Pyrenees With A Caravan
Good morning.
We are off to Northern Spain in June. I tend to plan a few different itineraries so it gives us the flexibility to follow the weather.
One of our options is spending a couple of weeks in or around the Pyrenees. However, being caravanners, I assume we have to be careful which route(s) and destination(s) we chose.
Grateful if anyone can offer advice on the following:
- Would my best options with a caravan be on the Spanish or French sides of the Pyrenees?
- Or can I do both?
- Are there "caravan friendly" crossing routes in the central part of the Pyrenees? Or is it best to stick with the coast route (San Sebastian to Biarritz)? Which I assume is pretty straightforward.
I've seen some nice sites on the French side that look ideal to us. Are there any good sites on the Spanish side for a caravan. Ideally somewhere we can park the van and then drive up into the more interesting parts of the Pyrenees .
Any other info about where to go and what to see if the Pyrenees would be gratefully received. We are very interested in hiking. Nothing too extreme though. I watched a video on YouTube about the Ordesa National Park. It looked stunning. That is the sort of area we are looking for.
Grateful for any advice.
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We have done 4 different crossings going from France to Spain and back.
West Coast as you mentioned is perfectly fine for caravans, as is the Med Coast route. We tend to come one way and go back the other.
The Somport tunnel we did with a wide coach built Motorhome and a trailer with motorbike. The Spanish side is no problem at all however the French side isn't as good a road but perfectly doable if you are an experienced tugger. HGV lorries use the route.
The Bielsa tunnel we did with our current MH which is a PVC, we crossed from the Spanish side into France. The Spanish side is a decent enough road and not to steep, the tunnel is only single carriage so there is a possible wait to enter, traffic lights operated. The French side is an excellent road but is steep and has multiple hairpin bends, very hard on the brakes. Because of this I would avoid with a caravan.
Sites, we have only used one on the Spanish side prior to going through the Somport tunnel, Camping Gavin. We'll situated, ski resort in winter. It's a terraced site with good views, I believe there is walking trails from the site.
Only stayed on 1 site on the French side but couldn't really give any kind of helpful information as it was bucketing down with rain and we could see very little.
The time you are planning to go will be fine, why not plan a route down one side across to the otherside, lots of sites to stop at. With a caravan and car you can get out and about to explore. Have a good trip.
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Stato, You are right - the Ordesa national park is stunning - altogether different from the French side of the Pyrenees, but very rarely mentioned by British visitors. Camping Oto for a few days is a site I would suggest if you go there.
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The Clubs' European guides give guidance on what passes are suitable for caravans in all mountain regions including the Pyrenees. I have used several routes including a mini tour along the Pyrenees in a motorhome coming from France via the Port del Portalet to Biecas then along the N260 to Ainsa from where we headed to the Mediterranean coast. The N260 gives access to the Ordesa National Park but it is narrow in places and is slow going and I do not recommend an approach via the Port del Portalet. The French side is not suitable for caravans. We night stopped at Brotto, Camping Viu. I suggest if you want to use the N260 you check out Google street views to satisfy yourself on the suitability. I think it is wide enough but pretty twisty in places. The best routes to cross the Pyrenees are at both ends via the motorways. Like TG I have used these and the Somport and Vielha Tunnels. The Vielha is quite twisty compared to the Somport but like the Somport it is used by HGVs.
I have also used the N135 towing a caravan from Pamplona to St Jean de Pied Port and on into France night stopping near the border. A very twisty route to St Jean and a very long downhill run into France which is demanding on the brakes .
Summarising, touring the Pyrenees in a caravan can be done with a good tow car and with care. My advice check out your routes using Google before making up your mind and don't be in a hurry in your travels.
peedee
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The Pyrenees is indeed wonderful.
Our planned trip to the Ordesa was holed below line by Covid but we may yet get there.
We've had a couple of holidays of varying length in the mountains or in proximity. Our longest one was split between sites at Argeles-Gazost and Luz St.Saveur. We were there from the end of June for about 2 weeks and there was snow of the tops as well as a fresh fall of snow on 29th.June so anything can turn. There wasn't a great of it and it didn't interfere in our walking at all. The walks can be as hard as you want to make them but mid range walks of 6-8 miles were accessible.
We've also spent a bit of time around the foothills at Prades on the eastern side. That was an April visit and too much snow to get high up.
The weather on the French side is not as good or as reliable as the Spanish side. We have taken the odd day trip into the Spanish side when staying coastal Spain.
The nature will be better on the Spain side but seeing birds such as the Lammergeier and Wallcreeper on the French side was special.
I did find that sites were surprisingly full from the first week in July and with the Tour de France passing in front of the site at Luz especially so. Take note of their itinerary.
Crossings have been well explained above.
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Thank you all for your very helpful responses. They have certainly given me something to think about.
Tammygirl - If time and, to some extent, driving costs weren't an issue I would definitely have fancied a trip all the way across and back along the Pyrenees. It looks a really interesting place to visit. I will definitely pencil that in for a future trip. I think we will stick with the West Coast crossing.
Eurotraveller - It is interesting what you say about the differences between the French and Spanish sides of the Pyrenees. Looking at YouTube videos the Spanish side seems to look more "mountainy" (if that's a word). The French side looks very impressive, but the Spanish side looks very very impressive. Would others agree? Or is it horses for courses.
Peedee - Thanks for the towing info. Very useful. I love the thrill of driving in mountains. I would relish the opportunity to drive across the Pyrenees. However, realistically, I may not have the best tow car for that sort of environment. I have an AWD 2.0 diesel Tucson. Perfectly good tow car, although it's only the 134 hp model. That could be a slight issue if I get caught on the wrong road. I may have a look at fitting a tuning box.
Wherenext - This is our third attempt at getting down to Northern Spain and the Pyrenees. Hoping it's third time lucky. The places you visited sound just the type of areas we are looking for. Interesting what you say about the weather. I never realised the weather could be slightly better on the Spanish side. I will bear that in mind.
Deleted User User - By the time we get to June I will probably have plans A to F. As you say, at least then I can build in some flexibility with the weather.
Once again, thank you all for your advice. The Pyrenees segment of our holiday is going to take more planing than I thought. I enjoy planning holidays so that's no bad thing.
Incidentally, looking at some YouTube videos on Sunday of camping trips to the Pyrenees, I had my first ever "I wish I had a motorhome rather than a caravan" moment! I knew I would get them at some stage but thought it would be a few more years away lol. I'm far too young! Of course, in an ideal world I would have a motorhome and a caravan! I've told the wife that's what we are going to do if we win the lottery. Will have a flutter tonight on Euromilions.
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Stato wrote: Interesting what you say about the weather. I never realised the weather could be slightly better on the Spanish side. I will bear that in mind.
There's an old proverb - "The Sahara starts at the Pyrenees". If you've ever flown down to Spain, it's quite noticeable how brown it is compared with the northern side of the mountains.
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However, realistically, I may not have the best tow car for that sort of environment. I have an AWD 2.0 diesel Tucson. Perfectly good tow car, although it's only the 134 hp model. That could be a slight issue if I get caught on the wrong road. I may have a look at fitting a tuning box.
have you considered getting the car remapped? You will probably get an increase of 30 BHP and more importantly a significant increase in torque. Just Google remap, pick a company, enter your car details and it will give a pretty good indication of the benefits. If you go ahead you need to let your insurance company know. My insurance company charged me £12 for the first year and didn’t charge for subsequent years
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Cyberyacht - hope we do get some Sahara type weather! That will be the icing on the cake.
Oneputt - Remapping is not something I would normally consider. In the past I've always been very reluctant to dabble with a car's electronic innards. However, a friend of mind recently fitted a tuning box to his Mazda CX5 and he has been very impressed with the results. Now the warranty has finished on my Tucson it is something I may consider. I am assuming a tuning box is similar/the same as remapping?
In fact I've only just discovered sport mode! In all the six years I've had the car I have never used it. Gave it a go recently and it certainly seems to give it a bit more poke.
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Remapping my previous Honda CRV gave me a 14% boost in BHP and a 21% boost to torque. Remapping the ECU, the tuning centre will make a copy of the original map before they upgrade. You can have the original settings put back on the ECU, they normally do this for free
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We've done the N20 from Toulouse, up through Foix, Tarascon, Ax-les-Thermes, and over the border at Bourg-Madame (which is a strange hybrid of French shops up to half way and then Spanish thereafter) then Puigcerda and then down to Barcelona on the E9. This is a very 'towable' route, if you want to go through the Pyrenees rather than explore them, for those who just want a direct route through 'the middle'. Plenty of places to stop on the way
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We came through the Bielsa tunnel a few years ago. We stopped at a site near Ainsa having come up the Spanish side without a problem. Descending on the French side was a different matter; the descent was about 10% for about 10 miles. The result was that the caravan brakes were virtually burnt-out by the time we reached the bottom. When we got back to home we had to have the brakes re-lined and a new brake hub was needed on one side. We have not repeated the exercise since.
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I forget which guide book it was, but it assured us that if we went up high around Fort Romeu there would be 300 days of sunshine a year. Perhaps. But we discovered we were firmly in the remaining 65 days so didn’t hang around and went downhill to Perpignan and the coast.
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Yep, mentioned that tunnel on page 1 of this thread.
We did it the same way as you but in a Motorhome. Luckily the brakes were OK but boy did they get hot.
We did manage to pause once or twice on the way down. Wouldn't want to attempt it with a caravan in tow.
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