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Car rental in Spain

Renting a car in Spain and embarking on an exciting journey through this sunny country is a great opportunity to discover all the variety of Spanish places and cities. The roads in Spain are excellent, the rules of the road are familiar to everyone, well, and the drivers drive quite roughly. Car rental in Spanish, by the way, will be "alquiler de automóviles".

There are a lot of car rental offices throughout Spain, so renting a car is not a big deal. Renting a car on weekends is cheaper, and pre-booking via the Internet also saves you money, plus it guarantees that your chosen car will be available. Renting a car at the airport is traditionally more expensive. With a car rented in Spain, you can go to a neighboring country in the Schengen area, but in this case you will have to pay extra for “foreign” insurance (cross-border). At the same time, it is prohibited to leave the territory of the European Union in a rented car.

When renting a car in Spain, many companies practice blocking funds on your card as a collateral (approximately € 500). The rental price usually includes a limited insurance with a deductible (from 300 to 500 €). For an extended or reduced amount of the deductible, the insurance will have to pay extra.

When renting a car in Spain, special attention should be paid to insurance, there are several types of them in Spain. Types of insurance in Spain:

1. TPL (Third Party Liability) - limits the driver's liability in the event of material damage to third parties.

2. CDW (Collision Damage Waiver) - limits the driver's liability in the event of damage to the rented car.

3. TP (Theft Protection) - limits the driver's liability in the event of theft of a rented car.

4. PAI (Personal Accident Insurance) - sets the amount of compensation in case of physical damage to the driver and / or passengers.

5. EP (Extended Protection) - limits the driver's liability for legal claims against him by third parties in the event of significant damage to him (material and / or health and life).

The phrase "limits liability" means that your financial liability in these cases is canceled partially (insurance with a deductible) or completely (insurance without a deductible).

Be sure to check the presence of two (!) Emergency stop signs in the car (in which case both must be installed), a spare wheel and a reflective vest (use when leaving the car on the roadway or shoulder). It will be useful to have a set of bulbs for headlights, a fire extinguisher and a first aid kit.

Driving license in Spain

Some rental companies in Spain accept Russian driver's licenses if they are filled with letters of the Latin alphabet and issued at least a year ago (exceptions are possible). However, in recent years, more and more often, in Spain they require the provision of International Driving Licenses for holders of driving licenses issued outside the EU. Please note that an international driver's license is valid only in combination with the original Russian license. The driver must be at least 21 years old (in some companies at least 23 years old) and have a driving experience of at least a year (in some companies at least 2 years).

Driving features in Spain

Driving on the roads in Spain is very pleasant, but not always safe. The Spanish temperament leaves its mark on the behavior of drivers on the road: they are not always distinguished by discipline and tolerance towards other road users. Do not be surprised when impatient car horns begin to reach your address from all sides, if you do not immediately start driving at a green traffic light. Yes, and the headlights "blink" Spanish drivers with or without reason: it can be a warning about the traffic police in front, and a demand to give way, and an expression of dissatisfaction.

You should never trust the driver who is driving in front, especially if his car has local numbers. If he turned on the left turn signal, this does not mean at all that he is going to turn left, and if the traffic light in front switched to red light, this does not mean at all that the cars in front (and most importantly, behind) will stop.

On the roads, many Spaniards are real reckless drivers. For example, Spanish drivers who can drive at 160 km / h with a 120 km / h limit. It is highly discouraged for tourists to do this, because most highways in Spain are equipped with speed cameras. Moreover, some of them warn the nearest police station about the violation of the speed limit by the driver of a foreign vehicle. In this case, the employee has the right to stop the vehicle and issue a fine. And the fines for traffic violations in the country are very high!

On local roads, there is also such a thing as the minimum speed. It depends on the type of track, in order to calculate the minimum permissible speed, it is enough to divide the maximum by 2. Driving at a speed less than the one obtained will be regarded as a violation of the rules (!!!).

Many signs on the roads, signaling that the track is monitored by radar, are not true. There is a sign, and there are no posts around where these cameras could be screwed. The cameras themselves are of two types. On carriages - suburban routes - this is the column on the right. It is white and large enough, if you recognize it once, you will recognize it further. The car is photographed from behind. Who is driving at this time - it does not matter, the fine will come at the place of registration of the car. The second option - cameras are hung on large highways in special places, quite high. You won't see them just like that, you need to know the exact location.

Outside city highways, regardless of the number of lanes, in Spain, traffic is mandatory, exclusively in the right lane. That is, even if the road is clear, you must drive on the right. And if not free, the driver can overtake the car in front - and immediately change to the right lane. And even if the road is three-lane, all the same, you are forced to go in the right extreme lane, the left two are intended only for overtaking. In addition, overtaking from the right is prohibited. If someone is rolling in the middle lane, you can only go around him on the left.

A car that has stopped at the end of a traffic jam or a traffic jam on a suburban highway must turn on the "blinker" - an emergency stop signal! So that it can be seen from afar that the stream is standing still, and that no one entered it at high speed. When the next one drives up from behind - the "blinker" can be turned off, this is his duty.

Traffic lights in Spain behave quite insidiously for an unprepared person. Colors can change with lightning speed. And, in particular, another of the pits - the so-called flashing yellow: it means that, in principle, you can drive, but you must give way to everyone in a row - pedestrians, perpendicularly driving cars and everyone else. Many small towns have radar-controlled traffic lights - if you slightly exceed the speed limit, a red light will turn on on your way.

In all cities in Spain, there are specially designated lanes on the roads for public transport and a taxi. It is impossible for ordinary motorists to borrow them.

Many roads in rural areas have no markings at all. Here, the main danger for drivers is livestock, as well as representatives of the local fauna - hares, hedgehogs and other animals that can unexpectedly run out onto the road.

Cyclists are the real kings of the road. If fans of pedaling ride in a gang, and the first one slipped onto the green one, then the rest of the crowd has the preferential right to move, even if the red one lights up. And the driver must let everyone else in too. But they are not obliged to let you in and will not. And this is written in the rules. Many trails have special lanes for cyclists with appropriate markings. Often, in addition to the markings from the main road, they are separated by special rubber pads; motorists are not allowed to enter such road sections. Cyclists may not give in in a disputable situation, and often do not know the rules of the road. So you just have to be careful with them.

Those who prefer to travel by motorcycle should always ride with the headlights on. The use of dipped headlights on a car during the day is mandatory only when driving through tunnels. Radar detectors are allowed in Spain, but anti-radars are prohibited (fines up to 6,000 €). Fog lights are allowed to be used only in poor visibility conditions (less than 50 meters). If you use them under other circumstances, you can get a fine.

In Spain, it is compulsory for all passengers to wear seat belts. Children under 12 years old can only be transported in the back seat of a car and only in a special seat. And one of the most serious violations on the road is chatting on the phone. All hands-free devices are prohibited, with the exception of those on the machine.

Those who are accustomed to smoking while driving should take care of the presence of an ashtray in the car. It is forbidden to throw out any burning objects from the car, including cigarettes, a fine may be imposed even if, at the time of the violation, the vehicle was motionless.

If the Highway Patrol stops your car for no apparent reason, don't worry. Most likely, this is a routine document check; also, the driver may be offered to undergo a breath test to control the blood alcohol content. Testing should not be abandoned; there is a large fine for this.

Car theft remains one of the biggest problems in Spain. When leaving your car in the parking lot, you should not leave any valuables in it. It is important to remember that even having an empty bag in the front seat can attract burglars. Motorcycle robbers are also a real problem. They are so dexterous that they can snatch a handbag on the move not only from pedestrians on the sidewalk, but also from a moving car through an open window.

Gasoline in Spain

In Spain there are the following brands of unleaded (!) Gasoline: AI-95, AI-98 (gasoline sin plomo), as well as diesel fuel (gasoleo A or gas-oil). Diesel rental is usually more expensive, but if you plan to wind hundreds of kilometers, it will still be more profitable. When refueling the vehicle, the mobile phone must be switched off.

Alcohol driving in Spain

Allowed blood alcohol content of a driver in Spain: 0.5 ‰. For drivers with less than 2 years of experience: 0.3 ‰. For exceeding the permissible limit, the driver will face a large fine or deprivation of rights for a certain period.

Fines in Spain

Spanish police are sometimes on duty on the roads. Mainly at roundabouts, which are very popular here. Usually the police are on duty on holidays or during football matches. There are raids to catch drunk drivers - then they stop everyone in a row and check the amount of alcohol drunk. However, on ordinary days, no one will ever stop you, unless, of course, you break the rules. According to statistics, a driver in Spain communicates with an inspector every three to four years.

In general, the police in Spain are very loyal to tourists. But, this does not mean that here you can break on the roads, and in general, do whatever you want. For serious violations, in addition to a fine, drivers can be awarded a certain number of penalty points. Upon reaching a critical level of points, the driver is temporarily deprived of his rights.

Small fines issued by police officers can be paid immediately upon receipt of an official receipt (for foreigners this is a mandatory requirement, otherwise the car may be detained). But, there is also a nice moment: for payment on the spot, you get a 50% discount. Attention: do not try to offer the Spanish police a bribe - here it will not work, but will only aggravate the consequences!

If you received by mail a notice of a fine for speeding received in Spain, then it can be paid on time via the Internet. Payment is made using VISA, Master Card and Maestro credit or debit cards. If you pay the fine within 20 calendar days, then its amount is reduced by 50%. Payment of a fine with a 50% discount entails a waiver of claims or an administrative appeal for the offense.

Fines can be paid on the website of the Spanish Ministry of the Interior – www.dgt.es. After filling in all the necessary details on the site and payment, you will receive a link to the receipt (in the Receipt field). It is recommended that you print or save this receipt on your computer. If you want the receipt to be sent to you by mail, then enter your mailing address and click the "Send email" button.

Everything would be fine if not for one thing but ... There is Catalonia in Spain. And what do they think – this is not Spain at all. Therefore, fines received in Catalonia are paid on another website, namely on the website of the Government of Catalonia. – gencat.cat. Here you will need to fill in all the details (your own and from the penalty receipt) and pay the fine on the card. If the payment was made successfully, then when you try to enter the data again in the original form, it will be said that the fine has already been paid – "Payment made – Yes ".

Speed limits in Spain

Cars:

Cars with a trailer:

In the village - 50 km / h

Outside the settlement - 80 km / h

On the highway - 90 km / h

Motorcycles:

In the village - 50 km / h

Outside the settlement - 90 km / h

On the highway - 120 km / h

Attention: the minimum (!) Speed on the Autobahn is 60 km / h.

Toll roads in Spain

The developed network of toll and free roads stretches across Spain for more than 17,000 km, which is 10% of the total length of roads in the whole country. Thus, Spain became the third in the world after USA and Of China by the number of kilometers of roadbed.

Map of toll roads in Spain

All Spanish roads can be divided into two types: autopistas, almost always toll, and autovías, free. Both meet strict European standards and guarantee high quality roadbed and the presence of clear markings. In fact, toll and toll roads do not differ much. However, in the first case, the travel time may be shorter, due to the higher speed limit and fewer sharp turns. You will have to fork out for using toll roads in Spain. However, there is good news for budget tourists: there is not a single settlement in Spain that cannot be reached by free roads. But, it is worth noting that in the immediate vicinity of free roads there are usually no signs indicating them, all indications are directed to toll roads.

In terms of the number of toll roads, Catalonia remains the unchanged leader, with 633 km of highways. The second and third places are occupied by the autonomous communities of Valencia and Galicia, 367 and 327 km each, respectively. But on the territory of northern Asturias, only 22 km of roads are paid.

Special paid sections in the province of Barcelona: Cadi Tunnel (5 km) and Vallvidrera Tunnel (2.5 km).

The fastest Spanish roads are:

M-50, which connects the northern highway A-1 with Madrid's R-2;

A-45, a free highway between Cordoba and Malaga;

AP-41, toll highway between Madrid and Toledo.

The total amount you will have to pay for a particular section of the road depends on many factors: on the type of vehicle, season (in summer and winter, rates may differ) and time of day. In addition, when choosing a particular route, you should familiarize yourself with all the possible options for how to get from point A to point B. It may turn out that toll and free roads are located almost parallel, and you can save on travel by choosing autovía ...

There are 119 toll collection points installed on more than 1,500 km of toll highways, which can process about 700,000 transactions daily. To make such a gigantic system function conveniently and quickly, several forms of payment have been developed.

As a rule, a road sign or an electronic board informs you that you are entering a toll section of the road, which also indicates how many kilometers or minutes on the road a toll station with a barrier is waiting for you. You can pay in cash in cash(coins and banknotes), credit cards, or buy telepeaje. Telepeaje is a modern payment system that allows you to pay for a toll road without stopping in front of the barrier, thus not wasting a minute of your time. A special antenna reads data from a mobile device installed on the car's dashboard and automatically debits funds from a bank card or account attached to a specific device's account. The stripes designated for telepeaje are indicated by a blue circle with white stripes inscribed in a black square.

Parking in Spain

Parking rules vary depending on the time of day, day of the week, or even week of the month. Some locations require a parking permit during business hours (Horas laborables).

In the centers of large cities in Spain, the number of parking spaces is limited, finding a free space is problematic. The blue zone (Área Azul) means that you have to pay for parking by taking a ticket from the machine. The coupon with the date and time of payment is left on the dashboard. It is important to remember that the maximum parking time in the blue zone is 1 to 4 hours, depending on the area. Most often, parking is payable on weekdays from 09.00 to 14.00 and from 16.00 to 21.00, and on Saturdays from 09.00 to 14.00. But, these rules are subject to change.

Parking in the white zone is free, but it is quite rare and the number of places is limited.

In addition to the white and blue, there are the orange and green zones, which give special advantages to the residents of the area. For the possibility of preferential or free parking, you must have an official registration. Be careful, as some areas are strictly reserved for parking for local residents.

The underground car parks are called aparcamiento subterráneo, and the number of free spaces or lack thereof is indicated at the entrance (completo). The cashier for payment is located at the exit from such a parking lot.

The Ora Zona system, which operates in some cities, means that you can purchase a parking ticket at a tobacco kiosk or small shop, which will give you the right to leave your car for 30, 60 or 90 minutes.

In many Spanish parking lots, payment can be made using telepeaje technology using a mobile device.

It is prohibited to park on the sidewalk if there is a yellow stripe or a Vado sign near it. In some areas there is a tow truck sign that means that an illegally parked car can be towed away (retiada grúa). At the place of the towed vehicle, there must be a sticker indicating where the vehicle was towed or given a number to call. If the sticker is missing, contact your local municipal police office.

Tours to Spain – specials of the day

It's time to tell you about our independent 11-day trip to Spain. This is one of the most memorable trips, since we not only got imbued with the spirit of independent Catalonia, but also managed to climb pretty much the mountains, which is always postponed for a long time (I immediately remember how we, for example, climbed a mountain in the Alps, when within the logical continuation of the wedding :)). After all, as you know, better than mountains there can only be mountains! :) However, all this is a little more detailed below.

Preparing for a 10-day trip

Buying air tickets to Spain

Preparation for any of our travels always begins with the purchase of air tickets. This is the most important moment in the whole journey. For several reasons:

firstly, by buying air tickets in advance, you can save quite a good amount of money
secondly, as soon as you buy tickets, there will be no reverse step, because there is always a great temptation to "merge" at the last moment and go to rest on the sofa, and not to Spain :)
thirdly, with purchased tickets, visa processing is 99% a formality, for which you really have to pay anyway :)

Let's start with air tickets. We bought a flight Kazan-Helsinki-Barcelona and back a couple of months before departure. The airfare was 16.905 rubles per person. We bought using Aviasales and then compared with specific offers of airlines. For example, Aviasales’a price was slightly cheaper than directly from Finnair, so it was decided to use one of the services offered by this aggregator.

Airbnb Accommodation Reservations

This is where the fun begins. Firstly, standard booking systems such as Booking did not give us more or less acceptable accommodation options for three (and this time we flew with Katya and my brother). And if they did, it was somewhere on the periphery, but we still wanted to have walking access to the main attractions. I'm talking about Barcelona now. Plus, in the early days, we still didn't plan to rent a car, so the location of the apartment in the center was one of the key points.

But our beloved Airbnb came to the rescue (according to the link, a $ 10 gift for the first booking). For those who are not in the know, this service that allows you to book accommodation with local residents is very useful if you want to find budget apartments or even rooms in an apartment building.

Secondly, what is also good about Airbnb is that there you can find rental housing in places where there are no hotels at all :) So, for example, we found an accommodation option near the Pyrenees and in the quiet village of Vila Sacra. from which a stone's throw to Girona, Empuriabrava and others like them. In general, everything was rented from us

5 nights in Barcelona
2 nights in Vila Sacre
2 nights in Sayrah (Pyrenees)
1 night near Montserrat

All accommodation for 10 nights cost us 8512 rubles / person, that is, about 851 rubles per night :) But of course, it did not go without incidents, the hostess framed us very offensively at the last stage, but about all this a little below :)

Car rental at Autoclick

After the deed was done - we went to - looked at the Plaza de España and the fountains of Montjuic from above, had a snack with delicious sweets and coffee and went shopping :)

True, one funny story still happened. More precisely, not a story, but the embodiment of a child's dream :) Have you ever wanted to ride a real Ferrari? :) Personally, yes. Therefore, in Barcelona, having seen the opportunity to sit at the helm of the red resistance car, we could not pass by :)

Ride a Ferrari - 69 euros, emotions - priceless!

After getting a twofold feeling from this car, we went straight to the Gothic Quarter - a very beautiful collection of attractions from buildings, a cathedral, a flea market, a dancing festival, singing street opera singers, the Jewish quarter, and so on.

The Cathedral is the main attraction of the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona

Well, we ended the day with a completely unusual meeting in a cafe where there is no menu :) Yes, yes, there is no menu here, the waiter just comes up to you and asks what you want :) They fed us a drink and some unusual snack, which was something like a gift :) The atmosphere in such establishments is, of course, extremely friendly and unusual. No pathos - only purely human contact :)

Day 6 - Barcelona - Lloret de Mar - Girona - Vila Sacra

So, getting up early in the morning, we made a check-out in the form of the usual leaving the keys on the table :) Oh, these delights of renting a room in an apartment :) Taking the bus to the airport, we go to the Autoclick rental office. We fill in all the necessary documents, they block 1000 euros on a credit card and they give us a fresh, completely new Ford Focus 3 station wagon at the price of an economy option :) By the way, in some offices they accept exclusively a non-cash method of paying for the lease itself, and moreover, they can accept only Master Card credit cards, so we advise you to look at the wonderful one (it comes with free travel insurance around the world + increased cashbacks for hotels / tickets / car rental).

The first on our list is Lloret de Mar. We got to it by a toll road, there were about 3 payment terminals, where we left a total of about 5 euros. About half of all money spent on toll roads in Spain. Apparently the fact that this road goes right along the coast affects. Therefore, upset that we could not save money on this short section of the road, we went in search of free parking. Fortunately, there are enough of them in Lloret de Mar - look near residential buildings not far from the first beach line.

Lloret de Mar itself is very beautiful, beautiful beaches, clear water, fish swim, rocks and stones also add color. The only negative is that there are a lot of Russians, who just roll up to the top with their belly :) :) But this does not depend on us - where the tour operators send, they go there :) After a little swim, we moved on. First we wanted to visit Lake Sau, and then Rupit Pruit, but doubt crept into us - is it worth it? All the same, the path was not the closest, so we decided to bet on Girona, and then, depending on the free time, decide where to go next - to nearby attractions or to the point of our next settlement - Vilu Sacra?

It is within easy reach from Lloret de Mar to Girona - we got there very quickly. We remember Girona for its length along the main street, a large and very uncomfortable park and quite interesting architecture of the historical part of the city, as well as the most important thing - absolutely amazing houses by the river, which reminded me of something, but better :)

Well, after Girona we had very little time left, so we decided to move towards our next checkpoint - the small village of Vila Sacra. This is a very cool place that we chose for several reasons:

firstly, it was relatively close to Girona itself
secondly, it is a stone's throw from Vila-Sacra to Empuriabrava
thirdly, from Vila Sacra you can go to other cities of Catalonia
fourthly, it was very cheap :) We just couldn't find cheaper :)

Vila Sacra - cozy place next to Empuriabrava

Day 7 - Vila Sacra - Empuriabrava - Besalu - Castelfjolit de la Roca

Waking up in the morning, we went to the nearest McDonald's, had a snack and went to one very beautiful National park Aiguamols near Empuriabrava. In addition to protected nature, this park also has observation deck from where you can enjoy beautiful views of the Empuriabrava neighborhood. Parking at the information center next to the park is paid - 5 euros / day, but there is a check-in on the other side, where you can leave your car for free.

After the park, we moved to Empuriabrava itself. To be honest, we expected more. Deserted beach, very strong wind, difficulties with free parking (I had to go deeper into residential buildings). Initially, we wanted to rent a boat here and ride along the famous canals, which are called nothing less than Spanish Venice. But they didn’t feel like it :)

Therefore, we decided not to waste time and send to Besalu - such small town, as if from the Middle Ages, as well as to the nearby Castellfollit de la Roca - a Spanish village on the rocks.

Besalu - view of the bridge

Castellfollite de la Roca - general view

Pyrenees mountains and Montserrat

Day 8 - Vila Sacra - Seira, Pyrenees

It's time to say goodbye to cozy accommodation in Vila Sacra. By the way, a few words about the owner, whose name was Jose Maria. An amazingly good-natured old man who lives in a large house and rents out part of it to tourists like us :) Moreover, the part that was intended for us consisted of two floors, a luxurious shower room, a huge bed and a sofa bed, a fully equipped kitchen. And all this for some mere pennies according to the measures of Europe. This accommodation reminded me of how we are.

So, our next point was the Pyrenees mountains. We studied for a long time where you can walk there, so as not to bother too much with equipment, we are still more city / beach travelers than professional hikers :) We liked two national parks - Poss-Maladeta and Ayguestortes. Again, it was important to find accommodation, somewhere approximately in the middle between them, so that it would be convenient to go to one route, first on one route, and then on another.

So we discovered the absolutely amazing Seira - a municipality in Spain, which is part of the province of Huesca, as part of the autonomous community of Aragon. The village is probably a couple of hundred meters long, no more :) The road to this place is practically free, there was only one paid section through Girona. At first, the desert views saddened us a little, but then, as soon as the mountains begin, it immediately became more interesting and comfortable, all around all sorts of dams and tunnels through the mountains.

What a wonderful atmosphere awaited us, the two-room apartment completely belonged to us, everything is also equipped at the highest level, dormer windows overlooking the mountains. It's just fantastic, if I had my way, I would have stayed there for another week :)

View from the window…

After settling in, we went to the first point - the dam at the Estany De Cavallers lake, which is in national park Ayguestortes, which by the way is part of Catalonia. You can get to the dam by car right to its very beginning, parking there is free.

And not far from this lake and the dam was the first, relatively small hiking trail in the national park, not far from Val-de-Boi.

Back we returned - it was already beginning to get dark, however, we deliberately calculated everything so as to return just in time for complete sunset. For from the place of settlement to the Aigüestortes park about 80 kilometers, and somehow I didn't really want to dodge along the serpentine at night :) We took only a couple of shots from the road and went back to Seira.

Day 9 - Seira - Benasque

Having breathed enough fresh air, we anticipated an even greater emotional uplift from visiting the next route to Lake Escarpinosa. This route is included in the TOP of the best routes in the Pyrenees Mountains, at least according to reviews on Tripadvisor. We usually don't trust other people's reviews without photos, but after looking at real photos of tourists, we realized that it was really worth it.

Tunnel in the mountain - typical for the Pyrenees :)

True, we still had to go through a small quest. Not in one of the sources that we read - there was no clear entry point to the route. Only short description a la "two kilometers from the crossroads, then to the right", in general, after wandering a little, we wandered to another interesting dam and lake :) Returning back and slowly passing all the signs, we saw the coveted letter-numbers GR11 - this is an internal route designation system in the Pyrenees, which helps to navigate both beginners and professionals :)

Lake Escarpinosa is the best we've seen in the mountains :)

Satisfied and tired, we returned home, where we realized with sadness that this was our last day in the Pyrenees and it was time to return closer to Barcelona via Montserrat. As I said at the very beginning, we rented an apartment near the monastery mountain to devote a whole day to it. But in the evening we were disappointed. Having written to the hostess in Watsap, we realized that she did not understand at all what was at stake :) It turns out she cannot accept us, since she herself is in Morocco :) The problem is that she apparently did not cancel the instant booking function - the ability to book accommodation without the prior consent of the owner.

Cursing and sending her cons to karma, we considered options. The first instinctive one is to quickly book something new, but we are not yet at the very end of the season, so there were simply no suitable options for an overnight stay, or everything was very expensive. Then we decided to do this - we go to Montserrat, then we bathe goodbye in Castelldefels and return closer to 22:00 at El Prat airport, rent a rental car and spend the night at the airport :) Fortunately, we have an early morning flight. A little discomfort in favor of saving and unnecessary worries in the morning about the delivery of the car and other fuss.

By the way, I must give Airbnb its due - later I wrote a letter claiming the full refund, not only was it returned to me, and even given a promotional code as an apology. In general, bravo! Good service.

Day 10 - Seira - Montserrat - Castelldefels

In general, we left Seira relatively early. A very funny check-out in the form of putting the keys to the apartment in the mailbox :) Then we had an absolutely free road to Montserrat. This is such a monastery on the mountain of the same name, which attracts thousands of tourists every day. Located in relative proximity to Barcelona. Since we were a little upset that we would have nowhere to spend the night, we did not particularly walk along it. But in vain! A huge number of interesting hiking trails around this mountain, all kinds of funiculars, etc.

Montserrat Monastery - there really are real nuns here :)

But for some reason we decided to finally touch the sea and the beach, so our path lay in Castelldefels. It's such small town close to Barcelona and the airport. A great time to spend for those who do not need the hustle and bustle and who are tired of the noisy Barcelona. We parked the car for free at the information center and went to wallow on the gentle Spanish sands, breathing in the last rays of the holiday sun :)

Well, in the evening, upon arriving at the airport, another amazing performance awaited us, which seemed to hint that all your problems with non-settling were bullshit! :) This was a meeting of the Spanish Paralympic team with all the honors. It is extremely encouraging to see how these people with disabilities are greeted like heroes and photographed next to them.

All in all, a great end to our acquaintance with beautiful Spain!

The cost of our trip to Spain

So, let's summarize the small results of our trip from the point of view of the financial issue:

Airfare - 16905 rubles / person.
The cost of renting a car is 2877 rubles or 959 rubles / person.
The cost of food is 216 euros or 72 euros / person. or 5263 rubles / person
The cost of gasoline is 93 euros or 31 euros / person. or 2266 rubles / person.
The cost of travel / baggage / toll roads is 90 euros or 30 euros / person. or 2168 rubles / person.
The cost of housing is 5913 rubles + 5781 rubles + 13842 rubles or 8512 rubles / person.
The cost of entertainment is 120 euros or 60 euros / person. or 4386 rubles / person.

Total: 40 459 rubles / person for 11 days and 10 nights or 3678 rubles / day.

I don't know if this is a lot or a little, it seemed to us quite acceptable, consider this trip on a turnkey basis, without taking into account the visa issue, since we had Schengen at that time (who is interested in reading - our experience in an empty passport and (with the promised 3 years! ))

By the way, we have something to compare with - we have already failed. It turned out 4,364 rubles / day. True, then we traveled for 14 days and mostly in Italy and very expensive Austria, where we only left 23 euros for parking :) + there were costs for a visa.

Spain is one of the most popular tourist destinations the world. Literally every town and village boasts three or two sights and interesting places. In this situation, the car seems to be the ideal transport for traveling around the country, but not everything is so simple. The Izvestia correspondent checked everything on himself and compiled a detailed guide for those traveling by car in Spain - from parking lots to car rentals and from child seats to accidents.

Route selection

The first question that you will have to decide at the stage of preparing for the trip is the route. Keep in mind that Spain is a big country. Nevertheless, the route is easy to build so that you can cover no more than 200 km per day. Moreover, at every next point of travel you will find not only good hotels and restaurants, but also a cultural program.

This statement is especially relevant for the coastal part of the country. Here, the distance between major cities rarely exceeds 200-300 km (maximum 4 hours on the road). For example, between Barcelona and Tarragona about 100 km, between Valencia and Alicante - about 170 km, between Murcia and Cartagena - 54 km.

However, despite such small distances by Russian standards, do not plan to move on a daily basis. Be sure that at some point something will definitely go wrong (you will oversleep, spend the whole night in a bar, want to “drive to the mountains for a couple of hours”), and your trip will turn into a race - ours has become. Even if you want to see the maximum number of cities, at least once every two or three days, stop somewhere for a couple of days. The head will rest from the constant travel, and the hands - from the steering wheel.

Choosing a rental office

The second issue, which is also worth solving before the start of the trip, is the choice of a distributor. In Spain, everything is fine with large international and not very large local offices. It is most convenient to search and compare prices through one of the aggregators, for example, Arguscarhire.com, Rentalcars.com, Avtoprokat.ru, or any other. But the choice of a distributor should be approached much more carefully.

The main thing to remember when choosing a rental office in Spain, and indeed everywhere, is that local distributors are unable to offer the level of service that large international companies can boast of. And these are not even smiling employees or brand new cars. The level of service is the time of issue and delivery of cars (it can take 3-4 hours), insurance deductible (usually about € 1,000) and attentiveness even to minor scratches.

Easier to explain with an example. A class A car in a small local rental for two weeks in November would cost 5 thousand rubles. Plus, you would have blocked about € 1 thousand of the deposit on your card (in the event of an accident, this money will be spent on repairs), plus you would have waited for the car for about an hour, or maybe two. At the time of delivery, you would have expected about the same.

Another variant. You book the same car from a large rental company. The car costs already 14 thousand rubles. But on the card they block not € 1 thousand, but about € 200. Receiving and returning the car takes a few minutes.

Add to this the indifference to the appearance of small scratches (small offices react very nervously to them) and a bunch of offices all over the country. And also loyalty systems with free upgrades of the car class.

In general, for me the choice was obvious: renting in Spain is not the most expensive part of a road trip, and you can overpay for comfort and tranquility.

One more thing: some small distributors have a one-time commission for gasoline - about € 30. Pay attention to this detail when booking. The usual fuel policy is Full to Full (we take and rent a car with a full tank).

Another important detail is border crossing. For some rental companies this service is paid, for all large ones (Avis, Hertz, Europcar, Sixt) it is included in the rental price. The same applies to the daily and total mileage limit. Be sure to calculate the route and choose a car based on it - the surcharge for extra kilometers can be significant.

Toll roads

Be careful here. The whole of Spain is surrounded by a dense network of toll roads. The permitted speed for them is 120 km / h. At least two, and more often three or four lanes, wide shoulders, resting places every few kilometers - a motorist's paradise. Only the local apostle Peter opens the gate not for good behavior, but for the euro. Usually tens.

But you can do without toll tracks. If you plan to travel no more than 300-400 kilometers per day, then choose free roads. The time difference will be up to half an hour. At the same time, instead of soulless concrete bumpers, you will get beautiful views of villages, fields, forests and mountains. And you will also have time to consider them - the usual speed limit on free roads is 80-100 km / h.

Petrol

Gasoline in Spain is much more expensive than in Russia. On average, a liter of 95th (Regular) or diesel will cost € 1.2-1.3 per liter. If you search, you can find Low Cost refueling: the quality of gasoline is not worse here, and the prices are lower - you will get about 10 euro cents per liter.

It is not customary to tip refuellers in Spain. As in Russia, there are simply no refuelers at some stations. Keep in mind that Spanish gas stations practice honesty - gas starts pouring into your tank even before you pay. The algorithm is as follows: drive up, refuel, then go to the cashier and pay.

Emergency situation

The first thing to do if you are involved in an accident is to make sure that everything is fine with you and your passengers. Not because the rental office requires it, but because it is logical. Second, call your car rental company and tell us in detail about the circumstances of the accident. There you will be guided on further steps and will advise you on how to contact the police. By default, we call 112.

If you only damaged your car, then the police will simply write down all the circumstances and, possibly, give you the contacts of their department, which you can give to the distributor. If someone's property is damaged, you will receive the inspection materials, and then your rental company will resolve all issues. True, in this case, the cost of the repair will be deducted from you (within the framework of the current franchise, about it a little below).

If you have violated something, then you will be fined. If the car needs to be replaced, the rental company will tell you the nearest rental point where you can do it. Here, by the way, lies another of the advantages of large companies - they simply have more rental points in big Spain.

Insurance

You can rent a car with two types of insurance. By default, there is insurance with a deductible, that is, you pay part of the cost of damage. The deductible can range from € 500 to € 1500.

For example, you smashed the entire front of your car, and the cost of repairing it was € 1,800. With a franchise of € 1500, you will pay exactly € 1500, your rental company will add the remaining 300. If you broke slightly before, say, by € 1200, you yourself will pay this amount in full.

The second type of insurance is Full Cover. In this case, the distributor relieves you of all responsibility for any damage, even caused by your fault. Only this insurance costs usually an additional € 15-25 per day.

A third, alternative option is to buy full coverage from a third party insurance company (such as RentalCover). The scheme is as follows: you pay your rental company for all damages (within the franchise), and then the insurance will compensate you for the costs of retaining a fixed administrative fee. Usually it is around € 100-200. Such insurance itself is sold immediately for a year, it can be used when renting cars in different countries, and it costs up to 10 thousand rubles.

Rights

I have been to third world countries where you can do without a license, but in Spain they are needed. Moreover, it is better to acquire international ones as well. The latter are issued literally in a day, the state duty is 1600 rubles (if paid through state services - 1120 rubles). A rental car will also be given according to domestic rights, but the police may ask to present international ones. However, this is very unlikely, more on that below.

Police

If you have an accident, the police will arrive very quickly and will be extremely polite and courteous. Employees will issue an accident, write down your data, wish you a good day, maybe even throw a couple of jokes with you and that's it. But if you avoid emergencies, then, most likely, you will not be able to communicate with people in uniform. The concentration of police officers on the roads of Spain is extremely low.

Cameras

But there are plenty of cameras on the roads of Spain. This applies to cities, and rural areas, and wide tracks. There is no "backlash" of 20 km / h in excess of the speed, as in Russia, in Spain. It is written on the sign 60 - it means you can go 60. A couple of kilometers, perhaps, will be attributed to a poorly calibrated camera, but this is not a fact either.

Outside the city, the speed is most often limited to 80-100 km / h, on toll roads - 120. In cities - 50, 40 and even 30. And these local restrictions are observed. Well, at least they try.

Parking

Parking in the center of large cities is paid. Parking spaces are marked with blue, green, orange or white paint.

Blue indicates a paid parking area. The price per hour is usually € 2-3. Moreover, you cannot leave the car for more than two hours. Parking is paid immediately, and the receipt from the parking meter is placed under the glass - you forgot to put it, wait for a fine.

Green and orange parking spaces are the same blue ones, but with preferences for local residents. Parking in these places will be much cheaper for them. Moreover, there is also a variety of these parking lots with specifying signs zona residentes or área residents - only residents can park here.

White parking - my favorite - is free. Only here you can’t find places with fire in the daytime.

Another option is underground parking. Prices per hour are slightly lower here, and the time is not limited to two hours. These are used for long stops (for example, overnight). A day here will cost € 15–20.

Life hack: use the Parkopedia service - maps of city parking. Here you can easily find all the free parking lots and compare prices to paid ones. For example, in Zaragoza I found a free parking 15 minutes walk from the hotel. Warmed up and saved € 30 in two days.

Children

According to Spanish law, children can be transported in a car only in special equipment - in car seats. Moreover, the boosters that were once popular in Russia are prohibited in the country, you need a normal car seat. It can be rented with a car - it will cost € 7-8 per day. If you plan to rent a car for a period of a week or more, it is more profitable to buy the simplest car seat in some mall and just throw it away at the end of the trip. Car seats in Spanish supermarkets start at € 40.

A must-have addition to this essay is a travel guide to Spain, in which the reader will find stories about the sights. Here - only my invaluable experience. Only useful. I will be glad if something is useful to you.

IDEA

This is our fourth trip to Spain. Therefore, we tried to visit places where we had not been before.

AUTO

I booked the car at Centauro. During our acquaintance, the site has acquired a Russian-language version. Volkswagen Polo for a month with a little and with insurance (with a reasonable deductible) cost only 190 €. Wonders! How the Spanish comrades manage to fit into such budgets is a mystery and a good lesson for their colleagues in other countries. The nearest car at the price in AutoEurope already cost 475 €. I understand if Centauro handed in smoky trash with rattling nuts. This time, giving me the keys, the manager said: "Mileage 14 km." Which is what I saw on the speedometer. The car was new. After all, they do not twist the speedometer! And last time I took a car from them in almost perfect condition. I just want to start any trip from Spain.
One inconvenience. The company's office is not located in the airport building. It was not possible to find the shuttle to the office according to the instructions, and after running a little with a suitcase around the airport, being directed by a woman with a tank on a trolley and with a broom, we went through the parking lot at the zero level to the backyards to the shuttle parking lot on a hillock. One said "Centauro". One problem: to get into the shuttle, you had to climb the lawn along the slope with a heavy suitcase and climb over the fence. I will not quote the words with which I did all this, according to the law prohibiting the use of obscene language in the media.
The offline application Mapsme, which I have been using for a long time, and which is improving before our eyes, shows parking lots in cities, which is often useful.

MOVING IN SPACE

We moved from Barcelona to Benidorm and back. Already on the road I realized that the route was not drawn up correctly. The long stretch of Benidorm-Barxelon on the way back (4.5 hours on the navigator and with stops all day in reality) could have been avoided. Moving in a checkerboard pattern: Barcelona, Playa de Aro, Cambrils, Benidorm, Valencia, Barcelona, you can save 1.5 hours on the last stretch.

Tired of fulfilling the requirement for the maximum number of photos in 50 pieces. Not a small part had to be removed. Removing some requires removing part of the text (it becomes unclear why these words). The full version is on my blog "Finding Orientation". You just need to look for it through google search.

WEATHER

For me, the Mediterranean coast of Spain is so south that I am constantly amazed at the cold water and lack of fruit in early June. From our swampy lands it seems that everything blooms and grows all year round. In reality, non-year-round fruits are initially represented only by cherries, peaches (but wonderful) and strawberries. In Playa d'Aro, the sea water (measured by the Internet) was 20C. There were sunbathers on the beach, but only residents of Naryan-Mar swam. The sea was slightly warmer in Cambrils. A resident of Playa told us that the season begins on June 25th, which explains the cold water, low prices and anabiosis of some hotels, the small number of holidaymakers represented mainly by pensioners.

MOBILE AND INTERNET

I have used before in Spain and Tuenti and Yoigo. In general, no complaints. But this time I read that they have problems with communication and the Internet and decided to buy Orange. For 13 euros a month I was promised 1.6 GB and 30 min. conversations. Since our trip was planned for 1 month and 3 days, I went to buy a SIM card on the fourth day. At the office I was told that it was 20 € from me, and 13 is from the second month. I already began to think about whether to stay for a second month in Spain in order to recoup the expenses, but it turned out that there is also good news. Something changed for them, and I became the owner of 4 GB of Internet.

MONEY

I had a Euro card. Despite compelling requests to withdraw in euros, sellers periodically write off in dollars. Maybe my look is excessively American?

BARCELONA

I didn't take a car in Barcelona. The cost of parking in Barcelona is strange. All the planned sights were reached on foot. Since to the hotel from pl. Google showed Catalonia 4.5 minutes on foot, we decided to take the Aerobus A1 express bus from the airport. It takes 35 minutes. A round-trip ticket costs 10.2 € and is valid for 2 weeks. Free Wi-Fi and USB ports on the bus (as I understand it, for charging). The only thing missing is the stewardess with food and drinks.
Lived at Atlantis by Atbcn. From 5 stars you expect what will be like 6, and from three stars you need to avoid noticeable troubles. Everything is fine here. And the room is not small, and the breakfast is good, and the wi-fi is enough to watch a movie. And most importantly - a stone's throw from Plaza Catalunya.
This time, we visited places that, surprisingly, had not been seen in previous visits.

Several times, before, I went out to the embankment in Barcelona. And this time we went through almost all of it. Wonderful place. Very beautiful.

On this promenade, we were given flyers to the Shoko restaurant. They offered a 5 € discount on a business lunch worth 16.5 €. We took a bite (in the truest sense of the word). I chose orange, carrot and seafood soup, beef with truffle sauce and beer with dessert. To be on the safe side, I asked the waiter if the orange soup really was and received an affirmative answer. I always say that if a restaurant knows how to cook, then a business lunch is extraordinary there. For me, soup is what is cooked. We each received a glass of orange juice, from which a skewer with strung sea reptiles protruded. I thought the bastards on a skewer with carrots would be transferred, like in a kebab. But there were no carrots. She was probably juice too.

Tanya looked at the reptiles (disgustedly holding the skewer with two fingers by the tail), hoping to look them in the eyes and gave me this compote. And I ate it. Here, I'm alive, I'm writing. Then there were beef and potatoes (sliced, baked and cut in a brick shape), panna cotta, coffee. In general, I recommend it. Never dined so exquisitely for 11.50 €.
Tibidabo. This is the only place where we did not dare to go on foot.

Only in the metro in Plaza Catalunya did we find out that I was going to the Bellesguard tower, and Tanya to the Church of the Atonement of the Sacred Heart. As always, first we went where Tanya chose. Since when we travel we always live in the center, and we walk an average of 8 km / day at home and 15 in travel, metro, abroad, I rarely use it and it’s always stressful. Here we are good. First, the stations are like palaces. Secondly, you attach a card and you go through. Thirdly, I went to the platform, and there, on the wall, it was written where the trains were going. Conveniently! Well, in London they could not take into account our experience, they dug the underground under our serfdom. But the mass of other cities? Why was it so difficult? The security guard showed us in one entrance, a girl helping to get tickets (respect !!!) in another. I don’t remember where we left from, but take the trip seriously. The ride is not long. Not far from the metro station there is a stop of the old tram Tramvia Blau and just above the usual bus to the destination. We decided to drive beautifully, in the old way. I remember from my distant, Odessa childhood, a rare, old open tram, on which my grandmother and I went to some station on the Bolshaya Fontanskaya road. Here, at the bus stop, an old woman was sitting, complaining in an incomprehensible language about the long wait. I understood her in an unknown way, wanted to keep the conversation going, in the same language, but hesitated. About 20 minutes later, a small crowd of colleagues gathered at the bus stop. Opportunists periodically ran to the bus stop as soon as he showed up. Finally we gave up. We never saw the tram on the road. The bus does not take long, but uphill, and walking uphill is rather tiring. At the end of the bus, it was not the church that was waiting for us, but the ticket office for the funicular. This transport was last painted under Franco. I like to stand on the funicular next to the driver and take pictures of the surroundings, but here the road is lined with trees and beautiful views flash quickly. Climbing the funicular, I saw paths along the slope. The ascent angle there is 30-40 degrees and the ascent or descent on foot is only for the very strong in spirit and body. Upon exiting the funicular, I was already ready to go by trolleybus, and then by helicopter, but it turned out that we had already arrived. Much has already been written about the church and the amusement park, but I will only note that the church was built by good Christians and an elevator goes to the upper platform.

The church has three levels. From each I shot in all directions and from each next level the view was more interesting. At one of the sites, we found a Chinese-looking youth who acted like the devil-infected in a Hollywood blockbuster. He rushed jumping across the platform, then froze, crouching for a few seconds, then rushed back, again froze for a few seconds in a beautiful pose and again rushed back. We merged with the column so as not to help the writers and not get bitten. After several cycles of its movement, I saw that a camera was fixed on the step and that it was taking pictures and controlling the result. Really! What the hell is the roof of the temple?

Getting on high points from far away, I almost always find that all species are in a haze. At the same time, the Internet is full of photos from this place, in which you can also see people walking along the embankment. I was once again convinced that before my visits, someone is spraying something, probably for security reasons.

Not far from the church there is a TV tower built by the great N. Foster in the form of a skewer with a kebab stuck into the ground. The view of the church from it is much more beautiful.

On the way back, from the lower station of the funicular to the metro, we went down on foot for 15-20 minutes. This is useful as the place looks expensive and the villas on both sides are very architectural. At the metro station, we felt that we were rather tired and hungry. There were two cafes nearby, the interiors of which showed that cooking as an art was not their profile, which was confirmed by lunch.

After lunch, it became clear that it was much more correct to sit by the sea and watch the waves than to walk in the heat and uphill. But this is not an easy fate for a tourist. We went to look at the creation of the great Gaudi: the Bellesguard tower. Google shows that it takes 16 minutes to walk there, but it seems to me that we walked much more and the last third of the way up the hill. Our campaign ended in a complete fiasco. Google, paving the route, also said: "Perhaps the institution does not work," but I thought: "Why shouldn't he work in broad daylight?" The first doubts arose when I saw a small excavator digging a hole behind the fence.

Soon a beautiful closed gate appeared. There was a timetable next to it. The museum is open Tuesday-Sunday from 10 to 15. I looked at the phone. It was, of course, Monday. Cursing the Ministry of Culture of Catalonia, the Prime Minister and the entire government, we began to descend. “What kind of work is this,” I said indignantly, “from 10 to 15? What are they? surgeons? We have a huge OBI in. The aircraft park is open 7/24! " And in general, why did Gaudi build not in the center by the sea, but all along the outskirts and often on the mountain? In general, Gaudí lovers! Study the opening hours of museums. Remember! Gaudí is not OBI's. Aircraft park!
Surprisingly, in my past visits to Barcelona, I did not get to the Citadel Park. Very a nice place... Write down all the sights there and be sure to visit!

Everything was clearly visible and audible. This time we arrived 5 minutes before the third call. But it was Spain and we started 20 minutes later. There were so many people that we did not dare to go up the stairs, especially since there was a place near the curbstone of the bridge fence, in front of the fountain. I thought that it would be possible to climb the curbstone if they obscured it. The decision turned out to be wrong. It was visible perfectly, but almost nothing was heard. Maybe they had problems with the speakers? It was certainly beautiful, but the impression was blurred.

This GR92 trail, in my opinion, runs from Barcelona to the French border. Anyway, I saw this number in different coastal places of Catalonia. Much in Spain is surprising to the inhabitants of our plains. But for the well-equipped path that goes over the rocks for tens of kilometers, special thanks to the Spanish people. How many tons of cement had to be dragged onto these rocks, how many cubic kilometers of concrete had to be poured. And all this has cost so many years, only the wooden fences are changed.

We lived in Hotel Spa La Terrassa in a redeveloped old building. We lived in a room with a balcony and a street view. The room was spacious and well-planned. In addition to the room, I liked the restaurant with delicious and thoughtful business lunches and parking. For breakfast, in the row of curd sausages, there was a saucer with peeled garlic cloves and a salad bowl with cherry tomatoes. Everyone except us, after frying the bread, rubbed it with garlic and tomatoes. I immediately mimicked a Spaniard and only Tanya betrayed our non-native origin, formulating the principle: "For breakfast, no champagne, no garlic."

The parking lot is located not far from the hotel and is a site entwined with a mulberry tree, or, as they used to say in my Odessa childhood, mulberry.

If in Odessa a mulberry is trees, around which you have to jump in order to pick a berry, then here it (mulberry) was forced to form a green roof. The beauty of this event is that the car is not only not heated, but also covered with delicious food. Either the inhabitants of Odessa were hungry in my childhood, or the visitors are to blame for everything, as always, but even the half-ripe Odessa berries from the trees were eaten up to a height of 3 m. I have long been surprised at the indifference of the aborigines around the world. In the forests near New York, no one picks berries and mushrooms, in Israel, no one picks mushrooms either. In Germany and France, no one knows that blackberries are edible berries, and not just a beautiful bush. But so that a hectare of mulberry stood like this and no one ate it - I saw it for the first time. Needless to say, I shaved this plantation thoroughly in a week.

To end up with Playa I would recommend the Can Pijaume restaurant on the waterfront. If twice and really liked it. On Saturday we stood in line. The waiter, who looked like a boatswain from a sailing ship, while explaining some of the dishes, raised his finger up and said: "Good choice."
And a couple of photos for memory:
This olive tree is over 2,000 years old.

She has seen a lot in her lifetime, more precisely, in her 20s. Nearby are the excavated foundations of a Roman villa.
The main street. Men are parked outside the shops so that they don't be capricious and don't ask to go home.

From Playa, according to old memory and on the advice of the Playadearians, they moved in different directions. We went to Blanes... Were there a few years ago. I thought maybe what I looked at last time. I was convinced again. The most inexpressive city in Spain I've seen. There are just a lot of houses. The only positive thing is free parking. I arrived at the embankment and could not find a working parking meter. The locals explained that parking along the waterfront becomes paid from the end of June. It would be nice for the Moscow City Hall to take a closer look at foreign experience.
Let's go to Lloret de Mar... We have already lived there twice (both times in September) and I wrote about him.

This time there were many times less people on the streets and this city was greatly decorated. We had fun in Lloret by taking pictures in places of photographing of past years, in order to compare pictures.

In the last report I lamented that I did not write down the name of a very tasty restaurant in Lloret. This time I found it, called La Fusta. Everything is the same as before. A line of locals during our lunch, a well-fed owner in his kitchen and just as tasty.
Were in Tossa de Mar that we have loved for a long time. The road from the freeway to Tossa is so beautiful that you have to put your car on autopilot and look in different directions yourself.

At the entrance, the valet announced the current price: an hour - 3 €, two - 6 €, all day - also 6 €. I liked this arithmetic.
In Tossa, Tanya burned down. I had to buy a scarf to somehow hide from the sun, and then a dress and trousers.
Of the new discoveries advised in Playa: Calella De Palafrugell, Llafranc and Tamariu... Amazingly nice towns. There were almost no intelligible photos of my own (since they need to be taken from the water), so I will share "taken for a while" from Google.

I especially liked Llafranc where we had dinner. There, in a restaurant on the waterfront, looking at the sea through a glass, I discovered the secret of creating charming seaside towns. Ingredients: a small bay with yachts - 1 pc., Cliffs (on one it is useful to place the remains of an old fortress) with small pine trees - 2 pcs., White, multi-storey, walled houses with blue platbands and doors - 10-20 pcs. In the houses to place restaurants, hotels with 1-2 stars and souvenir shops. Add rocks, sea and sun to taste.
Far de Sant Sebastià lighthouse near Llafranca. Do not miss!

We also went to Girona.

GIRONA
Before entering Old city, at Pont de Pedret, huge free parking. It's nice that even where capital rules, someone subdues the thirst for profit. There is a very beautiful park nearby.
It is better to walk in Girona in sneakers. The historic center is paved with cobblestones.

There are many museum-type institutions with tickets. It is correct to get an all-terrain vehicle ticket at the tourist office.
It makes sense not to be lazy and climb the city wall. Great views.
Colleagues have written kilometers of delight about Girona. I don’t want to repeat myself. Everything is true. Love for Girona, like any love, has an explainable part: a long history, a preserved old town, renovation and tidiness, and inexplicable. I don’t know how to live and work here, but spend the day with great joy. I visited Girona for the third time, and if I find myself nearby, I will definitely come for the fourth time.

I always say: you can't feed on the hiking trail. The right restaurant a few steps to the side: Café Le Bristol. Pujada Sant Domenec, 4.

CAMBRILS

We stayed in Cambrils for 10 days. As a result, Cambrils came in second (after Marbella) in the category “Best Spanish Small Seaside Town for Vacation” in my personal rating.

The town can be prosaic inside, but it is very beautiful from the embankment, has a small old part, is very cozy, and most importantly has endless, equipped embankments 3 km in one direction and 6 km in the other, all the way to Salou. All passed. Long embankment in two steps. First, we walked half way to Salou. Then we arrived in Salou and went through the rest.

We lived in Apartamentos Pepita Bandert. Booked with the manager Nora, directly for some kind of discount. I liked the apartment very much. Second line from the sea. Comfortable apartment. Home and everything is new. The warning Nora pointed out that parking in the house is not cheap, but you can park your car for free in a residential area nearby. Here is a map with city utilities, kindly deciphered by Nora.

If you leave the entrance to the left, on Rambla de Jaume I street, then opposite you will see a small store the size of a combined bathroom in a panel five-story building with the proud name SUPERMERCADO. A phlegmatic Arab comrade is sitting there, who does not stop listening to endless texts on the radio on a phone with a broken screen. With this meager imprint, a friend sells the best peaches in Cambrils. Not the ones that come off green for us and sing in a box in a wagon. And those that ripen on a branch and are torn off, carefully rush in a basket, laid in one row.
Food is good in Cambrils

but I would like to highlight two restaurants. Nautic's Restaurant has a large balcony on the second floor overlooking the promenade, marina and the sea. Even such an example of childishness as me, whose dinner is usually cottage cheese and yogurt, under this appearance I ate everything that they bring for dinner.
On Nora's recommendation, we went to Les Fonts. In the near depths of the city. Family business. The restaurant looks very simple. The menu and the old man owner only speak Spanish. After short attempts to explain himself, the owner left and returned with a tray of fish, into one of which, staring at me intently, I pointed a finger, asking to grill. While our daughters and sons were frying our fish, the owner showed us himself in old photographs that hung on the walls and were printed on napkins. Unlike the fishermen I knew, he did not wave his arms to show the size of the fish.

Man has been fishing all his life. When it became too much for him, he feeds people. Maybe it was not the most delicious restaurant in my life, but I still remember the feeling of non-tourist authenticity.
From Cambrils we traveled in different directions. I liked the site very much
Portal Globus. It contains not only a description of the sights of this region, but also maps of these places of interest, which can be opened in Google, if there is Internet, and in Maps.me, if there is no Internet.

REUS

At first we tried to go according to plan. "Route of modernism", "Route of Gaudi", everything that was prepared. But after a couple of blocks away market square, already I could not find anything. At first, they looked for the famous Casa, but soon they got tired and walked around the city where they were carrying their feet and everywhere they found Casas no worse than the recommended ones.

We found the house where Gaudi was born with some difficulty. Not with the help of a map, not with the help of Google, but with the help of simple Spanish workers who pointed a finger at him. The ancestral nest of the genius of architecture, with its expression resembles the panel five-story building hated by Sobyanin. All closed. It is written: “Private house. No visits. " Dust in a finger thick.
The city is pretty, but not very renovated even in the guiding spots. The absence of a taxpayer like Gazprom is constantly felt. There are few restaurants in the city, uncharacteristic for Spain, but there are plenty of places where you can have a coffee and a bun.
Vermouth is very popular in both Cambrils and Reus. They drink it with snails and sparkling water. I never tried it, so as not to destroy the image of the vermouth drunk in my youth, maybe less gastronomic, from the neck and in the entrance.
While we were looking for the sights, the siesta began. Not only shops and restaurants were closed, but also the main church. All decent people went to rest. About a dozen families walked around the city, eight of which were Russians and with children.

TARRAGONA

The entrance to Tarragona is sad, industrial. We drove past an industrial building with an area of 5 hectares. At the exit from the circle, the car in front stopped. “Why aren't you going to goat?” I exclaimed in my hearts, and Tanya explained that they were not going ahead either. It turned out to be a "traffic jam" which I had not seen for two weeks and from which I had become unaccustomed. With difficulty we reached a street with two lanes, on which a van stood on the emergency gang and everyone was crowded into one line. “Welcome to Moscow,” I said to myself.

From the estimated savings, I found a parking lot at the very beginning of the attractions. But luckily for us, there was a kilometer-long market “All for 5 €” on the Rambla, and we did not manage to move out as the navigator asked. So we arrived at the parking lot at the very “Mediterranean balcony.” The view from the “balcony” to the surroundings is very beautiful.
Then we went to get acquainted with the nearby antiquities, of which many have survived here. We decided to take the elevator to the very top, the highest strinnaya tower. People walked along it. After buying a ticket, it turned out that it was necessary to walk on foot, since the elevator was only for disabled people. They did not rise in vain.

In the long ancient underground tunnel of the same museum complex, in one of the rooms they play a computer movie about how these places have changed over the centuries. As in the illuminator of a time machine, one can see the construction, destruction, restoration, and development of this place. Very interesting. The times were not politically correct. As a result of the wars, there were many slaves. Slaves were massively recruited into gladiators. Gladiators killed animals from the red book. Animals ate gladiators. The survivors, at the request of the townspeople, were killed. In general, the horror of the Middle Ages, just ISIS (an organization banned in Russia).
Having walked around the preserved ruins and the old city, we came out to the square filled with restaurants just in time for lunch.

Spain is a country with an unimaginable mixture of vibrant cities and the burning sun above them. Stunning landscapes and unique historical monuments attract a lot of travelers from all over the world all year round. There is everything for an unforgettable vacation: fans of surfing and diving come here in the summer, those who are not indifferent to the "downhill skiing" come in the winter. Spain is good at any time of the year - the sun shines here all year round, and it rarely rains.

Do not ignore the beautiful sandy beaches the best resort Spain Canar. Besides the calm, beach holiday, the birthplace of flamenco and bullfighting offers the delights of a varied, noisy, nightlife... And the bonus of this dreamland is the largest and cheapest shopping - villages where you can buy fashionable things straight from the catwalk at an outlet price. Spain took care of its guests and prudently prepared a "public" Schengen visa for tourists, which allows you to visit European neighbors for a couple of days without any extra hassle.

The capital of Spain is the city of Madrid (Madrid). The largest and most popular cities: Granada, Barcelona, Seville, Bilbao, Cordoba, etc.

Spanish visa

To visit Spain, citizens of the Russian Federation and CIS countries need to purchase a Schengen visa. You can apply for a visa through the Spanish Visa Application Centers in Russian cities. Package required documents standard "general Schengen". The only feature is the obligatory presence of photocopies of all pages of passports, both domestic and foreign (4 spreads per A4 sheet). To the visa fee of 35 euros, add the service tax - 1186 rubles. For children under the age of six, a visa is issued free of charge. Remember that the originals of documents handed over to the consulate (except for the passport) cannot be returned.

How to get there

The easiest way is to fly by plane. Direct flights, both regular and charter, leave from Moscow to Spain. Regular flights operate every day from January to the end of March. Airplanes fly to Barcelona from Sheremetyevo airport and to Madrid from Domodedovo. Twice a week, aircraft from Domodedovo airport leave for Alicante and 4 times from Sheremetyevo to Malaga. On opening holiday season you can take tickets to Tenerife and Murcia. If you want to save on airfare, you can make a transfer in Kiev, Riga, Vienna, Warsaw, Stuttgard, etc.

You can get out of our country to Spain in other ways. For example, by train. However, keep in mind that you will not be able to get to Spain directly. The most convenient way would be to get to Paris by direct train, and from there to Barcelona, also by train or by bus. By the way, if you are not tired of long and tiring trips, then you can go from Moscow to Barcelona and Alicante by bus. But keep in mind, the cost of such a trip will be comparable to air tickets to Spain.

If you are an avid auto traveler and are not afraid of a long road, then you can go to Spain by your own car. The most interesting and optimal route to the destination is as follows: Moscow - Minsk - Brest - Warsaw - Prague - Nyurberg - Strasbourg - Lyon - Barcelona (3550 km). From there: Barcelona - Lyon - Geneva - Bern - Zurich - Munich - Prague - Warsaw - Brest - Minsk - Moscow (3600 km). On the first day of the journey, leaving Moscow, try to cover the maximum distance, if possible about 1400 km. Stop for the night somewhere near Warsaw. After moving to Prague, etc. Try to spend the night somewhere outside the big cities, in order to save money (much cheaper). Keep in mind that of the 7000 km that you will drive there and back, 4500 km will be covered by the territory of Europe, where the average price for gasoline is 1.3 euros. Therefore, only on European fuel you will spend about 25,000 rubles, not counting the rest of the costs. Therefore, you should travel for at least 30-40 days.

If your goal is to rest and sightseeing specifically in Spain, then it is better to get to it by air, and then rent a car there. We will explain below how to do this.

Car rental in Spain

Renting a car in Spain and embarking on an amazing journey through this sunny country is a great opportunity to discover the diversity of Spanish cities, feel the rhythm of the streets outside the capital, enjoy the hospitality here and learn a couple of phrases in the local language. By the way, renting a car in Spanish will sound like "alquiler de automóviles".

The approximate cost of renting a C-class car with insurance and a navigator is 70-90 euros / day, there are also cheaper options - up to 30 euros.

On weekends, you can rent a car at a lower price. If you book a car online in advance, you can also save money, plus this method guarantees that the selected car will be available. Renting a car immediately upon arrival at the airport will cost more. The return of the car outside of working hours is again an increase in value. A rented car in Spain can be used to travel to neighboring countries of the Schengen area. However, in this case you will have to pay extra for "foreign" insurance. It is forbidden to leave the territory of the European Union on a rental car.

Please note that if you do not understand Spanish and Catalan, you can request a contract in English.

Documents and insurance

To rent a car in Spain, you must provide an international driver's license and a credit card. The driver must be at least 21 years old (in some companies 23 years old) and have a driving experience of 1 year (in some companies at least 2 years). Many companies block a certain amount on your credit card as collateral (approximately 500 euros). The rented car should only be returned with a full gas tank.

The rental price usually includes limited insurance with a deductible (300 - 500 euros). For an extended deductible or with a reduced amount, you will have to pay extra.

Types of insurance in Spain

 TPL (Third Party Liability) - limits the driver's liability in the event of material damage to other persons.

 CDW (Collision Damage Waiver) - limits the driver's liability in the event of damage to the rented car.

 TP (Theft Protection) - limits the driver's liability in the event of theft of a rented car. EP (Extended Protection) - limits the driver's liability for legal claims against him by third parties in the event of significant damage to him (material and / or health and life).

 PAI (Personal Accident Insurance) - sets the amount of compensation in the event of physical damage to the driver and / or passengers.

 The phrase "limits liability" means that your financial liability in these cases is canceled partially (insurance with a deductible) or completely (insurance without a deductible).

Fuel and refueling

In Spain, you can refuel your car with unleaded 95 or 98 m gasoline (gasoline sin plomo) and diesel (gasoleo A or gas-oil). Check with the rental office in advance what type of fuel is suitable for your car. Diesel car rental is usually more expensive. But if you are planning long routes, it will still be more profitable.

The price for a liter of 95th gasoline in Spain is 1.41 euros. If you are interested in the current fuel prices in Spain, you can take a look here.

Remember that when refueling your car, your mobile phone must be switched off.

Traffic Laws

The vast majority of Spanish Autobahns are equipped with photo and video cameras. Some technical complexes transmit warnings to the nearest police station about violation of the speed limit by the driver of a foreign car. In these cases, the police officer has the right to stop the offender and issue a fine, which must be paid immediately on the spot.

It is mandatory to turn on the dipped beam headlights during the day only when crossing tunnels. Radar detectors in Spain are allowed to be used, and radar detectors are banned (fines up to 6,000 euros).

When renting a car, be sure to check the presence of the following equipment in it: 2 emergency signs (the installation of both is required if something happens), a vest with reflectors (put on when leaving the car on the side of the road or roadway), a spare wheel. It will also be useful to stock up on a set of headlight bulbs, a first aid kit and a fire extinguisher.

The following speed limits apply in Spain: locality- 50 km / h; outside the city - 90 km / h; highway - 100 km / h; motorway: 120 km / h. The minimum speed on the motorway is 60 km / h.

It is mandatory to use seat belts, both by the driver and by all passengers in the front and rear seats. Children can only be transported using a special child car seat. It is also prohibited to negotiate on a mobile phone while driving, without using a headset.

Penalties

Small fines issued by traffic police are best paid immediately on the spot after receiving an official receipt. For foreign citizens, this condition is mandatory, otherwise the car may be detained. There is also a nice moment here - payment on the spot guarantees a 50% discount.

Driving while intoxicated is strictly prohibited. The allowed alcohol level in the body of a driver in Spain is 0.5 ppm. For drivers whose experience has not exceeded two years, the maximum dose of alcohol in the blood is allowed - 0.3 ppm.

The most common fines are: speeding - 140-520 euros; parking in the wrong place - 90 euros; parking under the “no stop” sign, driving at a red traffic light, unauthorized overtaking - 200-300 euros; ignoring seat belts - 150 euros; negotiations on a mobile phone without a special headset - from 90 euros; transportation of children without restraints - from 90 euros; entering the oncoming lane - 400-500 euros.

Most small towns have traffic lights that are controlled by radars. So, for example, if you exceed the speed, then a red traffic light will light up on your way.

Toll roads

Some roads in Spain have to be paid for. Moreover, the amount of payment directly depends on the distance that you have traveled. Payment can be made in cash or by credit card... Local residents sometimes equip their cars with a device from which the fare on such roads is automatically charged without stopping the vehicle. For them, special dedicated stripes are provided, which are indicated by a blue circle with white spaces inscribed in a black square.

There are also toll tunnels in Barcelona, which will also have to fork out for travel. The Cadi tunnel, 5 km long, costs 12.26 euros and the Vallvidrera tunnel, 2.5 km long, costs 3.53 euros or 3.97 euros during peak hours (from 07.30 to 10.30 and from 17.00 to 21.00 on weekdays).

Parking in the cities of Spain

In the centers of large cities in Spain, as elsewhere, there are big problems with parking - the number of parking spaces is limited and sometimes it is rather difficult to find a free space. The parking zone marked in blue means that you have to pay for the parking by taking a ticket from the machine. It is often required to pay for parking on weekdays from 9 am to 2 pm, as well as from 4 to 9 pm. On Saturdays - from 9.00 to 14.00. But there are exceptions to this rule. In some places, you cannot park your car during working hours without a special permit (Horas laborables).

The underground parking is called aparcamiento subterráneo, at the entrance it is always indicated the quantity of free spaces or their absence (completo). You can pay for your stay in the underground parking at the exit from there.

Some cities have the Ora Zona system, which means you can purchase a parking ticket from a small shop or tobacco stand. He, in turn, gives you the right to leave the car for 30, 60 or 90 minutes.

Parking near the sidewalk with a yellow stripe nearby or Vado is strictly prohibited.

Car rental companies in Spain

International firms: Europcar, Avis, Hertz ,.

Local rental car: Gold Car.

Rental offices: TravelJigsaw.ru, Easy Terra, Rent Spain ,.

Car rental in Lloret de Mar: Olimpia Rent.

Spain landmarks

Spain is a wonderful country, where the climate is the best fit for the human idea of a happy and comfortable life. In addition, since the country is a member of the European Union, the tourist infrastructure and other benefits of civilization are well developed here.

Spain is home to bullfighting and is definitely worth a visit. The ticket price for this spectacular show is 50 euros. Walking is not recommended for old people, children and pregnant women.

After a merciless and stormy bullfight, guests of the country should calm down and visit the motionless, majestic architectural monuments Spain.

A visit to the medieval gothic castle Bellver, which is located on the island of Mallorca. Of course, over the five centuries of its existence, the ancient structure has lost its former charm, but it is still an object. cultural heritage country.

If you are in Barcelona, pay a visit to the Sagrada Familia, which is a true example of monumental medieval art.

In addition to the "standard" excursion around Barcelona, vacationers in northern Spain can go to Santiago de Compostela, one of the most significant cities of medieval Christianity and just a stunningly beautiful place.

If you are on mainland Spain in winter, then in addition to conquering the top of the Sierra Nevada, be sure to go on an excursion to Granada, Seville or Cordoba.

In addition to all other attractions, you can use a rented car to pave routes to the famous monasteries of Spain, which are visited annually by 10 to 12 million tourists. For example, the monastery of St. Pilar (Zaragoza), Montserrat (Barcelona), the monastery ensemble of Torresiudad (Huesca) and Lourdes in France.

Do not forget about the wonderful museums in Spain, which have very interesting expositions.

Conclusion

Of course, Spain is a must-see country. Here you can not only fully relax, but also gain weight unforgettable experience... Well, so that your movement around the country is not hampered by anything, be it the schedule of the public transport schedule or the wrong time of the excursion, use a rented car and spend your vacation with pleasure!

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