Directions from Madrid airport south?
 

It seems like there ought to have been someone else who requested detailed driving directions on how to exit the airport and get onto highways heading toward Granada but I've tried searching this site and haven't come up with any hits. I'm looking for tips along the lines of "get into the right lane because the exit comes up quickly" or "this isn't on the sign but it's the right way to go" rather than obviously marked highways that I could find on a map. I've tried Via Michelin and printed out the directions but would really appreciate the advice of someone who's driven this route. Thanks in advance.

In my experience, your worst nightmare will be getting out of the car rental space at the airport and onto the streets. When we rented a car in Spain, it was parked about an inch on each side next to other car rentals, so we had to crawl into the car from the hatchback. Then we had to maneuver onto the main road into Madrid from there.<BR><BR>As for heading for Granada, any decent map will show you that. It's a piece of cake once you've gotten out of the airport parking lot and driven out of Madrid. There are signs in Spain, you know.

From what I remember last March there is a ring road around Madrid so you avoid the city. It's signposted well just like the U.S. Highways with large signs for exits coming up. We were driving to the mountains outside the city to a small village and had no problem. Get a map of Madrid and you will see, It's much easier from the airport than the city.

Siobhan: thanks, I wondered if it would be difficult to exit the airport onto the correct road. I'm very familiar with Logan airport and trying to find the way onto and through the Southeast Expressway heading north or south, and wanted to avoid getting lost as we left the airport.<BR>CarRentalIn Spain: yes, I know there are signs in Spain. I've been there. See above. (and if you can read, you might re-read my post and see that I was looking explicitly for info on exiting the airport onto the correct highways.)

<BR>Gail,<BR>No problem at all. The roads are well marked with signs. A good map will also help you. You don't have to prepare yourself. It is really very easy.<BR>AA

AA: thanks for the reassurance. that's what I was looking for.