Northern Spain
We have booked the Santander ferry for next June ( 1st time abroad ) and are now looking for a caravan site. We don't want to travel more than 2-3 hours from the Ferry to the site, preferably one with a pool and walking distance or a short bus or taxi ride to the nearest town. Oyambre site looks quite nice and the reviews look ok. has anybody been there ?
Comments
-
James, You ask if anyone has been there.
As well as the 16 reviews on here there are about 200 others if you look at comments on ACSI, UKCampsite, PitchUp and Trip Advisor. They are almost all favourable. You can trust them. Is there anything more that can be said?
Have a good trip.
0 -
Oyambre is lovely provided you get one of the better pitches on the terraces. The site now has 2 swimming pools 1 in , 1 out, you can walk to a brilliant beach, 10 mins, site 45 mins max from ferry port. Stayed there twice once on the way down to souuthern Spain and again on the return, some splendid views across the mountains, snow on the mountains when we visited in April 2019.
0 -
I respect what AD and Rufs had said about going south, and admit that my own knowledge of northern Spain is sketchy. But personally I can see that exploring westwards from Santander into Asturias and Galicia has much to offer that would appeal to me - in terms of scenery, culture, history and the general Spanish way of life.
Frankly, however, the last thing I would do is to start my planning by choosing a single campsite, however well recommended, and staying there. The worst of all would be a campsite with a separate British zone where CAMC members are grouped together !
June is not peak season in Northern Spain - a few days at Oyambre might well be a good idea for someone on a first overseas visit, but there are other places to go and other things to see and do. I myself would spend the winter going through the Rough Guide and Lonely Planet books to work out what else would interest me - and learning a bit of Spanish for everyday use too.
0 -
The worst of all would be a campsite with a separate British zone where CAMC members are grouped together
whereever did you get this info from, certainly did not happen whilst we were there, yes it is a CAMC recommended site, but was mainly occupied by Dutch people, must admit April was not a great time to visit and site was almost empty as weather had been particularly poor and people had headed south, but was great whilst we were there before we moved south,
0 -
I don't know how things are done at Oyambre but it's quite common for the Club to make an arrangement for an allocation of a certain number of pitches at overseas sites, and for the management to reserve them in a group for those visitors.
0 -
Hi James, Not stayed at Oyambre but have stayed at Camping Playa Joyel which is just 28 miles East of Santander.
The site is situated on one of the best beaches we have seen .and within walking distance of shops.
It is very popular with the Spanish, there are a lot of seasonal pitches, and it has a real buzz to it at weekends, but you can pitch away from those areas if not to your taste.
We stayed in June and during the week the site was very quiet but had a mix of nationalities.
We live in Cornwall and have a fair few decent beaches but this one is stunning, and huge-you can also wade across the small stream to neighbouring Isla for lunch, the Hotel Astuy has a very good restaurant-and we spent more time on the beach than on most holidays.
Obviously Covid may well still be having an affect but the area is good for days out from small old villages to modern towns/resorts like Santander.
As others have mentioned there is no need to book at that time of year however, when we visited the site was not in any of the discount schemes-ACSI etc-but does offer age related discounts if you are lucky, or indeed unlucky, enough to qualify!
0 -
Thanks for all the advise, The Playa Joyel looks very nice. We go at the end of June so hopefully the weather will be ok. We'd love to go south but are only there for ten days and didn't want a long drive back (and last minute panic) to the ferry. We'd like a mix of nationalities on the site but don't mind a British sector, always handy for a bit of help and advise.
1 -
Have you booked to travel on BF’s new Galicia ferry? Looks very nice on the website 🙂.
I absolutely love Asturias / Cantabria, it’s an absolutely stunning region. OK, you get days when mist rolls in off the sea, but if you just drive a few miles inland, you’ll soon get away from it. The replica cave of Altamira is definitely worth a visit.
As the others have said, no need to book, and we found most sites gave a worthwhile discount if you paid in cash.
As Eurortraveller has recommended, plenty of reading up to do before your trip. Enjoy 🙂
0 -
Booked with BF Pont Aven through the cmc. Also bought some vouchers, hoping to use them to book the site. Wanted to get everything wrapped up early, in anticipation of a mass exodus next year when all this is over !
0 -
The Covid situation still seems too volatile to plan very far ahead, IMHO
0 -
Hope your optimism pays off, but as some on here will testify, booking through the club can save money but if you have to cxl for whatever reason, it would appear the club is not great at organising this.
personally I find it better to book direct with BF paying a little extra for flexi tickets which you can change online without any hassle to any sailing you choose i think up to 24 hrs before your intended sailing. We have two crossings booked for 2021 which were originally planned for 2020.
0 -
It can be even be cheaper to book directly with Brittany Ferries on crossings to Spain rather than booking through the Club.
Just ask nicely on any forum and someone will send you a Friends and Families code. You get 10% off the base fare and they get a £10 kickback. Book a standard ticket with Brittany Ferries and you can amend it free of charge up to a fortnight before travel.
Doing it that way would save me £50 on a return crossing to Spain next summer - but the fares would still be over £1000 - and that's dearer than my usual holiday flights to Thailand. No contest !
0
