Mel B Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 We're planning on going to Spain in mid-February for 6 weeks, travelling across on Eurotunnel and tootling down through France - the question is what should we take with us? Clothes - will we need 'full' winter-woolies? Or just a couple to be safe along with more spring-type clothing? Or even summer clothing? Not having been abroad to warmer climes over wintertime, we're not sure what we'll need! *-) Food - is there anything that is difficult/expensive to get in Spain (teabags, sauce etc) which we should take? Also what about paracetamol tablets and other 'general' bits of medication - are they easily available there and not 'extortionate' as they are in France? Is there anything else we should be thinking about taking with us, such as bits and pieces for the motorhome? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 What to take to Spain in February ? Me, Me, Me, please. :-D :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Bottle of Baileys. :-D The Sparkle will be along shortly to advise you Mel........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankkia Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Weather: 1st for trip down - France can be even colder than the UK so make sure you have warm clothing for that and that includes the travel through the Pyrenees and north Spain (we have had snow in the Pyrennees when returning in early May).. For the stay in Spain - the weather can be unpredictable and like the UK will depend on the region you are in. The Costas north of Barcelona can suffer from very cold winds off the mountains and temperatures can vary widely even during the same day. Even further south in the "desert" areas of Spain you can have a good few days of "T" shirt weather followed by a long period of rain. One year, in February, we were in the Mojacar area and had a few days of heavy hail followed by a almost a month of rain and another year it was wall to wall sunshine. Moral of all this - be prepared for anything. Also it can be quite chilly in the evenings even if you have good sunshine during the day. Food: Shopping is not as cheap as it was in Spain but we take very little with us as most things are about the same price or cheaper than the UK. (Portugal is a little more expensive). On the Costas many of the shops are used to catering for the holiday makers and the ex pat Brits so most things are available. However if there are particular brands you prefer (say Tetley tea) then take a good stock with you as the Spanish shops sell mainly Liptons Yellow label. My wife likes the ordinary Cheerios for breakfast but in Spain and Portugal they mainly sell the Honey type so we take a few boxes with us (that's why we have no room for anything else). Medicines: if you have a regular prescription from your doctor get an extra supply before you go as some medicines can be expensive or not available at all - for example some pain killers (morphine based ) are illegal in Spain and can not be prescribed even by a doctor. If you are exempt from prescription charges because of an illness which gives you exemption in the UK take the certificate with you as many doctors will give you a free prescription in Spain if you show them the cert. Bits n Pieces: There are a few caravan repairers about so parts are available if a little slow (don't know why but everything you mention has to be ordered from Madrid). As you don't know what if anything will go wrong with a 'van it is difficult to give a list of spares to take. One year we had a water pump go wrong and after having another fitted I repaired the old one and we carried it with us for years (just in case) needless to say we never needed it. The main thing is choose your route carefully and watch the weather forecasts as the trek through the mountains can be no problem at all 1 year or a very snowy slippery experience another. If you have snow chains take them with you - that way you will guarantee not to need 'em. In Spain most people carry an ID card and show it when paying by credit / debit card - It has rarely been a problem for us but make sure you have a passport available if you pay for diesel by card as some insist on ID. Best 2 things to take with you are 1) A sense of humour and 2) A positive attitude and you will then enjoy the whole experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted December 17, 2011 Author Share Posted December 17, 2011 Hi Bernie, thanks for that - would it be an idea for us to get photo driving licences to be able to use them as ID cards as i don't really want to go waving my passport around in public! We still have the old paper licences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Mel B - 2011-12-16 10:30 PM.................Food - is there anything that is difficult/expensive to get in Spain (teabags, sauce etc) which we should take? Also what about paracetamol tablets and other 'general' bits of medication - are they easily available there and not 'extortionate' as they are in France? At the risk of stating the bleedin' obvious Mel, Spain is a big country and my guess is you'll only be visiting a smallish area. If that area is a Brit Friendly area you may find places that stock such British delicacies as sauce, or even teabags. However, if the bits you get to will be resolutely Spanish, I doubt you will find even the larger supermarkets will have them. So, if you must have them, take them with you. Otherwise get a Spanish cook book and do like wot the Spaniards do - eat local. :-) The only thing I couldn't raise any enthusiasm for at all in Spain was the cheese. It may have been that we went to the wrong places to buy it (mainly supermarkets), but it seemed generally flavourless, colourless, and rubbery, whatever it was called and whatever shape it came in. There were some round ones that could have been very useful if you were a pelota player, but otherwise, I'd stock up with some decent stuff in France! Much the same with over-the-counter medicines such as paracetamol - unless your Spanish is fair to good. Easier to buy brands you know and recognise in doses you are familiar with, and take them with you, than wandering up and down aisles of patent medicines trying to work out which is what. Can't remember if the Spanish supermarkets do medicines, but pharmacies were fairly commonplace, and I'd guess a lot of the pharmacists will speak a bit of English. If you have a photocard driving licence I think you will find many will accept that for id in preference to passport. At least, they did mine three years ago when we were last there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankkia Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Hi Mel As has already been said a photo licence is just as good. In fact I used my scanner to produce a card which had a copy of my photo licence on 1 side and and a reduced size copy of my passport on the other - that has also been accepted. You may by now have seen bulletguys post - crime is about the same in Spain as in some of our bigger cities in the UK and certain areas of Spain are well known for it. (Barcelona being a prime example) so I would suggest doing as we do - If you take your 'van to a supermarket it is wise to leave 1 person in the 'van whilst the other does the shopping and don't fall for the same scam as BG. Lock away 1 set of cards and only use the other making sure that any valuables are in an inside (preferably zipped) pocket. Don't let some of the crime stories put you off the trip but do use common sense. That is one thing that some holiday makers seem to leave at home - that is not a dig at BG - many people have fallen for the same scam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Hiya Mel! Some really good points already – to expand on a couple and add a couple more…… Drugs (LOL) You can get most from the Pharmacy, but one thing we cannot get is the easy to swallow capsules/tablets, so we always stock up on the paracetamol and aspirin when we can as although readily available they are like horse pills and not easily downed. Brian is right, supermarkets don’t do drugs, so look out for the green crosses which they all have outside. There’s also usually a late night rota if you get stuck, and most I have found do speak English if your Spanish is a bit lacking. ID card – Even with chip and pin cards most places still ask for photo id – some will only accept passports and not driving licence, so we had our passports copied and downsized to credit card size and then laminated – this is then easy to carry around, not much hassle if you do lose it, and accepted. I’ve yet to be turned away with it at a shop when buying stuff. Clothes – Do be prepared for everything….I know coming down thru France will be cold anyway so you’ll probably have full winter rig, but sometimes in Feb we’ve been sunbathing… so bring stuff you can layer with. Shorts, T shirts, vest tops don’t take up much room and something like crocs will be easily used as shower shoes/slippers as well. In the early year sun it can be warm, but out of it really cold so that’s when you’ll need the layers to stick on. Food – Depending which areas you visit will depend how much English food produce is around. The Costas have various shops open which stock UK produce. Even the national Spanish supermarket chains like Carrefour and Mercadona now seems to stock Cheddar cheese, and other UK bits. The cheese here can be really nice, but agreed isn’t a patch on French cheese! Indeed Carrefour has an international aisle so if you do get pangs for anything you can find something there. But beware, they do stick the prices up….and usually people pay for something which is available in a box with Spanish writing on it for quite a bit cheaper. So it pays to shop around esp in these crisis times. If you’re tea fiends then I would say bring your fav teabags as they tend to price up on them. Ketchup is readily available even the best brand! LOL As is all other sauces. If you’re into gravy then gravy granules can be hard to find if not UK produce is around. But mostly I would say try out the foods of the areas you travel thru. I think the only thing I tend to take around with us on our travels is sausages and tea bags – as Spanish sausages tend to leave a lot to the imagination, and Bruce prefers English tea. If visiting the big cities - As the crisis hits harder here then everyone is struggling to make ends meet, so do only carry what you need for each day on you. Occasionally we hear about people falling foul to the bar steward low life that will rob you, but don’t let them get too much, and be aware – there’s so much of Spain to enjoy other than these scum. I hardly ever take a bag with me now, just put money around me and take a camera. The less they see the less they will try, and will move on to easier prey. Books - If around the Costas if can be quite easy to pick up English ficition books, either at campsites where they have a swap shelf, of 2nd hand markets – (rastros). So don’t bog yourself down with too much weight in the fiction line. (I’ve just got into audio books which take up tiny space on my phone so you could always stock up and keep them on your laptop to transfer to an MP3 player during your holiday.) Do I need to state the obvious and say don’t forget your guide books/maps etc?? I’ve tried various guide books but always seem to come back to the Rough Guide ones which lead you around the areas in a much better and informative way than most of the books.. Technology – If you have anything like an Iphone or Android then do hunt down a good language translator App. Certainly for Spanish I use http://www.spanishdict.com/iphone Which even tho we are fairly ok with the lingo, does come in very useful with 2 way translations. I also look out a translator for whichever country we are going to as well….. so if headed thru France then grab one for there too. Phrase books are all well and good but can be bulky and I know all weight you can save is precious! That’s it for the moment… will see if I can think of anything else. We have a check list which we use each time we go away to make sure we don’t forget anything ( which I usually do anyway!) so might be worth thinking about putting everything down, even the basics to make sure you’ve covered all areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolh Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Off topic Mel! Pop in and see us on your way back, we have got a long season next year, mid March to end of Sept at Les Criques de Porteils in Collioure, and its an ACSI site. Safe travels, pm me you telephone no. Carol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peter James Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Lots of Good Advice on this thread. In places like Javea and Benidorm with lots of English residents you will find Lidl and Iceland with all the English basics, at about 25% mark up to English prices. But thats only a very tiny part of Spain. Last winter Mercadonna (The Spanish equivalent of Tesco) were doing excellent wholemeal sliced bread at 0.6 Euros for a 500g loaf, in other places you could pay 3 or 4 Euros for something nowhere near as good. I was on the Costa Del Sol which has snow capped mountains a few miles to the north, and the Sahara desert to the south. Depending on whether the wind was southbound or northbound the mid day temperature could vary between 2 deg C or 24 deg C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Hi Mel Make sure you get the ACSI book, this year they are doing a free Camping Carnet which you can hand over instead of your passport at sites. On the clothes front take a mixture of winter and summer, in January this year we were over there and it was warm in the day but the temperature dropped in the evenings. It all depends on where you are in Spain, we went as far as Gib and it was hot, I had to buy some summer clothes, (any excuse to go shopping!). I think someone has already said take layers like t-shirts, sweatshirts and so on. Hope you have a wonderful holiday. Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Not sure if this will help.......... an electric hotplate we also have a halogen oven or you might want to consider a slowcooker may be an electric smalll oil heater if you feel the cold. There are english products over their but a bit expensive, we had a great time sampling the local alternatives, but take your own teabags nothing beats that. There to us did not seem to be such a wide variety of meat (if you are a meat eater) on the shelves we are quite spoilt here, did consider for next time taking a spanish receipe book as hopefully the ingredients will be easily available. The english speaking spanish police have a telephone number 902 102112 not sure if you should add more digits from an english phone i am sure some one will correct it. Duplicates of all your important documents, we kept a paper copy hidden in the van and a USB stick with scans on us. envious :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Dave Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Whatever you decide to take Mel have a great time and i hope you need some high factor suncream. and not the woolies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryW Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 If you love it take it with you "Marmite" it's hard to find and gold plated and I was told last year that there is a move to ban it's import due to its high salt content. Have a great time :-> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan D Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Plenty of money. Have a good time, Alan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 The daytime temp is likely to be between 8 and 16 degrees roughly - but other temperatures are available - wet days are not unknown and when it rains in Spain oh brother does it rain!! Night time temps are very simlilar to home so it can pay to have a secondary form of heating in the van in case of problems with the primary source! We hope to be there ourselves about the same time if all goes to plan - which it rarely does! We will use the ACSI sites book and the 'All the Aires Spain and Portugal' as our primary source of stopping places and although we never plan a full route we kinda think the Almeria area is as good a place as any to start stoping longer than a day or so? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Caroline - 2011-12-19 1:06 PM Not sure if this will help.......... an electric hotplate we also have a halogen oven or you might want to consider a slowcooker may be an electric smalll oil heater if you feel the cold. There are english products over their but a bit expensive, we had a great time sampling the local alternatives, but take your own teabags nothing beats that. There to us did not seem to be such a wide variety of meat (if you are a meat eater) on the shelves we are quite spoilt here, did consider for next time taking a spanish receipe book as hopefully the ingredients will be easily available. The english speaking spanish police have a telephone number 902 102112 not sure if you should add more digits from an english phone i am sure some one will correct it. Duplicates of all your important documents, we kept a paper copy hidden in the van and a USB stick with scans on us. envious :D More good advice, but perhaps I could add: If you do bring a UK electric hotplate, make sure it's really low wattage, ideally 1kw or even less, as you'll trip your site leccy here MUCH more easily than in the UK. In camping shops here they do little 500 watt ones - dunno if they are any good though, as we only ever use gas for cooking anyway. Same principle applies to any little electric heater/fire - I'd suggest about 800 watts as a max. We have a little one that has two settings, 400 w and 800w; and in practice we only use it on the 400watt setting. When you load that Spanish Police number into your UK mobile, put "+34" in front of it, so that it reads: +34902102112 Also maybe put "+34112" in your mobile phone memory under "Spain, Emergency", as 112 is the Spanish equivalent of "999" in the UK.........but the attendant will be speaking Spanish of course. Also don't forget to get your UK mobile network to allow international roaming on your phones BEFORE you leave the UK. Do try lots of the seafood, in the supermarkets and shops to cook yourself, and and also in the restaurants. It's generally miles cheaper than in the UK, and just divine: fish, prawns, mussels etc. Almost all restaurants do a "Menu del Dia" (menu of the day) often listed on a chalkboard outside, usually at lunchtime and in the evening too. It's a hangover from the old Dictator days, when they were all required by law to provide at least one cheap menu choice each day for the poor/manual workers. Generally usually awesome value. In our local bar/restaurants here the going rate is £8.50 (a tad under 8 quid) for: Bread, and alioli Garlic mayonnaise - delicious). A choice between four different starters ( eg paella rice, soup, salad). A choice between 4 main courses (eg pork loin, quarter chicken, fillet of fish, or beef, often in or with a sauce) and with some veggies on the side.....but be aware that the Spanish or not big on vegetables as a side with their meat course, so you'll not get a much of them as perhaps you're used to in the UK. A choice of 4 postres (pudding), eg a scoop or two of ice cream, flan, cake. Half a litre of red or rose or white house wine. Each! You can even share a Menu-del-Dia between the two of you if you're not that hungry. Meal times are lot later here than you guys are used to and snacks are available almost everywhere all day/night anyway. Almuerzo (breakfast) is typically 10am to 11am-ish. Often a tostada ( toasted bread, with olive oil drizzled over (delicious!), plus a coffee. Media-dia (lunch), 2pm to 4pm. Cenar (dinner), maybe 9pm to 11pm for the Spanish, although tourist restaurants cater for ex-pats by serving from maybe 7pm onwards. Please please please don't just go to the English "full English breakfast; and everything with chips" places if eating out. Part of the joy of this country is the utterly fantastic food.........from Spanish restaurants. Go to a busy, and cheap one with lots of locals in it, not a poncy posh one ( which is basically aimed at fleecing tourists). It'll be loud, lots of arm waving, lots of debate and discussion, whole familes will be eating in there together ( from Grandparents, parent, kids and grand-kids.....and watch how revered the grandparents are, and how the whole family is a single unit; and wathc also how well-behaved the children are - especially on Sunday afternoons. It's just a great experience to be part of it - it ain't just a meal it's a whole social experience that often goes on for 3 or 4 hours on a Sunday. Great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 BGD - 2011-12-19 2:03 PM When you load that Spanish Police number into your UK mobile, put "+34" in front of it, so that it reads: +34902102112 Also maybe put "+34112" in your mobile phone memory under "Spain, Emergency", as 112 is the Spanish equivalent of "999" in the UK.........but the attendant will be speaking Spanish of course. Also don't forget to get your UK mobile network to allow international roaming on your phones BEFORE you leave the UK. Thanks BGD have ammended my phone. :-> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankkia Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 "Also don't forget to get your UK mobile network to allow international roaming on your phones BEFORE you leave the UK." Bruce is right there but also if you have a "smart ' phone TURN OFF data roaming - same for any country out of UK as the roaming charges can be a pig - remember if you have a smart 'phone that some apps are working in the background even if you are not "using" them. Ditto for any dongles for your laptop which may have a daily limit on them - turn off Windows update automatic downloads and the same for any anti virus etc software which receives automatic downloads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Mel B - 2011-12-16 10:30 PM We're planning on going to Spain in mid-February for 6 weeks - the question is what should we take with us? This...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bojitoes Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 We agree with all the advice given so far. We are going second week of january for 8 weeks so may bump into you. Definitely suggest: Marmite, hard cheese- cheddar or similar, a 2 pin adaptor for your electric hook up ( sometimes required both in france & Spain) and a 2pin/ 3pin adaptor if you buy any electrical appliances locally - we had to buy a convection heater a couple of years ago it was so cold, got one really cheap but could not find an adaptor to plug into the vans supply for ages. Definitely spare specs if you use them! We got a couple of notices given to us by rally stewards in Spanish to put in the windscreen in case we were stopped in suspicious circumstances which said A, we would not open the doors or B, we would follow bona fide police cars only to local station- if youl have not got these elsewhere I can send you the signs as they were given to us. Ann took to putting her main handbag , out of site,behind the passenger seat and leaving a "dummy" handbag with nothing in, in the passenger seat well whilst we were driving in case we were stopped. We love the tapas in local bars, particularly the " patatas bravas" and in the country the wine can be ridiculously cheap. Try to get to Valencia the first couple of weeks in march for the fallas festival - it is something else again. have a great trip bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 We carry a spare 13 amp 3 pin plug (plus 3,5 and 13 A fuses) to use if ever we bought an appliance to use in the van - just cut off the original plug and replace - easier and safer than an adapter - assuming you know how to wire a plug that is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney123 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 When you are at it, you might as well take your Bingo Marker to mark your card whilst eating your fish & chips, or the roast beef and 3 veg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgain Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 after what you have been through bulletguy, i fully agree with you, maybe a few grenades as well. (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Bojitoes - 2011-12-19 5:20 PM Ann took to putting her main handbag , out of site,behind the passenger seat and leaving a "dummy" handbag with nothing in, in the passenger seat well whilst we were driving in case we were stopped. We did the same, but with a purse, we found some old store points cards and put a few euros in it, left not in plain view but somewhere easily seen if looking for it, bit more realistic. Bag was hidden carefully and i also had enought euros stashed away for fuel in case we were desparate and could only find a cash filling station. Used it for the final tank full. Don't suppose you would like to fill my place at work and I could take your trip, really do not mind swopping!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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