I agree, I used the Newhaven / Dieppe, cheap as chips. I wouldn’t rush France to get to Spain either, the main draw to Spain and Portugal being the winter climate not the scenery or culture.
Driving in Europe
- Thread starter Dave Potts
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Oh I dunno, the centre of Spain is stunning, Cacares, Valladolid, Salamanca are all well worth a visit. Re. Portugal, the Algarve is pants, full of fat Brits eating all day breakfast & watching Sky sports, but get to the Atlantic coast & it’s a different world, beautiful beaches, great food, lovely people, cheap camping. Lisbon is our all time favourite “long weekend”.
Yep, I though I could drink but there’s a hard core of Algarve winter crusties that can certainly pack it away. Beats looking forward to Bingo night in the depths of a UK winter though!
There's 5 places full of bits in the Algarve....the rest of it is stunning and barely speak a word of English.
We get the tunnel then 1st night in Chartres, 2nd in San Sebastian and 3rd in the Algarve at the villa. Stunning through Central Spain.
Atki
Member
I'm in the same position. Just waiting for thing to stabilise in Alicante province. I'm a 77 year old solo traveller now, so a bit nervous about taking too much on. Interesting comments on your post. Thanks for asking the question. P
41°10'16.3"N 2°25'56.1"W
Medinaceli, really nice free overnight stop when crossing Spain. Can be found in Search For Sites.
Medinaceli, really nice free overnight stop when crossing Spain. Can be found in Search For Sites.
Have you got a site you can recommend in San Sebastián? We normally fly to Bilbao but now we’ve got the van we want a road trip.
Yeah, I was probably a bit unfair on the Algarve. Get away from the Brits & go inland & it’s a different world. We stayed in Silves for a couple of nights at Camping O Paraiso, idyllic spot on the banks of the Arade river. We had the best Piri Piri chicken at a locals roadside cafe in Silves. I’d go back there again. Re.Spain, Segovia is another “must see” town that few Brits will ever see.
Re. General camping in Europe. If you’re heading across the channel off season, I’d recommend getting an ACSI card. Costs around £15 and gets you cheaper rates on thousands of sites across Europe. We were a bit sceptical at first, but it does work & pays for itself after a few nights. You are guaranteed a pitch/EHU/shower for a fixed fee. We’ve used it in spring/ early summer in the warm bits, and in winter when skiing.
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ACSI card is definitely worth it on a longer trip but the auto-renewal deal is a con.
They don’t respond to requests to stop so twice I’ve had my bank retrieve the funds.
Last time we went we didn't stop in the van...we stopped at Agrotourismo Maddiola, cracking place, Spanish government purchased a load of failing farms about 10yrs ago and turned them into eco friendly, unique accommodation. B&B and off the beaten track. Safe parking right by the room for the van. There is a good camping site in Orio a bit further along the road though, near the marina.
Last time we were in Spain in spring 2019 we stayed at Camping Igueldo. It’s about 5km to the west of San Sebastián and at the end of a regular bus route. It was fine for us.
We stayed at Camping Igara also to the west of SS. It was rammed but they squeezed us in. There was a shuttle bus that ran you down into the outskirts of the town. IIRC camp sites were few & far between in San Sebastian. If you do visit the Spanish north coast, take your waterproofs
That sounds great thanks. Probably next year now as I can’t persuade her indoors to leave the uk this week for an impromptu drive to France and Spain.
Looks like it’ll be the NC500 in the rain.
Thanks for the replies @Martinf and @Salty Spuds, really helpful.
Been to San Sebastián a few times so I know to take my coat.
Been to San Sebastián a few times so I know to take my coat.
Hi Pete, this is something we are interested in doing late this year. Would love to pick your brains.Late last year we got the ferry to Santander, stayed on the Northern Spain coast for a bit then drove down through Spain and into Portugal on the Algarve, then back up via the coast near Lisbon. Then back up through France.
More info here:
Warmish Locations In October
It looks like we will have some time free for a longer campervan trip in early October. We want to go to Scotland, but I suspect it could be a bit fresh up there doing something like the NC500. We have friends in the South of France, so could drop down there, then move on to Spain and Portugal...www.t6forum.com
Happy to have a chat offline if you want.
Pete
Tony
The best advice I had when I drove on the continent for the first time was keep your bum in the gutter. If you do his whether turning left or right or going around roundabouts you will always be on the right side of the road, as long as you drive a right hand vehicle.
John.
John.
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We do the 2pm tunnel to calais which makes lovely time for the 1st night in champagne...after breakfast head to bordaux then around the corner to San Sebastian for the 2nd night...most of spain and Portugal is in easy reach for the 3rd day....unless you want the costas which is a different route all together. Have a great trip
As I spend a lot of time in the gutter (well, my mind does!) I concur!
We are sailing to Bilbao in June. We have booked Camping y Caravanning Playa De Oyambre about 1.5 hours from Bilbao, then we head along the Galician coast to Campsite A' Vouga at Muros, from where we can explore the coastal areas of Galicia, then inland to stay at Camping As Cancelas in Santiago de Compostella (which is very close to the city) and then to Camping Regio in Salamanca (a CAMC affiliated site). We drive down to Cordoba but we are staying in a Parador hotel there, on a bus route just outside the city, as it has parking suitable for the van. We may well move on to Almeria but not sure yet. I did fancy stopping at Caminito del Rey, but as I really do not like heights I think we'll give it a miss. I don't want to be rescued by their rescue teams for being a bit of a wuss!
As mentioned by others, I have a toll pass for both France and Spain. Well worth having, although the last time we drove through Spain in October last year, all the motorways we used had all the toll booths open and were free.
If you decide to drive down through France and into Spain and go across The Pyrenees, I recommend this site near Ainsa in Spain, Camping Peña Montañesa. Great location, lovely area, good walks and a short drive from Ainsa with free parking in the town. The site has a good bar, pizza restaurant and a pool.
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