Spain
looking at doing Europe for first time in sept 2018,with my wife and our house cat in our motorhome. Found out about pet rooms on the ferrys and ferry where you leave your cat in the motorhome and visit during the sailing. We pretty well decided to do Portsmouth to Santander with Brittany ferries. Does it make any difference to book with ferry company or caravan club. The same with sites do we book the sites with the club or do our own bookings. We have been caravan kg / motor homing 28 years now and apart from Ireland ,Skye and the Isle of Man we have just been doing the uk , now because we are both retired we use more cls than club sites mainly we find the cls provide what we want for half of the price . We are just going to book 1 way with the ferry and with no set time on returning, we would probably stay on site near Santander port first because the ferry docks at 1800 hours and I would rather travel in daylight till I get use to driving on the right side of road. After Santander we will be across Spain to the coast with Alicante, Malaga, benedorm and hopefully down to Cadiz area. We will be looking into caravan club breakdown cover and insurance . Also a good satnav would be very helpful whether avtex type or other (any suggestions would be appreciated) any info about what we are planning would be very much appreciated
thanks
Keith/jan
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Hi Kieth, We are also travelling on same route for the first time this year but in July. Having compared both the ferry & site costs as direct bookings vs CAMC, we found it cheaper to book through the club. Can't advise on satnav as my Kuga has built in system, but will be carrying a map just in case.
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Any Satnav with full Europe maps will do, I have a TomTom which we have found fine in Spain. Don't bother booking sites through the Club as you will find you would be paying more than necessary. You will find in advantageous to join ACSI. We were in Spain/Portugal last Sep/Oct and did not book any sites just went were the mood and weather took us. Although we had booked our return ferry many people don't and if you can't find a return from Spain you can always go up to west France. Sounds like you are planning a great trip but I would advise booking your ferry out as soon as possible because they fill up quickly; we also found the Club price best last year. Can't comment on cats on the ferry. There are plenty of sites near Santander from Cabo Major in Santander to those on the coast either side. Last year our ferry was 3 hours late arriving so you may wish to take this risk into account for your first night, Cabo Major reception remained open for the late arrival but some folks who had booked more distant sites were getting a little concerned. Any further questions don't hesitate to ask.
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Check your car insurance, too! Some companies only cover up to ninety days overseas. Liverpool Victoria go up to 180 days, but any longer than that and you may find problems.
Most Spanish sites offer long-stay discounts, so probably better to book with the sites themselves if you intend to stay for any length of time. Have a look at the ACSI Card too (www.campingcard.co.uk) for details of other site discounts.
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You don't say how long you intend to stay but be warned from late October the "snowbirds" start to arrive and many sites, especially on the coast, start to fill up and remain so untill mid March. Spain can also be quite cold at nights and when the sun doesn't shine. Most use gas for heating, electricity is expensive, so you will have to make provision to replenish your gas.
peedee
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Get you breakdown/insurance through the club and you get camping key Europe free. I found this out after I ordered our card, we got the breakdown and insurance last minute because I didn't realise we didn't have euro breakdown (oops) this will be top of the list this year. Yes I would get on with the ferry crossing now, we booked ours last October and the cabin choice was already limited! we saved £20 going through the club but coming back i would have saved £10 but the website wasn't working so I just did it through Brittany Ferries
Sounds like an amazing trip. Have fun!
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To get a pet friendly cabin you need to book as soon as the sailings are released. You are not allowed to leave your pets in the van on the long sailings.
Camperstop from Vicarious books and its app are useful as is Search for sites. There are lots of good camping spots in out of the way places.
Enjoy your adventure.
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Very helpful replies, ferry crossing 24 hours can you leave your fridge on using gas. I thought electric was in the price of the site pitch is this not so. What is a ACSI card any more info on your experiences would be much appreciated
thanks
keith / Jan
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In summer and for short stays, a couple of nights, electricity might be included but in winter especially for longer stays you will be given a daily allowance, typically 5Kw and have to pay anything from 35 cents up to 65 cents per 1Kw in excess of the allowance. Even just running a fridge on elecitric, keeping the battery charged and boiling an electric kettle a few times a day will use up your allowance.
An ACSI card is a discount card usefull in low season at many selected sites. It can be bought from both Cubs or Vicarious Books.
peedee
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https://www.campingcard.co.uk/
An ACSI card gets you a discount on the price of your pitch in low season. In many cases you can save the cost of it with two or three nights fees.
You may care to browse John's site for ideas of where to stay and what to see on your way across Spain. I used it extensively for our first trip this winter.
https://jondogoescaravanning.com/2015/10/06/welcome-to-my-blog/
Also there is a blog of our trip here,
https://jennyandjohngocaravanning.wordpress.com/2017/11/11/spain/
No one is allowed to access the car deck on the trip so I am fairly sure you would not be allowed to visit the cat in the motorhome. As far as the fridge is concerned I froze a few plastic bottles of water and put them in the veg compartment in the fridge. We had to leave home two days before the ferry and then did the 32 hours crossing. When we arrived at our first site I could not empty the bottles of water as they were still frozen in part.
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Thank you for the compliment. Yes it is a small world. In Germany a couple of years back we were parked on site next to a couple who had contacted me previously with a query.
Are you going back this year. I came home saying 'never again' having had a few things go wrong and being very sick on the ferry but I am already planning the next trip.
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We are back off to Spain on Monday for 3 weeks but just with the car staying in a hotel. This will probably be our last trip to Spain as our 4 year old son will start school this year and it is too hot in the summer holidays. It's Haven's for us and the van when we get back. What joy.
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We are doing something similar in September. Portsmouth-Santander crossing. We booked the whole lot, return crossing plus 19 nights on various sites in Spain and Portugal. The CC offered excellent service, with useful suggestions and as we booked the whole trip through them we were given a package which looked good value to us.
If you are first timers on this kind of trip it is comforting to have all your sites booked and arranged for you. Some sites give CC members a degree of priority and you get a double pitch, which gives more room.
Do some research, it costs nothing but time to get a quote from the Brittany Ferries web site, and if you know where you are going, there are web sites for the various campsites which will give you an idea of pitch fees, albeit in Euros. CC web site is not very good on prices as it gives a range only. The overseas team at CC will give you some quotes.
Portsmouth is an excellent starting point with easy access from the motorway and the authorities in Santander allow you to park all day on the dockside after check-in from 9.30am. So you can go walkabout in Santander while waiting for the ferry.
Playa Joel, Noja, is a good site easy site to reach, about 30-40 minutes from Santander which we use as an overnight both ways if you arrive late. Bear in mind it closes at the end of September.
Good luck.
Peter C.
p.s. A number of sites have videos on YouTube.
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We are going to Northern Spain in mid-June and booked through the C&MC for the Portsmouth/Santander Brittany Ferries crossing and for the campsite, which was the most economical choice. The site is Playa Joyel, Noja, 50 minutes from the terminal.
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Hi, I am also thinking of going in September for the winter. I thought it would be relatively quiet on the sites until next summer but ...
Deleted User User says Sites: dont book anywhere in September and it shouldn't be necessary even later unless you are still away by January/February when popular coastal sites might be full.
but peedee says be warned from late October the "snowbirds" start to arrive and many sites, especially on the coast, start to fill up and remain so until mid March
So, is it a little risky just hoping to phone the next site I hope to move to every few weeks as I work my way from Barcelona to Malaga along the coast?
BTW keithjan - I wouldn't buy the Garmin Avtex if I were you. Its routing is very questionable. I bought one last year and it does not fill me with confidence as my old TomTom did. It has sent me off course a few times, along steep, narrow, windy roads which I later found (after pitching) were not the best roads or shortest routes. I phoned Avtex many times to get the issues sorted out but they never were. I now need to buy a TomTom. £300 down the drain!
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So, is it a little risky just hoping to phone the next site I hope to move to every few weeks as I work my way from Barcelona to Malaga along the coast?
A little risky but as long as you are not too fussy about having a good pitch and prepared to accept you will find popular sites full, by all means take the risk.
peedee
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So what did you find out about leaving your cat in your van then visiting it during the crossing? It's highly unlikely that they'll let you on the car decks once the voyage has started. A couple of years ago, three hours into the sailing I realized I didn't have my medication with me. I had to wait at reception whilst a deck officer was found. He took me down to deck 5, unlocked the door and escorted me to my caravan - then waited whilst I got the tablets.
Regarding booking with clubs or direct with the company. Try both then compare. In the past I've sometimes found the clubs more expensive. Also look into using a 'friend's' membership discount. Each year I save around £50 by doing so.
In the past I've travelled on the sailing that gets in at 18.00. By then it's also dark and sometimes raining. I always stop at Virgen del Mar - about 10 miles from the dock. They don't allow dogs but no mention of cats.
Get yourself an ACSI directory and discount card. I always travel out at the end of October and head for Malaga Province - but always take a different route which usually takes the first two weeks however, I don't book any sites in advance. For routes and sites see my blog
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Thanks guys. I will give it some more thought now. I don't really fancy pre-booking my sites because it would mean having to stick to a schedule and I might find somewhere I would like to stay longer when I get there. But I must admit to preferring nicer sites. Have just bought the ACSI book so that may help. Now that I know it may not be that easy to find a site with an available pitch at least I will be prepared to do some work and wont leave it too late so thanks.
David
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