meal suggestions on the road from Granada to Pamplona
 

DH and I are leaving on Friday for two weeks in Spain. Part of our adventure will be driving from Granada to Pamplona in one day. I know, I know, that seems insane. Does anyone have suggestions for places to stop for meals along the way?

We are both adventuresome in matters of cuisine, but prefer to keep meals on the road inexpensive (5-10 euros or less per person). We had originally planned to picnic, but if there are great places to stop we'd be happy to do that instead.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

lucky,
Are you aware of just how long a drive it is?
www.viamichelin.com says 867 km. and estimates 8 1/2 hrs. of driving time! I'm afraid that you will arrive totally exhausted! I hesitate to offer suggestions because I don't think you'll have time to stop to eat, as dining in Spain, even at restaurants in the highway Auto Grills is a leisurely affair.

Granada to Pamplona in one day! That's 542 very long miles in some very warm weather. It's more of an adventure than even Don Quixote would undertake.

I'd suggest you consider stopping off about 5 or 6 hours into your trip and arrive in Pamplona a little more refreshed the following day.

The one think that you have to be aware of is that the Guardia Civil patrol the highways with radar-equipped cars and the price for speeding can set you back 500 euros. So relax and enjoy the drive. Spend the night in Soria and try to enjoy the fiesta.

Yes, it is a long drive, but here you have the girl who drove from Albuquerque, NM to Dallas, TX in a day (just over 11 hours with a lunch stop). . . alone.

Lucky_ksu- have you all decided on which route to take and what time you are leaving Granada? If we know that, then we can better know where you will be at lunch time. I think that 10€ is a good price to shoot for, but don't expect less than that. Road food in Spain is still real food (you sit down and eat at a table with utensils and all), so if it costs 5€, I would doubt the quality.

Also, by your name I think that you might be a Kansas girl (KSU?), which means that there is a cultural note to add in here and it is that Southern people drive long distances in a day all the time. I am from Dallas and I started driving to visit my grandparents (about 6 hours) when I was 16 (before that my parents went with me or we flew). I take day trips to Austin (about 7 hours total driving) and friends of mine here consider Louisiana and Alabama not at all far to travel in a day. So, though Granada to Pamplona is a loooong drive, it really isn't so bad by Southern standards.

Southern Driving! Bad advice no matter how you look at it. Highway speeds and rules of the road are much different in Spain than in the south. Note that the Spanish government has been cracking down on high speed driving.

If you really want to get from Granada to Pamplona, forget the car and fly.

Robert- the rules are different, this is true, but I am trying to say that driving 10 hours in a day is not so harsh a concept for those of us from the South. Or Midwest. Or California, for that matter.

I agree about the flying.

Lucky- you do know that gas costs on average over $3 a LITER (that is over $12 per gallon of gas). You are losing money and time.

Unfortunately, the driving is non-negotiable.

I married into a family that prefers driving over flying, so I have gotten used to many long road trips. I could make your toes curl with tales of the lengthy trips my DH & fam have made over the years! An 8 to 9 hr trip is par for the course. Considering we've seen much of the US countryside while driving through it, we're looking forward to seeing parts of Spain this way, too. And yes, I am from KS originally (good guess, laclaire!), so I probably don't have the same perception of seeing hours of expanses of fields and rolling countryside than most folks who were raised around a lot of trees. : )

I also should have clarified our itinerary -- we're actually going Granada to Olite. We're using Olite as our base to adventure to Pamplona during the day and as much of the night as we can handle, but then we can escape to a quiet bed/quaint location when we need it.

We were planning to leave Granada early in the morn (probably around 6am), so that would have put us in Olite around 2 or 3 pm. However, if there were places between Madrid and Zaragoza (closer to Zaragoza) that were interesting stops/good eats, we would delay our departure to fit those in the schedule.

Thanks for the warning about the crack down on speeding -- I'd hate to tack on a massive fine in addition to all the fuel $$ we'll be spending.

Granada to Olite is only a half-hour less of a drive. You will be arriving during lunch (1:30 to 4:00) and will need a reservation at most of the restaurants in the area since the fiesta is on and everyone eats out, with lunch being the most popular meal of the day.

Other than a few Auto Grills you'll find along the main highways, there are a few small tavern/restaurants here and there, but there are also a number of outstanding gastronomic restaurants to be found along whichever route you choose to drive.