crosbiei Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 First post so don't abuse me :-))) Bought a Swift Mondial new and loved it Went accross to France to go our home in Spain(costa Blanca) on 27th December Rosslare to Cherbourg with our Dog Shadow. Great drive down through IOreland - recommend Wexford to those who have not been before Great ferry crossing but you need a mortgage to visit the bar, BYO next time I think Pet area visits were frequent but our dog didin't fancy it much but . . . .... Off cleanly at Cherbourg and away Stayed in an Aire north of Tours (Noirt sur something), Nothing working and some kind soul had emptied his grey water into the grate which was already overflowing - great start as it was chucking it down. No fresh water either and the loo disposal was in the middle of the grey water pond someone had created. Not our best first experience. Oh well fresh pizza in the town and a bottle of wine made it all seem better Next day on to Biarritz for the next stop Aire full of about 30 vans (parked even on the grass) so we went to the next one just on the Spanish border at the railway station. Full too but we squeezed in at the slightly uneven end of the row. Excellent Grey and black water facilities here too, recommend it except for the need for earplugs as the trains start early(like 5-00AM) Scared the bejeezuz out of me). Day 3 and we drove some of the most beautiful scenery in the pyrenees I have ever seen. really good roads and excellent courteous truck drivers too. Brilliant drive over the A23 to Valencia and on down the A7 to Murcia. Big hit that day but we were there without any hitches. all in all a great first trip Lessons learned Satnav is worth every penny I paid for it, GPS co-ordinates for the aires were spot on Fuel up before the A23 as fuel stops are few and far between. We followed Sally Garmins instructions and ended up in a wee town for diesel but the roads down to it were lets say interesting. Water isn't as available in the aires as books suggest (we found our fresh water drain valve leaked slightly so arrive with less water than we thought we had on board. Aires vary widely and on holiday periods don't expect everything to be working or there to be room at them Journey bacy was much more interesting so I'll post that when I get time. verdict - love motorhoming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter42 Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 Welcome to motorcaravanning and to the forum. You'll find all the help you'll (hopefully) ever need here. Interesting journey you seem to have had. Many aires have their water turned off this time of year, avoiding the danger of freezing. I am interested on your route down to Valencia. i have not travelled down to either Spain or Portugal this winter but will almost certainly do so next January. I will be going to Castellon, and would think, without consulting a map, that my route would be similar to yours if I crossed Spain. Other years I travelled via Narbonne, so have not crossed Northern Spain to date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hymer C 9. Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 Welcome to the forum and for sharing your experiences of your journey, its always good to share information, glad you are enjoying your motorhome. Carol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crosbiei Posted January 30, 2010 Author Share Posted January 30, 2010 The route we used was specifically to avoid the potential for bad weather, oh and the tolls which are high for motorhomes. in Spain you should expect to pay no tolls at all (AP7 round Aliocante is easily avoided.) worked out lovely Recommend the Municipal camping site at Zaragoza- Clean and excellent facilities for a stop. Posting the journey home on a separate post - interesting one that. Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter42 Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 crosbiei - 2010-01-30 1:22 PM The route we used was specifically to avoid the potential for bad weather, oh and the tolls which are high for motorhomes. in Spain you should expect to pay no tolls at all (AP7 round Aliocante is easily avoided.) worked out lovely Recommend the Municipal camping site at Zaragoza- Clean and excellent facilities for a stop. Posting the journey home on a separate post - interesting one that. Iain Thanks for yoour infor. I usually make Narbonne to Alcossebre in one day, so have no experience of sites in that region of Spain. If I am travelling down to Malaga or down to the Costa de Luz then I go via Burgos, Aranjuez or Salamanca, depending on the destination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 crosbiei - 2010-01-28 7:11 PM Brilliant drive over the A23 to Valencia and on down the A7 to Murcia. Now the A23 has finished upgrading, I'm seeing more and more motorhomes use this fantastic route to get to the east coast of Spain. As I've pointed out before, if you draw a straight line from the channel ports to Valencia, it almost follows the toll free route, Rouen, Tours, Poitiers, Bordeaux, Biarritz, Pamplona, Zaragoza, Valencia. Easily done in three days. Four or five if the weather's nice and take in a bit of sightseeing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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