Spain & Portugal trip February 2018
We are planning a 3 to 4 month, car and caravan, trip to Faro, Southern Portugal. Leaving from Portsmouth.
Leaving Mid February, Portsmouth Ferry to Santander. Thinking of staying near Santander for about a week.
Travelling to Northern Portugal from Santander, no rush. Any tips advice on sites near Santander, then sites on route to Northern Portugal.
We plan to tour length of Portugal ending up in Faro.
So, advice, routes, sites would be much appreciated, thank you.
Comments
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It will still be pretty cold at that time of year travelling in northern Spain and in northern Portugal and there won't be many sites open. I would make your first stop after leaving Santander, Salamanca. It is a lovely city to visit and Camping Regio is open. The bus into central Salamanca leaves from right outside the site. I guess from Salmanca you would want to head for Oporto. The only sites I have used in northern Portugal have been those run by the >Orbitur Club< They tend to be the better sites, check out their web site. You might wnat to rethink your trip and from Salamanca head for the Algarve where you will find many more sites open and only then move up to northern Portugal when the weather warms up. Have a look at my notes on the visits I have made to Portugal >here<
peedee
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I agree with peedee, head for Salamanca for a few days then head South to the warmth. Once its warmed up a bit then start moving North.
We were in Porto at the end of May and some of the sites were just opening up so in Feb you might not find much open.
Santander will likely we wet, cold and miserable in Feb.
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Totally agree not to hang about in northern Spain at that time of year but if you need an overnight site because of ferry times Camping Virgen del Mar ten miles from the port is open [I think].
Salamanca is lovely and the bus service from Camping Regio is so convenient. The weather will be far better there.
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Totally agree with the get south quick comments. However, Salamanca can be very cold; in 2nd week Sep we woke up to 3 deg! Endorse comments about Camping Regio, the bus leaves from the site entrance and drops you near the Playa Major. Recommend get south quick and loiter back; use excellent free and quiet motorways in west Spain to get south. Regarding tolls in Portugal; it can be very confusing as they operate electronic and manual roads. If you enter Portugal on one of the major roads eg Salamanca to Lisbon after you have passed the border you will be directed off the motorway to register your vehicle with your credit card. This only takes a moment and is straight forward. Then all electronic payments are charged directly to your card. This is time limited (60 days I think - could be less) so you may have to get one of the Via Verde things as mentioned by Deleted User User above. If you enter by a minor road it is a different story and it can be complex! Suggest you Google 'Tolls in Portugal' and you will find all the links. Minor roads in Portugal can be rough and busy.
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Hi
The posters above are all experienced tourers in Spain/Portugal and I would take their advise and leave Santander as quickly as possible and move too Salamanca which is a beautiful city and not unlike Cambridge as both are University cities. It can still be very cold there but at least you are on your way to Portugal and not stuck in the North, just been watching El Tiempo on Spanish TV (live near Alicante) and they say next week wont get above 9 and the week after a top temperature of 11 with forecast of snow for both weeks in Cantabria.
Head for the sun is my advise
I personally would stay in Spain and take the A66 from Salamanca too Seville and the cross the border into Portugal from there, the A66 is a fairly new motorway and the last time i used it was toll free
Seville is well worth a visit.
Phil
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We were at Salamanca in December where all the water supplies were frozen mid afternoon. The woman in the office suggested I get our water supply from the tap over the chemical disposal point and when I refused she then suggested from the taps in the ladies toilet.
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Just looked at the weather forecast and it is 8 degrees warmer at Santander than Salamanca!
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It's warmer in Cornwall than Salamanca !
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Thank you all very much for your considered and experienced travels.
We are flexible about our start date, perhaps setting out on 1st March for the Ferry (Portsmouth).
We wintered in Spain; November 2015 - February 2016. Haro, Madrid, Seville, Cadiz, Cordoba, stopped a few places along the coast of Spain ending up in Barcelona, returning to Haro for our return trip. We left Haro under blizzard conditions!! Our first and only trip to Spain to date.
We have friends in Faro (Portugal) where we intend spending few weeks. Thought we'd travel from top to bottom of Portugal.
Anyway, much to think of again thank you for the tips.
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It’s quite chilly in the Algarve at the moment and the forecast isn’t brilliant. Someone on this campsite yesterday said they’ve been coming here for 12 years and this is the coldest they’ve known it.
Nora
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We did the trip the other way from mid Portugal northwards. We stayed at Lisbon (campsite on bus route into the city), the Orbitur campsite in Villa Nova de Gaia,near Porto (great place), Coimbra (amazing old university), on the coast,near Aveiro, Nazare - amazing beach for surfers and funicular. If you're staying near Santander we'd recommend a trip to Comillas where Gaudi's first building is situated - El Capricho de Gaudi. Nice small town with cafes too, walk around the town (leaflet in the tourist office) and beach. We stayed at the Caravan club recommended campsite nearby, Oyambre beach, they have a lovely cafe/restaurant.
Pictures are the Gaudi house and Nazare south beach, and Coimbra university
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