DRiving to Portugal for the winter

[John Ex Ltm]

Hi, am someone give me advice. We plan to drive and tour Portugal in January, boat to Santander then through Spain.

 

Can you recommmend sites that are open in Bilbao and through Spain Ito Porto?

 

John Jones

[witzend]

Can't help with sites never use them but have spent several winters in Portugal arriving late Dec - March I don't know how long you got for your tour but in Jan I'd suggest staying in Spain until you get to the Ponte Internacional do Guadiana then head for the Algarve and coming Back up to Porto

[vindiboy]

DITTO on non use of Camping sites but many many free and pay Aires there ,try the ELEPHANT RESERVE near Bilbao, great place to start, free to stay there all facilities no electric, shop and bars too ,the animal reserve is huge, [Pay ] entry, take your van in as it is too large to walk around , loads of van parking in there, right next to the Animal enclosures , it does have a chair lift over the reserve which is included in the entry cost , Also try the mines at LOS DOMINGOS , Aire there and interesting town , also POMAREO, this Aire is on the Guardiano River where there is a new dam and Road Bridge to Spain, Pomareo is an old port where the Copper Ore from the Mines was shipped around the world Small town there with good typical Portuguese Cafes .and great walks, and old mine buildings and remains of the ship pier, Get the Park for Night App or use the WC Wild Camping App

 

[vindiboy]

https://ibb.co/QM2fvG1

[DickB]

We crossed to Santander in January and returned in March. Due to the weather we headed west along the coast to avoid the mountains, before heading south to Salamanca and onwards to Lagos. This would be further east than you would go if heading for Porto. We used Aires and campsites when travelling in both directions, but not all campsites were open in January, and one that was open was frozen! We use Camper Contact and ACSI to find sites and they provide all necessary info.

 

We got a Bip & Go motorway transponder which eliminated stopping at pay stations in both Spain and Portugal. As we crossed into Portugal on a minor road we weren't able to register a credit card so the transponder was essential. It isn't practical to avoid all motorways as many side roads are far from ideal for motorhome, and in South Portugal the only routes are on motorways.

 

Hope this helps

 

Dick

[DickB]

We crossed to Santander in January and returned in March. Due to the weather we headed west along the coast to avoid the mountains, before heading south to Salamanca and onwards to Lagos. This would be further east than you would go if heading for Porto. We used Aires and campsites when travelling in both directions, but not all campsites were open in January, and one that was open was frozen! We use Camper Contact and ACSI to find sites and they provide all necessary info.

 

We got a Bip & Go motorway transponder which eliminated stopping at pay stations in both Spain and Portugal. As we crossed into Portugal on a minor road we weren't able to register a credit card so the transponder was essential. It isn't practical to avoid all motorways as many side roads are far from ideal for motorhome, and in South Portugal the only routes are on motorways.

 

Hope this helps

 

Dick

[Brian Kirby]

For sites open out of season, I'd suggest following this link and buying the Camping Card ACSI sites guide (Two volumes). https://tinyurl.com/2dw6hfvs Discount card included in volume 1, which also covers France Spain and Portugal.

 

In view of your intended departure date in Jan '23, it will probably be better to ring Vicarious Books first to enquire when the '23 editions will be available, in preference to ordering on-line now.

 

If you want to search for potential stopover sites in the meantime, try the ACSI Card website, here: https://tinyurl.com/5332bevd There may be some variation between those sites currently registered and those registered in '23, but the variations should be few, so relatively easily corrected for when you get the '23 volumes.

 

There is also the Eurocampings website, here: https://tinyurl.com/5n6rvt48 which is from the same organisation, but shows a larger number of sites including those that do not register for the ACSI discount card.

[laimeduck]

Brian Kirby - 2022-08-14 11:57 AM

 

For sites open out of season, I'd suggest following this link and buying the Camping Card ACSI sites guide (Two volumes). https://tinyurl.com/2dw6hfvs Discount card included in volume 1, which also covers France Spain and Portugal.

 

In view of your intended departure date in Jan '23, it will probably be better to ring Vicarious Books first to enquire when the '23 editions will be available, in preference to ordering on-line now.

 

If you want to search for potential stopover sites in the meantime, try the ACSI Card website, here: https://tinyurl.com/5332bevd There may be some variation between those sites currently registered and those registered in '23, but the variations should be few, so relatively easily corrected for when you get the '23 volumes.

 

There is also the Eurocampings website, here: https://tinyurl.com/5n6rvt48 which is from the same organisation, but shows a larger number of sites including those that do not register for the ACSI discount card.

 

If you go on the online versions of either of these websites it will not allow you to search for sites in 2023.

 

A trick for getting round this is to search for sites open in December 2022. The sites that result will almost certainly be open in Jan/Feb and may well be covered by the Camping Card ACSI discount. That you won't know exactly, until as Brian says, the 2023 details are released.

 

Jeremy