hi
just back from france and the weather was rubbish this year again so next year weve decided to get the ferry to bilboa and idealy only drive 1hr or so has any one got any experiences or reccomendations??
We need a swimming pool and be walkable to beaches and shops.
idealy with shaded camping
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we,ve been to playa joyel in noja which is between santander and bilbao. the site has a swimming pool and direct access to a lovely beach, and its only a short walk into noja we went in may about 10 years ago and i think it rained about 5 days out of the 10 days we were there but the other 5 days were very hot, but well worth a look on their website
We stayed at Noja, very busy if you are taking your own unit (we had a mobile home) and a bit on top of each other. The beach is stunning and there are some nice places to visit but the pool is small no slides etc if you are going with the family. It was interesting but I am not sure I would go back. I would ,however, go back to the campsite at Bidart near Biarritz we also visited on our Bilbao trip. It is not much more that an hours drive and was your typical high standard french site. Again lots of interesting places to visit nearby.
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There are many sites in the north coast that meet your requirements. You'll have even more choices if you are ready to drive a bit longer than one hour, reaching Asturias. Anyway, in Cantabria and in the Basque Country you have a wide array of campsites with pool, near the beach and with places to visit not far away. You can search sites on these webs (all of them dispose of english versions):
That's great, thanks Paseante!
Now I have almost too much choice. Would be great to have any recommendations from folk who have stayed at any other sites in that area.
We have children ranging from 5 to 11. We like to be able to walk into a nearby town so don't want to be too remote, not bothered about there being on site entertainment (we make our own) and don't want to be somewhere surrounded by brits and noisy clubs. We love food and cooking, particularly sea food, enjoy swimming and may also possibly want to hire bikes?
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I have stayed at Santillana del Mar, last july. Very good site, at walking distance of the historic and picturesque village of Santillana, with pool, restaurant and bar in site (and a huge number of restaurants in the village). Very quiet. Unfortunately, you need to drive if you want to go to the beach. Friends of us were at Playa Oyambre last Easter, and they have recommended it to us very warmly, but I have no personal experience of it. Regarding seafood, you should consider the possibility of driving a bit further, to Galicia.
Generally speaking, campsites in the spanish north coast are well equiped, well mantained and they are very popular among spanish campers. Maybe if you select several sites, I can ask for references in the spanish campers message boards (I guess this is not a very popular tourist destination among Britons).
Worth pointing out that the weather in Northern Spain can be wet & stormy in the summer. If you drive 6hrs from Bilboa you can be on the Med coast, Cambrils Park area nr Tarragona with define hot/sunny weather July/Aug.
------------- Sell my camper? I'd rather eat school semolina!
Hmm, maybe "stormy" is not the word. Definitely, if you stay in that area in summer your chances are 50% rainy days, 50% not rainy (I wouldn't dare to say sunny). But when it rains in summer it uses to be in a quite mild way - so you can still do things outdoors if you wear the adequate clothes. Of course, if you are looking for sun and sand your are going to ruin your holidays going there, but it's not the kind of weather that leaves you stuck in your awning hoping for the days to pass as fast as possible (i.e., the kind of weather of the last two weeks in Britain).
So is the weather likely to be better heading towards the south west corner of France do you think? Having just returned from a pretty damp and dismal couple of weeks in Brittany the 50% chance of damp days isn't that appealing.
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The only place you can really guarrantee hot sunny weather most of the time July/Aug is at or near the Med coast of France & Spain, Statistically the weather on the SW coast of France is sunnier further north Gironde & Vendee areas its wetter & cloudier down nr the Spanish border. having said that the July weather on the SW coast was warm & sunny most of the time this yr.
------------- Sell my camper? I'd rather eat school semolina!
Trying to avoid doing too much driving as our friends are coming with a Split screen VW camper. I guess 1.5 hours from Bilbao would be OK, so the question is, from Bilbao - East or West?
Departing from Bilbao and in a 1.5 hours radius, your choices are Cantabria or Basque Country (regardless the side of the frontier). Weather conditions are quite similar in both regions; anyhow, Basque Country seems more wet than the western coast (I have checked the website of the Spanish Met Office, where you can find statistical series of rainy-sunny days for the last 25 years). So, it's up to you.
One more option: take the ferry to Santander instead of the Bilbao one. You will take land further west and you can venture to Asturias or even Galicia (remember the seafood).
Really appreciate your help Paseante - I trawled through all the sites on the links you sent before and also used Google Earth to look at them. It looks like there is some fantastic scenery in some of the areas.
Playa Joyel ticks many of our boxes - except for the price! it would work out at 52 euro's per night for our family. I was looking for somwhere in the 40's. I can see we may have to compromise on something perhaps. (like leaving on of the children on the ferry perhaps?)
The other half of our party are coming from the South East of UK so the Portsmouth sailing is far preferable to the Plymouth one for them - hence the reason to look at Bilboa region rather than Santander.
(maybe you should - work for the Tourist office, that is)
Playa Joyel is very praised, and seems to be so fine that gets very very busy in summer and they seem not to accept reservations (that's what people say in the message boards). Maybe you would like to check this as soon as possible.
And if you need more information about any other campsite (or whatever), just ask and I'll do my best (see, I'm practising to apply for the job at the tourist office - it's in my forties when I have discovered my real vocation!)
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Campsites 1 hr max from Bilboa
