Hi all, we are aiming to hire a Motorhome and head down to Portugal . Arriving at Santander ,heading to Santiago de Compestela. Thing is know very little about Portugal. Best places to visit? What is an aire? Do we need to book sites in advance? We are hoping to go first three weeks in June. We are narrowboaters so a life on land is new to us!! Can you veterans out there point us in the right direction with all your knowledge and experience. We promise to do the same if you ever want to take to the water......
Many thanks
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
An aire is an allocated place for motorhomes/campervans to stop at. Most of them are free, some are manned and will charge a fee to park up, the fee obviously will reflect the area/facilites on offer, but all of them(most) will have fresh water and a place for you to empy the toilet, you can lok up on the web, aires for camping car, its french but again its free and will give you all the locations you can stop at, or go to archiescamping and again download all the aires you want for free, and you can put them on your GPS, In France if you wish, use the municipal campsites, a lot cheaper than the commecial ones, yet again you can purchase one of Vicarious books on the subject of aires or campsites all over Europe, good luck same as above really ust look them up and decide
You won't need to book campsites in June, just take a campsite guide. You need to find out about road tolls in Portugal, as you pay in advance, I think. Somebody who has been will put you right, I'm sure.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
It's always difficult to recommend places as tastes differ.
We're going to Eire and are totally lost due to the massive selection of sites. Trial and error I guess 😗
Good luck and enjoy.
Quote: Originally posted by Billy.... on 17/1/2015
You won't need to book campsites in June, just take a campsite guide. You need to find out about road tolls in Portugal, as you pay in advance, I think. Somebody who has been will put you right, I'm sure.
Some tolls in Portugal are prepaid. In the south, entering from Huelva there is a toll booth there, where you put your card in and it charges it automatically as you pass each toll gantry. Otherwise, you can buy prepay cards at the petrol stations and have to text a code and your registration number, which then starts deducting from the amount you have prepaid.
The charges are displayed on the overhead gantries but I think only for cars and not if you are towing... All the info is here
Have a look at the ACSI Card website- where there are 20 campsites listed in Portugal, at prices between 12 and 18 euros per night. That price includes two people, car and caravan, (or motorhome), awning and electricity.
Use the tab above "Campsite Search" to look for sites in Portugal. Handy map to help too.
We stayed at a few ACSI sites in Portugal and some were better than others but all acceptable.
If you say where you are going then those with experience will be able to help.
We have been to Portugal in a motorhome 3 times, and found there are plenty of campsites both large and small. If you prefer smaller sites then maybe try one of the RDP campings group - five Dutch owned and run smallish sites that run from North to South in Portugal.
There are plenty of sites listed on here and you should find a good few suitable.
For us four of the best places to visit were:
Convento de Christo (try Camping Redondo or Camping Pelinos -both excellent sites and nearby)
Fatima - there was a free aire but it may or may not still be there.
Sagres - the far South Western corner, beautiful castle and village plus the Atlantic ocean.
Moncarapacho - small village 5 miles back from the Algarve, stunning - (try Casa Rosa campsite)
Portugal is very motorhome friendly, use the many sites on here and you will also find plenty more out there.
My word, so much information. I am very grateful for all your help! We are also taking our very well behaved schnauzer "Boris" .so any info on dog friendliness would also be welcome.
We are crossing to Santander heading to Santiago de Compestela, and then down through Portugal so any thoughts on dog friendly campsites thereabouts would be gratefully received.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Totally ignorant - Portugal
