Travelling to hosted site Spain in February
Hi I would be interested to hear from anyone who has done or are doing the 2023 hosted sites in Spain.
I am travelling from Dover and travelling through France and looking at Aires using the usual apps ACSI, Camping Car Park etc. However I have concerns regarding Toilets and Black Water disposal and wondered what others know or are planning regarding this. Hoping Spain is less of an issue as sites are open etc.
Also there is the snow chains issue and wondered if the route down through Clermont Ferrand is in that category (Massif Central see photo) ?
Cheers Chas
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ChasNick, As you mention wanting toilets en route you are better to look at campsites rather than Aires.
If you plan to use the road south fromClermont Ferrand in February you will need an accurate weather forecast a few days in advance - in snowy conditions they simple close barriers and shut the road.
An alternative route between Tours and Perpignan is to go via Limoges and Toulouse - campsites are available and open that way if you decide to use them.
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Hi Chasnick, we returned last week from Spain/Portugal via France to the tunnel.
We used the Western route to come up. We crossed the border into France at Hendaye having spent the night before at Burgos in Spain. Its good roads and we made good time, no tolls used though we could have.
Coming through France we stopped the first night on a CCP aire near Soustons. The next day not a long drive to another aire east of Angouleme, then up to a site that was open near Tour (site open all year at Poitiers) after that 2 more CCP Aires took us to the tunnel. We could have done it in less time and stops but we were not in a rush.
The CCP Aires are good, fresh water is available, you can dump both waste water and toilet waste. There are plenty of Aires open all year in France. Some may shut off Freshwater in the extreme cold weather so make sure you are aware of this and carry some just incase.
Aires in Spain, we have only just started to use these and have been impressed by the ones used so far. Slightly dearer than France but the ones we used had full facilities on them including one with a swimming pool.
I would suggest putting an app on your phone for Searchforsites, park4night and/or camperstop. I personally like searchforsites it's easy to use and you get lots of information and reviews.
Last year we came up from Spain a month earlier so didn't have to think about snowchains etc. We used the Bielsa tunnel from Spain into France which allowed us to get from Benicarlo into France in one easy drive. We have travelled down the Med coast into Spain but not in winter so will leave others to advise on that route.
Enjoy your trip.
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You might find >this record< of a winter trip to the Costa Blanc useful. I would not go via the Central Massive in winter but take a route down the western side of France. Some Aires, especially northern France, while open may turn off the water supplies to prevent frozen pipes. Just make sure you carry some water with you just in case. You do not say what time your crossing is so it is difficult to recommend sites because of this.
Check out the AA's web site for winter tyre informatiion, you may be able to avoid carrying snow chains by using the west coast route down to Bordeaux and crossing into Spain at Irun and heading for Santander then Zaragosa etc..
peedee
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Not sure of your specific destination in Spain but we head to Benicassim most winters and I can only echo TG's post...
although we are using Santander this Feb, it's usually been the western route, often starting Cherbourg or Caen, via Rennes, Nantes, Bordeaux then to Irun.
Then up to Pamplona, past Zaragosa, down the A23 towards Sagunt, turning back NE to Benicassim.
Often snow on the ski slopes but almost always cold and dry on 'the Plain'.
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Hi, fwiw ….
We have favoured the western central France route but then use Med coast down Spain and will repeat 7/1/23 hopefully …
Calais, Rouen, Chartres / N154 route down to Orleans, Limoges, Toulouse, Perpignan, border, AP7 down the Med Coast. Cuts out a bit of Peage (€€ !) and gives some very convenient site options (Camping Montreal south of Limoges), Capmany site just across Spanish border (shorts on ).
The med coast of the AP7 south in February will be much more pleasant & warmer, with miles of orange blossom, than tedious barren high level cold central Spain. Via Michelin the various options.
Enjoy !
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East, West approach into Spain...either is fine...we've done Perpignan route before, even nicer now AP7 is free.
however, a lot depends on starting point...for us in the SW a starting point of Poole or Portsmouth makes the Western side favourite.
we did head for Clermont Ferrand a while back but that's also pretty high prone to 'weather' in January.
the 'tedious barren high level cold central Spain' can appear that at times, but we've generally had great weather and can make pretty fast progress in a light van on great roads.
plenty of choice.
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ChasNick, In other words you can go any way you choose.
How about a few days sightseeing in Paris, Lyon, Avignon and Narbonne - they all have campsites open in winter, plus museums, galleries, shops and restaurants in each of those cities.
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Hi Chasnick
We are travelling at the end of January to stay at the CAMC Rally at Alannia Costa Blanca. We travel with a dog so the long ferry journey does not suit us. Ferries can also get cancelled at very short notice in adverse weather.
We have a 13:20 Eurotunnel crossing booked and plan to follow this route.1st night we will stop at the aire at Pont de l'Arche (312 miles from home, 143 miles from Calais), second night on a municial aire at Chaunay (256 miles), 3rd night at Camping Larrouletta (257miles), 4th night at an autopista rest stop near Teruel (257 miles), then a final 197 miles to Alannia.
With regard to the route, we always travel via Rouen in the first instance then travel via the N10/A1/A 63, the A20/A61 or the A71/75 depending on the weather forecast. The high level trip via Millau is spectacular in winter but the likelihood of snow in January/February is quite high. It can also get very cold and icy.
The western route is probably the most reliable but is more prone to wet and windy conditions, but there are probably more overnight stopping points than going over the top of the Massif Central.
If you stick to the autoroutes to cross into Spain at either the Med or Atlantic ends of the Pyrenees, you are not required to fit snow chains.
With regard to the services available on aires, grey and black waste emptying facilities are usually open, but fresh water supplies are often turned off in winter. We will leave home with an 80% full water tank and our waste tank will be sufficient for the entire journey, although we will empty regularly to save carrying excess weight where possible. Black waste will be emptied, subject to the facilities being operational but we also carry a spare loo cassette, just in case (never used to date).
We have twin 13kg Gaslow cylinders for heating and hot water, so we keep nice and warm overnight and replenish our LPG supply prior to arriving at Alannia. Larger Repsol service stations usually have LPG (GPL) pumps that are easiy accessible.
Hope our experiences are some help to you. May see you at Alannia.
Edit: Somehow the map defaulted to going through the centre of Bordeaux - not advisable - keep to the autoroute !!
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Good advice from JimE If you want more detail and step by step directions on the route I used last time I went to Alannia click >here< My route does minimises the use of toll roads and on the first day does not go so far a JimE but does go over the Pyrenees rather than round them. You may want to use parts of it? The aire at Neufchatel is excellent and is provided by Camping Sainte Claire. Bon voyage.
peedee
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It doesn't work as well as I thought, you don't get step by step directions. You have to work out these yourself by zooming in. I have also tried exporting a kml file but yet again it does not show detailed directions when you load it back into Google Maps. I am hoping the knl file can be loaded into my sat nav even if I have to convert it to another format.
peedee
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Hi, great reading. We are planning as our 1st winter get away, arriving 05.00hrs 2nd March on the overnight Dieppe ferry. Thinking western route to Poitiers, which I will book in advance. Don't fancy a long tow and being told no availability, as it getting dark. Then on to Larrouleta, Urrugne. An assessment of the weather and decide, most likely directly south towards the Med Coast. Following it to Morella, Ronda, Savile.
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A romantic post, ET, and change the date to May or June and even I'd be tempted...😉
however, in mid February it can be mightily cold for sightseeing, even down as far as Narbonne.
Last year, on our way back home, we were coming through Nantes early April and it was unbelievably cold.🥶
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Chasnick, just to pick up on one of Jim's points...what gas system do you have?
Spanish sites often have metered electric and long termers favour gas as it's still the cheapest solution if your running a large fridge 24/7.
depending on the size of the bottles and length of stay you may find what you can carry isn't enough.
if you have refillables then that's great but many use Spanish Repsol/Cepsa bottles...I carry an empty one back to Spain each visit and swap it at the site, just need a Spanish 'Jumbo' adaptor.
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I wish you good fortune with that plan, but it’s not far short of 400 miles from your home address to the Poitiers site - and I fear you won’t get much sleep on the four hour ferry crossing from Newhaven.in the middle of the night.
It’s one thing to set off from Dieppe with the hope that you might get to Poitiers - but something else to say that you have made a booking there and you can’t stop somewhere sooner.
Go gently., stay flexible.
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Agree with ET, I was going to post that Via Michelin suggested about 7.5 hours for the trip and I had some stopping places in mind..
then I realised Doris was a caravanner and my MH suggestions wouldn't have been suitable as we don't tend to use sites when on the gallop, especially as the schedule changes often...or there isn't one..
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Dieppe to Poitiers is 293miles all on autoroute, even towing a caravan I would have thought it was doable in 5 to 6 hours in good weather. However, I do agree with ET about trying to retain the freedom to stop when you see fit. Travelling in winter weatheer is not so predictable as in summer time and it should not be necessary to book anywhere..
I cannot recommend places to stay either because like YT I night stop on the motorhome Aires as and when necessary usually no later than 4 p.m. in the winter months.
peedee
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If you use an App like Park4Night you can put in your route and it will give you all the stopping places close to that route. I have just done it for Dieppe to Poitiers and filtered just for campsites. It shows many many campsite along side the route but applying the winter caravanning filter didn't fill me with confidence as to its accuracy because it didn't show Le Futuriste but you can work through the campsites and gather a few open all year ones up your sleave. For instance I note Camping Municipal Vaugeons in Ecommoy just south of Le mans and about half way to Poitiers is shown as open all year.
peedee
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