Spain In February and March?
Hi everyone. I haven't posted here for a very long time as hubby hasnt been well but now he is much improved we are planning a trip. Thinking of going to Spain via Santander / Bilbao in February and staying about 6 weeks. I would be glad to hear what others think of this idea, i.e. advice and warnings, area to stay, weather, health care etc.
We would need to do no more than 5 hours driving a day.
We have a Kia Sorrento and new Bailey Unicorn Cartagena
Thanks in advance.
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Hi, haven't done the trip at that time of year but did do it Sept - Nov.
Others will come on and give more advice but generally you need to get South of Valencia to get really warm weather.
Having a good guide book for sites open is a must as in the north sites can be closed at that time of year, although you will usually find 1 or 2 open along the route.
If you don't have an Acsi discount card it might be worth looking into, as it can save you lots of money on site fees. Sites once south can be busy believe it or not, especially the popular ones.
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My only comment would be to make it longer if you possibly can!
Last year we headed down (Portsmouth-Bilbao) late November, returning early March. This year we will be departing the same time, but hoping to stay a bit longer (we don't book anything other than the outbound ferry).
For fairly guaranteed warmth you really do need to get down to the South right near the coast ..... but it can be very pleasant (if cool) inland. Away from the coast there are only limited campsites open; we find the ACSI guide the most reliable.
Our strategy is to tour casually until we happen across a site which feels right to us for a long stay over the winter. (On most sites, the fees drop dramatically for stays over 30days.....70% in the case of our site last winter, making it under EU 10/night).
February is probably the worst time as far as snow is concerned on the route until you get south of Madrid. We have not encountered a problem, and all reports suggest that the main motorway routes are kept clear very efficiently.
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A couple of other points:
We have always felt entirely happy relying on the reciprocal health (EHIC) services anywhere in the EU. Fortunately we have never needed to make use of them, and whether to take insurance is very much a personal issue. Obtaining repeat prescriptions over the counter in Spain seems amazingly easy. (We are both around 70).
For the classic route south via Madrid, 3 (or perhaps 4) stops on the way makes for a very relaxing journey, especially if you stay a couple of days at some.
The 'classic' stops on the way South are:
Burgos, if arriving afternoon; Riaza or La Cabrera if arriving on the morning ferry.
Aranjuez, just south of Madrid (splendid palace to visit).
St Elena or Villefranca -de -Cordoba
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we did nine weeks this spring (mid Jan-early Apr) and crossed Poole-Cherbourg (closest, easiest crossing for us) and did sout of Nantes, day 1, then longish drive to Irun, day 2, and then to Benicassim in one go, to catch up with old friends, for a week, before heading a bit further south.
Benicassim has a winderful climate but in Jan/Feb you wont be sunbathing too much, you need to go a bit further south, say La Manga or beypnd for warm (hot) weather...
many go even further to costa del sol or even Portugal but its a long way.....
as mentioned by WTG, ACSI, CCC rallies etc are all good for getting onto crowded sites....
good luck. once youve been 'away. youll return regularly, im sure..
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We were planning to do the same thing for the first time in Spain and in the winter and I found John's blog on the subject really helpful especially for sites to stay at on the way to the coast.
https://jondogoescaravanning.com/2015/10/06/welcome-to-my-blog/
We didn't want to stay by the coast but go sight seeing Granada, Seville etc and discussed this at some length on another forum and the suggestion was made to me that in those areas Spain would be very cold in February and I would do better to delay to March so now we are going at the end of October. This won't apply of course if you do just want to go to the coast.
However even if you go to the coast expect it to be very cold at night.
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David, on that occasion we used the tolls as i only wanted 2 overnights before reaching Benicassim....its 'only' 5hr 4m (around 350ml) according to goolglemaps (2h, break, 2hr, break, 1hr) and, as we are under 3.5t, can move along at (pretty much) car pace, and with the ferry arriving just after lunch, theres a finite amount of driving in the afternoon on arrival day and Nantes was as far as i wanted to go.......not interested in dark driving over here, lol.
towing a caravan and going non-toll, would, i agree, be a long old stint.
leaving Nantes (les Sorrinieres) at, say 9:00, would see us in Irun at around 3pm including 2 x 30 min stops...
im having a look at the Somport Tunnel route home.....for a change of scenery, perhaps...
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Our surgery will issue a 2 month supply (some will do 3 months), and with with careful management we aim to start with nearly 3 months supply.
In Spain, we simply took the tear-off bit you usually get back (showing the items) to a pharmacy and they were happy to supply. I suspect that you could also simply take the empty packets to show what you need. (This is for fairly routine heart medication. I guess certain types of medication could be more difficult).
My wife takes Warfarin, and has to monitor her INR. We solved that problem by buying our own test meter. £199 but money well spent to avoid the hassle of finding local clinics.
House insurance can be more of a pain! Many are limited to 60 days unoccupied. No problem if you have friends/relations who can occasionally stay overnight, but otherwise a quick, cheap, flight home might be the easiest solution.
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re: house insurance, C&CC has 180 days unoccupancy as its default.
we dont have them (although i keep trying) as they were too damn expensive.
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"we dont have them (although i keep trying) as they were too damn expensive"
Precisely!
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