Hi;

We plan on going to Asturias; Oviedo and ribadesella in Jun 05 and wanted to know how are the road/highway going up that way.

I believe that it's about a 6 hour drive.

wanted to know info on tolls, gas/diesel avalability, safety and general conditions.

we speak fluent spanish so that should not be a problem.

thank you.

JoseR

Assuming you are driving from Madrid it should take
about 4/5 hours (depending on traffic and Stops) to get to Oviedo and 1 hour more to get to Ribadesella.

Gas price is around 0.915 € for unleaded gas and 3 cents less for diesel, plenty of gas stations on the way (except in the highway stretch from Benavente to Leon 60 Km, where you would have to take a little detour to find one)so don't worry about this.

Road is excellent, similar to an Interstate in the US, four lines, two each way (3 sometimes), there are two strechtes where you have to pay toll, Villalba-Adanero 8.40 € and then Leon (Onzonilla)-Pola de Lena 9,25 €.

Hope you find this info useful!
Have a good trip!

I just did the part from Leon to Oviedo and further on to Ribadesella ten days ago and I can only confirm that the road quality is excellent.

Very little traffic too as trucks seem to avoid toll roads.

You might want to take gas after Leon as I don't think there are too many gas stations on the stretch crossing the Cantabrian Cordillera. The mountains are gorgeous to see.

Enjoy your trip!

Just one quick clarification, just in case. The gas price listed is per liter. There are 3.7 liters in a US gallon. Do the math yourself and try not to wince too much when paying at the counter...it's kind of a shock at first, especially if you're from Texas!

You're going to love coming out of the tunnel from León into Asturias. In just a couple of miles you feel as if you've been transported to a different part of the country.

Have fun.

Jordi, Murdi;

Thank you very much for the insight. You guys didn't state what the actual price of gas is. I imagine it's a real shocker.

Also, how easy is it to pay for gas with a credit card in that part of the country? What is the preferred payment? Amex, Visa, Mastercard?

Again, thank you. Were really looking forward to the trip.

I was talking about Juaco's price listing, which was about 92 céntimos/liter. That's over a dollar with today's exchange rate.

Paying with a credit card is very easy at any gas station. Though most take all major credit cards, VISA is probably the most commonly used, so I'd make sure you took it along.

Enjoy your trip.

I don't remember the exact rate for the gas, also you need to tell me which kind of gas you intend to buy (Super? Unleaded? Diesel?) to make a worthwhile statement.

In any case, gas in Spain is a bit cheaper than in other parts of Europe. Not as cheap as in Luxembourg or Poland, but still cheaper than in Germany.

No problem with credit card payments anywhere, Visa is probably the most common brand, followed by Master and sometimes Amex.