Booking sites ahead in Spain??
We will be travelling in Spain in January and February for the first time and not sure of pitch availability.
Does anyone have experience and is it necessary/advisable to book ahead?
We would prefer not to as we do not have an itinerary as we want to explore/wander as the mood takes us.
Any advise would be very welcome.
Comments
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We made our first winter visit to Spain this year in January to March and booked the first month's sites via the Club. We then winged it after that with mixed results as there are "honey pot" sites in Spain just as there are in the UK.
Places like Bonterra Park, Camping Javea and Calpemar were all full when we tried to book in on spec. This year by all reports, there will be even more "snowbirds" so sites may be even more fully occupied.
We are going for 11 weeks from mid January 2017 and have booked all the sites for the first 2 months. We don't normally book any sites at other times of the year, but if you want a pitch on sites near to towns where you can walk or catch a bus, my experience from this year is that you will need to book them in advance.
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Friends who go to Spain for 'the winter' generally book their site when leave in early April, for the following January. I think that from January to the end of March is one of the busiest times (apart from peak season summer holiday periods) for campsites in Spain and the popular sites book up months in advance. However, I do think it depends on destination, and inland sites will have space where those by the coast may be full.
There will be other people moving around as well, and so spaces do come up - but if you have an idea where you are going then I would give the names of the sites you want to visit, and then people may be able to offer more specific help.
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When we started going down to Spain and Portugal 12 years ago, we would set off in mid January with no sites booked. We had no fear of not getting into any sites except a few dedicated over winter sites like La Manga and Bonterra Park. It's all changed!
We could roll up at Camping Javea or Kiko Park and have our choice of pitches. But now, more people have changed to motorhoming: German retirees are buying motorhomes ( large ones) instead of buying Spanish appartments; the French are now avoiding Morocco and stopping in Spain.
It's still possible to take pot luck, but you have to be flexible and be prepared to phone ahead. The further north the easier it is, but it's colder and fewer sites are open. As Another David has said on another thread, in late March/early April more spaces are available and the weather gets better.
Whenever you go you can meet new people of all types!
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We are currently at Castillo de Banos (ACSI, about 30km east of Montrill). This is a Cat1 site right on the coast, and is less than 1/3 full, mostly with long-stay regulars (predominantly UK/D/NL/F). It is, however, a location where your own transport is virtually essential.
We arrived on spec a week ago and were told 'simply stay as long or as short as you wish - and choose your own pitch'. (We very quickly decided we would be stopping at least a month!).
All the transit sites we used on the way down were practically empty.
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At Bonterra Park and site has less vans on than anybody staying here has ever seen (some with 12 plus years staying at BP) . Not sure why but other sites we have been on in the last 2 weeks are the same. Called into Villanova Park a week ago and even with part of the site being worked on loads of spaces. Me I never book as been said just turn up on spec and as this is your first time you will not know what you want till you see it...
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Or could it be that spending winter on a campsite in Spain is not all it's cracked up to be, and that people are choosing other alternatives?
Travel agents are bombarding me with brochures listing tropical cruises, or flights to Cuba and beyond. My son is off to Sri Lanka, my daughter is going ski-ing, and my neighbours are soon away to Barbados again. Perhaps more people are choosing a really comfortable fortnight's winter holiday rather than several months on a gravel patch in Spain among the poly tunnels. Though I'm happy here at home with family all around!
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We have been over here since 5th Sept, came down through France, along the Pyrenees, then down the Atlantic coast then through Portugal into the Costa Luz up into Granada then Marbella Guardamar and Crevillente, haven't booked a single site in advance and had no trouble anywhere getting a pitch, some sites quite busy and quite a lot half empty.
Dave
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we will be at BIL's with family for Christmas.
we will be away in the van with friends for New Year.
all being well, we will be going to Spain, mid January, for several weeks with different pals for a bit of sun.
when we come back, we may fly/cruise off somewhere as we, too, are being bombarded with offers.
in May we will be going to Italy in the van with yet more friends for 'a number of weeks'...
we all take the breaks we fancy and that fit with what we, and family, are doing...
we (and others on this forum) are lucky enough to be able to mix and match.
yes, we have a van which we use extensively, including the winter, but we are happy to still enjoy our pre-vanning type of breaks....
no one way 'to skin a carrot' (as my old boss used to say), so lets all enjoy what we can, while we can....
a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all, wherever you choose to be.....
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We have been travelling to Spain in winter months (January, February, March) for over ten years. Never booked a site, never been turned away. Each to their own.
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