4Amigos

Hi everyone
We are a group of 4 travelling by car through Spain in april next year.
We are keen to do a road trip in the South to encompass Seville, Cadiz, Ronda, Camino del Ray, Grenada. (Would you recommend these or any alternatives?)
Then drive North along the the coast to Girona. (Any suggestions for best route and one place to stay)
Girona / Parafugall Begur - coast walk between towns and or maybe 2 days to one of the national parks in Pyrenees
Then back to Barcelona for a couple of days. (Bike tour)
we will be there over Easter is this an opportunity to see festivals or difficult, do all things tourist close?

Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated. Aware it's a road trip rather than relaxation trip. Aiming for 2 weeks.

yorkshire

Driving in Spain is pretty slow. Would you be open to doing the first third/half by train? It would actually save you time and possible money. Do you know where you are flying in/out?
I would group Sevilla-Granada-Cadiz-Ronda together and then pick up a car to head north, possibly stopping at Cuenca (yep, far inland, but more interesting to me than the coast). I don't see how you'll do it with only two weeks though!

bilboburgler

Girona is very much a cycling city with amazing access to bike trails into the hills.

Easter in Spain..... can be very busy especially in certain cities.

Michael

In the Pyrenees, visit Taüll for its church frescoes and mountain setting:

https://flic.kr/p/7v1dht https://flic.kr/p/7v531s

Michael

Agree about Cuenca and other inland areas:

https://flic.kr/p/7mX7Cy https://flic.kr/p/7mX8eE https://flic.kr/p/7mX883
It might even shorten the trip.

VANAARLE

Driving on Highways in Spain is far from slow. 120KPH max. The issue is they can be boring.
2 weeks is not a long. There is jet lag to get over too. As you are landing in BCN then stay North. Loads to see and do.
Easter in 2023 is between the 2 and 9th April.
Train v car? Depends on prices, but 4 can usually be cheaper in a car, plus you have flexibility.

4Amigos

Hi team thanks for the help.
flying into Seville not a long haul flight frim our previous destination.
Plan to rent a car do a loop Caditz Ronda Cominito del ray Granda
then drive to meet friends who will be Girona.
Didn't know if there was a Coastal route that was best or inland as suggested. Will look into Cuenca thanks.
fly out Barcelona.
Agree quick trip but trying to get a good look around as we are not often in these parts of the world and we enjoy driving and seeing the country. Ideally not on motorways for long stretches.
thanks again

yorkshire

Great, flying into Sevilla makes it much more manageable! I'd just play around with Google Maps or Viamichelin websites to get a sense of routes. I'd still enjoy Sevilla and Cadiz first and then get the car. You may need more than one stopover.
We found it was very important to get gas when near town, because otherwise it could be a very a long detour. We got sleepy on our drives more than we have elsewhere, that's for sure! I was in Cuenca and heard strong recommendations to visit Teruel and Albarracin, but I ran out of time.

annhig

Have you considered flying from Andalucia to BCN for the second part of your trip? It's a long drive - over 10 hours - so two days on the road - and you may be stung for high fees for returning the car so far from its "home". Alternatively if you don't want to fly there is a train leaves Seville at 8.43 am which goes direct to Barcelona, and will get you to Girona at 16.30. i think either of those would be preferable to driving.

MichGuy

We did one month in Spain by car a few years ago. We found the driving to be fairly easy except for the big cities and the old towns -- but you already know that.
You have a good plan. Half the trip in the south (we loved Seville) and the other half around Barcelona. Google says you can drive from Murcia to Barcelona in just over six hours. You would use the AP-7 (autopista), which is a fairly expensive toll road, but fast. It's scenic along this coast but can be repetitious (and dry). It's a big vacation area for Europeans rather than a tour area and it doesn't sound like you want to stop and relax.
Can't advise you on the car. We used Hertz, pick up and drop off in Madrid at the airport. Don't know what shape they're in now. Your decision to drive will probably depend on drop off fees. Have fun!

4Amigos

Awesome Michguy thanks so much for your time