I've not bothered going to Spain but frequently been to South of France in an AA5 - so nothing unusual (other than the cost nowadays) about long european trips.
It wasn't unusual before the last war either; my parents went on honeymoon to the Ardennes in 1938 in a light twin, and my Father twice flew himself to Czechoslovakia pre-war. No radio aids then - just map, plot and stop watch.
I also know a man who flies from and back to Portugal every three years in a Chippie - so nothing special really!