Graphic made by me

It’s important to maximize your time, days and money to get the most out of your vacation, and an easy way to do so is with a road trip. One of my favorite trips was when three friends and I decided to rent a car from Valencia, Spain, and went on a four-day trip down to Andalucía. Initially we were planning on flying to Granada, but prices drastically went up so we decided to go with plan B and ultimately got the chance to visit Granada, Ronda and Seville.

Driving in a foreign country is understandably intimidating, but don’t let that discourage you. A few things to keep in mind when renting a car are:

Manual cars are the cheapest option, although automatics are available.

There are additional charges for renters under the age of 25

We ended up renting an automatic car and had to pay the underage fee, but dividing the rental cost, insurance and gas four ways was still cheaper than a flight to Granada. We each ended up paying about $70.

We left Valencia at 8 a.m. Thursday and headed straight to Granada. We ate breakfast at home and packed a lunch to stop and eat on the way. The drive took us about six hours, with a stop to gas up, rest and have lunch about half way through.

Granada:

We stayed with a friend for two nights and got to visit all the major attractions. The Alhambra, the Alcaicería market and the shops along Calle Caldereria Nueva were my favorite because they highlight the city’s historic Arabic influence so well. We also took advantage of the infamous tapa bars where you get a free appetizer for every drink you order. Overall, Granada was my favorite city of the trip.

Views from inside the Alhambra

Arab influence in architecture

Tapa given with drink

Example of architecture inside Alhambra

Inside the Alhambra

Inside the Alhambra

Famous Court of the Lions inside the Alhambra

One of the gardens

View of one of the buildings in the Alhambra

Inside the Granada cathedral



Tapa given with drink

Ronda:

On our way to Seville we decided to make a small detour and go spend the day in Ronda. This quaint town located in the province of Malaga draws out many tourists because of its unique location atop a deep gorge which separates its new and old 15thcentury preserved town. It was the cutest and perfect pit stop to have lunch. The views and architecture were breathtaking making you feel like you were the only town in the middle of the valley.

View from the bridge

The bridge connecting the new town from the old

View of the valley

Seville:

From Ronda, it took us about two hours to get to Seville, where we stayed in a hostel for the night. It was a quick 36 hours, but the Plaza de España and Maria Luisa park were beautiful. I would also highly recommend catching a Flamenco show while you’re in town

Plaza España



Seville cathedral

Plaza España



All photos taken by me while on my trip.