Jean Ray Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Hi there, Is there anyone out there that has stayed both in Albufeira and La Manga? We usually winter in Albufeira but fancy a change. We have heard some good reports about La Manga but was wondering whether the area was expensive. Is it close to supermarkets i.e. Lidl etc? We do have a motorbike to get us around but we like to walk out as well. We have been told that we need to book early through Carefree for La Manga as it gets full and we don't want to be disappointed. Albufeira Camping suits us fine, but was wondering if anyone who has been to both, could give us any feed back on comparisons. Cheers, Jean & Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enodreven Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Hi, Jean & Ray Sorry I can't help you with La Manga, but I wonder if you would be kind enough to provide us with some information on Albufeira, e.g. bus routes, shops, beach, do we need to book whats the site and surrounding area like and what's the weather like over winter, we have been looking at leaving the UK around the end of September early October. Thank You Braunston Jean & Ray - 2008-06-29 3:56 PM Hi there, Is there anyone out there that has stayed both in Albufeira and La Manga? We usually winter in Albufeira but fancy a change. We have heard some good reports about La Manga but was wondering whether the area was expensive. Is it close to supermarkets i.e. Lidl etc? We do have a motorbike to get us around but we like to walk out as well. We have been told that we need to book early through Carefree for La Manga as it gets full and we don't want to be disappointed. Albufeira Camping suits us fine, but was wondering if anyone who has been to both, could give us any feed back on comparisons. Cheers, Jean & Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean Ray Posted June 29, 2008 Author Share Posted June 29, 2008 Hi Braunston, Albufeira camping is situated 20 Minutes walk from the "Old Town". There is a bus right outside the site every 30 minutes. It costs 1 Euro and it goes around in a circle and wherever you get on or off it's still 1 euro, whether you want to go to the marina or "the strip" etc . If you have a British bus pass, then take it to the ticket office where they will issue you with a pass and then it is half price!!! The Lidl is within walking distance, the medical centre, SMALL supermarket , and a bar or two, are a couple of 100 metres away. Algarve shopping mall is 30 minutes on a bicycle or 1 hour walking. It has all the big shops, factory outlets and upstairs are 28 restaurants!!! The beaches are at the bottom end of the "Old town" (about 30 mins easy walk) The campsite itself, is in our opinion, one of the best on the Algarve. Not the cheapest, although if you stay 31 days or more you will get 40% discount and another 5% for cash. (About £10 per night) There is a cash machine at reception) and they also sell phone cards 5 euros for 150 minutes. There is a supermarket , newsagent and laundry. The site has good facilities with bar restaurant etc. The toilets are second to none. They are all (5 blocks), marbel and tiled and the cleaners are in attendance from 8am till 5 pm. The camping and caravan club have a rally in January. Going at the end of September/ October you will find a good pitch. I don't think that you can book a pitch in advance, only on the rally. First come first served. There are 2 outdoor pools and a childrens paddling pool open all year. It is warm through the day, but gets chilly at night in the winter months. There is an internet cafe in reception, but we are hoping this year they will have wi-fi, althouth on the Algarve, the wi-fi is free at Municipal building (town halls, librarys etc). English Calor bottles can be refilled just down the road. No adapters needed!!! Hope this is helpful to you. Happy camping! Jean & Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Hi Jean & Ray, Sorry that this is OT but do you know if the bus pass thing works for all of Portugal or is it just in Albufeira? TIA Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enodreven Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Hi, Jean & Ray Its extremely helpful, and thank you for taking the time and trouble to post it Thanks again, and you never know we may see you there if you decide to go again Braunston Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean Ray Posted June 29, 2008 Author Share Posted June 29, 2008 Hi Stuart, Sorry but I don't know about bus passes in other parts of Portugal. I am sure someone will come on and tell you though. Jean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w1ntersun Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Hi, La manga like albufeira floods in heavy rain. Lamanga you will love it or hate it. Excellent rally for rally lovers. Very good camp shop run by the local supermarket group "uppers" good for cycling where as albufeira is not local towns are closed for the winter albufeira is open I personly hated the high hedges and much to much shade for a winter rally. Dog poo all over the car park and the shanty town atmoshere of the place. Nice little ports about 3 mile away. Not enough to do out side of the rally Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpy carol Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 hi we have just had our first taste of long term stays in our motorhome albufeira was our first long stay site we were there from beginning of march till end of april we loved it even though the weather was not great,we then moved round the spanish coast and ended up at la manga as it looked good in any caravan site books we looked at,well we booked in for a week and only stayed two nights,didnt like the high hedges,the yappy little dogs everyone seemed to have,the shanty town feel of the place,windsurfers every where you looked,unfriendly shop staff,dirty promenades and pavements,several other campers we met nicknamed it la manky we didnt like it but the campers there loved,we are going back to albufeira. regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean Ray Posted June 30, 2008 Author Share Posted June 30, 2008 Hi Richard, Thankyou for your info. La Manga doesn't sound like our cup of tea. We don't book the rally in Albufeira so we pitch at the top which usually keeps dry so we will stick to what we know. Thanks again. Jean & Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean Ray Posted June 30, 2008 Author Share Posted June 30, 2008 Hi Carol, Thankyou for your infor. Needless to say, we will be going back to Portugal for the winter. Cheers Jean & Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w1ntersun Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Hi Jean and Ray, If you don,t book the rally why not come and join about 80 other brits who go to camping Roseleda at conil de la frontera. Its between Gib and Cadiz and is handy for Jerez. It has good cycling ( there are about 10 of us who potter along to the excellent beaches for lunch.) Excellent restraunt and interesting surrounding area such as arcos, medina sidona and the national park. Very good site and amenities Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hymer C 9. Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Thanks Jean & Ray for this post, something we have thought about, and the information so far points into one direction, will be interesting how this thread develops, what part of the winter would be best to spend a couple of months in Albuferia. We have been to LaManga and can see what is meant about the Shanty town feel. Carol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinfrier Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Hi Stayed 1 night at Caravaning La Managa in April nice sight clean with plenty of facilities 18.85e with hook up 84 sq m plot Autovia La Manga Salida (exit) 11 e mail lamanga@caravaning.es www.caravening.es Colin Frier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Madge Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 w1ntersun - 2008-06-30 7:13 PM Hi Jean and Ray, If you don,t book the rally why not come and join about 80 other brits who go to camping Roseleda at conil de la frontera. Its between Gib and Cadiz and is handy for Jerez. It has good cycling ( there are about 10 of us who potter along to the excellent beaches for lunch.) Excellent restraunt and interesting surrounding area such as arcos, medina sidona and the national park. Very good site and amenities Richard Hi Richard, I agree nice site and area but some of those pitches get a bit difficult in the wet. 8-) 8-) I suppose you will be in your usual spot (?) :-D If all goes to plan we will be in Turkey. :-D :-D Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean Ray Posted June 30, 2008 Author Share Posted June 30, 2008 Hi Richard, We will be going to Albufeira until mid or end of November at least(depending on the weather) and then perhaps we might go on to Conil. We have thought about Conil before but we were under the impression that it gets very windy although we have stayed for a couple of nights in Tarifa in January and that wasn't too bad. Cheers Jean & Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w1ntersun Posted July 1, 2008 Share Posted July 1, 2008 Hi, Yes there is a lavante wind that comes from the east and the whole of Spain gets it not just Conil. ( Check it out on google ) it last 3 days so they say. We were at Cabo de Gato ( Almeria ) Feb this year and we had it for 15 days ( Gale force winds ) There are plenty of pitches at conil that give shelter from the wind. The wind at Tarifa is worse because of the tunnel effect caused by Gibralta. All I can say is we have stayed all over Spain and Portugal and Conil is my prefered stop for Jan/Feb when its the shortest coldest days Regards Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w1ntersun Posted July 1, 2008 Share Posted July 1, 2008 Hi, Link for the lavante wind http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/reports/wind/Levante.htm Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Madge Posted July 1, 2008 Share Posted July 1, 2008 This is the town beach at Conil taken Feb 2007. Richard, I'd be surprised if there are any pitches left at Conil for the winter, the site has had a lot of publicity this last year. I spoke to one of the regulars at the Peterborough show and they had booked their pitch for the next three years. Are they charging extra for the electricity yet? The meters weren't in operation when we were there. I did enjoy the free Wifi though. Regards to Val. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean Ray Posted July 1, 2008 Author Share Posted July 1, 2008 Hello Hymer C9, We go to Portugal towards the end of September. The longest we have stayed is mid January. (But only moved on because 3 or 4 months in one place is enough for us (we like a change after that) November and December are generally the rainy months but we always are able to sit outside in between this rain or go Algarve shopping. There is always somewhere to go or something to do. It is an all year round thing. The Camping & Caravan club rally starts about 10th January and lasts for about 77 days although we don't use the rally. We know there are some Brits who stay as long as April or May depending on when the weather here picks up here in England. Hope this helps. Jean & Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w1ntersun Posted July 1, 2008 Share Posted July 1, 2008 Hi Don, Conli de la frontera Yes the wifi is still free and they now charge for electric. I worked out at less than 1 euro a day. Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potjoe Posted July 1, 2008 Share Posted July 1, 2008 Hi,we have been to the two site`s portugal yes please.Now we go to Bonterra park Spain, think it`s one of the best !.john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean Ray Posted July 1, 2008 Author Share Posted July 1, 2008 Hi, Where is Bonterra Park and how does it compare? Jean & Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted July 1, 2008 Share Posted July 1, 2008 It's in Benicassim, just north of Castellón in Valencia. http://www.campingbonterra.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 Must be very popular - just had a look and it seems fully booked for the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w1ntersun Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 Re benicassim, Its a bit too far north for Jan but is a good site. We go to alcossebre Play tropicana ( Same coast section ) but not until the end of Feb Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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