LordThornber Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 I really wanted to head this "Spanish Virgins" but thought better of it.. Having done all our cross channel camping in France we are planning to sail to Bilbao June 09 into July. I've picked a few bits up on the search facility but wondered if anyone could possibly add anything? A few pointers for anyone who can offer any advice/tips are these:- We would want to stay on sites that are not huge & overcrowded, Is that realistic? We don't mind not being on the coast but are restricting ourselves to around 200-300 miles round trip back to port. We prefer the French Municipal type/size/low facilities type of site, can we expect to find anything remotely similar? My wife and I do not wild/free/call it what you like camp. We would be very grateful for anything at all that may help our joint Wedding Anniversary/Wifes 40th B'Day celebration trip go better than we dare hope, (keep 'em clean Howie).. Many thanks in advance and thankyou for reading Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopesy Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 We came back from Bilbao earlier in the year and stayed at some lovely sites not far from the port. Camping La Paz was nice right on the coast with terraced pitches around the cliffs, good walking along the coastal path in both directions. Picos de Europa around Potes has some nice small sites and spectacular views. This was our first time in Spain and there were some fundemental differences from France but I can't wait to go back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted November 4, 2008 Author Share Posted November 4, 2008 Roger, many thanks for taking the time to reply, this is just the sort of info we are looking for. Can I trouble you to illustrate any of your fundamental differences please? Apart from Majorca in the 70's in sky scrapers, (Andreas' not visited at all), we're in the dark to be truthful (^) Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryedaleman Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 The Northern Coast of Spain is beuatiful, though understandably there are "honeypots". June will be warm, though there will always be a risk of rain, it's not called green Spain for nothing. We can recommend following: Haro , campsite on edge of town with lots of tapas bars. About 2 hours south of Bilbao in Rioja area. Mundaka north of Guernica, again on edge of village and near beaches famous for surfing. St Vincente de Bacquerra, about 2 hours west of Bilbao on beach, again within easy walking distance of this lovely fishing village/town. There are also smaller sites up in the Picos. Spanish lunch time is from 1400 until about 1600, so shops will close from 1400 until 1700. Spanish guide to campsites:http://www.vayacamping.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted November 4, 2008 Author Share Posted November 4, 2008 Ryedaleman, brilliant and thankyou very much, I will take a look at your recommendations, they all sound very tempting indeed. Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sailor girl Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 It's not Spain but I think it's worth a mention. We had a wonderful couple of weeks at a place just outside St Jean de Luz in September. It's France, but only just! Very easily within reach of Bilbao - I'd guess a couple of hours' drive max. The campsite we stayed on, which I would highly recommend and which i think fits your description perfectly is right on the beach at Erromardie. I've gone and forgotten the name of it now but I think it might be called Bord de Mer, Erromardie. There's a site behind it called Ferme Erromardie, which is big and not so nice. The one we were on is small and intimate, right by a beautiful little beach and a lovely 40 minute or so cliff walk into the lovely town of St Jean de Luz. The facilities aren't particularly modern or great, but are adequate and the atmosphere, setting and style of the site more than makes up for it. liz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted November 4, 2008 Author Share Posted November 4, 2008 Hi Liz, we haven't ruled out "nipping" into France and thankyou for your site recommendation, it sounds very much the sort of place we like. I'll have a gander. Not too fussed about facilities - we use our own. Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopesy Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 Fundemental differences; We stayed on a site in the hills just outside Pamplona and this was our first Spanish site, it was very family centered and as the spanish take a siesta most of the afternoon their evening becomes quite lively with noisy family gatherings going on till late. Facilities were good an clean on all the sites we stayed on. Don't know what your preferences are but as i've said the Picos de Europa were great and the sites we looked at were smaller and quieter. Don't seem to have aires or encourage wild camping although we saw a few 'vans doing this. There have been discussions about the ferry crossing and my point was that although its relatively expensive i found that on my return i was very relaxed and not tired. Not the classiest of ferries but we enjoyed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 IMO you need to get over to the Med side for some decent weather. A bit pointless going to the expense of the crossing (done it once, never again would rather drive!) if you are going to stay in the north.you may as well drive down. when we used the crossing, we did northern Spain including the Picos mountains, Galicia and traveled down into Portugal as far as Lisbon. it was a 5 week trip and excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted November 4, 2008 Author Share Posted November 4, 2008 Roger/Eddie, thanks again. I quite like the look of Haro, what I saw of the sites, and a sensible enough distance to drive. The weather is a bit of an issue to be honest but that's something we may have to gamble with. The cultural differences we're looking forward to, after all, we'd be stopping here if it was an issue. In terms of the ferry, normally I would baulk at the cost but it's A A double celebration B The cost saving in diesel/tolls helps towards it (can't be bothered with R/N roads, each to their own once again) C We don't have quite 3 weeks let alone 5, (so we want to get there sharpish) D We were going back to Sri Lanka where we married so the relative cost of the ferry, (£518) is coppers to be honest. Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 Barcelona is 350 miles a days drive.... and north of there on the coast is really nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 We too have been to Camping La Paz that Hopesy mentioned, which is not far along the coast. It's a terraced site with excellent views out to sea. I've been there a couple of times and found it excellent. Be aware though that the entrance to the main terraced part of the camp is a very steep concrete road. (Caravanners are offered help from a 4 x 4 belonging to the site). Our 2.8JTD climbed without a problem - but I think it's worth knowing about before you get there. :-| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 Don't seem to have aires or encourage wild camping although we saw a few 'vans doing this. The number of Spanish Áreas de Servicio is steadily increasing. We went to Galicia last Oct/Nov and didn't need to stay at a site. http://www.lapaca.org/areas/espana.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 Martyn, we went to Northern Spain last year and it was a big surprise! For athink French/Swiss Alp scenery. Lots of green hillsides with chalets, forests, small farms and lakes etc. The main road through the area is mental though! Every lorry in Northern Spain uses it and it can, (and was!) quite daunting at first. More so for the passenger, she was on the outside! Our first vueue of "foreign road rage" was because I'd dared to slow down for the border crossing! But apart from that it was very pleasant. Of course the cities of Bilbao and Santander are just busy ports but further Westward along the coast was more peaceful. We stayed at sites at Laredo and Candas. Both were nicely laid out and coastal. "Camping Laredo" offered pitches under trees in "avenue" style layouts. The toilets and washrooms were very clean and tidy. Candas, (Not Cangas, which is inland), was right on the beachside on a rocky headland about half a mile into the town. Again the site was clean and tidy but the pitches were more exposed. Both the sites are in the C.C. Europe 1 book so more info can be gained there. The scenery in the Picos de Europa was very spectacular but if I was you I'd stick to the main roads if you are in your van. Those roadside drops are a long way down! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted November 4, 2008 Author Share Posted November 4, 2008 Malc, Derek, Steve, once again thanks for your efforts, I think we are looking forward even more to it now. Can't wait for the Spanish truckers 8-) Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 MartynThis is from 2005, so sites etc need checking, but in the order we found them: Camping Fuentes Blancas, Burgos, is a municipal and is very well run. Burgos is well worth the trip. Camping Viorna at Potes is one of the best sites I've ever visited, not large, but excellent facilities impeccably maintained, Camping Los Cantilles at Luarca was in a spectacular spot, but may have closed as owners wanted to retire and the site was their home, Camping As Cancelas at Santiago de Compostela was also an excellent site and Santiago is a delight and if you want to play "Stotherting", Camping Ciudad de Albarracin is also an excellent site, and the town is much better than even he makes it look/sound (November MMM p54). Tin hat on :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan k Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 hi Martyn we visited northern spain a couple of years ago and stayed on the 3 sites in the C&CC carefree book, at La Paz, as others have said super terraced site, frightening access road, but ok, super sea views, nice walks and several nice towns eg Llanes (amazing harbour) nearby also can do day trips up into the Picos very busy in late august when we were there at Santillana del Mar, nice campsite , amazing medieval town within walking distance also close the Altimira Caves (neolithic cave paintings) Playa Joyel at Noja, very busy large campsite, 2 super beaches adjacent to campsite We were there late august, very busy at weekends, lots to do alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted November 5, 2008 Author Share Posted November 5, 2008 Hello Brian/Alan, many thanks for taking the time to reply, I'll take a look at any available websites of your recommendations. This forum really is a great help even to experienced campers like me because when all's said and done no one has been everywhere and it's so helpful to get first hand experiences from you all. Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopesy Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Martyn, we stayed at Playa Joyel for about 5 days in Sept this year and the site is very big but excellent facilities but i don't know what it would be like in the height of the season, there was lots of space in Sept ,however its a hour from the ferry so it's a brilliant location. Jst remember its called the Green Coast so don't expect wall to wall sunshine like the Med, but we only had a few rainy days which allowed time for a bit of relaxing. As has been said before, this area is lovely with Cornish type little coves and beaches, fishing ports with a back drop of spectacular mountains, I didn't know what to expect but to say i was pleasantly surprised would be a massive understatement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted November 6, 2008 Author Share Posted November 6, 2008 Hello Roger, I think we've got our heads around the weather factor, we're normally inland campers, Loire, Dordogne, but in late Sept we had a week around the France north coast and really enjoyed the change of scenery and odd blast of rain... If we are, as you say, pleasantly surprised, we'll be suited, and thankyou again. Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinfrier Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Not sites but a few things worth noting 1Speed limit 120kph Motorways duels unless stated otherwise 2 Lights on in tunnels speed 80kph 3 High viz jackets for every person must be near to hand 4 2 warning triangles one in front one behind non duels 5 Watch speed limits when approaching junctions favorite for speed trap 6 When it says stop you must even if road is clear 7 Carry all documents for the vehicle inc log book bill of sale if poss. 8 Where seat belts at all times 9 If you breakdown vehicle must be moved in 1 hour (theory) 10 Don't use gas oil B cheap diesel not suitable 11 Bulbs and tools to change of course 12 You are supposed to carry a spare wheel? 13 No mobile phones while driving many of these things are the same as UK but Garda don't give polite warnings just tickets and instant fines. No need to worry roads are good and drivers polite if a little unpredictable don;t forget to drive on the left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Colin Frier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted November 6, 2008 Author Share Posted November 6, 2008 Colin, top advice and thanks, I'll be honest and say I'd forgotten which side of the road they, (you!), drive on and I'll have to get an extra warning triangle too. Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enodreven Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Hi, We like San Sebastian and the campsite we used was http://www.campingigueldo.com/es/main.php hope that helps, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted November 6, 2008 Author Share Posted November 6, 2008 Cheers Braunston, just a had a quick look, another one for the notebook! Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinfrier Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 My little joke backfired I should have course said don't drive on the left drive on the right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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