To Rent a car o not while I am in Spain.

Well I will take a vacation in June and have about 9 days set aside for Spain.

I have many places and people I want to see in Spain.

I have cities that I can easily see by AVE also I think there are other places I would be better served via renting a car.

Just curious as to the travelers experiences / feelings about this.

Thanks in Advance.

For me it would depend on how confident you are driving, how many of you in the party and how much luggage you have, and where you are intending to go. Most of Spain is well served by train and bus (and internal flights) but there are areas that are slower to get to where a car would be preferable.

When I visit Madrid, and plan on staying there for a few days I use public transportation. There is NO reason to have a car in the middle of Madrid except if you want to be frustrated and angry. The metro is so easy once you get the hang of it for touring the city, and trains are super easy to use for day trips (Toledo, Segovia...)

The high speed AVE to Seville is faster than you can drive there anyway, and you can relax and enjoy the scenery. When you arrive there just get a taxi to your hotel.

That said, you will definately want a car if you are leaving a major city and just want to tour the countryside. Driving through all the little charming villages is a lot of fun too.

Why don't you plan something like...(assuming you are flying in and out of Madrid) first 3 days in Madrid-no car. Train to another large city-spend 2-3 days-no car. Then rent the car and drive your way slowly back to Madrid, stopping wherever you want.

It will be just my wife and my self. So luggage and people wont be to bad.

I was thinking to do the following;

I will fly into BCN, stay there for a 2-3 days, then rent a car
and travel down the coast and eventually end up in Sevilla.

I want to return the car in Sevilla and then take the Ave back, making stops along the way.

Plan on finishing the trip up in Madrid and spending 3-4 days there.

Makes sense to me JAcosta, although I'm not sure how many stops the AVE makes. You may be better off on one of the slower trains if you want to break the journey from Sevilla to Madrid a bit.

thanks....

I agree with JamonGris on this . I´ve done the Madrid to Sevilla AVE trip and the ONLY stop was Córdoba . Steve

I agree with Sparkalina's comment that you certainly don't need a car in the middle of Madrid or Barcelona. If you were staying in the city and doing day trips to places such as Toledo or Segovia, you could still use public transportation. However, your itinerary from BCN to Sevilla sounds like one where a car would be useful and not too much trouble. I imagine that some areas near the beach might get crowded with the arrival of summer and many tourists.

As for the AVE, I highly recommend it from Sevilla to Madrid. We took the AVE from Madrid to Sevilla, and there were not any stops along the way. However, our return to Madrid was on the Altaria, which is also a high speed train, but it does make a few stops so the trip is slightly longer.

Spain is a Big Country (about the size of Texas) and you may or may not like driving long distances, especially with the cost of 'Green Petrol' and some very expensive Toll Roads. In Cities like Madrid, Barcelona and Sevilla, a car is a burden (i.e., fighting Traffic and Parking).

I prefer to use Renfe (Rail) or Motorcoach for long distance, one way trips. EU Members are also getting pretty strict with their DUI or DWI enforcement; and I like to partake of the Wines (esp. Manzanilla) and Brandies (and the Orujo).

Moving slightly off the subject ... but following on from Eddie´s comments , drink driving is illegal here , and if they catch you it can me a custodial sentence . That said , I´ve been in taxis going to the airport at 09:00 and smelt very strong alcohol . There was a tv programme last christmas and reporters were interviewing drivers in Madrid . The general consensus was that it was their "right" to drink during the festivities AND drive .
I bought a bottle of Manzanilla in Sevilla a few months ago .. very very dry ! MM and I were at lunch recently and were offered chupitos of Crema de Orujo .. Almost frozen .. Delicious !!! Steve

Generally Speaking in the big cities it makes no sense to have a car, but along the coast you pretty much need one to get around. Of course you along with most of Spain and half of the UK are trying to get around the narrow roads of the coast and of course parking is a nightmare.

Was speaking with a friend who told me there is a new high speed train to Segovia now, when we did it we did the renfe slow 2 hour run there and the crazy as hell bus driver bus route back.

I like to dissent a bit, car is king anywhere, especially if you gotten use to it in USA. Many years ago when visiting europe always rented cars, now that I live in Europe, take my own all over,and the driving is easier.

Of course, if you go into Madrid ,better to park it and use the metro, but then take it again and off you go to another city. If you are traveling with a group or family, it might turn out cheaper on a quality of sightseeing/price ratio.

Happy Motoring ::)

Thanks everyone, my idea was to fly in to Barcelona, stay there for 2-3 days.

THEN rent the car and travel down the cost of spain eventually towards Andalucia (return the car there if possible) and take the AVE back to madrid and enjoy time there.

Now if I only had a month or so to do all of this I would be happier.

along the coast you'll need a car, speaking such how long will you be here for?

I will be in spain from June 5th and Leave June 16.