First Time Spain
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Hello
We are doing a similar journey in January (with our caravan), catching the ferry Portsmouth to Santander on the 10th. We are then traveling through Spain to Algeciras (near Gibraltar) before catching the ferry to Tangeir Med (Morocco).
We use (whisper) Camping and Caravanning Club on route sites (see their Winter Sun brochure). We do not book in advance at that time of year as there will be plenty of room. This gives us flexibility to stay anywhere for a few days if the weather deteriorates.
It is likely to be cold on the way down (we travel from the northern Scottish Highlands) and this year at Salamanca we had freezing fog and heavy frost. However by the time we reached Evoramonte (Portugal) the weather was sunny, dry and mild.
On the way down we used insulation on our Aquarol and had the heating on gas. The site we stayed on at Salmanca had 3amp EHU!!!
We pull in for toilet breaks on the occasional lay-by, but there are plenty of service areas with loads of parking for caravans.
As we are travelling in winter and want the best roads possible we use toll roads, which will be almost empty of traffic and in good condition. This means that we are not struggling on smaller roads and can make about 250 miles per day with ease. We travel in daylight whenever possible.
For the toll roads we have the Emovis tag for Spain & Portugal, also one for France. This makes it so simple, no worry about getting the right change or using your credit card. You pay just £5.00 pcm to use the cars and ONLY for months that you do use it. The toll fee is taken by dd from your account. BTW you also get a discount card for Galp fuel stations. Two fill ups per month gave us more discount on fuel than the monthly cost of the card.
We are not making any bookings in Morocco, but sites at the popular Spanish resorts do get booked up during the winter. However go away from the bigger sites or a bit inland and you'll be okay.
We also get an ACSI card (and books) to use the discount and also for the location of sites.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.
KH
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A great adventure, I’m envious.
You may already know it, but I spotted a useful stop-over at Gibraltar last week. It’s an aire on the Alcaidesa Marina at La Linea. Nice, quiet and safe location. Ideal as a stopover before your ferry trip and short walking distance across the border into Gibraltar. Plenty of shops/restaurants nearby plus a couple of toilets and washing machines available.
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we used this aire earlier in the year, great place to overnight with easy access and safe, barrier controlled entry...€12 i think.
websites/apps like park4night give plenty of info on many, many pull in spots wherever you travel.
good luck.
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Hello there Seaside Bill,
I'm not sure if your post refers to me (photo4x4), but I'll answer anyway!
We are towing a caravan so we can't stop in aires. We are heading for Camping La Casita at Algeciras. We'll stop a few days to sort out the ferry. But thanks for the thought.
KH
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Whoops, missed that! Have a great trip.
Out of interest, have you done Morocco sites before? Any issues or advice worth considering?
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My sympathy to anyone heading to Spain today or tomorrow. Strikes and storms have come together this weekend, and several Brittany Ferries ships are cancelled, diverted or delayed for those two reasons. There's a long list of updates at the bottom of their own website. Some ports are closed, those ships still running are meeting 8 metre swells in the western channel, and motorists taking the tunnel and driving to Spain are reporting fuel shortages in some parts of France because of the strikes.
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As well as death and taxes, you can always guarantee two things in life. Disruption caused by weather and the French!
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No, never been before, but there always has to be a first time. It was a bit daunting going over to Europe and down to The Algarve the first time we did it - but now we know what to do.
I have done lots of research, corresponded with someone who has taken a caravan to Morocco and I have a pal who has taken his expedition Land Rover there.
Also found a brilliant book - Motorhome Morocco, by Julie and Jason Buckley, ISBN 9781521201978 (available from Amazon). It is a guide on how to travel independently to Morocco in your motorhome or campervan. It is full of essential information which can easily be adapted for a caravan. They also took their dog and ours will be coming with us as well.
Hey, after driving all the way down from the northern Scottish Highlands (640 miles to Portsmouth) to the south of Spain, it's only one more short ferry trip to North Africa!
KH
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Thanks, some useful resources there. I fully intend to do a similar trip, probably winter 2020/21 as long as all the planets are aligned!
Enjoy yourself.
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I've more or less decided to travel to Burgos (camping fuevas blancas) for my first stop , then onto camping Pico de la Miel ,La Cabrera just south of Madrid for 2nd night stop and then onto despenaperros for another night and finally to Almeria .
Possibly a stupid question but do the tolls have a fixed price , or do they vary ?
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Waz51, Are there any tolls on that route? Probably not. But put your start and finish into ViaMichelin.com for any route from anywhere to anywhere and it will tell you the cost of tolls where they exist.
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I too will be on that ferry, and intend to head for Burgos as the first stop. Fuentas Blancas is an interesting site to find, make sure you use the GPS co-ordinates in your satnav. Expect the pitches to be muddy with limited toilet blocks open, water can be a bit of a search as they turn off a lot of the water supplies in winter to prevent freezing. Don't be put off, Burgos is a great town to visit. If you get held up or the ferry is late don't worry too much the campsite reception stays open late. I don't book, just use ACSI CampingCard. On the coast, we have booked our pitches as we found out on our first visit 4 years ago how fully booked they were.
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I'll be using Googlemaps on my mobile fone to get me there and as mnlatham has suggested i always use the little man to "drive" the route so , hopefully , I'll be able to recognise landmarks as they appear . Will we be able to get a hot breakfast at Fuentas Blancas do you think ?
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Usual system is to take a ticket when you enter a toll road - that will open the barrier.
Save the ticket till you leave the toll road and if tne pay booth is unmanned poke the ticket into the machine and it will tell you the price - put cash or your UK bank card into the machine to pay. You may or may not get a receipt. The barrier will open to let you out.
Some booths are marked only for those with an electronic gadget on the windscreen. If you don't have one don't use that lane. If you are driving alone without that gadget you will have to get out and walk round every time. Not a big problem.
If you are stuck press the help button and talk to the intercom.
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Waz, I see that the sailing to Spain this Sunday (21 December 2019) has been cancelled because of the weather, and as there is no spare capacity before Christmas travellers are having to drive to Spain from one of the French ports.
You might be wise to map out a driving route across France just in case the weather is equally nasty when you are due to sail to Spain on 8 January , or be prepared to wait in the UK for a later vacancy to be available.
Good luck with your first trip.
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Only had one problem at a toll booth in France never in Spain. Used the help button and problem was resolved quickly. My wife gets out with the ticket and a credit card to pay. We have a card with no fees for this.
Good advice from Eurortraveller to have a fall back route through France. Plenty of routes discussed on here previously. Will cost around £120 in tolls through France.
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What's the procedure if Brittanny cancel the sailing ? do they offer ship on later date ? or full refund ? if so how long does this take to arrange , do i then have to book myself thru tunnel ?
I'm thinking if i have to drive from Calais to Almeria , given the french tolls , time and diesel , the cost could be more than sailing to Bilbao ?
Do i have grounds to cancel and get refund or is this "act of god" , i might just wrap up and stay home !!!
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Waz51 search discussions for "brittany ferries cancelled sailing" and find my post there is some good information there. I understand you would be refunded and may also receive some compensation to cover the extra mileage you have to do the reach Bilbao. They will contact you by text and email if there is any change to your sailing including any delays. There will be a phone number to ring and they may be able to get you on a sailing to France on the same day of the original sailing. You can also check for sailing updates on their website and could live chat them through the week with your concerns. I also check the BBC weather for La Rochelle and Roscoff to see if there are any strong winds forecast around the date of travel. Hopefully the weather will be kind and you will get to Bilbao without any problems.
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ok thanks i'll find and follow that discussion , wife is telling me not to panic as there's over a week to go yet and the weather may change....
However , Michelin is giving me 2 options (in for a penny in for a pound) 1 route Calais (might as well go thru tunnel) via Paris to Narbonne , then along coaast into spain , and 2 route Calais via Rouen down to N Spain then down thru Zaragoza etc
both these routes covered in this discussion suggested by you guys , so i will study them (just in case) , costs and mileages are similar so it will be the stopovers to decide on - No to Aires in france i'm told , but if i di this then might as well get card to auto charge tolls and get the fuel discount that comes with it ?
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Did you book travel directly with Brittany Ferries or via the Club?
If your ferry booking was made by the Club you should talk to the Club Travel Desk a few days before sailing if it looks as though the weather might be bad. They are the ones who can make alternative travel arrangements for you, and can alter your site bookings too if they were made that way.
Don't worry. The weather is improving.
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Hi Waz51,
FWIW & await critic ...
We're towing a Caravan on the overland France route, Tunnel 2/1/20, down to Almeria (year 3) - Class 2 peage. It's about the same cost overall and similar timescale to the Biscay Cruises we find.
Here's our repeat route (subject to weather checks) for this year ...
Day 1. Depart Leeds, mid afternoon tunnel crossing, onwards to Camping Fontaine 62170 Montreuil. 360 grey miles.
Day 2. Rouen, Chartres, onto Peage above Orleans then E9/A20 past Limoges to Camp Montreal at St German des belles. Long day of 405 grey miles. Weather & snow check prior !
Day 3 Toulouse, Narbonne, over Border, Camp L'Albera Capmany Spain. c.316 improving miles & the blue med ! We prefer Med Coast route rather than the central upland Spain option via Biscay border.
Day 4. AP7 down the Med Costas to Benicassim. choice of three sites in town, diesel & shopping etc. c. 252 busy peage miles.
Day 5 Almeria. AP7 Coastal route South down to site c.340 quieter & usually dry miles.
We may stop extra nights en-route (in Spain) subject to mood & weather. We just ring ahead lunchtime to check & confirm next site.
ACSI books or App essential for savings & extra options.
Similar routing for return depending on dates.
Hope this assists any worries & perhaps be seeing you soon in Almeria !
M
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