Southern Spain in February/March
My wife and I have got to the age where we are thinking of spending February/March in Southern Spain in our caravan. We would appreciate any advice from fellow members regarding the following items.
Cost of getting our caravan to Southern Spain,(fuel, ferry, site costs etc.)
Typical site fees, gas, electricity costs etc. while we are there.
Travel insurance, breakdown cover, any other costs I haven't mentioned.
We have a limited budget, so that is why we are having to cost everything.
We are based in West Yorkshire.
Thanks.
Comments
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I will start you off.
Tunnel/ ferry fares are on line - look them up.
Distance if driving from Yorkshire via Calais is 1500 miles each way - divide by your normal miles per gallon figure. Double it for return journey.
Choose sites from ACSI list, perhaps €13 or € 15 per night - multiply by number of nights.
Others can take you further.
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Add €175 each way if using toll roads
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We went for the first time last October for six weeks. The Portsmouth Bilbao ferry with a four berth cabin so neither of us had to sleep on the top bunk was £1070.Bilbao to Malaga is 579 miles and travelling around as we did we used £436 of fuel. Red Pennant insurance for 66 days was £236 and we had to use it and could not fault the service they gave us.
Hope this helps. I have to say when I asked on here about going January/ February I was told they are the worst months and that is why we ended up going October to December. We had 37 out of 42 days of sunshine.
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Just to give some balance, we spent from Mid January to end of March in Spain a couple of years ago and by and large had excellent weather. Stopped at Vinaros on the way down for 10 days, then a month in Almeria at Cabo de Gata and then most of March in North East, where Spring weather was more variable.
Don't know about fuel, ferries etc but do know that by stopping for a month at a couple of sites the site fees were no more than £11 per night.
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Hi Giffers,
Many, if not all, coastal (popular) sites are pretty well booked up well in advance in Feb/Mar. I arrived in Benicassim 25 Feb 18 and the site has been packed full since early Jan. Hoards of vans are turned away everyday. As an example, I booked my pitch for 2018 at the beginning of Apr 17 and could only get a 2nd grade pitch. I booked my 2019 pitch on 26 Feb on arrival and there were only 4 Gold pitches left then.
If you manage to book somewhere, site fees drop significantly if you are on site for 31 days or more. However, electricity then becomes metered so it is advisable to buy a Local gas cylinder here. That can be done in many was but I did mine legally through site reception. Gas here is less than half the UK price; I refilled my 11kg cylinder this week for €16.50. My metered elec' works out on average at €1.60pd and the gas cylinder lasts on av 17 days. Everyday food shopping and eating our is a lot cheaper here. We had a 4 course meal incl wine today for €14 each. (€12 on weekdays). I hope you can find what you want, its great down here.
BillC
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I have not long been back from a 7 week trip to Spain, mid January until early March. Cost wise I don't think it matters much whether you drive there or catch a ferry from Portsmouth although for most it will be slightly cheaper to drive especially if you avoid the toll roads and it does not take much longer than the ferry trip. If you have a dog and like driving, you may well prefer to drive. If you don't plan to stay on one site for any length of time you will find site fees work out more expensive. I would budget and average of £17 per night but as pointed out staying on one site for 31 days or more can work out much cheaper at around £12 per night. When on site I ran all but my heating on electricity and used on average 5.25Kw per day. Sites typically include between 4 to 6Kw per day in the nightly price and charge between 35 to 65 cents per Kw for the excess. In 7 weeks I paid £23 for my excess at 35 cents per Kw. I have refillable gas bottles and had to refill a 11Kgm (22 litre) bottle once in 7 weeks at a cost of about 64 cents per litre. There is more detail of my outward trip >here<
peedee
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Ferries, for what it is worth we have tried most of them and worked out the cost of fuel and overnight stops.
For us there is very little difference in using the Hull to Zeebrugge ferry and driving down through France (better roads and experience) opposed to driving down to Dover 2 nights on sites and driving down from Calais. What extra it cost is balanced out by the extra cost of fuel, so we prefer to use the overnight ferry. Tolls don't have to be used but can come in handy if you want to travel quicker or to avoid certain cities. A fob for tolls can be purchased before hand this is a great help if using toll roads.
Sites in France are limited at the time of year you intend to travel but there are enough to do the journey, hundreds if not thousands do so every year.
Once into Spain, again sites on the coast the popular ones are busy but with a bit of forward planning and a bit of booking it can be done. Sites away from the coast will not in general be full. Do you wish to tour or are you looking at staying on 1 or 2 sites.
If you are a member of the C&CC they run very good winter rallies, not everyone's taste I know but you don't have to join in if you don't want to, however they are a very good source of help and information. Big plus is they are generally cheaper per night.
Fuel is cheaper over there, food is I would say the same sometimes less sometimes more depends where you shop and what you buy. Eating out is generally cheaper especially at midday rather than at night.
Where a saving can be made is breakdown cover, while the club's own Red Penant is very good, if like us you have it in built with your bank account then a good saving can be made. Holiday medical cover is another one, again this can be got through Red Penant, but again we have it through our bank so no cost involved. If you have notifiable medical conditions this is where it can get expensive with some companies so shop around.
If you do intend to take the tunnel Tesco vouchers can come in handy to pay part or all the cost
Hope you have a great time and enjoy the planning. Come back on here if you need anymore info there is always someone who will have the answer or knows someone who does
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So what's the ball park figure coming to? £2500?
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To be honest we've never even bothered costing it, but I would say for 2 months, more than likely, could even be a bit more depending on insurances, life style etc. of course MH's can do it for less by using aires and wild camping, we don't do either but know some who do
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Yes, we are just coming to the end of 4 months in southern Spain, and £2500 is almost spot on. That is for the excess cost over what we would have spent anyway at home.
Roughly:
Ferry ((Bilbao): £800
Fuel: £300
Campsites en-route £200
Long stay site: £1100
European breakdown addition: £100
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Over the last few years our average cost of 9 weeks in Spain in May/June has been £400 per week. That includes food, fuel, sites, tolls and eating out. The only additional cost is the ferry at about £900 for Portsmouth to Santander. We have a 7 meter caravan so don't use aires. We use ACSI for the sites. In May / June electricity is included in the nightly cost.
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Peedee. just wanted to say that I enjoyed you journey details...you covered many of the roads we have done and also some of the sites...
last time, I missed out the Zaragoza site completely on the outward trip and, on the return, we stayed at the aire in Teruel...
the Zaragosa bypass/orbital can be fun, especially when heading towards Pamplona....interesting junction....
thanks again for sharing..
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BB thanks, isn't that what CT is about, sharing information. I find that by the time I have driven the 200 miles via the Somport and got most of the way round Zaragoza I have had enough. Mind you I think the municiple there is over priced and I did consider staying elsewhere on the way back. Teruel would be too far for me. A fellow traveller did point me in the direction of another aire but I could not find it on my maps. It was at a place called Cascais or something like that.
Junction 33 is quite complex and it easy to find yourself heading for Madrid on the A2 instead of Zaragosa center and the campsite. Fortunately it is easy to correct the error by pulling into the garage about a mile along the A2, refuel and the exit of the garage takes you to a bridge which allows you to return onto the A2 but heading back towards Zaragosa and the site.
peedee
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Thanks for all your prompt replies and info. You have given me plenty of things to think about, will get back to you all if I have any more questions.
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Vic, hopefully minus some fixed costs at home...gas, electric, water (all metered for us).....
some even SORN their car when away in the van for months. the Govt are quick enought to grab it.....
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Quote-----My wife and I have got to the age where we are thinking of spending February/March in Southern Spain in our caravan. We would appreciate any advice from fellow members regarding the following items.
If it's at all possible for you to change your plans I would suggest that you will find better weather before Christmas than after. For lots of years I've spent from end of October till end of February in southern Spain, and I've always found that to be the case.
In December we stood overlooking one of the reservoirs and were appalled to see it was only 22% full. Now I read in the local paper that because of the recent rains they've had, it now stands at 35%.
My expenses for this past winter for four months was £2386 for ferry, site fees, diesel for towed miles, insurance and tolls. You can see the expenses for other years at the ends of my blogs.
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Going the high route through France at that time of year risks snow and ice. Better the route via Bordeaux & Toulouse ( le Trek)
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as above, which route depends on many factors....toll, weather, limited speed (towing or larger MH) etc...
for comparison, Michelin plots Bordeaux to Benicassim as follows...(toll allowed)
1. via Irun, Pamplona, Zaragosa 8h 41m, 510m, total cost €95
2. via Toulouse, Perpignan and east coast, 8h 57m, 557m, €132
3. via Pau, Somport, Huesca, Lleida 9h 28m, 468m, €97
1 is quickest, cheapest, 2nd longest and (probably) 2nd for 'weather' (our preferred route)...
2 is almost as fast, but the longest and most expensive...best for 'weather'
3 is slowest, but shortest, almost the cheapest but possibly worst for 'weather'
all much of a muchness and each will have their favourites....
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I have just returned from Spain and can tell you that the A68 North of Zaragoza is undergoing a major upgrade which will benefit us all when it is completed, however, at present it is reduced to 2 very narrow lanes (one each way) for about 20 miles. It might be worth using the AP68 for this stretch. If I had known how long these roadworks were, I would have crossed to the toll road.
BillC
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Thanks, Bill
there was a bit going on last autumn, but easy to slip by it as you say....
been a bit hamstrung following eye surgery which means I haven't been able to drive for several weeks but (hopefully) get sign off from consultant tomorrow..
a couple of weeks here (other commitments) and then 'on the road'0 -
Good luck for tomorrow BB and hope you can get away soon. We had to return a month early due to a med appt for the wife, which was yesterday and it was good news, pity we cant just pop back as the weather is just settling down. 29c and 32c two days last week, in the shade!
I didnt get to cycle up the CV147 but a friend took 6 of us up to the restaurant at the top and we had a fantastic afternoon and a great meal.
BillC
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Hi Bill thanks for that...ill have to have the other one done some time, it's not too bad so can choose a date to fit it in with touring...it's the non driving bit that's the most bother....
been keeping an eye
on the forecast of late and looks pretty good, although it may be we only go to the south of France and then Spain in the autumn....I cycled out to the restaurant you mentioned last time I was 'up the mountain' and the views are terrific...
continued best health to you both
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