Hi,
There are 4 of us going to Spain in Sept. and we would like to know what is a better way to see, Seville, Granada, Cordoba, Gibraltar and some costal villages or towns in the Costa Del Sol region. We heard driving there is hard and getting a parking spot might take a long time in the larger cities but we think a driver might be too expensive and I'm not sure I really want someone with us for 7 full days. We also don't know the route in which to go ( I might have mentioned this in a post a few months ago but I'll be happy to hear any suggestions and pros and cons concerning hiring a driver or renting a car, Please respond.....natjgc

Hi

If you don't mind, I'll jump on this thread. I'm planning a 2 1/2 week to Spain, flying into Barcelona, wandering there for a few days to acclaimate myself and then heading south as far as I can go comfortably and then heading back to see what i might have missed on the way down. My last trip to Spain was three years ago and I consider the highways 10 times better than anything in the USA. Signage is fairly plain. My wife drove a little bit but I took on most of the burden. I believe if you don't expect too much wothin the number of days you are there that you shouldn't have a problem.
BS

We rented a car during our trip last fall and drove from Barcelona to Andalusia to Portugal and back to Barcelona again. Driving can be a bit tricky because there aren't street name signs on each corner (they only seem to be at the beginning and end of a street). What we did was park our car at the hotel and leave it there until we left. I imagine it would take a bit of time to find a parking spot, so it would probably be best to just park the car and leave it while you're in a town.

I'm one of the women going on the trip, so I thank you for your advice. I am just wondering if any one has heard of drivers for hire in Spain? Not guides, just drivers. On fodors you can find the names and contacts for drivers in eastern europe and Athens, I know, I've looked! But nothing at all in Spain. I guess its just not good business there. BTW, when I've been there before we did as Pavfec and basically used the car to get from town to town and park it at the hotel or city lot when we arrive. But when we3 are between towns, such as going from Sevilla to Malaga and want to stop at Ronda, (or any white village) do you think we will have a problem with leaving our luggage in the car? Thanks.

On the open highways (which constitutes most of Andalucia) driving is a breeze in Spain. The roundabouts might get a little tricky at first, but with so many in the car that shouldn't be a problem. The highways are well maintained, well marked, and the other drivers considerate.

As far as the cities go? Well, the smaller ones may have more winding, one way streets, but keeping one's cool and knowing the limitations of one's car is key. Having at least one really good navigator who can read a map is a life saver.

In the larger cities, such as Seville and Granada, it is important to have an idea of where you want to go before you go. Every hotel we stayed at was very accommodating at giving us precise, detailed instructions to our next destination - in English! - before we left, which really helped.

Finding parking can be a pain, yes. But check with your hotel before you arrive. Most can tell you where you can park or will have parking available. Truthfully, the only difficult place we encountered parking in 2+ weeks of driving through Spain was in Seville. And only then because it is difficult to find some place to turn around. Once we located a car park, we just parked there and left the car.

If you feel comfortable enough driving, if you might be able to split up the driving between a couple of you, if you have at least one good navigator amongst you, then I would say go for it. Road tripping provides a special and very satisfying experience.

Hi,

Thanks! I think Zwho and I won't have too much of problem driving in Spain.
My friend thought hiring a driver would be alot easier but now that I've researched this i think a driver might take a little bit of the adventure out of the trip. There will be 4 of us and if we get lost-- so be it! We might find a cooler little village somewhere-( I think I've learned some things from Rick Steves) natjgc

Hi I agree mostly with Chele, I would add to print out through www.guiacampsa.com instructions for driving to the hotel. It will show the way street runs and plus. Knowing where you are going and how will solve a lot of problems. At least it works for us.
I never, never leave anything in the car, try to travel as light as possible and avoid that.

We had a rental car and driving was fine although I'd advise you to get the smallest car the 4 of you can fit in as some of the streets are extremely narrow. I don't know how you are arriving but if you are flying into Madrid you may want to consider doing what we did. We took the high speed train to Cordoba, spent the night and then took the high speed train to Seville. There is no way in the world you want a car in Seville. We picked up our rental car as we left Seville. this gave us the freedom to explore the other areas you are talking about and having a car in those places wasn't such a hassle. When we drove into Granada we were only going for the day so we picked a parking lot on the southern part of the city near the Alhambra where we did not have to actually drive into the city.

Hiring a car/driver would be extraordinarily expensive (you would have to pay for the car, the driver's salary his hotel, meals etc - essentially a private tour).

Can;t imagine why not to drive. Driving is no more difficult than the US (a lot easier than in big cities here) - nor is parking in cities any more difficult than in the US (there are parking lots/garages wherever you need them). Would never consider anything else.

We are flying into Malaga and I think
taking the fast trains to Cordoba, Seville and maybe granada woud really work well. Then we could rent a car. Tell me -- how small is a small car and can we fit 4- 24" pieces of luggage and
4 carry ons. I can't travel with just a weekender and a carry-on. natjgc

We'deserved something smaller but were upgraded to a Renault Scenic. It was really a nice car and we commented that it would be nice for 4 or 5 people. I wouldn't get anything larger though.

Hey Nat, How was dinner? Ours was really nice. Let me respond to your last post. The fast train doesn't reach Malaga, so we would have to get to Cordoba or Sevilla to catch it and then it doesn't make alot of sense to use it since we're not going or coming from Madrid. We can get a train from Malaga to Granada, but again I'm not sure why we want to, if we'll be using a car for the rest. And a small car may hold 4 24" suitcases, but not including the carryons. I could be wrong but when we rented a small car, it was a big problem and Ricky and I only had 22" carryons and backpacks. Renting a larger car is not the answer unless you're willing to drive it when we get to the very narrow roads. They scare me! We can do buses and trains, but that doesn't seem as fun, plus they don't always go when we want to. Hopefully someone on Fodors can answer the car storage question or we can call a rental agency. I'm sure we'll think of something that'll work.