Spain is such a beautiful country. The last thing you want to spend your time doing on your holiday is sitting in a traffic jam! Sometimes traffic can be hard to avoid, especially if you're driving through a major city during rush hour. Although us Brits are used to worse (many of the worst traffic hotspots in Europe are British cities) gridlock is still a common occurrence in Spain's most popular urban conurbations, such as Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga and, of course, Alicante.

Airports can also sometimes become traffic hotspots. Many people choose to book their car hire in Spain online before even leaving British soil and jetting off to top holiday destinations such as Alicante. This is very convenient but, depending when your flight lands traffic levels will vary. Once you do land and sort out your car hire, Alicante airport opens up onto the N-338 road which can occasionally get very busy. This is, unfortunately unavoidable, but the same is true of almost all the airports in Spain.

Once you're in the centre of Alicante it's worth taking into account how traffic increases at peak times. One thing that people often forget to take into account are the many celebrations that occur in Alicante during the height of the tourist season, many of which bring the city to a standstill.

For example on shrove Tuesday the normally busy Rambla Avenue is transformed into a fancy dress procession. The festivities are rife throughout the Easter period especially on Ash Wednesday and Holy Thursday. Later in the year come the Bonfires of St. John on the 24th and 25th of June, when the summer is welcomed in by a series of events, including feasting, bullfights and lots of bonfires, into which people throw non-valuable items and dance around!

On the 5th of August there are more parades, this time in honour of the matron saint of Alicante. If you choose to come in spring rather than summer be aware that although the period of lent there are various religious festivals. Even if you plan your trip for less busy times there are also celebrations occurring in September and January. Something to look out for if you want to avoid driving into the heart of a carnival!

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