Spanish Trip - which way round?
We are going to Spain on 2 April for 8 weeks and we are wondering about the weather in April and which way round to do the route. We had planned to go from Bilbao to Salamanca, stop for a week, then Seville, Cadiz, Malaga, then back up through Madrid to Bilbao. But as Salamanca is quite northern we wondered what the weather is like there at the beginning of April. We are concerned that it may be too cold and would we be better to do the route the other way round and then we would be in Salamanca at the end of May. Which way do people think? Any other advice or suggestions of places to visit or camp sites would be welcome.
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Hi Mr Fat...we'll beat you to Spain by about 2-3 weeks if all goes well!
Not sure of the temperatures but we head south ASAP and follow the improving weather(?) back to the north.
Two years ago we were in Salamanca and used Camping Regio. Easy access but facilities a bit tired. Really getting ready for a make-over! Easy drive into town - or a bus service from the site (free?) providing you don't have a dog....
Early in 2016 we stayed on the north of the Bay of Cadiz at La Puerto de Santa Maria. Very convenient to get to Jerez and Cadiz by car. There is also a ferry across the bay to Cadiz . But like all of Spain- you can't use the ferry if you have a dog! The site facilities are good.
Both the above are ACSI sites - but check the dates when the ACSI rates apply.
Another stopover going south from Salamanca is Caceres. 10mins into town but only 5mins from the motorway. Another ACSI site - but this one has a separate wet room for each pitch (yes really!). The town is lovely - really 'spanish'. It's a bit of a drive but both Segovia and Avila are worth visiting (we like Segovia the best).
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Thanks for the replies. Yes we do have a dogs,(2 Border Terrorists) so public transport is out, and we have our ACSI card. We went to Spain for the first time last year and headed down to Murcia, Granada and came back up to Riaza at the end. Wanted to do a different route this time but concerned about the possibility of cold weather in Salamanca. Anyone been there in April?
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Been there in mid March and it wasn't cold but it can be quite wet at that time of year. It must have been quite warm because my photos show clear blue skies and us in short sleaved shirts! Salamanca is a beutiful city. We stayed at Camping Regio from where there is a bus from the campsite gates into the city cente. You could always check the weather forecast >here< as you disembark from the ferry, it is an easy days drive from Bibao. Currently its pretty cold especially at night. You can also check the climate at any time of the year on the above page.
peedee
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We went early May in 2015.
We stayed at Burgos (Fuentas Blancas), Segovia, Salamanca (Don Quijote) & Caceres (complete with ensuite shower blocks..!) before moving down to Cordoba (La Albolafia), Granada (Las Lomas) and on to Med Coast (Bolneuvo)
The weather in Burgos was very cold & windy but rapidly warmed up as we headed further south. Caceres was in the mid 30's.
The campsite at Salamana (Don Quijote) was in a great location. You can cycle or walk into the city on a lovely path close to the river and away from the traffic. The site facilities are a 'bit tired', but I believe the toilet block may have had a make over since we were there. The site restaurant was also very good.
As you are going out of season you won't have to pre-book anything and hence as peedee says, you will be able to be flexible depending on the current weather forecast.
We have friends who travel to Spain in March/April and although it can be cold up on the plains the pictures they send us always seem to have a beautiful blue sky. They say it can be quite cold at night and they do run their heating sometimes.
Have a great time.
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Mr Fat. T'aint rocket science. Google is your friend.
Just Google 'Climate Salamanca' and you'll get your answer (or for anywhere else in the world for that matter).
Here's one of several climate reports for Salamanca......
http://www.holiday-weather.com/salamanca/averages/
which shows April daytime mean as 10.1 and average low as 3.8.
It's minus 2 degC there at the mo.........
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I was in Santiago de Compostela a couple of weeks back. Clear blue skies but boy was it cold.
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I agree that personal experience/opinion of an area is useful, but for the weather........?
Some years ago I was caught in heavy snow one May bank holiday whilst sailing my 23 footer across the Channel to France, and at a camp site in Oct 2012 at Chinon we all spent the week in shorts, T-shirts and flip-flops
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This sites gives some handy info. See http://www.holiday-weather.com/salamanca/http://www.holiday-weather.com/salamanca/
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We stayed at Don Quijote last May Arrived on the day that the refurbished facilities were opened. All new and modern. The site in general was improved from the last time we visited. The Spanish say that Burgos is the coldest town in Spain. In early May last year we had heavy frost on the carin the mornings, but it soon warmed up during the day.Good newish facilities at the campsite, no water points or gray water points in the camping areas.
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We went over on the 23rd April last year via Portsmouth to Santander, On the 25th of April we traveled down to Salamanca, the weather was rain, on arrival the weather was better but some of the grass pitches were rather soft. During our fairly longish enforced stay there we had some lovely warm days, some fairly hot days towards the middle of May, however we had some rain too and the mountains nearby had snow.
We left Salamanca in the middle of May and our next stop was Caceres it was hot 32c, the temp in Saville was 37c and rising, like the OP we had planned to go to Seville, Cadiz, el Rocio and then back up to Grenada and Cordoba. We had not planned to stay in Salamanca for all that time but OH was taken ill so we had to. Because of this and the rising temps we decided to forgo Saville and the rest and headed to Portugal instead.
So from our experience I would say, don't hang about in Salamanca go to Caceres and Seville as planned before it gets too hot and then do the rest on the way back up.
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