Tag: travel

Tips for visiting Spain via road trip

Tips for visiting Spain via road trip

I’ve put this tip-sheet together to help others plan trips to Spain. Background: I lived near Madrid for 3 years as a teenager while my father was in the US Air Force there. 

In 2018 three of us (wife, daughter, self) took a 3-week 3,500 mile roadtrip around Spain. Still the best vacation I’ve ever been on. We stayed in different hotels each night – with staying in some places (Madrid, Malaga) for a couple of nights. Here is the rough route we took:

  • We flew into Malaga. While in Malaga for 4 nights we visited downtown Malaga, Ronda, Marbella, etc.
    • Then to Cordoba and on to Sevilla
  • Sevilla – and many Andalucian towns have a week or multi-week festival called Feria. Sevilla’s was fantastic and one of the highlights of the trip. Definitely try and time a trip to coincide with it.
  • From there we then went to Cadiz and stayed along the eastern coast of Spain with a stop in Granada. Our stops were: Arcos de la Frontera, Malaga again, Granada, Alicante, Valencia, Tortosa, Barcelona for 2 nights, visited Montserrat on the way to Olite, Santander, A Coruna, Segovia, and then Madrid for 4 nights. While in Madrid we visited Avila, Valley de los Caidos, Royal Palace, Plaza Mayor, Retiro Park, and Toledo.

In 2023 & 2025 – we took our kids and grandkids (split between the two trips) to Spain. Starting off in Madrid and then flying out of Malaga. The last 8-10 days of the trip we stayed in a villa about 10 miles SW of Malaga. The whole trip took a bit over 2 weeks. Here is the rough outline of those trips:

  • Fly into Madrid and stay there a couple of days visiting the Madrid specific sites like Royal Palace, Prado, Retiro Park, etc.
  • Then we hit the road. Stopped by the Costco just in the northern suburbs of Madrid. Then visited El Escorial/Valle de los Caidos and stayed in Segovia. 
  • Segovia is one of my favorite towns. Very picturesque. 
  • From there we visited Avila and drove to Toledo.
  • Toledo is a very cool town with beautiful cathedral, alcazar, etc. Great place to buy swords, knives, etc.
  • From Toledo we drove down to our villa outside Malaga.
  • While staying in Malaga you can do daytrips to downtown Malaga, Cordoba, Sevilla, Ronda, Cadiz, Rock of Gibraltar, Granada, etc. 
  • The villas we stayed in both slept ~10-12 people and had swimming pools.

Based on these three trips – here are the places we visited and prioritizing them in to 2 groupings:

Highest Priority Places to visit:

  • Toledo
  • Segovia
  • Granada
  • Cordoba
  • Barcelona
  • Madrid (Royal Palace)
  • Sevilla

Second Priority

  • Malaga
    • Ronda
    • Arcos de la Frontera
    • Marbella
    • Valencia
    • Santander
    • Santiago de Compostela
    • A Coruna
    • Madrid ( Plaza Mayor, Retiro Park, Prado)
    • Near Madrid – El Escorial, Valle de los Caidos
    • Cadiz
    • Tortosa
    • Olite
    • Montserrat
    • Avila
    • Cathedrals Beach
    • Bilbao
    • Morocco

Here are various tips for planning:

  • Transportation in Spain
    • We took three multi-week roadtrips in Spain. All of them we rented cars with one-way drop-offs. After driving on the roadtrips – we would still do it again. Driving yourself provides much more flexibility and control.
      • Spain’s highways are actually pretty good
      • Be careful driving in the downtowns of older cities. They have very narrow roads that can handle only one-way driving. Also – some old roads can’t even handle any cars – except for very small ones.
      • Parking in towns can be an issue. We always got hotels that had parking spaces as part of the hotel – most of which required paying the nightly fee.
      • Manual transmissions will be cheaper than automatic transmissions.
      • Be aware that depending on the type of car you have (gas, diesel, etc.) – there might be extra fees for driving in some areas of the cities. Be aware of this when getting the type of car.
      • Spain has a good train network – esp between the major cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, etc. But if you don’t have a car – taking public transportation to do daytrips can be difficult.
      • Doing a vacation going from city to city – with a new city each day – that can be very difficult if not done by car unless you limit yourselves to the main cities. Having to drag a suitcase/backpack around with you every where you go can get to be very taxing. It’s nicer to leave your bag in a car or in your hotel room rather than taking it everywhere you go.
    • The metro and buses in Madrid are good to get around – and esp to avoid driving
    • Trains – I have no experience with the trains, but some people really like them.
  • Getting around in Spain
    • Travel light
    • Watch for pickpocketers. Pickpocket-preventable backpack. Moneybelt. Purse with wire in the strap so they can’t easily be cut and stolen.
    • Get international cell coverage for your phone and use Google Maps or some other method for helping you get around. One year we had a Garvin GPS device. The other times we used Google Maps/Waze, etc. Money well spent.
    • If you are going to drive make sure and get the International Drivers Permit for each driver before going. You can get them at the local AAA travel office for about $20 each.
  • Suggestions to do before going
    • Get some euros – although this can be done at a spanish bank ATM
    • Passports – obviously required. (Check to make sure it doesn’t expire too soon. It will need to have at least 6 months of time left before the expiration date for your last day there.
    • International Drivers Permit – If you are renting a car – you will need this. Easy to get at AAA.
    • Electric adapters. They use different electronic plugs. Spains are different than the UK, etc. Research it and ensure you have what you need
    • International phone coverage – or I’ve heard you can get cheap cell coverage by getting a SIM card in Spain.
    • Get european and UK visas – https://etias.com/
    • If you are flying through a country you may need to go through customs and possibly go through airport security – so ensure you have ample time to make your next flight. Be advised that going through customs can be a very lengthy process
    • Notify your credit card companies of the countries you’ll be travelling in.
    • Most purchases can all be done via credit card.
  • Recommendations for arranging travel
    • You can make your own travel arrangements and reservations, however we’ve used a travel agent on all three trips and it’s definitely helped. Our first trip we had the travel agent book everything – planes, hotels, museums, etc. On the last two trips we used AAA to book some of the hotels, rental cars, etc.
    • Some places you need to reserve sometimes weeks in advance (Alhambra/Granada, Horse show in Jerez de la Frontera, Royal Palace in Madrid)
  • Hotels, Air
    • There are a number of websites that you can use: Expedia, VRBO, AirBnB, etc
    • For many of the hotels – we just had the travel agent book them for us
    • For the villas we stayed at I used VRBO and AirBnb. I found that many of the homes used both of those.
    • Paradors
      • One unique and special thing about hotels in Spain are their Paradors. Over a 100 years ago Spain’s government saw that there was a lack of hotels. So they converted 96 old castles to high-end hotels. They also use them to keep prices low and encourage other hotels to keep their prices lower. They are very cool places to visit and stay. https://paradores.es/en
    • AirBnB / VRBO
    • Airlines
      • We had good success with Icelandair, AirNorse, and Norwegian air. They had cheaper and better connections from Seattle than other airlines.
      • Sometimes travel agents can get cheaper flights.
  • Insurance
    • Travel insurance – including medical & trip protection. I tend to be very risk averse so getting travel insurance has definitely helped. One time we had one of our travelling party get sick and ended up in the hospital in Spain for 5 days. The bill, surprisingly, wasn’t that big (less than $2,000) but getting reimbursed for it was fairly easy and simple. Trip protection can help also – although we’ve never had to use it for that.
  • Misc
    • Costco – There are multiple Costcos in Spain (Madrid – north & south, Zaragoza, Bilbao and Sevilla). We have started our roadtrips with a stop at Costco for a pizza meal and then stock up on American-friendly snacks, foods and misc supplies. 
      • Beaches – be aware that like many places in Europe – there can be a lot of toplessness there so plan accordingly

Advice for what to see/do in Seattle and Puget Sound

I get asked frequently by folks who are going to visit Seattle what they should go see. So I thought I would put a list together for future reference. This list is applicable for visitors, honeymooners, etc. If you have suggestions – please add as a comment.

A lot of this depends on what kind of sightseeing they want to do. Some people like to see city sites and highlights. Others want to see beautiful countryside scenery. Others just want to be in one area while others want to see many, many things.  Here are several options:

Seeing the city of Seattle:
– Stay in downtown Seattle
– Visit the Spaceneedle, Pacific Science Center, visit EMP (Experience Music Project), and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor Center that are all at the same location
– Try several good restaurants that are abundant in Seattle
– Pike Place Market. (In addition to the seafood store go see the “gum” wall)
– Take a ferry (from near Pike Place Market) to one of several different places and then ride it back. Beautiful scenery
– Ride the Duck boats for a tour of Seattle
– Go on the Underground Tour (funny, funny)
– Walk along the waterfront – just below Pike Place Market. Eat fish and chips at Ivars on the waterfront
– Ferris Wheel on the waterfront
– There are various plays, musicals and concerts (5th Avenue Theater, Paramount Theater, etc.)
– Seattle Aquarium
– You can do all of the above without a rental car. Plus Seattle has a pretty good bus system. And the Link Light Rail system works well for connecting downtown Seattle to the airport.
– One way to see many of the Seattle sites which is less expensive than buying them individually is the buy the Seattle CityPass – Link
– Also from Seattle you can take the Victoria Clipper that will take you to Victoria, BC
– 10 free things to do in Seattle – Link

Seeing the sites around the Puget Sound area:
– Take a ferry. Recommend going via the San Juans
– Drive out to Snoqualmie Falls
– Just drive all around the Sound – including islands such as Whidbey, Vashon, Bainbridge, etc.
– Go to the Ballard Locks just in North Seattle
– Archie McPhee Novelty store
– Drive up to Everett and go on the Boeing Everett Factory tour
– Go to the Museum of Flight just south of Seattle
– Drive up to Mt Rainier and take a hike
– Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo
– Pt. Defiance Zoo in Tacoma
– LeMay Car Musem in Tacoma
– Museum of Glass in Tacoma
– Drive way up north and east through the mountain passes on Hwy 2. Keep going to Leavenworth – a nice “Bavarian/German” town.
– Mt. Rainier Scenic Train ride in Elbe
– View the beautiful tulip fields in the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival – usually in April each year
– Great Wolf Lodge (Family indoor waterpark)
– Northwest Trek
– Remlinger Farms

Seeing things over on the Olympic Peninsula:
– Olympic game farm. Feed exotic animals from your car as you drive through
– Tour the Navy vessels at Bremerton. The aircraft carrier graveyard at Bremerton. If you have any interest in any navy-related things – they have quite a few things like museums, etc.
– Lots of pretty driving on Olympic Peninsula
– Visit Forks (if they are in to Twilight books)
– Visit the Hoh Rain Forest (very cool)
– Go camping at Kalaloch National Campground. Reservations required. This is where our family goes camping most summers.
– Drive up to Hurricane Ridge
– From Port Angeles you can take a ferry (either with a car or without) to Victoria and back
– Go to the Washington beaches. Most people go to the Ocean Shores area. We prefer going to Westport.
– Go deepsea fishing out of Westport
– Cape Flattery Lighthouse near Neah Bay. This is the most northwest point of the Continental U.S. – one of the four “corners” of the U.S. It’s a bit of a drive (a couple of hours from Port Angeles), but a beautiful part of the U.S. There is also deep-sea fishing out of Neah Bay.

For a very, quiet but picturesque place to go is in the San Juan Islands. Great place for a honeymoon or anniversary.

Or – one of the best recommendations is just go to Victoria, BC for a couple of days. Nice, quaint town with British feel to it. Definitely visit Butchart Gardens while there.

The Seattle Times has their Top 10 Attractions: http://seattletimes.com/html/travel/2020948293_sightseeingsummerguidexml.html

      • Pike Place Market
      • Space Needle
      • Olympic Sculpture Park
      • Washington State Ferries
      • Museum of History & Industry
      • Downtown Waterfront
      • Seattle Art Museum
      • Chinatown International District
      • Ballard Locks
      • Boeing Tour

 

Low cost options around Seattle: https://www.seattletimes.com/life/hosting-visitors-in-seattle-here-are-some-free-low-cost-attractions-to-show-them-around-town/