Just returned from Spain a week ago. One of the things I missed was being able to easily take coffee to go. I loved the Spanish cafe con leche (?). But if you want a cup to go while you are riding around seeing the sites in your rental car, bring along a travel mug. I wished that I had had one on several occassions. Have a great time.

Bob, I supposed from your list of wants that you needed a can opener & bottle opener because you were planning to make a few meals on your own either in a place with kitchen facilities or camping. If that is the case then despite what some posters advise about getting them on arrival I would bring them. It may not be easy or convenient to find such items just after getting there and perhaps when you need them most. Especially the corkscrew!

The biggest thing for us while we were in Spain was to have munchies in the car while driving around. It is not always easy to just stop for a quick "bite to eat," especially since so many out of the way places in Spain shut down during siesta. It might help to bring energy bars or nuts with you, sure. But since you will have a car, you can also do what we did: find a Carrefour or other grocery-type place. It was way more convenient and interesting!

Don't bother with the corkscrews/bottle opener stuff unless you really plan on using them. Same with the clothesline.

Make sure you keep plenty of water in the car, though! You do go through it faster than you think you will.

Thanks tammylouky and raydotman.
BS

No need to bring energy bars from home, but the idea of keeping snacks that you've purchased at a grocery store after you arrive is a great one.

Bob, get a good, detailed atlas and arm yourself with patience! My hubby and I spent 3 weeks last September in Spain and Portugal, starting in Barcelona, going south to Andalusia, up to the Algarve, then looping back up toward Barcelona. The hardest thing we found was arriving in a city with no hotel reservation, following the hotel signs into the city centre, and then the signs disappeared and we were stuck and had no idea where to go. One particular time this happened, we ended up at the worst hotel of our entire trip.

Also, unlike in North America, there aren't street signs at every intersection of streets in Spanish cities, making navigating difficult. There's only a sign on a wall of a building at either end of the street. What we did was count the number of streets needed to get to the one we were looking for. This helped a lot.

Otherwise, we were able to find everything we needed. Some good things we always have are tissues, individual hand wipes, slippers and earplugs (Spanish cities can be noisy!)

Hi Pavfec
We did a two week trip a couple of years ago in Northern Spain and just followed our nose ( we've lost our notes ). We had some close calls as far as finding a hostal but generally had good experiences. I really just can't remember what I missed (convenience wise) on my previous trip other than not finding a place to get a Slurpie on every corner.
BS