Spain in the winter
Never been abroad in the winter towing a van.
I intend to go next January through March.
What do you recommend?
Ideally a campsite with good amenities and close to a town that has a bit of life in it and close to a beach.
Any tips on ferry ports and routes would be appreciated.
Thanks
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just back from 9+ weeks in Spain. moved around a bit to get the best of the weather but ended up at Albir/Altea just a few km north of Benidorm.
the site there is a bit tired, blocks could do with an update and the pitches are open gravel, so looks a bit 'Beirut-ish', however, the location is terrific, right on the beach.
turn right out of the site and in 500m you are in Albir, where the locals are out each evening in the many traditional restauants in the 'high street' area....
turn left and stroll along the prom for a km and youre in the lovely Altea with its scores of more 'touristy' prom bars and restaurants...as far away from Benidorm as its possible to be.
take a bike just a few hundred metres inland and you're amongst orange groves or olive groves on tiny roads where youll hardly see a soul yet be glad you left the car (or didnt have one...).....heaven...
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Thanks to Boleroboy and Deleted User User for your replies. Some good info from both of you.
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Some tips for winter travellers. I found these web site very useful for keeping an eye on the weather and road conditions.
ViaMichelin (traffic) for road reports, I used it to check routes over the Pyrenees. I used the Somport tunnel both ways. Click >here<
>This site< is good for keeping an eye on the snow conditions in the Pyrenees.
For weather reports no matter where you are click >here<
None of this is in my blog
peedee
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Peedee, we stayed for 10 days or so at the Marjal Guadamar, without doubt, the best eqipped and kept site we stayed on....
the dunes were great and the marina are nice for a lunch. we visited Marjal Costa Blanca as a pick up point for an excursion, lovely site but just too far out for us....
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If you delay your winter trip by a month or so, Feb to April, you'll have a greater choice of sites as the overwinterers start to head northwards. The weather, even on the Costa Brava, improves as Spring begins.
Marjal Costa Blanca, however, is a giant parking lot nestling in the armpit of two motorways, miles from anywhere. It was originaly going to be a theme park: it's now catering for German retirees in monster motorhomes and a hundred odd C&CC rally campers.
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I don't think Marjal Costa Blanca is as isolated as it looks. If you want the beach then yes it is not for you but I was quite surprised we found enough to do in four weeks. Cycling into Catral was easy and it had all the facilities you would expect of a Spanish town. San Isidro, which is about 3Km away, has a train station from where you can travel into Alicante or Murcia and gave another option for getting out and about if you did not have a car. The site also ran a bus service to the weekly market in Crevillent. I also thought the rally was very well run and gave you lots of options for things to do on top of what the site had to offer.
We didn't find road noise a problem, the site facilities were very good and were kept spotlessly clean and if I was not tied up with other things next year I would go again.
peedee
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Must admit, Peedee, that we only stopped one night - pitch G128 if I remember correctly - before moving to the bijou site in Crevillente.
It's getting more difficult to tour and turn up, so it's interesting to hear that a seasoned campaigner like you is turning to C&CC rally bookings.
Marjal Costa Blanca
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Chasancath, the prediction is it will be heavilly booked next year. The rally has grown in size since inception, I have it in mind that there were 200 pitches this year, mostly full during my time there. Its held at the back of the site on pitches which I don't think are open in the summer because there is no shade. The site is opening up another huge area and building another outdoor swimming pool area.
peedee
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"If you delay your winter trip by a month or so, Feb to April, you'll have a greater choice of sites as the overwinterers start to head northwards."
I have heard this quoted often, and was somewhat apprehensive on our first winter trip this year. In fact our findings were rather different...........We arrived at Castillo-de-Banos (just east of Montril) purely 'on-spec' at the beginning of December. Occupancy was under 30%, mostly (as we discovered later) long-stay overwinterers GB/D/NL. 50:50 caravan/MH.
Occupancy remained fairly static until early-February when the C&CC rally arrived boosting numbers by about 50, although most were congregated in a specific area of the site. From the middle of February occupancy steadily rose, although it was obvious that far more were short-stay transients.
By the time we left in early March, the site was about 50%, and getting busier by the day, though most of the long-stayers still enjoyed the benefit of a 'spare' adjacent pitch.
This site is probably a bit different to many in that apart from a small shop and a couple of bars it is an 18 mile journey to Montril, which is the nearest place for big Supermarkets/LIDL/etc, and there is no meaningful public transport. Most of the MH seemed to have access to transport in some form: second vehicle; towed car/bike; hire-car....or arrangements with friends on site.
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Chasncath, You give us a useful range of photos. Was this one meant as a recommendation or a warning?
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After years of trying to persuade my husband to try a winter trip to Spain next year he is finally coming round to the idea but the pictures of Marjal Costa Blanca are our worst nightmare. Are all sites open in the winter are cramped in as this? We don't need all the wonderful extras this site provides.
I follow John's blog https://jondogoescaravanning.com/ and he goes to the same site every year and that always looks crowded too,
Really we don't want to go down to the far south and hoped we might find something perhaps about half way. Any suggestions and do we need to think about getting booked? Having only ever caravanned abroad in May, June and September we are not used to having to book.
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I'm afraid any sites which are any good will be crowded and if you want warmer weather you really need to go south of Valencia.
FYI the pitch sizes at Marjal Cost Blanca come in two sizes, the smaller being 10 meters by 10 meters,(typical Club size) both sizes are serviced with water, grey waste, TV and Broadband internet. The larger pitches are 10 meter deep but wider. Sorry cannot remember the exact size. Booking throught the C&CC worked out cheaper than both ACSI and booking direct and my pitch cost worked out at under £12 per night including paying for electricity but excluding broadband costs.
peedee
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