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Costa Brava in January?


Vixter

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We are considering spending a couple of weeks in Spain in January (may even get there for the New Year). Does anyone have any suggestions, comments or recommendations for this area?

 

Looking for information on weather, campsites with heated shower blocks and maybe a bar - or perhaps that is too much to expect in January!

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Vixter - 2010-10-31 3:04 PM

 

We are considering spending a couple of weeks in Spain in January (may even get there for the New Year). Does anyone have any suggestions, comments or recommendations for this area?

 

Looking for information on weather, campsites with heated shower blocks and maybe a bar - or perhaps that is too much to expect in January!

 

We are setting off mid November to spend 4 months on a Naturist site near Cartegena. I quote from their website

 

The climate enjoyed by our area is without doubt one of the major tourist attractions. Winter, Spring and Autumn are generally dry and sunny.

 

Winter is very mild with temperatures in the coldest months seldom going below 10ºC. (that is night time temperatures) There is very little rain - less than 300 l/m2 per annum. ( Most of the rain is in late September to November)

 

Hours of sunshine

Month : Hours

November : 182

December : 172 (about 5.55 hours per day)

January : 172

February : 182

March : 192

 

My comments in brackets.

 

This site has full facilities all year with indoor swimming pool, bar and restaurant. However toilet blocks are not heated and are open to the air. They are roofed but the design allows for free air flow during the hot summer months above the cubicles.

 

They close the outdoor pool and beach bar in the winter.

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Vixter - 2010-10-31 6:33 PM

 

Thanks John. Unfortunately we won't have time to get down as far as Cartegena, we are looking for something on the Costa Brava.

 

 

Without using toll roads you could get to the Valencia region from Brittany in two or three days. Down the west coast of France then cut across Spain via Pamplona, Zaragoza, Teruel.

 

The climate in Costa Azahar/Costa Blanca is generally better than the Costa Brava.

 

 

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Hi there Vixter

 

We used to holiday regularly in the Costa Brava- we had a villa in Llafranc which we would use for the entire summer. The winters can get very bad there- heavy rain and thunder and lightening.

 

I returned 2 years ago with my camper and stayed in Camping La Siesta just outside of Llafranc. It's stunningly beautiful there with mile upon mile of pine trees and gorgeous beaches. Give it a try. It won't be nice every day but I don't think it will be wet every day either.

 

Not too far from Barcelona too if you fancy a day trip!

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Consider getting the ferry to Santander and then going to the Costa Brava via Zarragoza. That saves the drive down through France which in January will be pretty chilly.

The ACSI has a number of campsites in their book plus there are other additional site on their website

http://www.eurocampings.co.uk/en/europe/

Google Earth - find a business (campsites) will provide more.

 

Roy Fuller

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Thanks for your comments so far. Raffik - I have checked La Siesta and it seems to be closed in the winter. Roy & Tony - yes, I think the weather may be a bit of an issue, both en route and when we get there. However we're hoping that once there it would be an improvement on where we live here in Brittany. That is the reason why we have to drive down - can't get a ferry from France! The ACSI eurocampings website looks very useful - I will make a cuppa, find the biscuit tin and settle down for an hour or two...
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I don't know if this is too far South for you but Kiko Park near Oliva is really nice and it's an ACSI site. We syed there for a couple of nights last January and it was mild enough for shorts and tea shirt during the day, but quite chilly at night. The site is right on a beach and a short walk to the shops etc. Bus into town though.
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Thanks for that Tomo, it looks like it's a lovely site. It is a long way from here, but we just may have to re-think our destination if we're going to find much improvement in temperatures. I'm looking in more detail now at the Costa Brava, hmmm, it still seems to be a bit chilly - certainly not shorts weather!
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You could give camping El Eden a try in Peniscola..we stayed there for around 7 weeks in Feb/April 09 and the cost was reasonable we actually got 40% discount on our stay..decent facilities showers etc a nice bar/restaraunt just outside the gate and the town is a 10 minute walk away and it's right on the beach

It has Wi-Fi.. currency exchange.. and an ATM.. and an Internet cafe try this link http://www.camping-eden.com hope this helps in your search

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Vixter - 2010-11-01 5:56 PM

 

El Eden looks gorgeous, thanks Mondo - what are the conditions of the non-toll roads like these days?

 

The roads are perfectly driveable the surface is quite good and the fact that the fuel is a tad cheaper is always a bonus..plus the fact that you see a bit more of Spain and not just the motorway...similar to the N Routes in France

We always used the N routes not because we are too tight to part with the money.. but we were never in that much of a hurry..we used the peage once.. to find somewhere for fuel on a Sunday as the N routes can sometimes be a bit hit and miss for fuel..people are in too much of a hurry these days..Take in the view and relax a little..but just make sure you have some decent maps try not to put too much faith in that SAT NAV!!

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kenny - 2010-11-01 6:11 PM

 

We done Camping El Eden a couple of years ago and the weather was great would definitley go back and had some nice meals too. There was a lot of cats around the sight and plenty of low branches on most of the pitches though

 

Went back to el Eden this year, and they seemed to have pruned the trees more, so did not have the problem we had in 2009 with height

We like the town , nice area.

PJay

 

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6 days easy travelling should get you to Kiko Park, and that's staying off the toll roads. If you are going into Spain from France use the coast road from Narbonne rather than the inland road that takes you through Jonquera. It is a bit bendy in places but you should have no problem in the van. Plus being on the coast you will be protected from any really bad weather. We did it in September and it was a really good road, well maintained and not too narrow. There are fuel stations and shops as well as the odd stopping point you may get away with parking up for the night. I'd deffo use that way again on our way down in February.
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Many, many thanks to you all for your suggestions, we have really got something to work on now. I think we may have to try to extend our holiday a bit (always a problem - we have to put the cat in kennels & don't really feel too good about it, though she doesn't seem to mind!) to enable us to go down further south, and we now have some nice looking places to consider.

 

Thinking of joining ACSI - thanks Porky - what a nice way to save some money. Also very interesting to see their temperature graph for each area, such a helpful thing to know when planning a low season break.

 

Thanks again folks!

 

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