Getting around in Spain — public transport, buying a car, driver’s license requirements and day-to-day transportation considerations for expats on the Costa Blanca.
We've covered the basics of Spanish driving schools (autoescuelas) and how they work on our Spanish driver's license page. This post goes further into the actual process: what it costs, how long it takes, and a few details that catch Americans off guard.
As we were just renewing our auto, home and umbrella liability insurance policies for the remaining months we have in the states, we wondered should we keep our US liability insurance after moving to Spain? After we did our research it appears for us and most people the answer is no. Not because it stops being useful, but because it stops working the way you'd expect long before you'd think to cancel it.
.For a very short, fleeting moment this was one of the first questions we asked ourselves: could we just ship our car? The answer, once we started digging into it, was a hard "NO". Here's why.The answer, once we dug into it, was a clear no. Here's why.
The Cost Stack Adds Up Fast
Shipping is only the first cost line item and it's not even the biggest one. Getting a US car to a Spanish port runs somewhere in the $2,000 to $2,500+ range depending on which US port you're leaving from and whether it lands in Valencia or Barcelona.
After a while in Spain, you start noticing license plates differently than you ever did back home. Spanish and European plates carry a surprising amount of information once you know what you're looking at — and once you start seeing it, you can't "unsee" it. Here's a quick guide to what's actually on the road around you.
As we plan our move to Jávea, we need to figure out where the best airport is for us to travel in to and out of whenever we go on trips. Luckily, there are two each about 75 minutes away. One is Alicante Airport (ALC) and the other is Valencia Airport (VLC). We want to travel through both of them to decide which might be best for us. During this last house hunting trip, we flew in and out of Alicante.
Prices for filling up your vehicle are more expensive in Spain and the EU that in the US. When we visited the first week of February this year, in the Jávea area the price for vehicle fuel was $6.00 gal (€1.35l) for gasoline and $5.58 for diesel (€1.25l)
Over the past month, we’ve been doing some research on the process related to purchasing a car in Spain. Once we officially move, we know it’s going to have to be one of our first tasks. It looks like the purchasing process is somewhat similar, however there’s less negotiation on price. New car prices are somewhat similar or a bit higher than the US.
Spain’s V16 Emergency Beacon Law Started January 1 Spain requires safety equipment to be carried inside your vehicle at all times. This is different from the U.S., where these things are optional and drivers are generally expected to pull onto the shoulder and rely on hazard lights or roadside assistance.