'AVE' train from Barcelona to Madrid).

If you want to explore places in between the cities and take some detours, then car may be the right choice.

puppy cat

Driving in Spain is a doddle. Their road network is so good compared to here. But as has been mentioned the drivers are a bit "loco". If you've driven here though you should be well used to it

The craic starts when you keep reaching down beside your left knee for the gear stick/handbrake. Don't bother spending the extra to get an automatic though, they're all in bits from the mad tourists that hire them

You'll get used to the manual and changing gears with your right hand in no time.

I would like to impart some of my new found knowledge on the cost of car hire in Spain (having spent all day trawling the interweb) check out www.firstcarhire.com

Of course the cost of train tickets could be way less but I'm assuming you've looked into that already.

Enjoy!

Outkast_IRE

Iv used this website quite a bit, they are cheap from what i can tell looking around and more importantly they are reliable good to deal with
www.rentspain.com

Omega28

Thanks guys for all your help!

Just a quick question in relation to trains, im on www.renfe.es and I cant make heads or tails of it! im tryin to book from Barca to Valencia then onto Madrid!

Anyone got any other sites they could recommend?!

cheers guys!

Outkast_IRE

You can change that website into english theres a options menu on the bottom left that says seleccione su idoma , change language there hope it helps

Duckjob

Don't mark yourself out as an incompetent irish driver by driving on the overtaking lane(s) on motorways. You'll be crucified for that and rightly so.

Over than that, much less stressful than driving here as drivers use the lane system correctly and traffic flows freer as a result.

Outkast_IRE

Duckjob wrote: »

Don't mark yourself out as an incompetent irish driver by driving on the overtaking lane(s) on motorways. You'll be crucified for that and rightly so.

Over than that, much less stressful than driving here as drivers use the lane system correctly and traffic flows freer as a result.

I just tend to pick a lane and stick with it (not the overtaking one) the speed is quick enough no need for overtaking unless your behind a big truck and cant see ahead, and not seeing ahead means not seing the exit signs easily which is a big issue

maynooth_rules

Lot of tolls on the road between Barcelona and Valencia. Be careful on roundabouts. They make the Irish look brilliant at them

Omega28

ye i heard the roundabouts are crazy! If I do the drivin I'll be takin my sat nav! I thought gettin an automatic car would be the best option too...

Outkast_IRE

to be honest the gear stick with the other hand feels very natural , most people will have no bother with it. I had more problems with the car being unfarmiliar moreso than anything else. Well roundabouts are bad, If your motorwaying most of the way your fine but once you come off motorway theres loads even where they are not needed , they prefer them to traffic lights , less maintaining i guess.

skibum

Bring a satnav with you, it makes life a lot easier on you and your navigator. Takes all the stress of "is it this turn or next" and "how in the name of God do i get out of here?" and leaves you to concentrate on the road.

You will be fine, just don't let the local nutters intimidate you at roundabouts.