Wintering in Spain
Hello,
My wife and I are looking to spend three months Jan - Mar 2017 in Spain. We have never taken our caravan into Spain although have been throughout France. We would appreciate advice and comments on where to go, routes to travel and how to get there. Thank
you
Comments
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You definitely need to go south of Valencia at that time of year and if you want a good site on the coast you will have to book early. You have plenty of time to conduct further research suggest you start by looking where the C&CC hold their winter rallies.
You can cut out a lot of hassle by booking with them if you are a member.I'm sure others will be along with better advice than I can give and there are sticky threads about open all year sites and winter routes in this discussion.
peedee
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We are in Spain at the moment the sites are mostly full we booked some sites with the C C Club. We also use ACSI card witch you can get from the club.
Roger
...In our experience all the good sites are full or nearly full during January through to March. They start thinning out a bit at the end of February but are still busy. You will be best booking in advance if possible, or phoning or emailing your anticipated
next site before leaving the one you are on to make sure there is availability.0 -
Things to watch for:
The med coast is mild but cool at night. The bigger and popular sites will be pretty full in January but start to empty in February. The smaller sites very rarely fill up. We have wintered in Spain three times and we only ever booked a site once.
The Atlantic coast, i.e. Gibraltar via Cadiz to Portugal is also mild, cool at night, but can be windy. It is much quieter than the med, miles of deserted beaches, particularly around Cape Trafalgar & Conil.
Inland Spain is cold. Madrid is often below freezing at midday. Up to 50 or so miles inland is ok though, and this is where you find the "real" Spain (in my opinion anyway!)
Get an ACSI card and travel around. ACSI gives you guaranteed low prices for short stays. If you find a site you like and want to stay longer, then check with reception as there can be bigger discounts for longer stays. If you don't like a site, simply
move on next day. Maximum €19 and no deposit to lose.Where you go and what you do is down to your own tastes. There is stacks of art, architecture, history, flora & fauna,walking, beaches, mountains and super cheap wine and food.
Have a look at our
blogs here, particularly last winter in Spain (2014/5) Spain is also covered winter 2008/9 and winter 20120 -
I get really annoyed by people saying all the sites are full. It depends where you are and what you want. We've been in several rural sites the past few years in Dec-March and many are virtually empty. Yes, if you want to join the expat-M/H community
down at the coast then they may well be full, but if you want the "real" Spain try a bit inland, up in the mountains.Good advice from OAT in the previous post.
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I get really annoyed by people saying all the sites are full. It depends where you are and what you want. We've been in several rural sites the past few years in Dec-March and many are virtually empty. Yes, if you want to join the expat-M/H community down at the coast then they may well be full, but if you want the "real" Spain try a bit inland, up in the mountains.
But it is cold away from the coast, fine if you want to go skiing but otherwise what is the point. Might as well stay in the UK. Its altogether much better to visit in the shoulder months.
peedee
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I get really annoyed by people saying all the sites are full. It depends where you are and what you want. We've been in several rural sites the past few years in Dec-March and many are virtually empty. Yes, if you want to join the expat-M/H community
down at the coast then they may well be full, but if you want the "real" Spain try a bit inland, up in the mountains.Good advice from OAT in the previous post.
...For the past few winters we have stayed in a very Spanish town with a campsite that is ALWAYS full for the whole of the winter. It may be that Geejay knows sites that are not but it is as well to warn people so they are not disappointeed when they turn
up and there is no pitch available. Always best to phone or email in the winter months because of demand.0 -
Last trip, mid Dec to beginning of March we stayed in 8 sites, one North of Madrid, 2 in Extremadura, slightly to the SW of Madrid, one in the Sierra Nevada then on to south of Seville next into the mountains of Almeria and finally the mountains of Murcia.
None could be called busy - sometimes only 2 or 3 units there. All were much warmer than the UK - like a good spring day. Yes, colder at night, but we don't want to sit about during the day bbqing ourselves into lobsters.Much better than saying they are all fully booked up to give the whole picture. But if you haven't been to these kind of locations you wont know.
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I ventured to Spain January 2015 intending to use ACSI and be very flexible, we learnt very quickly the best sites are full, and we struggled to find pitches, let alone a pitch big enough for our twin axle. We managed and had a good time but was not always
able to stay on the area we wanted to when we wanted to. So this year I have booked most of our trip in advance. If you are a novice or have a large caravan advance planning is essential in my opinion.0 -
We have stayed at sites in and around Placencia, Madrid, Salamanca, Seville, Bourgos and sites inland from the Costas as well as sites on the Costa de la Luz and near Cadiz. All have been full or mostly full in the winter months. Maybe not with Brits but
with Germans and Scandinavians. I agree with Rushallmanor, it is best to book if possible or at least contact your next intended site before just turning up.0 -
By contrast to Oldgirl's post, here is what we experienced in winter 2014/5.
December: Les Acacias, Tours; Larrouleta Urrugne; Portuonda near Guernica; Fuentes Blancos, Burgos; Regio, Salamanca; Camping Caceres;Playa Las Dunas, Puerto de Santa Maria;. All turned up without booking, plenty of room.
Pinar san Jose we did book in advance as we wanted this particular site for Christmas (and I wanted an address for my new ACSI book to be sent to), but there was plenty of room
January: Sierrecilla at Humilladero, bags of room. Finca da Piedra near Malaga, a small British owned CL type site with 5 pitches, only one other taken, but advance notice recommended. El Pino aat Torrox Costa, plenty of room.
February: Roquetas del Mar plenty of room; Bellavista at Aguilas we had to book but only because we were there at the time of their Mardi Gras parade (Recommended), it emptied soon afterwards; Shepherd's Rest, Dolores (near Alicante) again a small British
owned CL with booking required; Kiko rural (up in the hills above Valencia, only two others there.March: Altomira, Segorbe quite full, but not booked, Cuidad Zaragoza plenty of room, Larrouleta plenty of room, :Les Acacias plenty of room.
So the only site booked was Pinar, where actually we need not have bothered, and of course the two English CLs where space is very limited. Even then the booking of the CLs was only done a couple of weeks before arrival.
Our experience then is that not all of the good sites are booked, full or need a reservation. However the popular sites, such as La Manga, Benidorm, Kiko Oliva etc you should book.
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"Our experience then is that not all of the good sites are booked, full or need a reservation. However the popular sites, such as La Manga, Benidorm, Kiko Oliva etc you should book."
That's my point. You read it on other forums, the sites down by the coast for the lobsters get full. But how dull, when there's so much more to see and do. Las Lomas, near Granada, an excellent site with a first class restaurant was empty in early January
last year - but there's no beach. Monfrague, empty over Christmas and New Year, apart from some locals who came at the weekend.(no beach) This year I emailed ahead 2 small mountain sites near Alicante and Murcia, just because it was over the Xmas and New
Year period. Again, plenty of room. Today, the locals who were out for the weekend break have gone and there's bags of space.(but no beach)We were at Altomira a couple of week ago - seems to be used as a transit camp, which is a pity as there's lots of interesting walking and a great cycle up the Via Verde - but there was plenty of room, because many vans came one day and went the next, apart
from a few who weren't zooming down to the coast - and the beach.Yes, book ahead if you like, but it isn't usually necessary other than for those sites mentioned by OAT.
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We first came to Spain 4 years ago, spent some time on rallies and some "off piste" sites. At the time we had a motor home which is more flexible and you can make use of Aires if necessary. We found the rallies were great for novice winter travellers, gives
a sense of security, and we found great new friends that we still see. We now have a caravan (first trip abroad) and we felt we needed to book ahead this time, which we have done via the club. Why not try a combinations of rallies, winter sites and ACSI.?
Then you can decide which you prefer for future trips.0 -
"what clothing to take?" Depends how active you are. We walk or cycle every day. We take UK summer walking gear, shirt, trousers, supplemented by a fleece, and merino baselayer, sun hat, light gloves. We sometimes need the fleece jumper and usually the sun hat, but rarely the base. Later in the day, or when it's cool, we use a down gilet to walk down to the shops. Others wear a padded jacket. A scarf or buff keeps the chill from your neck. A light windproof (waterproof) Goretex jacket is useful - it does rain from time to time, and the wind can be cold higher up. If the day is sunny then although the air temperature may not be high, it feels warm in the sun. In short, we go for layers of light, packable, warm clothing which can be quickly taken off or on as needed. And a small daysack.
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In February and March 2015 we stayed in The Algarve, Conil in Spain (on the coast between Cadiz and Gibralter) and Caceras in central Spain. We didn't book ahead and had no problems getting a pitch on any of the 3 sites we stayed at, all of which were very
good. We do however only have a small caravan, larger units may find it difficult to find a suitable pitch in some of the more popular areas on the Spanish coast.ACSI card does save a significant amount of money
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The Calais route is cheaper, but the winter drive across France can be cheerless.
The Ferry route to Spain is quicker, but the winter sailing across the Bay of Biscay can be hellish.
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Thinking of a trip down to Southern Spain for winter 2017...but...would appreciate opinions on whether to drive from Calais or take ferry to Bilbao/Santander?
What's best in terms of time..and cost?
Cheers,
TeeCee
It can depend on where in the UK you are coming from, as you can see we are from Scotland so pretty much any crossing is going to mean a long drive this side.
We have done Hull - Zeebrugge/Rotterdam quite a lot and like it as the journey from home to Hull is done in one day overnight ferry and day 2 your in France around Tours area. Next stopover Bordeaux, then Urugne almost on the border with Spain.
This time we are trying Portsmouth to Santander going out and Caen coming back.
Have a go at playing with the ferry booking page (you don't have to book) it will give you an idea on costs, longer ferry more cost shorter ferry cheaper, but then you have to think of how much driving you want to do, what the cost of sites and fuel is going
to be, do you wan to go straight down to Spain or do you wan to take your time. If thinking of going between end October and April sites in France are not plentiful but there are enough to do it (many thousands do every year). Have alook at the overseas thread,
at the top there is a lot of information on routes and sites that should help you it did us.0 -
"Our experience then is that not all of the good sites are booked, full or need a reservation. However the popular sites, such as La Manga, Benidorm, Kiko Oliva etc you should book."
That's my point. You read it on other forums, the sites down by the coast for the lobsters get full. But how dull, when there's so much more to see and do. Las Lomas, near Granada, an excellent site with a first class restaurant was empty in early January
last year - but there's no beach. Monfrague, empty over Christmas and New Year, apart from some locals who came at the weekend.(no beach) This year I emailed ahead 2 small mountain sites near Alicante and Murcia, just because it was over the Xmas and New
Year period. Again, plenty of room. Today, the locals who were out for the weekend break have gone and there's bags of space.(but no beach)We were at Altomira a couple of week ago - seems to be used as a transit camp, which is a pity as there's lots of interesting walking and a great cycle up the Via Verde - but there was plenty of room, because many vans came one day and went the next, apart
from a few who weren't zooming down to the coast - and the beach.Yes, book ahead if you like, but it isn't usually necessary other than for those sites mentioned by OAT.
... Las Lomas, near Granada, Monfrague, 2 small mountain sites near Alicante and Murcia, What ! no beach ?? how dull !! each to their own err....
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Lots of advice already there and most of it good. We have been down to Spain many times since 2001 and always had a great time. Some C & CC Rallies some indepentdent booked sites. We prefer to go via the Portsmouth and Bilbao route as it saves on driving
and costs about the same as the road trip. We use a caravan and find the roads so easy to tow on. Sites can get full on the popular coast resorts so we try others and some inland are good. Stay within a few miles of the coast and it is an easy drive to the
busy areas. Ours earliset visit was 8 Feb so I cannot speak about Christmas time. The weather varies from T Shirt and shorts to Fleece coats but no really cold frost etc. Average about 10 c. Buy end of march definetly warm to hot during the day. Best of all
JOIN in any activities and TALK to others on site and find out the best things to do. Most of the Germans, Dutch and Spanish people you meet will speak preety good English but learn some Spanish for shopping and booking sites etc. Nearly forgot it will be
very cold at Bilbao until end of March so be prepared for frost and snow for the first part of the way south across the mountains.0 -
We have spent at least some of the winter months in Spain for the past 7 or 8 years, in a Motorhome.
We have used ACSI card exclusively, never booked anything except the ferry. Our objective is to wander as we wish. We have been "caught out" once in that time, in Northern Spain, when site advertised as open, turned out to be closed.
We live near Newcastle, so, the drive is fairly long, but, we normally take Tunnel or Dover-> Calais/Dunkirk, then drive through France. Sometimes the weather can be a "challenge", but, it is all part of lifes rich pattern!
If you are bored, the gory details can be found at www.kenandkathleen.blogspot.com or here, both the same information (if that is the right word!), just different format
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We are venturing to Spain for the first time in a motorhome in February, we are hoping to get up into the mountains for a couple of days and maybe do some skiing, we have looked at Camp Gavin, has any one been to this site, and if so is there easy transport up into the ski area? Any help appreciated.
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We are venturing to Spain for the first time in a motorhome in February, we are hoping to get up into the mountains for a couple of days and maybe do some skiing, we have looked at Camp Gavin, has any one been to this site, and if so is there easy transport
up into the ski area? Any help appreciated.We stayed there begining of November 2014, nice site tiered, about 4km from the nearest village. While we saw signs for the ski areas I'm afraid I couldn't help with how to get to them, the reception spoke good english though why not give them a call and
ask.0 -
We are hoping to set off for Spain at the end of this month and will drive across France. We have not been over since June last year when we had no trouble. Have any members experienced any difficulties recently on returning through Calais.
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We always use the Portsmouth Santander route as we live in Devon and it saves a lot of driving hours. We like to get from a to b asap at the start of our winter break so we also use toll roads, set the cruise control, flick on the auto pilot and go. If you're
not towing you can easily get from Santander to Alicante in seven and a half hours.Only had one rough crossing in Feb. 2012, force 10 all across biscay, not that much different to the wind trying to rip your awning off in north Devon!!!
If you're in the C&cc they do some decent rallies in Spain, some of them in those popular sites that are always full, and are really good value.
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As a matter of interest, in Winter, how far South would you have to go for some warmth?
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