Before this summer, I’d never been on a road trip before in my life. I have driven long distances in the US when I was a child visiting relatives, but they were never true ‘road trips’ where we stopped at several locations along the way, blasted tunes, and really enjoyed ourselves. This summer, when my dad rather spontaneously bought a ticket to visit me in Spain, I was so excited to plan a road trip through the Iberian Peninsula for some father-daughter bonding.
We found a kickass deal to rent a car for 9 euros a day through Ryanair, basically the holy grail company of cheap travel. After a rather chaotic time in Morocco, I was stoked to embrace the relaxing Spanish culture by visiting several towns in Andalusia, the southern region of Spain and my favorite part of the country.
Madrid — Valencia (2 nights/2 full days)
We started in Madrid but saved that city for the end, so we headed straight for Valencia on the eastern coast of Spain (about a 3 hour drive from Madrid). Valencia is a decently large metropolitan city that somehow still retains a small-town Spanish feel. When walking around the narrow streets, happening upon the cutest little mom-and-pop shops, you’d almost forget that you’re in the third largest city of Spain. There’s also a mediocre beach here but since we’re beach snobs from Hawaii we passed on that altogether, jaja. We checked out what Valencia has to offer, like its famed museum Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, architectural landmarks like the Valencia Cathedral, and the vibrant Central Market. Spain’s famous paella dish is also especially revered in Valencia, and we took full advantage by eating it as much as we could handle.
Valencia — Guadalest (quick stop/day trip)
Through a friend, I heard of this hidden gem little town called Guadalest that happened to be on the way from Valencia to our next destination, Granada. Guadalest is such a secret that not a single member of my Spanish boyfriend’s huge family had any idea what it was! Basically, it’s a town perched deep back into a dry mountain range with a stunning surprise of a bright blue lake at the bottom of it. This all-white town looks like something out of a storybook – almost too perfect to be a real place. There’s a famous castle here with incredible views of the lake, so we spent a couple hours exploring. After we’d walked the town thoroughly, we headed back to the car and made our way downward to Granada.
Guadalest — Granada (3 nights/2.5 days)
Granada was the very first city I visited internationally on my very first trip abroad so it holds a special place in my heart! I was stoked to show my dad why I love this city so much. After we arrived, we pretty much headed straight for the city’s (and arguably country’s) most iconic landmark – La Alhambra! It’s a massive palace/fortress created by the Moors during their occupation of Spain. You have to be there to believe the intricate detail of the complex; every inch from the ceiling to the floors to the gardens are dripping in elaborate, symmetrical designs. Islamic architecture has always been my favorite. Make sure to visit both the palace/fortress and the gardens (called Generalife), they are both spectacular and worth a visit but are sold separately. Make sure, also, that you plan your visit to La Alhambra ahead of time because tickets sell out fast, especially in high season.
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There’s tons more to do in Granada. After we were thoroughly floored by La Alhambra, we decided to hop on the city’s tour, where for a cheap price of 8 euros per person, you can hop on/hop off multiple stops of interest along its planned route. We checked out the Albaicin neighborhood, where you are transported back in time with its charming cobblestone streets and narrow alleyways. Spend any amount of time here and you will understand why its a UNESCO World Heritage Site – it’s something special. There’s loads of history here of different occupations throughout different time periods, so we hired a private guide to give us all the information we could have dreamed. Definitely recommend this while visiting!
Beyond that, we also visited the beautiful and massive Granada Cathedral. And then we basically spent the rest of the time eating tons of tapas and drinking many glasses of sangria. This second visit to Granada makes it still remain one of my favorite cities to this day, and it was special to share that with my father.
Granada — Cordoba (2 nights/2 days)
After 3 days in Granada, we were ready to move on to Cordoba after a quick 2 hour drive through Andalusia’s famous olive groves that spread for miles on end. Cordoba gave us a hilarious welcome – as we followed the Google Maps directions to our hotel, it took us through literally the smallest streets I’ve ever seen in my life! We rented the tiniest car on the lot, and still were within centimeters from hitting either side of the wall next to the miniature street. Later on, we saw a massive RV parked outside of our hotel and to this day I am deeply curious how they ended up there!
Cordoba was my dad’s favorite stop on this road trip. The reason? The Mezquita-Catedral de Cordoba. It was a mosque that was converted to a cathedral and it’s one of the most fascinating pieces of architecture in the world, I’m convinced. I walked around with my jaw on the ground the entire time. Just when you think you’ve been there for a while and have become accustomed to the beauty, you turn around and are stunned all over again. It’s impossible to overemphasize the beauty of this place.
Cordoba is also home to some other cool sights, such as Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos, where Chistopher Columbus, Ferdinand, and Isabela used to hang, the Roman Bridge, originally built in the 1st century (!!!), and overall just one of the most charming and adorable small cities ever. Some of my favorite memories were splitting a bottle of wine with my dad and stumbling around the beautiful streets. The best part was that Cordoba seemed nearly empty in peak season – it’s a popular destination, but it’s not overrun by tourists by any means. I kept saying over and over that I could totally picture myself living in Cordoba one day, but alas, it was time to move on to our next destination.
Cordoba — Sevilla (2 nights/2 days)
Sevilla is one of the most popular/famous cities in Spain but it wasn’t our favorite. Though there are neat sights to see, like the huge Catedral de Sevilla and adjacent La Giralda, gorgeous Plaza de España, or the Alcazar, it still sort of fell flat. Compared to Cordoba’s unique, small-town vibe or Granada’s unmatched historical landmarks, Sevilla was just eh #unpopularopinion. We were ready to move on to a new city after 2 nights here.
Sevilla — Lagos, Portugal (3 nights/3 days)
After 3-ish hour cruise across the border, we made it from Cordoba to Lagos, a city in Portugal’s famous Algarve region. It sure lived up to the hype. A quick walk around town proved to us that Lagos town was unique and lively, but that’s not even the best part about it. A short drive (or long walk) to the coast amazed us with its views; imagine sharp, jagged rocks jutting out and up from the blue/green ocean, kayaks scattered everywhere to get a closer look, not a cloud in the whole sky.
The most famous of these cliffside views is called Ponta da Piedade, which is basically just the small area with the (objectively) most beautiful rock formations in Lagos. It’s super touristy, but I get why… it’s an extraordinary view. We also visited other popular scenic spots in Lagos like Praia do Camilo and Praia Dona Ana, both spectacularly beautiful (and crowded) as well. If you’re feeling adventurous, take a quick 45 minute drive to next-door town Portimao, where you can marvel at Benagil Sea Caves (located a boat ride or kayak ride away from Benagil Beach). I’m still salty because we didn’t actually end up visiting the famous caves because kayak rentals were all out for the day, so we drove all the way there and back for no reason. If you’re reading this, go for me so you can experience that awesome view!
Lagos — Madrid (2 nights/2 days)
After a couple days in Lagos it was time for the loooong drive back to Madrid. My dad and I took turns driving for the 7 hour duration, passing all sorts of castles and fortresses along the way to spark our attention and keeps things interesting. We arrived in Madrid at night time and slept off the long car ride.
The next day, we spent probably a full 12 hours walking around seeing all of the sights of Madrid. I studied abroad here the previous year, so I had a route all set up to show my dad the coolest places in the city! We started at Sol and made our way to the Templo de Debod, the Royal Palace of Madrid, visited Parque de Buen Retiro, the Puerto de Alcala, Gran Via, the hip La Latina and Malasaña neighborhoods, and finished the day with dinner in Plaza Mayor. We were A+ tourists this day, visiting most of what Madrid has to offer.
Some little tips about road tripping in Spain/Portugal/the rest of Europe: Nearly all cars in Europe are manual transmission, so you could run into some issues if you don’t know how to drive them. If you’re looking to do a similar trip and wondering what kind of license you need to rent a car abroad – worry not. For American citizens, you can simply use your US-issued driver’s license and it will suffice. You could always easily get an international driver’s license at your local AAA store, too, just to be on the safe side. And definitely do your research before taking my advice because it could vary from country to country. However, I have rented cars with just my US license in Albania, Greece, Portugal, and Spain with no problems so I’m fairly confident that your American license is enough. Parking was a b*tch in Spain and Portugal – we didn’t anticipate that we’d have to pay at least 20 euros per 24 hours to park our car. Definitely worth it in the end, though, for the fantastic memories made on my first and favorite road trip!
Have you road tripped abroad before? Where else would you have stopped on a Spanish/Portuguese road trip?
