How to plan your Spain tour yourself

Spain is one of the most popular and diverse travel destinations in the world. This is reason enough to get into the rental car and explore the geographically and culturally different regions on your own. Here are a few tips on how to easily plan your tour of Spain yourself and introduce you to the most beautiful car routes on the Spanish mainland.

Best time to travel to Spain

The temperatures in the Spanish regions are as varied as the geographical and cultural characteristics.While mild winters and dry, hot summers predominate in the south and central Spain, the autumn and winter months in the north are comparatively cool and humid. In the Spanish mountain regions, such as the Pyrenees and parts of the Sierra Nevada, there is even snow during winter.

Thanks to its southern European location, Spain is a travel destination that you can visit all year round.

If you want to plan a tour of Spain by car yourself, the spring months of March to June and September and October in autumn are ideal for a road trip. With an average temperature of around 25 degrees (usually a few degrees more in the south), it is tolerable at the time. This is the best time for a long stay for visiting a city, take some classes in Spanish school Barcelona and getting your Spanish in shape!

The high season in Spain, like in the other southern European countries, is July and August. At the time, hotel prices are skyrocketing and you have to share the sights and parking lots with many other tourists. With temperatures of 30 to 40 degrees, sightseeing in midsummer is only partially fun.

Arrival to Spain

The largest airports on the Spanish mainland are in Madrid, Barcelona and Málaga and are served non-stop by many airlines. The average flight time depends on the selected city. For many rental car holidaymakers, the tour of Spain starts at one of the three major airports, since numerous rental companies are represented with pick-up stations.

Rental car tips for the tour of Spain

Book early and compare prices: Book your rental car for Spain well in advance of the tour from home. So you can decide yourself in advance what conditions you would like to book your rental car for and you don't have to wait too long on site.
Choose the right insurance: a fully comprehensive insurance without a deductible is generally recommended, liability insurance and additional glass and tire protection. The same applies here: it is better to book the insurance online before the trip instead of doing it at the very last moment.
Minimum age: Most providers allow you to rent a car for the tour of Spain from the age of 21, for higher vehicle classes the minimum age may be raised. In addition, drivers between the ages of 21 and 25 usually have to pay a young driver fee.

The two most beautiful routes in Spain

The route you choose does not always depend only on personal interests, but also on the time available. Some can be done in a week, while others you should allow a little more time. Of course, you can also use the route suggestions as a basis and still decide yourself on site whether you would like to spontaneously extend the tour to other stations.

1- Andalusia: mountain and coastal cities

To the west of the lively metropolis of Seville, original villages, dreamy coastal towns and hilly mountain landscapes await adventure-hungry road trip fans. Before you start, you should definitely take a look at the largest city in the region and explore the winding streets of Seville with its Gothic and Moorish architecture.

From here, your road trip passes by mountain lakes, olive groves and small Andalusian villages - one of the most beautiful is undoubtedly Aracena with its bright white house facades. Then you can continue towards the Atlantic, where a bizarre, beautiful rocky landscape decorates the landscape in Minas de Riotinto. The copper-colored rocks are one of the oldest mines in the world.

No wonder that a wide variety of animals are visiting here - from the flamingo to the lynx.

2. Catalonia: from Barcelona to the Pyrenees

With a turbulent past and a cosmopolitan capital, Catalonia is probably the most famous region in Spain. Explore Barcelona's vibrant cultural scene and the fascinating sacred buildings in the heart of the city.

Then feel free to discover the medieval town of Girona towards the coast. Walk in the footsteps of the surrealist artists in the Dalí Museum in Figuerés and in the coastal town of Cadaqués and enjoy the breathtaking panoramic drive through green hills and past steep cliffs as you head back inland from the Costa Brava coast.

Once you have left the hustle and bustle of coastal towns and the Catalan capital behind, you can expect quiet Catalan mountain villages in the pre-Pyrenees, such as Olot in the volcanic region of Garrotxa. The higher you go, the more dramatic and impressive the landscape becomes. Past sleeping volcanoes, head north towards Vall de Ribes, where the narrow streets and hairpin bends are lined with rocks. One of the absolute highlights of this route is without a doubt the majestic Pedraforca mountain, which with its peaks over 2,000 meters high is an Eldorado for hiking fans.

Via the charming town of Berga, which is idyllically nestled in the mountains, you drive back to Barcelona, where you can end your tour with tapas and a cool beer.