Options driving South in January

[burrotaxi]

We will be driving down to Cordoba again at the end of the month. We normally take the route through Madrid but fancy a change and thought going via Salamanca might be good alternative. Any thoughts on quality of roads, particularly at this time of year. We havent travelled in January so not sure of weather conditions etc.

[olive]

The silver road . Salamanca down to Seville is great. Plenty of nice places to overnight. My favourite diversion is Placensia to Trujillo and back to the Silver road. Trujillo is a small gem which understandably has had its status “ upgraded” ( ie the days of just driving into the centre and sightseeing are numbered!). Medellin likewise is another small gem.

They do get snow inland in Northern Spain but we have always been lucky.

[markwilding]

The motorway is a good one and has less traffic than the Madrid route. As mentioned, there is the possibility of snow especially on high ground but that’s the same whichever way you go. It has already been snowing so the skiers are happy at the moment. Other places to stop off is Salamanca, absolutely freezing at this time off year so wrap up if you stop there. On our trip down south last summer, we stopped in Careces, another place well worth a visit.

[costakid]

Go via Segovia. Stunning but very cold.

[markwilding]

Agree, another good option. It's basically the same as the Madrid route but you leave the motorway around 100 Kms before Madrid. It's then easy to head south from Segovia towards Madrid and pick up the M50 to connect to whichever motorway you chose to pick up the A4, Actually both routes are possible if you go down one way and return the other. I have been a few times and it never disappoints. It does get cold there though, I went one Easter and it was bitter.

[Lavanda]

Hola Burrotaxi! There are two excellent roads going south from Salamanca to Seville; the Autovia A-66 or the Ruta de la Plata N-630. Neither of them will have much traffic — they never do. There will be snow on the mountains in the Sierra de Gredos as you come into Extremadura via the Puerto de Béjar but the roads are clear. The first exciting bit you will reach in Extremadura is the Jerte Valley and it will be stunning with the snow sprinkled mountains. Hérvas is a good stopping place for a walk around the UNESCO Jewish Quarter. Then, stoping off points can be Plasencia, Cáceres, Trujillo, Mérida or any or all of these. If you dawdle in Extremadura (and you may never want to leave) you can get to Cordoba via Don Benito more speedily than going via Seville. It depends on what you want to see and how long you want your road trip to take.

I have also sent you a PM.

[DannyB]

+1 for the Don Benito , Cordoba route. picturesque and not much longer, Also Valledolid ,Avila and Toledo but that takes a bit longer and is best if stopping off overnight.
A nice little detour is Jaen to Lucena rather than going all the way to Granada.
I think with these , and Lavanda's suggestions you have either have plenty of time or be happy pushing on assertively on the Spanish equivalent of A roads.