Road Trip/Itinerary - Malaga to Barcelona - Need Suggestions
 

Hi,

My husband I will be in Spain in early Sept.
We arrive in Malaga on Aug 31st in the morning and want to rent a car and drive up to Barcelona to arrive on Sept 5. (We will likely drop the car off in Valencia or Tarragona and take the train to Barcelona to avoid driving in Barcelona).

Could someone please suggest a great road trip / itinerary for us?

We're interested in driving along the coast for the most part, but realize we should drive inland to see some places like Granada. We'd like to see some beautiful places, historic places and get some time on the beach as well!

We would like to have a scenic drive for the most part, but realize we may need to drive the main highway to not lose too much time on the road.

Any suggestions on where to go and what to see would be greatly appreciated!
(And also where we should stay overnight).

Thanks!

I did that route this January, but the sheer length of the trip makes it quite hard IMO to suggest the "perfect itinerary".
So just some generic remarks:
The coastal highway is indeed rarely a "California Hwy #1" road but a major motorway connecting the big cities along the Med coast.

There are a couple of "off the beaten track" destinations, like the Cabo de Gata/Nijar region near Almeria, or the Ebro delta south of Tarragona.

You should check on viamichelin.com or google maps also the (heavily) tolled sections of the AP-7 along the coast. The A-7 often parallels the AP as is toll free. Though north of Valencia the only option besides the tolled motorway is the 2-lane N-340, which has the advantage that you are not stuck on a motorway but also need more time.

Valencia may be a good place to drop off the car, though Tarragona may be even better because you get to see the aforementioned region of the Ebro delta (which IMO is much more impressive than e.g. the Camargue).
But not only the delta is one impressive region, but the whole Ebro river area (google Terres Ebre and you will get links to the regional tourist informations), also from a historic point of view, from the Templars to the Civil War.
Other areas of interest could be Elche/Elx near Alicante, or Peniscola between Valencia and Tarragona.
Re. driving in major Spanish cities, I find Barcelona one of the less stressful due to its freeway system and wide avenues. Even smaller or mid-size towns can be more of a PITA, esp. during the rush hours :)

If you have more s

sorry.. somehow my 1st reply got cut off.
The last sentence was meant to read:
If you have more specific questions, I will be happy to answer them if I can.