Driving abroad
Driving in Spain means driving on the right, with a drink drive limit of 0.05 percent, 0.03 for drivers in their first two years and motorway speeds of 120 km/h. Everything below is the practical version, the things that actually cost visitors money or time.
From 2026 the connected V16 beacon replaces triangles. Buy the approved version, the cheap ones do not report your position.
Once the paperwork is sorted, this is what you came for. Sa Calobra Road, Ma-10 Serra de Tramuntana, Lagos de Covadonga Road are among the highest scoring roads we hold in Spain, and all of them are open to any road legal car.
Motorway limit
120 km/h
Outside towns
90 km/h
Built up areas
50 km/h, 30 on single lane streets
Drink drive limit
0.05 percent, 0.03 for drivers in their first two years
Checked by the Drivers Atlas desk
Scored and written by the Drivers Atlas editorial desk, drawing on driven routes across the UK and Europe, mapping data and member road reports. A planning summary, not legal advice. Check the national road authority before you travel. How we score roads.
Last reviewed 30 March 2026
The detail
Many AP motorways are now free, but a number remain tolled, mostly in Catalonia and the north.
Chains may be required in the Pyrenees, Picos and Sierra Nevada during snow.
Madrid, Barcelona and dozens of other cities run permanent low emission zones and read number plates automatically.
UK and EU licences are accepted.
Reflective jacket, Two warning triangles or a connected V16 beacon, Spare pair of glasses if you drive in them
112
Now the good part
Mallorca, Spain
A driver's icon that loops through a knotted 270 degree hairpin down to the cove.
Mallorca, Spain
Mallorca's spine road strings together sea cliffs, terraces and mountain villages.
Asturias, Spain
Hairpins climb from the Covadonga basilica into limestone peaks above two glacial lakes.
Tenerife, Canary Islands
Volcanic moonscape unfolds as the road spirals up past pine forest into Teide's caldera.
Gran Canaria, Canary Islands
Ridge top curves reveal the volcanic finger of Roque Nublo above pine covered barrancos.
Castilla y Leon, Spain
A ribbon of tarmac threading beech forests beneath the jagged western Picos de Europa.
Common questions
Motorways 120 km/h, main roads outside towns 90 km/h, and built up areas 50 km/h, 30 on single lane streets. Lower limits are posted and always take priority.
Many AP motorways are now free, but a number remain tolled, mostly in Catalonia and the north.
0.05 percent, 0.03 for drivers in their first two years. Roadside testing is routine and the safest approach on a driving tour is nothing at all before you drive.
Chains may be required in the Pyrenees, Picos and Sierra Nevada during snow.
Reflective jacket, Two warning triangles or a connected V16 beacon, Spare pair of glasses if you drive in them. Emergency number is 112.
UK and EU licences are accepted.