1stmotorhome Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 We have already booked to go Plymouth to Santander in mid April, is the IDP the same as the insurance green card? or something different either way looks like I'd better go for it. What I would like to ask is advice on trip planning, we like to be flexible but my husband fancies gong along the coast towards and possibly into Portugal. I certainly want to visit the Guggenheim in Bilbao., and maybe Rioja. Any advice and/or suggestions on route, or places to visit, would be gratefully received. I do know it won't be warm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJB Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 The IDPs (2 relevant versions) will be available from 2,500 Post Offices from 1st Feb. Green card from your insurance company. PS. Only one version applies if travelling to Spain directly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 If we don't reach a deal then for Spain you will require a 1949 IDP, and for Portugal a 1968 IDP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solwaybuggier Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 It’s a really enjoyable trip along the Northern Spanish Coast, and then into Portugal - we did this in 2013 and have been back to Portugal every year since, bar one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 An IDP is an International Driving Permit, in effect a translation of your driving licence into a number of selected languages. If we Brexit, as things presently stand, you are likely to need one. As above, make sure you get the version appropriate to the countries you intend visiting. Your insurance Green Card is an international document that translates your insurance certificate into various languages so that you can demonstrate, if asked, that you have valid motor insurance. So to answer your question, no, they are not the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solwaybuggier Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 It’s a really enjoyable trip along the Northern Spanish Coast, and then into Portugal - we did this in 2013 and have been back to Portugal every year since, bar one. If you like fish, the seafood is amazing along that coastline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboyprowler Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Is this your first trip abroad, and as your name suggests, is this your first motorhome? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 http://s358.photobucket.com/user/vindiboy1/library/A%20Portugal%20Wander%202015 Bit of the west coast here, Portugal is a great place to visit in a camper, I would suggest you get the Vicarious Book of Aires Spain and Portugal for your first trip [on line shop ] it gives you lots of info on stopover places for your van and is written in English with full details of the stopovers written by people who have used them, lots of other publications out there but Vics are very good . We like to wild camp where we can and it is possible to do this in Portugal, lots of cheap and good Campsites too if that is your bag. A trip through the Douro Valley is a great journey to make lots of stopovers there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 http://s358.photobucket.com/user/vindiboy1/library/PORTUGAL%20DOURO%202 Roman ruins if you like that Coinbrigga. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 http://s358.photobucket.com/user/vindiboy1/library/PORTUGAL%20DOURO%20VALLEY%201 First pictures show the Air at Palencia where we like to stay in Spain on route to Portugal.We have lots of time so rarely go in straight lines on our travels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarveyHeaven Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 1stmotorhome - 2019-01-23 3:44 PM We have already booked to go Plymouth to Santander in mid April, is the IDP the same as the insurance green card? or something different either way looks like I'd better go for it. What I would like to ask is advice on trip planning, we like to be flexible but my husband fancies gong along the coast towards and possibly into Portugal. I certainly want to visit the Guggenheim in Bilbao., and maybe Rioja. Any advice and/or suggestions on route, or places to visit, would be gratefully received. I do know it won't be warm. April is a beautiful time to travel here in Spain and in Portugal the spring blossom is amazing and the storks are plentiful especially in northern Spain. Aires are cheap if you join ACSI and you don't have crowds to contend with. The only down side is Brexit :'( Do visit Rioja and stop in Haro. There's a lovely campsite called 'Camping Haro' which is a 5 minute walk from the lovely old town of Haro full of bars and restaurants and a lovely church. There are several Bodegas within walking distance of the campsite also and they are well worth a visit they do tours in all languages including English....great fun. There are 2 Aires near the town also but we always use the campsite so I don't know anything about the Aires. There are lots of shopping possibilities there also if you are into shopping :-D Whatever you do enjoy yourself ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1stmotorhome Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 I’d appreciate any suggestions of places to visit or the opposite , must see’s etc. Good places or sites to stop or for wine and food . We like to eat in local restaurants not eat ‘posh’. Many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1stmotorhome Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 Thanks for the advice about Haro and camping haro we’ll certainly include that it sounds ideal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1stmotorhome Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 Thanks for all your suggestions, and the brilliant photos of Palencia and Miranda. It’s not our first tripbut it is our second one abroad.we went to France last year but both of us know France quite well. I have bought the Aires book and we have joined Acsi . We will have a month but looking at the map of Spain and having a vague plan of staying North rather than heading South I felt that I didn’t know where to start. Although we want to be flexible rather than stick rigidly to a ‘tour’. So many thanks for the replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 1stmotorhome - 2019-01-25 2:13 PM Thanks for the advice about Haro and camping haro we’ll certainly include that it sounds ideal Well it looks as though you will need a fat wallet to stay there Hee Hee ??The camping is open from January 26th to December 9th LOW SEASON * HIGH SEASON * Premium Plot 14,00 € 20,00 € Standard Plot 10,85 € 15,50 € Small Plot 8,40 € 12,00 € Adult 4,65 € 6,20 € Child from 3 to 10 years 3,70 € 4,95 € Dog 2,25 € 3,00 € Extra car 4,65 € 6,20 € Extra tent 4,65 € 6,20 € Extra moto 4,15 € 5,50 € Electricity 4,50 € 4,50 € Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 Vitoria Gasteiz is a great city to visit , it has a large free Aire on a big parking area, a short walk from the Aire is a Tram that will take you into the city centre for about 1.5 Euros you can ride all over the city on it, lots of fabulous old historic buildings and town square to sit and eat and sample the wines, it is one of our stop overs on our winter jollies to Spain and Portugal, it also has a modern shopping mall , lots of supermarkets close to the Aire and local shops too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinP Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 A fascinating place to visit is the Altamira Cave museum and world heritage site at Santillana del Mar. This is about 30km from Santander. There are prehistoric cave paintings. In reality, due to pollution, they have been perfectly reproduced on a new site about a kilometre away. The museum caters for English speakers very well. There is a campsite in the village too but it is many years since we used it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarveyHeaven Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 Burgos is another beautiful city and if you cycle then there is a really amazing cycle track all the way into the city. There is a campsite on the outskirts of the city its a fair walk into town from the campsite but it is a lovely city with lots of bars and restaurants. The campsite has a good restaurant we always have at least one meal there. Cycling in Spain is a great experience as motorist tend to give way to cyclists in much the same way as they do to pedestrians. Enjoy!! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurence Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 Susan, we did something very similar to you last year, except in reverse. From Santander you might want to go along to Orio, and there is a good ACSI site called Orio Kanpina. Orio is a nice little town, but it has an excellent railway that takes you one way to San Sebastian and the other way to Bilbao, both worth seeing. From Orio it is easy to go down to Haro which HH has already recommended, and I agree. I doubt the campsite restaurant will be open, but it is only a 10 minute walk across the bridge into Haro where there are lots of places to eat. And all those bodegas !! We came up to Haro from Salamanca, which is a lovely place to visit, with its fine ornamental cathedral and an old Roman bridge nearly 2000 years old. Its a very quaint place and we stayed at Camping Don Quijote (ACSI). It's well run, the restaurant will be open, but don't part under the trees, go to the open area (bird muck and tree sap). Easy bus into town. A month is not a long time and if you did end up at Salamanca you would probably have used up half of your time, so decision whether to go north, or venture into Portugal. If you go north there are some brilliant campsites in the Europas mountains with spectacular walks. If you carry on W, you might want to visit Braganza in Portugal (Cepo Verde campsite, in nature reserve and lovely walking), and the Douro, where there is a great aire at Regua right under the road bridge across the river (Aire Peso da Regua €3 per night inc elec). If you get to the Douro take a trip up river to Pinhao, and go up/down Europe's highest lock. The scenery is spectacular. Finally, its tempting to get back near to Santander close to your return date. We used to 'position ourselves' for the return, but we don't anymore because it wasted a few days. The roads in Spain are brilliant and very often quite empty. If for example, you were in the Douro/Porto the day before your sailing (assuming an evening departure), it is quite easy to do Porto - Santander in a (long) day journey and you will be in plenty of time for the sailing. Use the toll motorways where necessary - they are not expensive and they are very fast and easy. We always accept a longish journey back to the ferry on the last day and to us it maximises the adventure and gets you the furthest, particularly if you only have a month. Anyway, that's just a personal view. Hope this is helpful. If you want any further information on any of this, then do PM me. Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 It so much depends on what you like. Whether you are "scenery" people, "beach" people, "history" people, "archaeology" people etc. etc, or what. My suggestion would be to get or borrow a decent guide to both countries - we tend to prefer the "Rough" guides, but we all differ - look at where places fit in with your proposed route, read up on them, target the ones that appeal, and then look for nearby campsites or whatever. That way you get the trip you want, to suit your own tastes and timescales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEIRA Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 Hi. we plan to travel spain and portugal coming February-March will appreciate your road-trip tips - start point Barcelona 11th February - we want to cross over to the west coast then via portugal zig-zag spain/portugal down to the south and back to barcelona along the east coastline thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEIRA Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 Hi Laurence we will be travelling in Spain February-March we are worried about the weather and would appreciate your advice and road-trip tips for the route starting at Barcelona - crossing to the west, then down to the south via protugal/spain zig=zag route. we have plenty of time thanks meira Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEIRA Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 Hi what is the weather like in February at Vitoria Gasteiz ? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurence Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 MEIRA - 2019-01-26 5:31 PM Hi Laurence we will be travelling in Spain February-March we are worried about the weather and would appreciate your advice and road-trip tips for the route starting at Barcelona - crossing to the west, then down to the south via protugal/spain zig=zag route. we have plenty of time thanks meira Hi Meira, I have sent you a PM, rather than have an extended exchange here. Look for your inbox, which is at the top of this webpage just below the Welcome line *-) Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Does anyone have experience of weather crossing the Pyrenees in Febraury/ March? We crossed Northbound from Pamplona using the N135/D933 in September without difficulty but would this route be viable in mid-March? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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