Taking the car all the way to the cinema! Have you ever been to a drive-in?

It may seem like something from the past, but there is a perfect way to combine two passions and hobbies that many of us share: going to the cinema and enjoying the comfort of our car at the same time. Drive-in cinemas come from American culture, but they have also taken root in Spanish culture, and although there aren’t many, it is possible to visit this type of venue. And, at this moment, enjoying films on the big screen, feeling safe and using the car for something as ordinary as going to the cinema is something worth considering.

Drive-ins, much more than car parks with a cinema

Drive-in cinemas are almost as old as the cars themselves. In the 1910s there was already some venue of this kind in the United States, but the first true drive-ins arrived in 1933. You could not only go to a conventional cinema, but these open-air cinemas let you be in a space you knew well and where you felt comfortable. Alone, as a couple or with the whole family, watching the new releases from your car was a different experience.

Drive-ins allow the parking of several cars (some up to 300 cars), and even the sound system has evolved. From speakers at the foot of the screen to small personal speakers that were hooked onto the car window. Today, drive-ins use an FM radio transmitter that can be tuned in from the car so you can listen to the film with the full power of the vehicle’s sound system.

Drive-ins in Spain

Although there are quite a few drive-ins in the United States, in Spain there are only five. Even so, if one happens to be close by, it is an interesting experience to enjoy the latest new release or one of those B-movies usually associated with these motorised cinemas.

The drive-ins in Spain are mostly located on the Valencian coast, which has three. The province of Alicante has two, one in Dénia, with capacity for 300 cars, and one in Mutxamel, which reaches a capacity of 400 cars. Valencia has another one, between El Saler and the surroundings of the Albufera.

In Gijón there has been a drive-in since 1993, on the road from La Providencia to El Infanzón, and in Getxo we find a drive-in that has only been around for five years and is the largest and most modern on the Cantabrian coast. People from Madrid can go with their cars to the Autocine RACE, which, in addition to space for 350 cars, also has 100 seats for those who want to enjoy open-air cinema.

So you can take your car all the way to the cinema, adjust the seats, set up the multimedia system and watch the film everyone is talking about or that classic title we want to see, with all the comfort of our vehicle, without giving up anything our four-wheeled companion has to offer.

Have you ever tried going to a drive-in?