Hello! Am planning a 2 week vacation in May. We are flying into Madrid. And renting a car, there will be 4 of us. My husband would really like to go to barcelona however the rest of our trip is concentrated to the south of Madrid. I haven't found any info on roads, travel time into Barcelona. Is this to streneous a drive? Will it take too much time? Are there sites along the way we could stop at? Any advice would help. We are trying to save $$ so i would think driving as apposed to taking a plane, train, or bus would be more economical. Any help or suggetions would be greatly appreciated. Gracias!!!! Mabella

My husband and I drove from Madrid to Barcelona 3 years ago and made it in about 8-9 hours with only one quick stop in a small town...We took the tollways, expect to pay about 40 bucks for the tollways, worth it for the roads, and to make good time, otherwise the trip is longer on the smaller highways...
Last year we decided to take the talgo to Barcelona and even though it took 8 hours, it was about 25 dollars, which actually saved money considering gas and rental prices...
So, If you wanted to save time by renting a car instead of the train, you won't...and may end up costing more...but, if you want to do your own roadtrip, spend time taking side trips, then renting a car is the way to go...Happy travels!!!

Geoplaneta.com is one of my favourite sites. However, it's only available in Spanish.

As for tollways, you can get all the information (including prices) from the Dirección General de Tráfico website.

Regards,

Antonio

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The best tips from your favourite hostal in Madrid.
Hostal Chelo at http://www.chelo.com

[This message has been edited by Antonio (edited 02-28-2001).]