Getting to Seville by car is easy: Spain has a modern road network and the city is particularly well connected.
If your plan is to travel by car, you should book your car rental online. Check this complete guide to book yours in a couple of minutes.
The question here is: do you like driving?
If yes, you should consider organizing a road trip.
It’s a fun and independent way of seeing the country. Not only can it be a cost-effective way for small groups to get around, but it also lets you see what’s off the beaten track.
But first, let’s see how you can get to Seville.
Getting to Seville by rental car: road network
Seville has a wide network of roads and is well connected to other provinces of Andalucía and Spain.
Free to use highways
There is a good road network with several highways (all toll-free) that takes you to Seville. The main highways linking Seville to other important cities are:
- A-4 (Autovía del Sur) with 660 km (410 mi) connects Madrid to Cádiz.
- A-66 (Autovía ruta de la Plata) with 809 km (503 mi) connects Seville to Gijón. From there, you can take the A-5 (Autovía del Suroeste) with 408 km (254 mi) connects Madrid to Badajoz, next to the Portuguese border.
- A-92 (Autovía de Andalucía) with 376 km (234 mi) connects Seville to Almería.
- A-49 (Autovía del Quinto Centenario) with 123 km (76 mi) connects Seville to Ayamonte (last Spanish town before the border with Portugal).
- AP-4 (Autopista del Sur) with 124 km (77 mi) is a free-highway that connects Seville to Cádiz.
Beltways
Seville has currently 2 orbital highways or road rings:
- The SE-30 which stretches for 23 km around Seville. It has many entrance points to the city center and you can access to all highways and main roads from it.
- The SE-40 highway is currently almost 39 km long and it’s about 10 km from the city center. The Ministry of Transport estimates that the work to complete its total length of 77.4 km will last until 2030, although the different sections will continue to be partially opened when completed.
Driving along the SE-30
The first thing you have to navigate when you approach Seville in the car is the SE-30 – the city’s inner ring road.
There are three lanes for the majority of the route but it also goes down to two and up to four lanes in places.
Driving on it is not the least bit scary since the speed limit is 80 km/h. However, keep your eyes peeled for cameras, and for scooters and motorbikes weaving in and out of your peripheral vision at hairy speeds.
Exit signs for each gate into the city give you plenty of time in advance so as not to miss them, make sure you position yourself correctly, in the right-hand lane. Try and stay out of this lane, traffic permitting, until you are close to your exit or you can very easily, like many before you, head off on the wrong slipway.
As with many major city ring roads, it’s not the most fun driving experience as traffic is frequently extremely heavy, especially at peak times like rush hour or the start of the school holidays. So for the sake of your sanity avoid anything which resembles rush hour.
These spots are particularly complicated:
- The A-49 is unable to absorb the volume of cars from Aljarafe, Huelva and Portugal, creating traffic jams at La Pañoleta.
- The Puente del Centenario (currently undergoing major works until 2025 at least) is a bottleneck that, in the event of any accident, is blocked by the lack of shoulders and wide lanes.
- The Ronda Norte or SE-20, popularly called Ronda Supernorte, is a dual carriageway almost 11 km long. Being the false continuation of the SE-30 (but not a ring road on its own), is full of traffic lights and with an unbearable load of vehicles at almost all hours.
Don’t become a speed driver
Speeding is one of the main causes of traffic accidents in Spain. That’s why the DGT or Directorate General of Traffic (Dirección General de Tráfico) regularly increases control of the roads to catch those who break the law.
Speeding in Spain can be costly. The amount of the fine (between 100€ and 600€) you’ll receive will depend on how much you were speeding over the limit.
The best piece of advice I can give you is to download an app called Social Drive. It’s the best way to avoid speeding tickets and be informed of what is happening on the road in Spain.
Social Drive (available on iOS and Android) is a social network for drivers in real time and 100% legal through which you can inform and be informed about speed cameras, checkpoints or other incidents in your area anywhere in Spain.
You’ll be informed at all times through notifications on your mobile phone completely free.
And the best of it all is that all traffic information received from users is verified by the app’s administrators so that the information is always reliable and the notifications reach their corresponding area effectively.
Driving inside Seville
Driving around Seville, especially in the city center (known as casco histórico in Spanish), is complex if you don’t have a good sense of direction.
So if you get lost, the best thing is to find somewhere to stop, get clear instructions and start again. Using Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze can be a great help in a city like Seville.
All sounds obvious, but many visitors don’t realize just how difficult driving in the center is, and have an unpleasant, stressful start to their vacation.
Watch out for:
- Pedestrians crossing at any moment from most any direction.
- Scooters and bikes weaving through traffic and ignoring traffic signals.
- Other drivers ignoring the red light in front of them.
- Taxi and bus only lanes.
- Narrow one-way streets, blind curves and crazy intersections.
However, if you follow some practical tips you can still survive the experience.
Finally, if Seville is part of your trip, you should ideally find an accommodation that has offers a parking solution. Alternatively, try to find a public parking where you can leave the car as soon as you arrive, and get it back again when you leave.
Also, use Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze to map out the best route to your hotel. The city center is full of one-way streets. Be warned.
This article is part of a complete tutorial about car rental in Seville where you can read all the information you need to organize your road trip around the country.
Here is a complete summary of all the guide:
1. Getting to Seville by rental car
2. How to rent a car in Sevilla: step-by-step tutorial
3. How to find cheap rental rates?
4. Do you need an International Driver’s Licence?
5. Guide for getting around Sevilla: car rental
6. 5 tips for driving in Seville: navigating the city with ease
7. Guide to car parking in Seville: best tips & spots
