Map of highways in Spain e 90. Paying for travel: what is the cheapest way to get around Spain? Parking in Spain
As a rule, you are informed that you are entering a toll section of the road by a road sign or an electronic board, which also indicates how many kilometers or minutes later on the road a toll point with a barrier awaits you.
Payment Methods:
Cash (coins and banknotes);
credit cards. The toll highway system supports the latest advances in electronic payment security, such as online transaction verification and EMV (chip card);
Telepeaje is a modern payment system that allows you to pay for travel on a toll road without stopping at the barrier, thus without wasting a minute of your time. Today, telepeaje technology is installed on all highways in Spain and many paid parking lots. 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 the account of a specific device.
At a gas station
As a rule, all Spanish highways, toll and free, have convenient areas for resting, washing and refueling a car. A gas station can be a whole complex consisting of a restaurant, a store with locally produced products, and an automatic car wash.
To refuel your car, you need to pay for the number of liters of fuel you need at the cash register, saying the column number, and then return to the car and insert the gun. Most Spanish gas stations operate on a self-service system. In 2016, the well-known Repsol chain launched a mobile application with which you can pay at 300 gas stations in Spain. To do this, you need to install the application on your mobile device, enter personal data and card or bank account information. In the near future, other companies plan to switch to similar types of payment, which will make the process of refueling a car more comfortable and faster.
Once you have reached the desired location, the question of parking the car arises. This topic is especially relevant due to the constant increase in fines for non-compliance with parking rules. As we noted earlier, in many Spanish parking lots, payment can be made using telepeaje technology using a mobile device. But this most often applies to large indoor parking lots, underground or on the territory of shopping centers, where payment machines are also installed at the entrances and exits.
If you park on the streets, always pay attention to the color of the road markings. The white zone is free, and such parking spaces, the number of which is very limited, can be found in areas remote from the center. In popular tourist areas you can often find a blue parking zone, which must be paid for in special machines located directly on the street. A 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 from 1 to 4 hours, depending on the area. “Blue parking” is paid on weekdays from 9:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 20:00, on Saturday – from 9:00 to 14:00. The cost of such city parking depends on the congestion of the area. 4 main tariffs apply:
- tariff A – 2.5 euros/hour;
- tariff B – 2.25 euros/hour;
- tariff C – 1.96 euros/hour;
- tariff D – 1.08 euros/hour.
In addition to white and blue, there are orange and green zones, which provide special benefits to residents of this area. In order to have discounted or free parking, you must have official registration. Be careful, as some areas are strictly reserved for parking for local residents.
Highways in Spain
It is useful to study the roads of Spain for those who plan to rent a car. There are several types of roads in this country, but the main division is toll and free. If you want to save money, you can go around any toll road in Spain using a free one! It does not happen that the path can only be paved along a toll road. Of course, the budget option may take more time, but it exists. To make sure, you can go to the Spanish road map or the official website: all this is posted at the end of the article.
The following classification of roads in Spain is not particularly important when traveling, but is quite interesting.
Autopista is a road in Spain whose lanes are divided according to directions. On the signs they are designated AP; there are no single-level autopista intersections; there can only be multi-level interchanges.
Autovía is a similar type of road, lanes in different directions are also separated, you can exit in limited places. Both autovía and autopista are Spanish expressways. They are located outside populated areas.
Vía para automóviles is a Spanish highway where all lanes are located on one common platform, but exits are limited. You cannot pull over to the side of the road unless there is an emergency.
Carreteras convencionales – roads with different characteristics. In Spain, these highways are divided into subtypes.
Vía de servicio are service roads in Spain. They are located close to the main ones, for example, in places with large industrial zones.
It is also worth paying attention to toll roads in Spain. We will discuss them below, but here we will clarify that only autopista is paid.
Toll roads in Spain
In Spain, toll roads are marked with the PEAJE sign. On some of them you need to pay upon entry, on others upon departure. In the second case, at the entrance you will receive a ticket card, which describes the exits and also indicates the place of entry. Thus, the cost of a toll road in Spain depends on the distance.
You can pay for most roads at vending machines. There are separate lanes for trucks, as well as for paying with TeleTAC cards, which are clearly visible. The system helps speed up payment: the driver does not have to stop, since his car has a special device that allows him to pay for the road in Spain remotely. In addition, there are separate lanes for paying with bank cards and paying in cash to people, not to machines.
If you need a receipt from a toll road in Spain, then just press a special button.
Cost of toll roads in Spain
The cost of toll roads in Spain increases in sections with tunnels. In other parts, travel will be cheaper, but will significantly save travelers time. Specific prices on different sections of toll roads in Spain are described below.
Parking in Spain
Parking in Spain often requires a fee, especially in the city center. During working hours, in some places you can’t even park without a special permit - the cities are so busy.
If the parking zone in Spain is marked in blue, then you need to purchase a ticket from the machine. Payments are due at specific times, so please inquire in advance.
Underground parking in Spain is common. They often indicate in front of them whether there are empty seats. You can pay for underground parking at the ticket office.
Illegally parked cars in Spain can be towed from many parking lots. This is usually indicated by a special sign, be careful. You will subsequently have to pay about 100 euros for towing!
Tunnels in Spain
The cost of toll roads in Spain depends on the specific section. Below are the most popular tunnels in Spain and the prices for passenger cars with up to nine seats with two axles. If the car is towing a vehicle with two axles, then the cost of toll roads in Spain is usually higher.
The Cadi tunnel in Spain is about 5 kilometers long. The fare is a little more than 12 euros. Located near Barcelona.
The Vallvidrera tunnel, also located near Barcelona, but only 2.5 kilometers long. The cost of this toll road in Spain is about 4 euros.
Many tourists who come on holiday to Spain prefer to rent a car immediately upon arrival at the airport to make their holiday more complete and convenient. There are also those who come to this country, which is quite remote from Eastern Europe, in their cars. It is important for everyone to know the nuances spanish highways, which you may encounter when traveling around this country by car.
This article, dedicated to types of highways, toll roads in Spain and how to use them, I am starting a series of articles with the help of which, I hope, the use of Spanish roads will become simple and convenient for road travelers. So:
Highways in Spain
There are two types of motorways in Spain − autovia and On both of them, if there are no limit signs, the maximum permitted speed is 120 km/h. By the way, the speed limit sign 120 occurs with enviable regularity, so it will be difficult to forget about the speed limit even with a strong desire.
There are several differences between these two types of Spanish highways, but one thing is important for us - the autovia type road is free to travel, the autopista type is toll. Both are indicated by signs on a blue background, but the toll road will always have a “Peaje” icon next to its designation, a white circle with a red rim and a black horizontal stripe inside (pictured on the right).
And here's what it looks like on large pointers:
As you can see, to get to Madrid you can choose either the AP34 toll motorway or the free A31. And here the exit to the right from the toll highway also leads to the toll road. In both cases, there is a paid icon on the side of the designation.
By the way, the quality of coverage on all roads in Spain, both toll and free, is beyond praise. What was especially striking was how slower the tires wear out - I’ve already driven more than 80 thousand on my Renault Megane, and the tread reserve is even more than sufficient. In Russia, mileage figures on one set of tires were much more modest.
How to pay for toll roads in Spain
The toll system for toll roads in Spain is quite simple and understandable. Usually, you just need to drive through the toll section once, and no problems will arise in the future. But there are still a couple of pitfalls here. I'll try to write about them in more detail.
So, having decided to take the toll road, you must drive through the entry terminal. Everything is very simple here, you drive up to any of the terminals above which there is a green traffic light or a green arrow, and stop in front of the lowered barrier. To your left is a terminal in the form of a metal yellow locker. There is no need to click anywhere - literally after a couple of seconds a ticket pops out of the terminal, which you need to take (pictured on the right). The barrier opens, and you can go ahead (see the photo - the appearance of the entrance terminal to the toll highway).
You need to keep your ticket - it shows the place of entry to the toll road. Based on this, the payment amount will be calculated. If you lose your ticket, they will assume that you are driving from the very beginning of the road. So far everything is very simple, the only difficulty may arise when exiting the toll Spanish motorway. Let's look at this point in more detail.
So, having left the toll road following the sign in the desired direction (or on the advice of the navigator), after a few hundred meters you will see a large terminal for paying tolls:
First of all, pay attention to the color of the traffic light or arrow at the top above the terminal - if it is red, like the one above the photo above the leftmost one, then this terminal is temporarily closed, there is no need to go there.
The next point is that many cars in Spain are equipped with a system for remote payment; special terminals are equipped for them, through which they drive without stopping (the barrier rises automatically, having received a signal from the device installed on the front window). Terminals for these cars can be of two types - exclusively for them (in this case, the white letter “T” is located in a blue circle), you cannot drive through it without a device, and general ones (indicated by the same letter “T”, but in a blue square ), in this case you can use this terminal to check out.
And the last important point is the payment method. There are separate passages for payment exclusively with bank cards (see photo above); you cannot pay in cash there. There are universal machines (in the same photo), you can pay either in cash or by credit card. Using his example, we will analyze the payment process. We drive up and stop near the machine. The slot where you insert the ticket is highlighted in red. Insert the green arrow up, as in the photo:
The amount to be paid immediately appears on the monitor:
Now you can reach into your wallet for cash or a credit card:
We collect the change from below, if you paid in cash, the barrier opens, and “Have a nice trip” from the terminal:
And in conclusion, a few words about the simplest payment method - manual with the help of an operator. If you see a large sign at the top with the word MANUAL, and under it there is a booth, this means that at this payment point there is also an operator, to whom you can simply give the ticket and pay in cash or by card. In recent years, this payment method has not been available at every motorway exit, so it is better to be prepared for the fact that you will have to deal exclusively with technology.
Toll roads in Spain in 2019.
All roads and sections of highways marked “AP” and “R” are toll roads, and a number of tunnels and bridges are also toll roads. Travel prices are among the highest in Europe - approximately 8 Euros per 100 km per car.
Toll roads and their costs:
AR -2
Current cost for each road section
Route AR-4
AP-6 motorway
AP-7 motorway
More detailed information about all roads
Payment is made directly on highways at specialized payment points.
It is better to enter the turnstile where it says Manual.
You can pay in cash or by credit card (Euro- or Mastercard, Visacard).
Free travel on urban highways and ring roads of Barcelona, Zaragoza, Madrid and Valencia, Girona and Tarragona.
The easiest way to travel around Europe is through high-speed, usually toll, roads. They allow you to quickly arrive from point A to point B and are designed just for this. You won’t see much beauty or the country in general, but there are exceptions (for example, the A75 road in France along which we returned from Spain). Diesel fuel on the highway in both France and Spain, as I said above, is approximately 1.6 - 1.65 euros per liter.
Toll roads cost approximately 7-8 euros per 100 km. Road toll points are standard, both in France and in Spain. They look like a bunch of gates on the highway with barriers. In both of the above countries, payment is taken for the distance traveled.
At the entrance to the toll road you receive a ticket, at the exit from the toll section you pay the toll. The ticket comes out of the machine automatically, the main thing is to take it and then the barrier will open. There are several ways to pay. You can pay by card, you can pay in cash, you can pay through a machine, you can pay in person.
The easiest way is to pay with a bank card (we don’t take into account the “telepay” system, I think that’s what it’s called, correct me if I’m wrong). And so pay by card - drive up to the barrier, put the ticket into the machine (into the blinking slot), after that another slot will blink (sometimes the same one where the ticket was pushed), stick the card there, after a second the card pops out and the barrier opens, the whole way is clear, and the money was withdrawn. If something doesn’t work out, then in this case there are operators on duty at the payment point, and even if you do not press the help button, but stand for a very long time at a closed barrier, a person will definitely come up to you and help. Sometimes the machines break down, and then a person also comes and saves the world. In general, everything is simple and clear.
To understand which payment method to choose, look at the icons above the gates. There are clear pictograms. If you do not have a special “telepage” card, do not go through the gate with a pictogram in the form of a capital Latin letter “t”. Another feature of toll roads in Spain. A couple of days after arriving in Roses and, accordingly, after driving on toll Spanish highways, SMS began to arrive through the mobile banking system saying that I, in some kind of “Security”, had made a successful purchase for 1 euro. At the same time, I did not make any purchases from this organization, especially using the card.
Having rummaged through the Internet, we found out that this is the security service of an organization servicing toll roads in Spain, they will check the authenticity of the credit card. In fact, money is not debited from the card, but only blocked on it. Money is blocked every time you pay for travel. The blocking falls off after a month. So if anyone encounters this, don't panic.
Read more about Spain
There are also some kind of local free highways (eg M-10 in Madrid, SE-30 in Seville, V-30 in Valencia, etc.).
Autobahns in the Canary Islands (Tenerife and Gran Canaria) are free.
The most expensive object to travel through is the Cadi tunnel - 11.67 euros.
Cost of travel through the tunnels:
Tunnel del Cadi is a toll road tunnel located in the Catalan Pre-Pyrenees (the Cadi mountain range). It unites the districts of Alt Bergueda and Cerdagne. The tunnel was opened and put into operation on October 30, 1984. It ranks fourth in length in Spain and third in Catalonia, its length is 5026 meters. 
Vallvidrera tunnel are a set of five tunnels that cross the Collserola Sierra, connecting the city of Barcelona with the Vallès Occidental region. These tunnels were opened in 1991. The longest tunnel is called Vallvidriera, its length is 2,517 meters.
Travel prices in 2019:
Click on the photo
Here you can find out about the prices for travel on toll roads throughout Europe, click on the map on the country you are interested in and the table will show the prices for travel.
Today there are at least 28 countries in Europe that have toll roads:
Let's go on a trip to Spain. And in order not to go broke from transportation costs, we have compiled a detailed guide to traveling around the country on a budget. Local low-cost airlines, buses, trains, car rental or searching for travel companions - we analyze all possible options. Bookmark it!
BY PLANE
An airplane is the easiest way to travel over long distances: almost any flight within Spain will not take more than an hour. Often this is not only the fastest, but also, thanks to local low-cost airlines, quite inexpensive transport. In addition, this is practically the only way to get to the islands, for example, Ibiza or.
Main low-cost airlines in Spain
Vueling
One of the main Spanish low-cost airlines with an extensive network of domestic flights, which is based in Barcelona. It’s convenient to select destinations and prices: for example, getting from Barcelona to Malaga is offered for € 40, and from Valencia to Bilbao – for € 42. By the way, there is a chance to grab these vouchers and much cheaper: the company quite often organizes pleasant sales - keep an eye out information on the low-cost airline website.
Ryanair
From Barcelona to Seville or from Valencia to Santander - your favorite low-cost airline offers many flights throughout Spain, including to the islands (all routes - ). At the time of preparation of the material, a ticket from Madrid to Mallorca, for example, could be grabbed for a fabulous € 2.43, and from Barcelona to Ibiza for € 10. Keep your finger on the pulse - check the prices here.
Volotea
This budget airline does not boast such an impressive number of domestic flights within Spain as its competitors, but it often runs sales. The easiest way to find cheap tickets is to look for them. For example, they offer a flight from Malaga to Bilbao for €15 (in July), and from Santander to Seville for €26 (in October).
Iberia Express
The democratic subsidiary of the national carrier Iberia is based in Madrid and flies to short- and medium-haul routes. Prices for domestic flights start from €30-40, although not for all dates.
Lifehack.
If you can’t find the perfect flight from your city, check the nearest airports. For example:
Instead of the main airport Barcelona – El-Prat: Barcelona Girona and Barcelona Reus;
Instead of Seville - Jerez Airport;
Airports are relatively closeMalaga and Granada, and, Alicante and Murcia.
BY TRAIN
Spain has an excellent rail transport network. Most flights are operated by a national company Renfe.
Finding travel companions
The topic of finding travel companions in Spain is well developed - you can easily find a car to almost any city or town. But in this case, it is unlikely that you can plan the trip in advance: many drivers publish advertisements at the last minute. The option of traveling in someone else's car reduces the load not only on your wallet, but also on yours. Here is a list of the main services used by locals:
BlaBlaCar is the most famous service for finding travel companions, which works well in Spain.
Amovens- another popular service where you can also rent a car.
Amicoche– an absolutely free system for finding rides: you will not be charged any commission. Please note that you will have to pay the driver in cash.
Сompartir– a local service with a large base of loyal users.
Lifehack.
The cost of a trip to the same destination can vary significantly among different drivers, and often it’s not a matter of greed at all. Some drivers ask for less because they are not in a hurry and decide to bypass toll roads, while others value speed, but also charge a higher price. Check your route in advance.
Hitch-hiking
Spain is not the best country for hitchhiking. Experienced travelers warn that the average travel speed here will be significantly lower than in other European countries. Drivers are reluctant to stop; those who catch their car at gas stations have a better chance of luck. You can read more about hitchhiking in Spain.
ON YOUR OWN TWO
The cheapest way to get around any country is on foot. Passes through Spain
