Drivers successful Spain will soon opportunity goodbye to motorway toll booths for illustration these, arsenic awesome roads hole to spell toll-free successful 2026. Credit : Philip Lange, Shutterstock
Free recreation connected nan sky for AP-68 drivers… After astir 5 decades of paying to transverse bluish Spain, motorists tin yet people their calendars: nan AP-68 toll road betwixt Bilbao and Zaragoza will beryllium free of complaint from November, 11, 2026.
The move, confirmed by Spain’s Ministry of Transport, spells nan extremity of tolls connected this historical 300km route—better known to locals arsenic nan Vasco-Aragonesa motorway.
It’s a displacement galore person been waiting for. Since opening successful 1980, nan AP-68 has linked nan Basque Country and Aragon, collecting millions successful tolls on nan way. From autumn adjacent year, however, drivers will get nan greenish ray to cruise nan afloat agelong without paying a azygous euro astatine nan barrier.
Why is nan AP-68 going toll-free?
The determination is portion of a broader nationalist push to unfastened up Spain’s motorways and make long-distance recreation much affordable. It follows nan illustration of nan AP-2 (Zaragoza–El Vendrell), which scrapped its tolls successful 2021, and echoes a wider European inclination towards removing charges connected awesome routes.
Once tolls are lifted, nan AP-68 will beryllium reclassified arsenic nan A-68 successful sections without dual carriageways, aligning pinch nan naming conventions utilized successful Aragón and Navarra. That means, travel November 2026, you’ll person 2 parallel toll-free roads to take from for overmuch of nan route—good news if you’re readying a roadworthy travel betwixt Bilbao and Zaragoza, aliases conscionable want to skip nan satnav detour.
How overmuch does nan AP-68 costs correct now?
Let’s talk numbers. In 2024, nan afloat toll for a regular car, motorbike aliases ray van making nan Bilbao-Zaragoza tally is €37.25. Heavy vehicles salary moreover more:
- Category 1 (trucks/coaches pinch up to 3 axles, cars pinch double-tyre trailers): €67.80
- Category 2 (large trucks/coaches pinch 4 axles aliases more, microbuses, cars/vans pinch two-axle trailers): €78.60 (or €55.19 if utilizing nan Via T card).
It’s a tidy sum, and 1 that adds up quickly for haulage firms aliases families who usage nan way regularly. So, expect to spot a flurry of celebrations—and possibly a fewer other road-trippers—once nan toll booths are dismantled for good.
Which toll roads still stay successful Spain?
While nan AP-68’s liberation is large news, drivers should statement that Spain isn’t toll-free conscionable yet. There are still 12 awesome toll roads overseen by nan Ministry of Transport, including nan AP-6 (Guadarrama Tunnel), nan AP-7 on nan Mediterranean, and nan AP-9 successful Galicia. The database besides features nan AP-46, AP-53, AP-66 and AP-71.
Add to that 9 much routes managed by SEITT (the State Road Infrastructure Company) and 4 controlled by autonomous communities, and you’re looking astatine a web totalling complete 1,500 kilometres of pay-to-use tarmac. But nan inclination is clear: nan era of paid motorways is fading, and much drivers are demanding toll-free travel.
For now, nan attraction is firmly connected nan AP-68, but insiders propose much tolls could beryllium connected nan chopping artifact arsenic contracts expire and nationalist unit grows. Until then, nan connection from nan Ministry is clear—freedom to roam is coming, 1 motorway astatine a time.
So, if you’ve been putting disconnected that bluish Spanish roadworthy trip, 2026 could beryllium your year. Just retrieve to activity goodbye to nan toll booths arsenic you thrust past—they won’t beryllium location overmuch longer.
Stay tuned pinch Euro Weekly News for nan latest news from Spain astir Motoring