Happy New Year! Yes, The Toll Roads Are More Expensive Too
Because of course they are.
Nothing says “Welcome to the New Year” quite like discovering that while you were busy finishing the last of the turrón, Spain quietly put the toll road prices up as well.
From January 1st, toll tariffs across Spain have increased by around 3% to 5%, depending on the concession. Which sounds reasonable when you say it like that. Very grown-up. Very sensible.
Until you actually use one.
Take the AP-7 between Los Montesinos and La Zenia. In high season, the toll now hits €5.13. For a relatively short stretch of road. And people still wonder why the N332 around Torrevieja resembles a slow-moving car park most days.
This is not a mystery. It is cause and effect.
Yes, there are off-peak discounts. Very generous. Lovely.
Unfortunately, off-peak tends to be exactly the time when nobody’s around anyway.
The moment the tourists arrive?
Full price. No mercy. Welcome to peak season.
And so the pattern continues.
The toll road sits there. Smooth. Empty. Peaceful. Like a freshly ironed shirt nobody wants to wear.
Meanwhile, the free road is absolutely rammed. Vans, cars, lorries, scooters, cyclists, the lot — all crawling along together in a beautiful display of shared frustration.
The only vehicles that seem to regularly use the toll roads are:
- Commercial traffic that doesn’t have a choice
- Tourists who haven’t yet learned the system
Everyone else has done the maths.
These price rises are apparently linked to inflation adjustments and long-standing agreements with the toll operators. Which is fair enough, on paper. On the road, it just feels like a masterclass in how to discourage usage.
Here’s The Thing.
If they dropped the toll to, say, €2 flat, people would use it.
Locals would use it.
Traffic would flow.
The N332 might actually move.
But instead, we carry on as we are. One road empty. One road gridlocked. Everyone mildly annoyed.
Tolls Removed
However, the ring road around Alicante, they have removed the toll charges!
Strange world we live in.
Happy New Year. 🚗💸
