La Carolina is located at the entrance to Andalusia through the Despeñaperros pass, at the foot of the A-IV E5 motorway, with accesses at exits 266 (North), 268 (center) and 270 (South). It connects with Úbeda, with the Condado and La Loma regions, through the A-301 regional road, which continues towards the Sierra de Segura, Cazorla and Las Villas, and towards Albacete via the N-322. At the local level, it has highways and roads that enter the Sierra Morena and the mining district.

It has a bus station and regular lines such as Madrid-Córdoba-Seville and within the province with Jaén, Linares, Bailén, Úbeda and Baeza.