Driving in Spain

When you are thinking About Moving To Spain you need to consider how you will get around, either when you visit Spain to view property, or when you finally make your Spanish move. This is why this post on Driving in Spain will try to give you as many details as possible.

Spain is a very large country and, although Spanish transport is good considering the area it has to cover, it is often infrequent and it will severely limit your ability to travel around Spain, or even get to the shops in the next village, if you do not have use of a car.

Spanish Car Hire Companies:

When you visit Spain to view Spanish property, you will probably wish to opt for a hire car. Prices on these vary, but you can usually pick up some good deals, either when you book your flight to Spain, or separately, via the internet. Some Spanish car hire companies expect you to pay for a full tank of petrol or diesel as well as the hire fee before you can take the car, others will charge you only the hire fee, but will expect you to return your Spanish hire car with a full tank of gas.

If you are not sure about where to find a Spanish hire car at a reasonable cost, you can always look at Spanish expat forums; the members on these often post the latest details on car hire companies.

Driving in Spain:

If you are flying to Spain from the UK, then you will need to get used to driving on the right. Once you have driven a few miles, this will be ok, but take it easy when you first embark with your Spanish hire car, until you get used to this.

If you are moving to Spain or driving over to Spain and travelling by ferry, you can bring your own car. However, there are some rules you must follow:

All EU citizens and all tourists in Spain who are driving foreign registered vehicles, must carry with them at all times:

• Your passport (others travelling in Spain with you must also carry theirs). If you are driving in Spain as a tourist, your passport must be current until after your return home.

• Your current driving licence. It appears that the EU type licence is accepted easier if you are stopped by the Spanish ‘trafficos’ (traffic police) (and drivers of foreign registered vehicles in Spain are often stopped...).

• Two EU approved red warning triangles. If your vehicle breaks down while you are driving in Spain, you will have to place one of the warning triangles 100 metres behind your car and one 100 metres in front.

• Reflective ‘High Visibility’ Jackets or vests. At least 2, and if you intend to carry more passengers with you while you are driving in Spain, you will need to carry one for each passenger. If you have a breakdown, or have to leave your vehicle at any time while you are driving in Spain, all those who step outside the car, at any time of day, Must Be Wearing Their Reflective Vest. The vests must also be visible to any Spanish traffico who inspects your car from the outside, so make sure they are in the glove compartment or the back seat pocket. These jackets to carry while you are driving in spain are inexpensive and can be bought at most supermarkets. (If you hire a Spanish rental car, this will be fitted with two reflective jackets as standard).

• You will need to carry a set of spare lamps or bulbs for your car and the tools to change them if necessary.

• If you wear corrective glasses for driving, the law in Spain says you must also carry a spare pair.

• The number plate of your foreign registered car should be an EU one with the ring of stars containing your country code. If not, a small plate or sticker with your country code (GB, for example) should be secured to the rear of your car.

• When driving in Spain (and anywhere else in the EU for that matter) you will need to carry valid insurance documents with you.

• In fact, while driving in Spain, all vehicle documents relating to your car must be carried with you at all times.

• Although it is not always considered mandatory, you should carry a First Aid Kit and a Fire Extinguisher with you, for travel in Spain or anywhere else.
  

• If you do not live in the EU, but wish to drive in Spain, you will need an International Driving Licence issued by the correct authority in your home country. For using this licence in Spain, at least one page of information must be in Spanish.

However, although you can drive in Spain as a ‘tourist’, this is only for a three month period as far as driving insurance is concerned. So you will need to sort out insurance cover if you intend to use your foreign car for driving in Spain for any length of time. This may involve Spanish import duties, so you will need to discuss this with an insurance broker. I would also recommend checking out details on Spanish expat forums to check the latest regulations on this as they do change from time to time and from vehicle to vehicle.

Spanish Roads:

Many of the roads in Spain are excellent. Over recent years, new motorways have been built in many Spanish regions and Spanish ‘A roads’ are often of good quality too. However these can vary. As to other roads in Spain, some are very poor (and sometimes dangerous). Spain is a large country and maintenance of local roads, although an important part of Spanish Local Government work, is a massive and ongoing task. So please take care when driving in Spain, looking out particularly for signs which say “Peligroso! Carretera Muy Estrecha” (danger! very narrow road ahead), or any Spanish road sign which has “Peligroso!” or “Peligro!” in the wording. Sometimes it is fine, but at other times these Spanish local roads can be dangerous for the unwary visitor.

Roads in Spain are classified as follows:

Autopista (motorway) - A or E - prefix to road number: these can be toll roads Maximum speed 120 kph (73 mph).
Autovia - dual carriageway, not necessarily with a central reservation. Speed limits vary from 80 to 110 kph.
Carretera Nacional - N or CN - prefix to road number, main roads. Speed limits 100 to 60 kph
Carretera Local (highway). Speeds vary considerably, from 20 kph or less through Spanish villages, to up to 100 kph on better, straight roads (there are not many of these though).
As in many parts of Europe, speed restrictions in Spain also vary according to the type of vehicle driven, so watch out for this too, especially if you are driving a motor home or a large van in Spain.

Other things about Driving in Spain:

Spanish Traffic lights (semaforas): In Spain these are often situated only at the stop line of a junction for the driver in front to see only. Traffic lights warning of a junction are usually placed overhead.

When you are driving in Spain, watch out for Spanish pedestrians. Many will hold up their hand and step out in front of you, expecting you to stop.

Also watch out for Spanish scooter drivers. Although they are expected to obey Spanish driving laws and remain in the slow lane unless overtaking, Spanish scooter drivers take many risks. You could be in a traffic queue and a scooter driver will come up on your blind side to ‘squeeze in’ the queue. Always watch out for Spanish scooter drivers when you move off or pull out to overtake.

Watch out for ‘no overtaking’ signs when driving in Spain. As everywhere else, they are there for a reason. In Spain you will find many of these because of the winding roads. Do not ignore them. The outcome of doing so on a high Spanish mountain road is not worth the risk.

When you are driving in Spain, all people in the car must wear seatbelts if fitted, and children must be in specially approved (EU) seats situated only in the rear. If you are driving in Spain with dogs in your car, they must be in the back of the vehicle, with a barrier between them and the driver.

Using a mobile phone while you are driving in Spain is now illegal. You can be fined by a Spanish traffico even for using your phone when you are parked at the side of the road. So please do not do this.

The use of Navigation aids (GPS) are still a ‘grey area’ in Spain as I write this. A Spanish traffico can stop you if he thinks your use of a GPS is making your driving dangerous. Best to pull over or ask your passenger to check instead.

Do not break any traffic laws when driving in Spain. For most Spanish traffic offences there are on the spot fines and you will not be able to leave Spain until you have paid them.

Moving to Spain with your foreign registered car:

If you intend to use your foreign registered car to drive in Spain, you must remember that you are only allowed to do this for six months out of any year. Your car must be road worthy, insured and taxed. However, you cannot renew your Tax or MOT on a foreign registered car in Spain. You must do this in the country in which it is registered.

If you are considering bringing your foreign registered, right hand drive car when you move to Spain and register it under Spanish plates, the general consensus seems to be, it really isn’t worth it. It is very difficult and expensive to get a right hand drive car registered with Spanish number plates. Most drivers moving to Spain permanently prefer to sell their old car before they move to Spain and purchase a Spanish registered car on arrival.

When moving to Spain and purchasing a Spanish registered car, you will need the following:

Passport.
NIE Number.
Drivers Licence from your home country.
Official proof of your address in Spain. This could be the Escritura on your Spanish property, your rental agreement, or Certificado de Empadronimiento (registration with your local Spanish authority).

There are many more details about Driving in Spain you may wish to know. You can find these out by looking at the website for the Spanish Traffic Authority (DGT.es). Spanish expat forums are often helpful too, as are magazines you can buy at your local bookstore and books published by the RAC and AA which you may be able to find at your local library.

But I hope the above details about driving in Spain will help you with moving to Spain and living here some time soon.

About Moving to Spain – Spanish Dentists and Farmacias

Dentists in Spain

When moving to Spain you will find that Spanish Dental Practitioners are usually excellent. There are many working in towns, cities and many health centres in villages throughout Spain. You can find a long list of dentists (dentistas) by looking in the Spanish Yellow Pages (Paginas Amarillas) or simply by asking your neighbours or looking along your local town street. In fact, you will often find a dentist in the large Spanish supermarkets.

You will often find much better dental care in Spain than with NHS dentists in the UK. However, Dentists in Spain are not part of the Spanish National Health Service with regards payment. They often work within the Spanish health system, but when it comes to paying them, they are paid as private practitioners. Nevertheless, the cost of private dental treatment in Spain is considerably lower than in the UK and compares well to NHS charges.

You can get emergency dental treatment in Spain at your local hospital, but expats have had mixed reactions to the practitioners who work in the Spanish dental emergency profession, but this, I suggest, is not different from reactions to emergency dental treatment in the UK.

If you prefer, you can go to a private Spanish dentist for your treatment. You can find many private practitioners in most Spanish Cities and large towns. It will cost you a little more than at your local health clinic, but prices are still lower than in the UK.

Spanish Farmacias (Chemists)

When moving to Spain, one of the first things you will notice is the abundance of Farmacias. You will notice them by the large green crosses displayed outside (many with additions of time and local temperature). You can find farmacias on most major streets in large Spanish cities and at least one in almost every town and large village in Spain. Even if you live in a remote Spanish village, you should be able to get to a farmacia without too much difficulty. In many ways they are the backbone of the Spanish health service.

The law in Spain states that farmacias must operate on a rota system so that there is always one open. Your local Spanish press will carry details of the duty farmacia. Details are also posted on the door of the farmacias and often outside your local town hall.

Spanish farmacias will give you basic medical advice and prescribe some forms of medication as they are trained to do so.

When you move to Spain, what you will also notice about Spanish farmacias is that they dispense many medicines without prescription which are not available under the same terms in the UK. For instance, if you arrive in Spain and have forgotten to reapply for a prescription for an inhaler or for birth control pills, if you take the item along to your local farmacia, they can often either find the medication for you, or find a medication very similar. Antibiotics are also usually dispensed by the Spanish farmacia without prescription as are some forms of pain killers which are not available without prescription in the UK.

If you suffer from any health problems, it is most advisable to consult your doctor before you move to Spain. He or she can give you a prescription to cover you for your first month in Spain at least, and can also write down the generic name of the medication you are taking, so that you can show this to the Spanish farmacia and local doctor and the Spanish equivalent can be found quickly. It is also advisable to take old copies of your prescriptions with you when you move to Spain, so that these can also be referred to by the farmacia if necessary.

The cost of medication in Spain is usually lower than in the UK when sold privately by the farmacia, and if you are registered under the Spanish Social Security system, you can take along your prescription and get a substantial discount on the cost (or pay nothing if you are a pensioner).

Alternative Health Care in Spain

There are also alternative chemists such as Chinese clinics and herbal clinics. They are rapidly growing in popularity and most of them speak English. If you look along the streets of most Spanish cities and some major towns, you should find a range of alternative health practitioners.

Overall, when moving to Spain you will find that the healthcare here is excellent and offers you a variety of choices. So, as long as you make sure you are prepared with paperwork or private insurance, you should find no problems here. And so you can get on with all the good things about moving to Spain, without worrying about how you will deal with your health.

About Moving to Spain – Spanish Healthcare

Moving to Spain is a serious step to make, but it can be enjoyed as long as you follow sensible precautions, so here are a few to help you on your way:

Spanish Water:
Nowadays, Spanish tap water is usually safe, but does vary in quality from town to town, so it would be best to at least start out drinking bottled water until you are more acclimatised. Many Spanish villages have a source of drinking water called a ‘canyon’ (often from a tap in the village square), this is usually pure, but again, get acclimatised first. The last thing you want to begin you move to Spain with is an upset tummy from drinking water which is unfamiliar.

The Spanish Heat:
Be prepared for the heat when you move to Spain. Your holidays on the Spanish Costas will not have prepared you for the every day searing heat which occurs in most areas of Spain throughout the summer months. Do not try to sunbathe or over exert yourself during siesta hours – the Spanish people do not. If you do not take precautions when first moving to Spain you could end up with prickly heat or even a bad attack of sunstroke, which could be avoided with a little care. Stay inside as much as you can in the air conditioning when it is too hot, drink plenty of bottled water, and make sure you have enough salt in your diet (no need to overdo it though).

Stray Animals in Spain:
Just like when you go anywhere (or even when you live in the place you now call home), take care when moving to Spain with wild animals and even those you think may be pets. There are many stray cats and dogs in Spain. Despite intense efforts by the Spanish Government, some of these strays carry diseases. You do not want to get a bite from an infected animal, so best to avoid strays wandering around your Spanish village if possible. You will find that this is what most of the Spanish villagers do anyhow.

Nevertheless, however careful you may be, when moving to Spain emergencies can happen and one of the most important things you need to know is the telephone number to call in case of health or other emergency.

The emergency phone number in Spain is 112

The Spanish Healthcare System

The Spanish healthcare system is usually excellent, although it differs slightly from that in the UK. Most Spanish hospitals are modern and well-equipped and Spanish Medical Practitioners are excellent.

Spanish Nurses are highly qualified also, but the emphasis on nursing care is more in line with the ‘nurse practitioner' system growing in the UK, in that Spanish nurses deal with medical care, but do not perform basic care duties, such as feeding, changing and washing patients. The Spanish emphasis on families extends to hospitals in Spain and family members usually carry out these duties.

In line with this policy, a member of the patient’s family will be allowed to be with the patient twenty four hours a day, in order that they can carry out this care. Of course, this may come as a shock to someone moving to Spain and used to UK hospital visiting hours.

When moving to Spain you must also remember that, even in areas where there are many expats, hospital staff often do not speak English, but the hospital may be able to give you details of a translator who can help you with urgent medical matters.

Spanish Health Care has its emphasis firmly placed on ‘prevention’ rather than waiting until a cure is necessary. Therefore nearly all villages in Spain will have a Centro de Salud, where the doctor will not only see patients who are ill, but also give recommendations on eating and lifestyle.

You Spanish Centro de Salud will often be busy and the doctor may often be late, but the care is usually excellent with an emphasis on following up the treatment to ensure that the patient’s health has progressed well.

Entitlement to free Healthcare in Spain

All visitors to Spain from the EU, whether moving to Spain or not, should carry the European Health Insurance card (EHIC). This has replaced the old form E111 which used to entitle you to emergency healthcare in Europe. If you do not have one of these already, you should apply to your local post office or the UK Department of Health website.

But when moving to Spain you must remember that the EHIC is for Emergency Healthcare Treatment in Spain. It will not cover you for long term treatment and you will not be able to sign up with your local Spanish doctor with this.

When planning on moving to Spain, you therefore have to consider what type of health care you want for yourself and your family – the Spanish national healthcare service, or private healthcare.

If you are moving to Spain and retiring there, you will be entitled to free healthcare under the national system. In order to apply for free Spanish healthcare as a pensioner (over 65 years), you need to apply to the Department for Work and Pensions (Newcastle) for a Form E121. As a pensioner, your immediate dependants (including your partner) will also be entitled to free Spanish health care.

If you are not working when you move to Spain, but have accrued national insurance benefits, you will be entitled to free healthcare under the Spanish national system for a period up to two years depending on the benefits outstanding. In order to apply for free Spanish healthcare in these circumstances, you need to apply to the Department for Work and Pensions (Newcastle) for a Form E106. As with being a pensioner in Spain, the dependants of a holder of a form E106 are also entitled to free Spanish health care.

When you move to Spain with either of these forms, you will still need to register yourself and all of your family at the department of social security (Seguridad Social) in your local Spanish area, taking these signed and completed forms with you. After this has been fulfilled, you can register to see a doctor at your local Centro de Salud (Health Centre). However, as this process can be delayed, you still need to carry your emergency health cards (EHIC) with you to cover any eventualities happening in your new life in Spain while the bureaucratic process is completed.

Private Health Insurance and Health Care in Spain

Spain has a very good national health service that works alongside a very good private sector, so you can blend the two if you prefer.

When moving to Spain you may prefer to pay for Private Health Insurance, this will cover you for treatment from a Spanish local doctor without you having to have a social security number. Depending on the amount paid, private insurance for health care in Spain will also entitle you and your family to some health care at local private clinics. However, not all areas in Spain have these facilities

You can purchase private health insurance for when you live in Spain either from an English or American company, or from a local Spanish Insurance company. Policy prices vary considerably (as do the benefits offered – ranging from emergency only to full scale care), with those which are not Spanish tending to be higher in cost. On this I recommend you do your homework, because insurance for expats living in Spain can vary a great deal and the price you pay does not always reflect the benefits you acquire.

The best way to find out about private health insurance for when you move to Spain is to look on the internet and also ask anyone using this already, perhaps in an expat forum or an expat you have met while negotiating your house move.

The more options you have for health insurance cover when moving to Spain, the less likely you are to get a bad deal.

Is now the right time to buy Spanish property?

If you are living in Spain or in the UK, you most probably will have read that Spanish property is declining in value and that the Spanish housing market is at a standstill right now. How should that affect your decision about moving to Spain and buying property here? In fact, is now the right time to buy Spanish property?

Well, if you are thinking about selling up in the UK, investing all your money in Spanish property and moving to Spain, then you need to be absolutely certain that you have thoroughly researched all you can about Spanish life and culture and that you, and all of your family who are moving out with you, will not only be happy moving to Spain, but that you will have enough cash (and/or a steady job) to provide for them when you all live here.

If you plan on keeping your house in the UK, but have some spare cash to buy a holiday home in Spain, or a home for your future retirement, then the option is still open to you to buy Spanish property.

What you do need to think about, however, is that the prices of property in Spain may still fall for a while and it could take several years for the property market to pick up again.

This is why, whatever your reasons for moving to Spain, you do need to think very carefully about all aspects of living and working here, particularly the cost of living in Spain (not much different to the UK) and whether you can honestly afford it, plus other details about Spanish life and culture, which have been discussed in previous articles on About Moving to Spain.

I say this because, if you sell up everything to move to Spain, or use all the spare cash you had put by for your retirement home in the sun, you may not be able to sell that property at a profit for a number of years. You do not want to be stuck in Spain without a job or income and without enough money to move back to the UK.

Many expats living in Spain love Spanish life and would never want to go back, so this would not be a problem for them, but you do have to take these considerations into account.

But the fall in housing prices in Spain is not all bad news for people who want to move here and live as expats, particularly if you have some spare money to invest in Spanish property.

If you take a look at property markets over the years, house prices rise for some time, then you have a recession and property values drop. This is happening in Spain right now. But property markets are cyclical. When house prices fall, they rise again. It is just that this time, in Spain as in other countries, they may take longer to rise than they did in the past.

If you want to move to Spain in the future, wait a few months in case property values fall a little more, and then purchase your Spanish home for future use or holiday lets. You will get it at a very good price and if your Spanish home needs renovating, as many do, you should be able to negotiate a good price with a Spanish (or perhaps a good expat) builder, as they will be looking for work.

In fact, for anyone thinking of investing in Spanish property, a few months from now could be a good time to buy your villa in Spain at a very good price. And when Spanish property prices rise in a few years time, you could have a very good investment on your hands and a home in the sun which cost you a lot less to buy and to renovate than it would have done a year ago.

Buying property in any country takes research and a great deal of thought. Property speculation is always a gamble and Spanish property is no exception. But it seems to me that this is a gamble that could well pay off. But only if you have the spare cash to do so after all other savings for the future are accounted for.

And even if you do not have the spare cash to invest in Spanish property right now, but still want to move to Spain, then why not keep your home in the UK, let it out to pay your mortgage costs, and rent a house or apartment in Spain?

Rental property in Spain is cheaper than in the UK and you will have a good choice of Spanish villas, houses and apartments to rent. This will give you the time to see for sure whether you and your family want to move to Spain permanently or whether, after experiencing your life in the sun, you are not so sure that Spain is still your choice.

Even when property prices fall and markets are unstable, with research and consideration, you can still make your move to a new Spanish lifestyle. It's just that you have to be even more careful at these times when you make your decisions about moving to Spain.