Spain surprised me, not just with how much there was to see, but with how different each region felt. What started as one road trip ended up feeling like five holidays rolled into one. It’s a brilliant country to explore on four wheels, with easy stopovers and some seriously memorable drives.
It had been on my ‘one day’ list since we launched Road Trip France. In 2025, after months of planning, Jas and I finally set off in our motorhome with our two border collies. Jas was pregnant, so this was always going to be a memorable trip, but we had no idea quite how much we’d pack into 12 weeks across 16 regions.
Read on to discover the places that surprised us most, the routes we loved driving and what we learned about exploring Spain by motorhome along the way. You’ll find all the practical details, plus plenty of inspiration for your own trip, in my Road Trip Spain guide.
Picos De Europa
Why road trip Spain?
There’s something about Spain that just hits different when you’re on the road. As the miles stack up, it starts to feel less like one country and more like several very different ones, each with their own character and pace of life. One day we were drifting along a quiet stretch of Mediterranean coast, and a few days later winding through deep green valleys or pulling into a small Atlantic harbour for simple plates of whatever had come off the boats that morning. Even within a single region, we might spend the morning wandering medieval streets, then the afternoon hiking in a national park, tasting wine in hillside vineyards or stopping in a small fishing village by the sea.
It’s also brilliantly set up for motorhomes. Aires are easy to find, often free or just a few euros a night, and there’s a reliable network of service points, campsites and scenic overnight park-ups. Motorhomers are generally welcomed, with a clear sense of the value they bring to local areas, so we had a real feeling of comfort and freedom travelling this way.
Driving is a big part of the appeal too. Spain lends itself well to long distances, and some of the best motorhome driving we’ve done has been here, from the wide-open plains of Toledo and Castilla-La Mancha, passing windmills, vineyards and turquoise lagoons, to the lush Atlantic coast in the Basque Country. The twisting mountain roads in Andalucía are excellent as well, and the stretch between Ronda and Málaga was a proper highlight.
Ronda
What makes Spain so special?
That’s really what stood out to us about Spain, the sheer variety. In a single day, we went from a Mediterranean coastline with white-sand beaches up into the snow-capped Sierra Nevada, then down into desert landscapes that felt straight out of the Wild West. Along the way there were wetlands and forests, waterfalls and hiking trails, red cliffs, prehistoric caves and natural hot springs, as well as landscapes we recognised from Game of Thrones.
We spent time wandering medieval streets, coming across Roman remains and stopping in towns that have changed very little over time. And when we felt like mixing it up, there were plenty of adventures to be had, from edging along the narrow Caminito del Rey high above a gorge, to riding the cable car over the Picos de Europe.
Then there’s the feel of the place. Spain moves at a slower, more deliberate pace, and we quickly fell into a routine of morning coffee in small cafés, long lunches in sunny plazas and evening walks through old town centres, often ending with tapas. Food and drink became a big part of the experience. We tried fried squid in Santander, oysters in Vigo, Asturian cider in Oviedo and roast suckling pig in Segovia. We were rarely far from a pintxo bar or a sherry bodega.
Northern Spain was the BIGGEST surprise of our entire Spain road trip!
How long do you need for a Spain road trip?
The beauty of Spain is that you can shape a road trip around the time you’ve got. Whether you’re sneaking in a week, stretching to 10 days, or going all-in on a multi-week adventure, there’s a route, and a way of travelling, to match.
One week
With a week, it makes sense to focus on a single region and explore it properly, while still getting that big road trip feel. We found Andalucía spot-on for this, with coastal drives, whitewashed hilltop villages, quieter beaches, some mountain scenery and superb cities like Granada. Or head north and link the Basque Country with Galicia for a very different pace. It’s a straightforward route, but it doesn’t get repetitive, one day you’re in rugged hills, the next on wild Atlantic beaches or in smaller towns. And there’s much less driving between stops thatn you might expect.
A Coruña, Galicia
Two weeks
With two weeks, regions can be combined into longer routes. Western and central Andalucía, plus Cádiz and the Costa del Sol, give you a sun-drenched route of whitewashed villages, historic cities and coastal driving. Head north-east through Aragón, the Spanish Pyrenees, La Rioja and Navarre and you’ve got big mountain roads, canyon landscapes and vineyard areas, hard to beat if you like a decent view with your wine. Inland routes also work well, with loops through Castilla y León, Toledo, and Castilla-La Mancha, where there are medieval cities, fortress towns, and those wide-open plateau landscapes that feel very ‘classic Spain’.
A multi-week adventure
Our road trip stretched over three months, and that’s when Spain really started to get under our skin. Most people won’t have that long, but even a few weeks is enough to get a proper feel for it. It’s also the sweet spot if you want to arrive by ferry, loop through northern Spain, continue to the Mediterranean and still take in desert, mountains and coastal cities before heading home.
One longer route we followed started in the Basque Country, passed through La Rioja and Navarre, then climbed into the Spanish Pyrenees for some proper mountain days. From there, it continued through Catalonia and the Costa Brava, down to the Costa Blanca and Valencia, before looping back north to catch the ferry. It felt like a complete trip, with each section showing a different side of Spain without ever feeling like we were just ticking things off.
Vall de Núria, Pyrenees
What time of year is best?
Spain racks up more sunny days than most of Europe, but travelling through it, what stood out was how much it changes with the seasons. You don’t get guarantees, but you do get options. We found April, May and September to work well, with fewer crowds, a more relaxed pace and coastal towns that stay surprisingly mild.
Even in peak summer, there are quieter corners if you’re willing to go a little off route, especially along the north-west coast, where smaller Galician fishing towns and stretches like the Costa da Morte tend to stay much calmer than the larger resort areas further south. Winter, while cooler, has its own appeal, with a quieter, slower pace that’s perfect for city breaks and historic towns.
Beach, Galicia
Where are the main places I need to visit?
In our Road Trip Spain guide, we’ve split the country into 16 regions, from the Basque Country in the north down to Andalucía in the south, and from Catalonia on the Mediterranean across to Galicia on the Atlantic. There’s no way to cover everything here, that’s what the guide is for, but this should give you a feel for what to expect.
Barcelona & the surrounding region
Barcelona and the surrounding coast and countryside take a bit more thought from a campervan point of view, but they’re absolutely worth it. We based ourselves at a secure stopover and used public transport to get into the city, which made it much easier to explore places like the Sagrada Família, the Gothic Quarter and the seafront without the stress of driving or parking.
Thinking of taking your campervan or motorhome to Barcelona? Think again... or maybe don't!
Andalucia & the Mediterranean Coast
This is where our Spain journey began, in Andalucía. We followed coastal roads around places like Nerja, spent time in historic cities like Granada, and headed up into the Sierra Nevada. It’s a region that feels packed with everything people picture when they first think of Spain, whitewashed villages, tapas-filled plazas and layers of medieval architecture.
We also found some brilliant campsites and park-ups along the way. More than once, we woke up to sunrise over the hills or the sea, the kind of moments that quickly start to feel almost normal on a trip like this.
Northern Spain: Pyrenees, Basque Country & Picos de Europa
Northern Spain, taking in the Pyrenees, the Basque coastline, Cantabria and the Picos de Europa, turned into one of the biggest surprises of the trip. As we drove through, what really stood out was the sense of space and contrast to elsewhere, the landscape shifting from dry and rugged to lush and green, with dramatic mountain passes and a wild Atlantic coastline.
It ended up being one of our favourite stretches, with some of the most enjoyable driving roads we’ve tackled and towns that feel properly local while still being welcoming to travellers. It genuinely changed how we think about what Spain looks like.
Zumaia, Basque
Beyond those headline areas, we also found routes through quieter inland provinces and wilder coastal stretches where it often felt like we had the road, and the view, almost to ourselves. It’s that mix of landscapes, along with the food and the freedom of being on the road, that makes Spain so easy to fall for, and a big part of why this trip has stayed with us.
No Fuss Travel Guide’s Road Trip Spain is now available to buy HERE
Remembering Gem!
Sadly, it was during my Spain trip that we lost Gem, our 16-year-old rescue border collie, a heartbreak made harder by the fact that she had already shared so many adventures with us, from the Outer Hebrides to the Canary Islands.
Gem in Spain