OK, so you’ve decided to let the car ferry do the driving on your next trip from the UK to Spain’s Mediterranean coast.

Brittany Ferries will take you to either Bilbao or Santander. From there, it’s a good 8 hour drive (non-stop) to, say, Alicante.

But rather than hit the autopista as soon as the ferry ramp comes down, why not stop off and see a few places en route? You get to break your journey, you arrive relaxed (hopefully) and see some cool parts of Spain into the bargain.

My stopover recommendations

Here are my top 12 choices for stopovers.

Tap each location to jump straight to it. I’ve gone for two main routes – one to the south via Segovia, just to the west of Madrid, and the other to the south-east via Zaragoza. Maps at the end of this post; tap here to jump straight to the southern route or here to the southeastern.

• Bilbao
• Santander
• Burgos
• Logroño (for the Rioja)
• Zaragoza
• Segovia
• El Escorial
• Toledo
• Cuenca
• Albarracín
• Teruel
• Valencia

Low-emission zones (ZBEs)

Beware – plenty of cities in Spain introduced a ZBE (low-emission zone) during 2025. Confusingly, the rules vary from place to place. On my stopovers list above, Bilbao, Zaragoza, Segovia and Valencia all now have ZBEs. Burgos and Santander are introducing them more slowly. This site details ZBE cities right across Spain.

Annoyingly, if you have a UK-registered car, you can’t get a permit that covers all cities. But British car owners should be able to get a permit online for each place for the specific days you plan to visit.

Spanish hire cars should be fine in ZBEs, but check they have the correct windscreen label – more here. Drivers from Germany, France, Austria and Denmark should also be OK, as they have similar emission label schemes to Spain.

TIP: call the place where you plan to stay in advance and ask them what the local rules are. I’ve put the latest ZBE info I have under each city. In quite a few places, you might not need to enter the zone at all – check the ZBE maps I’ve linked to under each city.

Bilbao

How about starting with Bilbao and/or Santander themselves? Both are so much more than just ferry ports.

Bilbao was formerly a grimy old industrial city which has transformed itself into a cultural and gastro centre, its renaissance bump-started by the remarkable Guggenheim Museum. Their football team’s not bad either!

The Guggenheim is simply astonishing, a work of art in itself. It’s one of those statement buildings where the exterior draws more visitors than any art exhibition inside the building.

Go for a stroll along the Rio Nervión, which snakes through the centre of Bilbao, under the bright red arch of La Salve bridge.

Cross the river on the Calatrava-designed Zubizuri pedestrian bridge (below) and head for the base station of the Artxanda funicular railway, which trundles up the sheer sides of the Nervión valley to a mirador at the top with stunning views over the city.

Once back down at river level, a 20 minute stroll brings you to another highlight, the Mercado de la Ribera, a great place to check out the food, always a highlight in Bilbao.

Try pintxos – the distinctive Basque tapas on a stick – washed down with a glass or two of txakoli, the local dry white wine. There are plenty more places to try in and around the Plaza Nueva in the traffic-free old town.

We stayed here: Bilbao Plaza, Hotel Ercilla

Low emission zone

Bilbao has a low-emission zone (ZBE) covering part of the city centre. There’s a mobile app for permits; ZBE Bilbao EGE. More info and map here and here.

Santander

Santander is the other ferry destination and it couldn’t be more different to the industrial port of Bilbao.

Instead, your ferry glides into the wide, blue Miera estuary, flanked by beaches and sandbars, and you tie up just along the quayside from the Centro Botín gallery, Santander’s answer to the Guggenheim.

Spoiler – the Botín doesn’t pack the same visual punch as the Guggenheim, but it’s still pretty cool. It was designed by Renzo Piano, the Italian architect who did the Shard in London.

Santander’s heyday was back in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, when it was the fashionable holiday destination for wealthy Spaniards. The royal family had their own summer place there too, the Palacio de la Magdalena. It’s a rather bizarre-looking building on a beautiful peninsula with wonderful views across the estuary. Well worth a tour.

Playa del Sardinero is surely one of the most beautiful urban beaches in Spain, lined with elegant white-fronted buildings clustered around the Casino on the Plaza Italia. No, it’s not a Vegas-style gambling den – the Casino is where the upper crust of society gathered back in the day.

We stayed here: Hotel Hoyuela, Suite Home Pinares. Both are outside the proposed ZBE (low emission zone).

We ate here: Atalaya de Mayte, Restaurante Posada del Mar (top quality fish), Las Cántabras gastrobar (good wine and tapas)

For more, take a look at my post on Santander and Bilbao here.

ZBE/Low-emission zone

Santander seems to be taking its time about introducing a low-emission zone. It’s unlikely that anything will be in force until December 2025. Map here.

Burgos

Distance: a couple of hours drive south from either Bilbao or Santander.

The city is the birthplace of Spain’s national hero El Cid. He’s a hard guy to miss in Burgos! An outsize statue of him in full battle gear dominates the square outside the Teatro Principal.

El Cid Campeador won his legendary reputation as the Christian warrior who helped liberate Spain from the Muslim invaders back in the 11^th century. Remember Charlton Heston in the 1961 Hollywood blockbuster?

The truth, however, is more complicated. For a start, Spain didn’t exist as a country when El Cid was on the warpath. And he wasn’t always on the Christian side either. El Cid was actually a bit of a sword for hire and chose his battles to suit his own interests. He even fought more than once on the Muslim side, which is kind of difficult to square with the Christian hero legend.

The must-see in Burgos is the stunning Gothic cathedral, which lies right on the pilgrim route, the Camino de Santiago. Building work took more than 300 years to complete and yes, El Cid is buried there.

You get a great view over the cathedral and the old town by heading uphill to the ruined castle behind. It was destroyed during the Napoleonic wars by a massive explosion which had the unfortunate side-effect of blowing out all the medieval stained-glass windows in the Cathedral.

Stroll through the Arco de Santa Maria, one of the medieval city gates of Burgos, and then along the Paseo del Espolón by the river, down to the statue of El Cid in full cry. Try a walking tour.

We stayed here: Hotel Meson del Cid, next to the cathedral, and the Silken Gran Teatro.

Where to eat: plenty of places in the old town, along Calle Paloma, the Plaza Mayor, or around Calle San Lorenzo. Try a tapas crawl – have a couple of pinchos (tapas) and a glass of red in one bar and then move on to the next place. Don’t forget to try morcilla, (Spanish black pudding). Burgos claims the best in Spain.

For more ideas, tap here.

ZBE/Low emission zone

Burgos is slowly introducing a low-emission zone, though from what I can make out, fines won’t be enforced until February 2027. Map and info here (in Spanish). As ever, check for developments with your accommodation provider.

Logroño & the Rioja

If wine is your thing, then Logroño is your town. About 90 minutes’ drive from Bilbao, it’s the capital of La Rioja, the best-known wine region in Spain. There are more wineries hereabouts than you can shake a stick at and most of them do tours and tastings.

For my money, the most spectacular is the Bodega Marques de Riscal, another astonishing creation from Frank Gehry, the same guy who gave us the Bilbao Guggenheim. The bodega lies about half an hour from Logroño in Elciego – and it’s a bit of a show stopper.

Some of Rioja’s other big names have built themselves spectacular wineries too. If you like cutting edge architecture with your wine, try the Calatrava-designed Bodega Ysios and Bodega Campo Viejo.

Logroño is a good base for touring La Rioja. The challenge is to stay sober enough to drive between bodegas after some full-bodied wine tastings. Try this link for more ideas.

We ate here: try a tapas crawl along the Calle del Laurel, trying a pincho or two in each one. Check out this link for ideas (it’s in Spanish, but hit Google Translate).

We stayed here: Sercotel Calle Mayor, a 16^th century former mansion in the old town.

Zaragoza

Distance from Bilbao 3 hours, Santander 4 hours, from Logroño 1 hour 45.

Zaragoza is a proper city, the capital of Aragón. But for some reason, it seems to have fallen off the tourist trail (or never been on it much in the first place). Once you get into the city centre though, there’s a lot to see.

The big one is the spectacular Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar on the banks of the Ebro. Head up one of the towers for a pigeon’s-eye view over the city, then walk across the Puente de Piedra for a view from the opposite bank.

Zaragoza manages to squeeze in a second Cathedral (La Seo), just a couple of hundred metres away from the Basilica. There’s also a statue to the painter Goya in the square – he grew up in the city.

The Romans were here in force. The city’s name comes from Caesar Augusta, which evolved into Zaragoza after a millennium or two of mispronunciation! Take a look at the ruins of the Roman theatre, one of the biggest in Spain and only discovered in 1972.

Swing by the Plaza San Felipe for one of those quirky stories I love to stumble across on a city walk. You’ll see a bronze statue of a young boy (el niño sentado) gazing seemingly into empty space. But he’s actually looking up at where the famous leaning tower of Zaragoza, the Torre Nueva, once stood.

La Torre Nueva was built in the 1500s, but it developed a bit of an angle in the centuries that followed, rather like the more famous leaning tower of Pisa. So much so that the city decided rather arbitrarily to demolish it in the 1890s. It wasn’t a popular decision – opponents called it ‘the greatest artistic crime committed in Spain’.

The statue of the boy was put there a century later. If you stand behind him, you can see a mural of the Torre Nueva painted on a building opposite. Good story!

Half an hour’s walk from the centre lies the impressive Palacio de la Aljafería. Built by the Moors in the 11th century, it’s also done duty as a royal palace for the Catholic Monarchs, the seat of the Inquisition, a jail and a military barracks. These days, it’s the home of Las Cortes, the regional parliament of Aragón.

We stayed here: NH Gran Hotel de Zaragoza, Aparthotel Los Girasoles. Eat or have a drink at the rooftop Sky Bar at Los Girasoles with a wonderful view of the Basilica.

We ate here: check out the El Tubo area in the old town – you’ll find around 60 tapas bars serving local specialities. Wash them down with a caña or two of Ambar beer (it’s brewed in Zaragoza). For eating ideas, see the links here and here

ZBE/low-emission zone

Zaragoza has a ZBE covering the centre of the city, being introduced in stages through 2025. From what I can see, it’ll be fully operational (with fines!) from December 12, 2025. Hotels with systems connected to the ZBE control can give permits – check in advance. Link plus map here (in Spanish, but use Google Translate).

Cuenca

Distance – 3.5 hours from Zaragoza, just under 6 hours from Bilbao (via Logroño).

The medieval walled city of Cuenca is slightly off the direct route to the Costa Blanca, but seriously worth the detour. Cuenca is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the hanging houses (casas colgadas) are an iconic image of the city.

The old city is compact and easily walkable. Highlights include the Plaza Mayor, the Torre de Mangana and the astonishing views across the river Júcar.

They’ve been a bit careless with some of their architecture in Cuenca over the centuries. In 1902, one of the towers of the cathedral collapsed, so the whole facade was completely rebuilt, in a different style.

The rather elegant Puente de San Pablo stone bridge over the River Huécar collapsed in 1895 and was replaced with a deeply boring but functional metal girder span. It’s the best place to view the casas colgadas though.

Even the famous hanging houses themselves didn’t escape unscathed. There used to be eight of them, but five were demolished in the early 20^th century because they’d apparently fallen into disrepair. In the three that survive, there’s a restaurant and a museum of abstract art.

We stayed here: we pushed the boat out and stayed in the historic Parador de Cuenca, a converted convent opposite the casas colgadas. We ate there too, so I don’t have any recommendations in the town itself.

But Cuenca was voted Spanish Capital of Gastronomy in 2023, so they’re clearly not short of a good place to eat. Try this link for some top-end places.

La Ciudad Encantada

For a side-trip with a difference, head for the Ciudad Encantada (Enchanted City) for some truly startling rock formations eroded out of the limestone rock over millions of years. It’s about half an hour up the road from Cuenca.

Albarracín

Distance: just under 2 hours drive from Cuenca.

Often voted one of Spain’s most beautiful pueblos, Albarracín was originally a Moorish stronghold, built in the curve of the little rio Guadalaviar.

A warren of narrow twisting streets rises up from the river to the castle at the top of the hill. The houses are so close together, the roofs almost meet over your head.

It takes just a few hours to take in all the sights. Take in the Cathedral, the castle, the Plaza Mayor and walk up to the Torre del Andador for a bird’s eye view over the town. For more, check my post on Albarracín here.

We ate here: Señorío de Albarracín

We stayed here: Hotel Doña Blanca, which has parking (there’s not much of that in the crowded old town).

From Albarracín, it’s about 45 minutes to our next stop, the provincial capital of Teruel.

Teruel

Most people whizz by Teruel on the (happily toll-free) A-23 autopista straight down to the Mediterranean. But it’s a little undiscovered gem of a city and really worth a stopover in its own right.

Teruel has perhaps the greatest concentration of Mudéjar buildings in Spain, lavishly decorated with ceramic tiles and intricate geometric designs. It has great food too – Teruel is famous for its jamón serrano. And if that’s not enough, it has a love story to rival Romeo and Juliet.

Los Amantes (the lovers) of Teruel

The lovers of Teruel were Isabel de Segura y Diego de Marcilla, who fell in love in the 13th century. He was a poor lad, while her dad was loaded, so he forbade the match. So far, so familiar. But Diego went off to the wars to seek his fortune.

Five years later, he returned, with cash to spare. But Isabel had just got married to one of the local bigwigs (her dad insisted!). Diego managed to talk his way into her house, and asked for a kiss. She said no, she was married. At which point, he dropped dead.

Isabel came to his funeral, determined to give him the kiss she had denied him in life. But then she dropped dead too.

The story then gets a bit hazy – but in the 16th century a pair of bodies were discovered in the church of San Pedro and declared to be the couple. Their mummified bodies were put on show, which was more than a little ghoulish.

Now though, they lie side by side in a modern mausoleum, their graves topped with rather elegant alabaster statues almost (but not quite) holding hands. Take the tour which includes the stunning church interior and tower of San Pedro next door.

Mudéjar architecture

The Mudéjars were the Moors who stayed behind after the Christian kings reconquered Spain. Their builders went to work for the new Christian masters, but kept their Islamic architectural traditions of working in brick, decorated with intricate patterns and ceramic glazing.

Don’t miss the Cathedral – some say the beautifully decorated ceiling is the Sistine Chapel of the Mudéjar style. Get a guided tour which allows you up to a gallery high above the nave for a closer look.

Head for the Mudéjar towers of Teruel – climb El Torre del Salvador (below) for great views over the city skyline.

And check out the Escalinata de Óvalo, a grand neo-Mudéjar staircase, built in the 1920s, that leads up from the rail station to the historic centre.

The historic centre of Teruel is really easy to walk around, centred on the Plaza del Torico with its emblematic little bull perched on top of the central fountain. Go underneath the square to see the aljibes – the underground water cisterns, the city’s water supply in medieval times.

Head for the top of town to walk along a section of restored city wall and look down at the aqueduct (not Roman, for a change!) You can do all the sights comfortably in a day. For more on Teruel, check my post here.

We stayed here:

Hotel Reina Cristina on the edge of the old town near the Escalinata de Óvalo and Torre del Salvador.

We ate here:

Restaurante El Mercao for great jamón serrano de Teruel and cheeses from nearby Albarracín. Restaurante Portal de Guadalaviar, right next to the Hotel Reina Cristina.

Valencia

From Teruel, it’s around 90 minutes to our next stop Valencia, Spain’s third city. Valencia is plenty big enough for a full-on city break. Stay at least one night, preferably two!

The city is a blend of the spectacularly modern – the cutting-edge architecture of the Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencias – with the venerably ancient (think the Holy Grail in the cathedral).

The centre is elegant and compact; you can stroll round half a dozen sights with ease. Try a walking tour – we did this one. Here are my personal highlights.

Mercado Central

My favourite place! On the outside, an impressive modernist building that claims to be the biggest food market in Spain. On the inside, it’s a palace filled with every kind of fresh produce you can imagine.

Browse the stalls or order a tapa or two to keep the wolf from the door. Open Mon – Sat 0730-1500.

Llonja de la Seda

Just round the corner from the market is this 15^th century jewel. Its name translates literally as the Silk Exchange, and it was a kind of medieval trading centre, a symbol of the city’s growing prosperity.

The graceful twisting columns in the Sala de Contratación (above) are the highlight.

Tribunal de las Aguas

For centuries, this tribunal has divvied up the water supply, vital in a climate where irrigation is the norm. It still meets in public every Thursday at 1200 in front of the building in Plaza de la Virgen.

Cathedral & Torre de Miguelete (Micalet in Valenciano)

If you’re feeling energetic, climb the 207 steps to the top of the Torre de Miguelete.

And stop off to see the Holy Grail, the chalice reputedly used by Christ at the Last Supper. Valencianos insist it is the genuine article; Popes John Paul ll and Benedict XVI both used it to celebrate mass in the cathedral.

Torres de Serranos y Quart

Two massive fortified gatehouses that formed a key part of Valencia’s defences. Climb to the top for great views over the old city.

Parque del Rio Turia

From the Serranos gate, you get a great view over a unique linear park, created when the course of the Rio Turia was deliberately diverted after catastrophic flooding in 1957. Valencianos wanted to move the river well away from the old town to avoid a repetition.  

They created a green linear park on the river bed instead; now the lungs of the city. Thankfully a plan to run a multi-lane highway down it never came to fruition. Sadly, the risk of flooding in Valencia didn’t disappear altogether, as the tragic events of 2024 proved.

Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias

Also built on land reclaimed from the old river bed of the Rio Turia, this astonishing series of art and science pavilions are an artistic statement in their own right.

Like the Guggenheim in Bilbao, the creations from Valencian architect Joaquin Calatrava are more famously eye-catching than any of the exhibitions staged inside. Click through the slideshow above for the evidence!

Museo de L’Almoina

A cool underground walk through the archaeology of Valencia, from the city’s foundation by the Romans in 138 BCE to the Middle Ages.

We ate here:

No paella recommendations I’m afraid, but if you fancy a good curry, try Khatmandu Nepalese restaurant.

ZBE/low-emission zone

Valencia is introducing a ZBE in stages – from what I can see, it goes fully operational (with fines!) from Dec 1, 2025. Check with your accommodation provider in advance. Link and map here.

From Valencia, it’s a two-hour run on the motorway to Alicante and the heart of the Costa Blanca.

Alicante also has a ZBE, but it only really applies to the narrow streets of the old town (where you almost certainly won’t want to drive anyway). You can still drive around most of the city centre as before – see this article.

Segovia & the southern route

Instead of heading east from Burgos via Logroño and Zaragoza, try heading south towards one of our favourite cities, Segovia, and then on to Toledo, the ancient capital of Spain.

Segovia lies about 3.5 hours drive from Santander or Bilbao. It’s dominated by the multi-tiered Roman aqueduct which marches uncompromisingly right through the old city. It’s an astonishing piece of engineering, built in the 1^st century AD to bring water from the nearby mountains. It was still in use right up until 1973.

The aqueduct is gobsmacking enough on its own to justify a visit, but there’s plenty more. Head up into the old town to the Plaza Mayor, the Cathedral and then the spectacular Alcázar, the fortress of Segovia.

The Alcázar is a picture-perfect ideal of what a romantic castle should look like and the views over the surrounding countryside are a bit special too.

We stayed here: Eurostars Plaza Acueducto hotel. Ask for a room opposite the aqueduct so you wake up with a view! Try also Hotel Don Felipe in the old town.

Segovia is famous for cochinillo (roasted suckling pig), cooked in a wood-fired oven. The meat is so tender and the skin so crispy, you’ll sometimes see waiters cutting the cochinillo with the edge of a china plate, rather than a knife. Traditionally, the plate is smashed on the floor afterwards!

We ate cochinillo here: Restaurante Jose Maria, Restaurante Asador Maribel. If you don’t fancy cochinillo, try Restaurante Pasapán. Still plenty of meat on the menu, but a fair number of other choices too.

ZBE/low-emission zone

Segovia has introduced a low-emission zone. According to RACE, the Spanish drivers’ organisation, there is an exemption for foreign-registered cars staying at a hotel, hostel or tourist apartment in the old town. Check in advance with your accommodation provider. Map here.

Side trips

On your way south to Segovia, it’s a small detour off the main A-601 road to take in one of Spain’s more spectacular castles, the Castillo de Coca.

It’s simply huge, built in the 15th century in a striking mixture of Gothic and Mudéjar styles. Climb to the top of the Torre de Homenaje (the keep) for some spectacular views over the forests that surround Coca.

Fascinating fact!

Not too many Spanish villages can boast they were the birthplace of a Roman Emperor. But Theodosius I was born in Coca in 347 AD. He wasn’t just any old emperor either. He was the last man to rule the united Roman Empire before it split into the Western and Eastern branches, based in Rome and Byzantium respectively.

Ávila

Try heading to the spectacular walled city of Ávila, about 50 minutes drive west of Segovia. For more, check my post on Ávila here. Ávila also has a ZBE covering the historic centre – map here.

Or head to El Palacio Real de La Granja, the summer palace of Spanish kings, about 20 minutes drive from Segovia to the foot of the Guadarrama mountains. The gardens are quite something. At least, so we’re told. When we arrived, it was snowing heavily!

The fountains, fed by streams from the Guadarrama mountains, are spectacular. At least, they are when the temperature rises above zero! Even without the gardens, it’s still a pretty cool visit. The palace interiors are sumptuous and the Tapestry Museum is fascinating.

El Escorial

Less than an hour south of Segovia lies the vast palace of El Escorial, the personal vanity project of King Philip ll. He was the most powerful man in the world in the 16^th century and his austere creation was designed to leave onlookers in no doubt about who was top dog.

The place is simply huge, a mixture of royal palace, pantheon (most Spanish kings ever since have been buried here) and monastery, all set against a backdrop of the Guadarrama mountains.

Check out how to visit here.

My recommendation – stay in Segovia and drive to El Escorial from there.

Toledo

Distance: 5-6 hours from Santander via Segovia, with breaks. About 90 minutes from Segovia.

Toledo is a former capital of Spain (until Madrid took over) shoehorned into a bend of the River Tagus. It’s played a key role in Spanish history pretty much since Roman times.

It was ruled in turn by the Visigoths (who replaced the Romans), and then the Moors until the Christians retook the city in 1085. For a few centuries, it had a vibrant Jewish community too, until they were expelled by the Catholic Monarchs in 1492. So Toledo has had a fair old range of influences over the centuries.

Most of the key sights are within easy walking distance. The Alcázar (fortress) dominates the city, which I guess is what it was designed to do.

It played a key role in the early months of the Spanish Civil War. The garrison commander, José Moscardó, joined Franco’s rebellion and resisted a two-month siege by Republican forces. Franco’s army eventually came to the rescue, celebrating Moscardó and his defenders as heroes in a major progaganda victory (Moscardó in particular for refusing to surrender the Alcázar to save his own son).

Toledo’s magnificent 13^th century Gothic cathedral is a must-see. The interior is fabulously ornate.

Toledo is synonymous with the artist El Greco and also, rather bizarrely, swords (the city made the finest steel in Europe in medieval times). See El Greco’s work in a museum dedicated to him in the Jewish Quarter. And there are knives and swords on sale in lots of souvenir shops. Though it’s probably best to avoid buying any unless you want trouble with customs on the way home!

We stayed here: Hotel San Juan de los Reyes

Eat here: try the Azotea rooftop terrace at the Hotel Carlos V for drinks, tapas and great views across the city skyline.

Aranjuez & Chinchón

There are two cool side trips from Toledo – 45 minutes to the east lies Aranjuez and its spectacular Royal Palace. Take the palace tour and stroll through the acres of landscaped gardens.

Time your trip for early October and catch the Aranjuez balloon festival – a mass take-off right in front of the royal palace. It commemorates the first-ever Spanish balloon flight here in 1784. Click through some highlights in the gallery below.

We stayed here: NH Palacio de Aranjuez (pricey but right next to the palace). Great for watching the balloons lift off!

We ate here: El Tomate de Aranjuez, near the Plaza de Toros.

Half an hour further on, you find the pretty little town of Chinchón, famous across Spain for its highly alcoholic aniseed liqueur (think Pernod with a proper kick to it).

From Toledo, it’s a straight four hour run to Alicante, the capital of the Costa Blanca.

La Mancha and windmills

Pause en route to take in the Molinos de Consuegra, about 50 minutes south of Toledo. They’re a highly photogenic string of Don Quixote-style windmills on the ridge of the Cerro Calderico, a few minutes drive off the main road. The views over the vast plains of La Mancha are quite something.

From here, it’s about 3.5 hours to Alicante. That’s it – hope you’ve enjoyed my top stopovers in Spain! Buen viaje!

The southern route

The southeastern route

Extra tip!

From January 1, 2026, all cars in Spain have to carry a flashing beacon in case of breakdown, replacing the old warning triangles. This V16 beacon is magnetic – you clamp it on the car roof when you’re stuck. Some models have a SIM inside to give the traffic authorities your position.

You can buy beacons in the UK as well as Spain. But make sure you get one that is DGT-approved (DGT is a rough equivalent to the DVLA in the UK), otherwise it may not be legal. More info here.

© Guy Pelham