Traffic

General

We can really advise everybody that comes to Spain or Andalusia for holiday to rent a car. You can see a lot more when you’re mobile. Spain and Andalucia have a lot to offer, but the distances are long. By car you get to the nicest places which are often hard to reach by public transport. The (main) roads in the south of Spain are in very good condition (thanks to EU-money). In general most Spanish (outside the bigger cities) are tolerant drivers and don’t drive too fast. On the other side you shouldn’t be surprised to see some old man in a 20 year old Seat Marbella driving 40 km / hr on the highway. The route from the Airport to Nerja is easy to find (see description).

• Always expect scooters and motorcycles to take over on the right hand side unexpectedly.

• Andalucia has a lot of mountains with narrow winding roads so don’t underestimate the distances inland. In a lot of cases the longer road can be the faster one. Make sure you always travel with a map and a bottle of water.

• The highway is called ‘autovia’, the ones you have to pay for are called ‘autopista’. ‘Cambio de sentido’ means turning point. ‘Salida’ is exit and ‘obras’ is maintenance.

• If you’re not used to driving in the mountains: watch the speed differences of trucks and slow vehicles going up the mountain and don’t burn you breaks if you’re driving al the way down the mountains.

• Telephone Taxi Nerja 952 520 537


Traffic rules

• Like anywhere in Europe: traffic going up the mountain has the priority to traffic going down.

• Traffic lights can be put in strange places, even after a crossing (because of zebras). Some lights don’t go green but just blink orange: you can drive then but without priority…

• Officially traffic coming from right has priority, but in a lot of places traffic on the biggest road ignores this rule.

• Wearing car belts in the front and in the back is required by law..

• Alcohol checks are also held in Spain and the limit is 0.5 promile (2 glasses of alcohol).


Parking, traffic jam and filling up the tank

In Spain all cities have traffic problems, so you have a lot of traffic jams and parking problems. Especially the places along the coast aren’t built for that many cars and tourists and because of the siesta these problems occur 4 times a day instead of 2.
In cities it’s best to use public transport which are simple and cheap or get a taxi. Car parks often aren’t that expensive and are a welcome alternative for a long search for a parking space. In Malaga there’s a parking garage underneath the Alcazaba just after the tunnel and before Plaza Merced (the Picasso square).

In the centre of Nerja is a large parking plot (just next to Calle Carabeo), which is free all year except July and august (just follow the signs at the roundabout of the Iranzo supermarket). The plot gives access to Calle Carabeo and Calle los Huertos and this is also the place for the yearly Feria in October. Also behind the Mercadona there's a free car parc.

When you’re out of gas it could be that you the gas station works with a personal attendant (paying is inside though). Gasolina is gas, gasolineo is diesel and gasolinera is petrol station. Just say ‘lleno’ (jeno) when you like a full tank or ‘medio’ when you need a half one. Leaving a tip is not usual. Fuel is much cheaper than in Northern Europe.


Beautiful routes

For those who like to drive… the N-340 coast road east of Nerja towards Motril is spectacular. After you can drive into the mountains of the Sierra Nevada which also offers you tremendous views. You can also drive into la Alpujarra for that real rural feeling. Another gorgeous area to drive around is Ronda.