We are two elderly bacholars (68 &73) and are intending to drive down to Spain in our Auto Trail Motorhome and staying there for January & February, any tips & advice would be very much appreciated as we have never done this before.
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You won't find many campsites open at that time of year, until you get a bit further south.
I did this several times with my late husband with no problems at all.
Will you take the ferry to Santander or Bilbao, if so, you can camp overnight on the port or there used to be a nice site near to Santander.
Then we used to stay the night at a nice little cafe car park, after having a meal first. After that we were far enough south for the camps to be open.
We go to La Manga every winter (January-March) and the weather has been pretty good the last two years although you can get the odd period of rain and cooler weather but on the whole its very pleasant compared to the UK .
If you drive down through France there is some site's open and both Clubs ( C&CC & C.C ) have a list of recommended site to use on route , alternatively if you choose to take the ferry direct to Spain as we did in January this year there are site that are open to use on route across Spain .
If you have an idea where your going I can perhaps recommend some we have used .
Neil
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There will be people who will point you to this site or that site but as previously stated, the further south you go, generally, the warmer it should be.
Having said that, there are areas of Spain that are officially recognized as deserts and, whilst they are south, they aren't right down at the bottom. The Mediterranean coast is drier than the Atlantic coast but having said that, both of them are a damn sight drier and warmer than here.
Can I suggest that you visit the websites of both the Caravan Club,
and the Camping and Caravan Club.
Both of these organisations have the ability to book on your behalf campsites that have been vetted and recommended by their own members. They even run rallies during the winter months.
It is not necessary for you to be a member of either clubs for you to take advantage of their services.
You can even look at their respective brochures On line and make a choice without even having to handle a book. They will also arrange your ferry bookings as well if that's what you want.
In addition, if and when you decide to take the plunge, come back here and ask as many questions as you want. Someone will know the answer because, like you, we all started out somewhere.
Below are the links (hopefully?) for you to look at the brochures.
watch out for the weather through France , a few years back we drove through 5oo miles of snow , we stayed at Vilanova park just below Barcelona , and there were lots of outfits coming back from the south saying the weather was horrendous roads flooded and continuous rain , when they saw us sitting outside in the sunshnie ,they said thats the first sun they had seen , if you decide on Vilanova , buy camping cheques its a lot cheaper , and you also get a discount for being over 60 and the longer you stay the cheaper it is
Quote: Originally posted by joecroft2 on 21/8/2011
watch out for the weather through France , a few years back we drove through 5oo miles of snow , we stayed at Vilanova park just below Barcelona , and there were lots of outfits coming back from the south saying the weather was horrendous roads flooded and continuous rain , when they saw us sitting outside in the sunshnie ,they said thats the first sun they had seen , if you decide on Vilanova , buy camping cheques its a lot cheaper , and you also get a discount for being over 60 and the longer you stay the cheaper it is
Vilanova's to cold in January-Febuary you have to go a lot further south La Manga or even further for a chance of warmish weather at that time of year
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We've stayed in Vilanova Park in December/January and while I agree that it's warmer further south, some Brits do spend the winter there and the weather is certainly better than in the UK! It's also got excellent facilities, including nicely-heated toilet blocks and a supermarket, so it's worth using en route perhaps. We moved on from there to the coast south of Valencia, but had the best weather even further south, in Almeria. There's no shortage of campsites along the coast catering for the North European "snowbirds", and not justy on the coast - inland is interesting as well. It's such a fascinating country that it's well worth moving around a bit, rather than staying in one place for the whole time. There are some excellent supermarkets in Spain, our favourites were Mercadona, where you can usually get fresh milk (not all that widely available in Spain) and Eroski, which sounds a bit like a sex shop but is actually a very good supermarket!
------------- Il vaut mieux vivre ses reves que rever sa vie
Are you thinking of staying in one place or travelling from site to site? Some of the sites offer very good deals for longer stays. Perhaps you should decide on an area then look for sites in that area.
There are ample sites open and good deals to be had for long stays. Vilanova park is indeed an excellent site as is the locality around Sitges and well worth a stopover but get further south for Jan & Feb.
thousands dont bother with sites just free camp . i,m sure you will meet up with others on your journey that can show you the ropes . i have only used 1site in the last 12 years wintering in spain. . mind i do drift to morocco as well if you want to be warm. . 26,000 campers hit morocco every winter , they cant all be wrong.
cheers alan.
------------- vwalan
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
This is a very interesting topic, as we are contemplating a long stay in spain, fairly southward (warm as possible) la manga or further ?. As we may be in the Charente until october what would folks think is the better route
Thanks Stew
------------- Does it ever get better than spare ribs and chops straight off the BBQ
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: wintering in Spain.
