kevin hawkins Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 hello, we are looking to travel right around the Spanish coast from Barcelona to Cadiz then on into Portugal. We only have a small campervan with no shower and a portable loo, this would be our first winter trip after retirement, now please could you experienced winter snowbirds tell us will there be campsites open around the coast, is it reasonable to expect they would have spaces? we are intending to set off beginning of January, would it be warm enough? Any help much appreciated thanks for your help. kevin and kath *-) ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 With the exception of Benidorm ,I would say that you will have no problem getting on a Campsite in Spain or Portugal in the period you intend to be there , there are many Aires there now too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 http://s358.photobucket.com/user/vindiboy1/library/A%20Portugal%20Wander%202015The weather will be much warmer daytime than in England, gets chilly in the evenings , one night on a campsite is expensive though, it gets cheaper the longer you stay, get an ACCSI card if you must use campsites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 http://s358.photobucket.com/user/vindiboy1/library/CHRISTMAS%20BENICASSIM Camping Azahar benicassim, note the empty pitches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 vindiboy - 2015-09-23 9:12 PMhttp://s358.photobucket.com/user/vindiboy1/library/CHRISTMAS%20BENICASSIMCamping Azahar benicassim, note the empty pitches.Not surprised unless they've done it up fromMarch-looked very run down then!Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 We were in Portugal December to March and the site we go on in Cabanas was absolutely full of mostly French Campers as they had been warned off going to Morocco. We have never seen as many French motorhomes on the Algarve as there were then so not sure what it will be like this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 If you just want to easily identify a selection of sites that will be open I'd suggest getting a copy of the ACSI European sites guide on DVD. Can't remember the total number of sites but it is several thousand, across the whole EU area plus Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. It can be installed onto a laptop (I think Windows only, so do check first) and can be searched by country, region, town, site opening/closing dates, ACSI card acceptance, and filtered for various features such as heated sanitary facilities. The sites are inspected, 'though it is evident from variations in standards that some of the inspectors are more discerning than others, but we haven't yet hit a real disaster! As with all sites guides the information is not without occasional error, 'though it is generally pretty reliable. It should enable you to select sites of the type you prefer with reasonable confidence that what you will get will be what they describe, and will be open/closed when they say it will. However, a "plan B" is always a wise strategy, as is arriving early enough in the day to deploy it if necessary! "Google" Vicarious Books and give them a ring to find out when the 2016 version will be available. Failing that, see if a 2015 copy is still available and just treat the information with a little caution. Getting onto a site's website to check dates is also worthwhile, as events can, and do, intervene with plans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Mike B. - 2015-09-23 9:32 PMvindiboy - 2015-09-23 9:12 PMhttp://s358.photobucket.com/user/vindiboy1/library/CHRISTMAS%20BENICASSIM Camping Azahar benicassim, note the empty pitches.Not surprised unless they've done it up fromMarch-looked very run down then!Mike Well just along the road from Azahar is Camping Bonterra, go there and pay a lot more , Choices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matrix Meanderer Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 kevin hawkins - 2015-09-23 9:00 PM hello, we are looking to travel right around the Spanish coast from Barcelona to Cadiz then on into Portugal. We only have a small campervan with no shower and a portable loo, this would be our first winter trip after retirement, now please could you experienced winter snowbirds tell us will there be campsites open around the coast, is it reasonable to expect they would have spaces? we are intending to set off beginning of January, would it be warm enough? Any help much appreciated thanks for your help. kevin and kath *-) ;-) Could I respectfully suggest that you do a lot more research before setting off blind on this journey. Are you aware of the aires sites in France, Spain and Portugal for instance? How are you going to traverse France and the Pyrenees in January? Strongly recommend that you obtain books, maps and guides on motorhoming in Europe. As mentioned Vicarious Books have all the necessary publications. Get yourself a good quality sat nav with the campsites/aires pre loaded. Buy MMM magazine as well. Sorry but you cannot expect forum members to answer all of your questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 http://s358.photobucket.com/user/vindiboy1/library/PAELLA%20DAY%20BENI Be in Benicassim end Jan early Feb for Festival of San Antonio, Paella Fiesta fantastic event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Matrix Meanderer - 2015-09-23 10:19 PMkevin hawkins - 2015-09-23 9:00 PMhello, we are looking to travel right around the Spanish coast from Barcelona to Cadiz then on into Portugal. We only have a small campervan with no shower and a portable loo,this would be our first winter trip after retirement, now please could you experienced winter snowbirds tell us will there be campsites open around the coast, is it reasonable to expect they would have spaces?we are intending to set off beginning of January, would it be warm enough? Any help much appreciated thanks for your help.kevin and kath *-) ;-)Could I respectfully suggest that you do a lot more research before setting off blind on this journey. Are you aware of the aires sites in France, Spain and Portugal for instance? How are you going to traverse France and the Pyrenees in January? Strongly recommend that you obtain books, maps and guides on motorhoming in Europe. As mentioned Vicarious Books have all the necessary publications. Get yourself a good quality sat nav with the campsites/aires pre loaded. Buy MMM magazine as well. Sorry but you cannot expect forum members to answer all of your questions. Don't be so negative, France is no problem in winter, Aires open all over, some have water off but toilet dumping is always available if you go via bieritz no problem or via the Eastern route to Barcelona no problem, crossing the Pyrenees via Andorra is Ok and so are the tunnels ,we did need snow chains one year however, it is all an adventure ,nothing ventured nothing gained I say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 http://s358.photobucket.com/user/vindiboy1/media/WILD%20CAMPING%201/CIMG0005_zpsxbwdb2fz.jpg.html easy peasy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matrix Meanderer Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 vindiboy - 2015-09-23 10:29 PM Matrix Meanderer - 2015-09-23 10:19 PMkevin hawkins - 2015-09-23 9:00 PMhello, we are looking to travel right around the Spanish coast from Barcelona to Cadiz then on into Portugal. We only have a small campervan with no shower and a portable loo,this would be our first winter trip after retirement, now please could you experienced winter snowbirds tell us will there be campsites open around the coast, is it reasonable to expect they would have spaces?we are intending to set off beginning of January, would it be warm enough? Any help much appreciated thanks for your help.kevin and kath *-) ;-)Could I respectfully suggest that you do a lot more research before setting off blind on this journey. Are you aware of the aires sites in France, Spain and Portugal for instance? How are you going to traverse France and the Pyrenees in January? Strongly recommend that you obtain books, maps and guides on motorhoming in Europe. As mentioned Vicarious Books have all the necessary publications. Get yourself a good quality sat nav with the campsites/aires pre loaded. Buy MMM magazine as well. Sorry but you cannot expect forum members to answer all of your questions. Don't be so negative, France is no problem in winter, Aires open all over, some have water off but toilet dumping is always available if you go via bieritz no problem or via the Eastern route to Barcelona no problem, crossing the Pyrenees via Andorra is Ok and so are the tunnels ,we did need snow chains one year however, it is all an adventure ,nothing ventured nothing gained I say. I agree that if you have some knowledge of France in the winter and the mountain passes then getting down to Spain is fairly straightforward. My concern is that Kevin gives the impression that this is their first time and they have little/no knowledge of what is ahead of them. Thus my suggestions about finding where the aires are. Adventure is OK but you do need some basic information before you start. In January 2016 we'll be down in Spain again but it took us two or three trips to fully understand what such a trip entails and we certainly didn't get that knowledge by asking questions on forums, we did our research first. And, horror of horrors (to some people) we joined the C&CC Rallies to gain experience, we no longer join the rallies for a variety of reasons including the £75 surcharge if you don't use their ferry booking service. But the experience gained through the C&CC rallies was invaluable in going independently in subsequent years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaggy Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Matrix Meanderer - 2015-09-23 10:56 PM vindiboy - 2015-09-23 10:29 PM Matrix Meanderer - 2015-09-23 10:19 PMkevin hawkins - 2015-09-23 9:00 PMhello, we are looking to travel right around the Spanish coast from Barcelona to Cadiz then on into Portugal. We only have a small campervan with no shower and a portable loo,this would be our first winter trip after retirement, now please could you experienced winter snowbirds tell us will there be campsites open around the coast, is it reasonable to expect they would have spaces?we are intending to set off beginning of January, would it be warm enough? Any help much appreciated thanks for your help.kevin and kath *-) ;-)Could I respectfully suggest that you do a lot more research before setting off blind on this journey. Are you aware of the aires sites in France, Spain and Portugal for instance? How are you going to traverse France and the Pyrenees in January? Strongly recommend that you obtain books, maps and guides on motorhoming in Europe. As mentioned Vicarious Books have all the necessary publications. Get yourself a good quality sat nav with the campsites/aires pre loaded. Buy MMM magazine as well. Sorry but you cannot expect forum members to answer all of your questions. Don't be so negative, France is no problem in winter, Aires open all over, some have water off but toilet dumping is always available if you go via bieritz no problem or via the Eastern route to Barcelona no problem, crossing the Pyrenees via Andorra is Ok and so are the tunnels ,we did need snow chains one year however, it is all an adventure ,nothing ventured nothing gained I say. I agree that if you have some knowledge of France in the winter and the mountain passes then getting down to Spain is fairly straightforward. My concern is that Kevin gives the impression that this is their first time and they have little/no knowledge of what is ahead of them. Thus my suggestions about finding where the aires are. Adventure is OK but you do need some basic information before you start. In January 2016 we'll be down in Spain again but it took us two or three trips to fully understand what such a trip entails and we certainly didn't get that knowledge by asking questions on forums, we did our research first. And, horror of horrors (to some people) we joined the C&CC Rallies to gain experience, we no longer join the rallies for a variety of reasons including the £75 surcharge if you don't use their ferry booking service. But the experience gained through the C&CC rallies was invaluable in going independently in subsequent years. I think the original poster has experience of motorhoming/ camping just not in the winter. I think therefore your original comments are a little harsh because many people , as I have done in a recent thread ' Bilbao to Barcelona', come on here for advise as part of their preparations to make such a journey along with other research carried out. There are many people on here willing to offer great advise gained from actual experience which is very helpful. In my case I have only every been to Europe in the spring and Summer months , and as such various previous threads on the requirement for winter tyres in certain countries has been very useful and informative. So to the original poster - please keep asking questions as many others read the replies and find them useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 As has been said water on aires will be an issue until your South of Bordeaux........ Biarritz, Zaragoza, Valencia is our preferred route, plenty of campsites will be open, ACIS card is the most economical way of using the sites for short stays, the most popular sites will be full Jan Feb ;-) ....... Beware 8-) ...........The need to wear flip flops and shorts in January becomes addictive :D ........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Water will NOT be an issue until south of Bordeaux many Aires have water on, some don't so get it when you see it available, a previous poster said he did not get his information from forums for his trips to Spain, why not, there is a wealth of experience on these forums and folks are very happy to share it , it is a good job our early explorers did not baulk at going on adventures, or we would all be in the dark ages, France Spain and Portugal are all civilised Countries, more so than England in most respects so traveling these Countries blind is no big deal, some folks HAVE to know where they are sleeping tonight and the next and so on, some others are very happy to go and see what happens, it is choices and I know what I prefer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 vindiboy - 2015-09-24 10:14 AM Water will NOT be an issue until south of Bordeaux many Aires have water on, some don't so get it when you see it available, . Must be my imagination then that the aires I stopped at had the water turned off :-S ......... It wasn't a problem though as I filled to the brim at home, which usually gets us to Bordeaux, but if I was really desperate I doubt I'd be trawling around aires hoping to find a tap........I'd buy it at a supermarket ;-) .... ...... Probably work out cheaper than the diesel I'd waste looking too :D ........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markh1 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I've been doing this trip, in the winter, since 2009, from tunnel down to Rouen, Le Mans, Tours, Poitiers, Bordeaux, crossing into Spain from Biarritz to San Sebastian, then down to Zaragoza and from there heading to whichever part of the med coast we want, this route is more likely to be snow free as you aren't crossing high mountains into Spain, you are unlikely to see much snow in these parts of Spain (although last year was an exception) once you get a bit further south (Zaragoza) its more unlikely The popular sites are never completely full, there is a daily turnover so you'll always find a spot somewhere, there's not a lot to plan, if you've got a sat nav, all you need is a tunnel booking and youre off, lots of people wild camp in Spanish resorts, Benidorm and Benicassim come to mind as popular with brits (on site and off) Last year we saw the same PVC on the street in Benidorm for a week! So head off and enjoy yourself, there really isn't anything to worry about, if you have an ipad or similar then load maps.me and camper contact and you'll never have a problem finding somewhere to stop, both work without the need to be online I'm heading off on 16/12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike88 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I was surprised to read about the amount of planning recommended. You have a camper van which enables you to be flexible. If you don't like one place try another. That is the glory of motorhoming. You don't need to plan every detail. Just go. It is amazingly simple but you should take notice of the advice relating to the best routes to avoid snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonMac46 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 The only site we couldn't spontaneously use was the one in Calpe. Three months puttering around Dec to Feb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 vindiboy - 2015-09-23 10:29 PM Matrix Meanderer - 2015-09-23 10:19 PMkevin hawkins - 2015-09-23 9:00 PMhello, we are looking to travel right around the Spanish coast from Barcelona to Cadiz then on into Portugal. We only have a small campervan with no shower and a portable loo,this would be our first winter trip after retirement, now please could you experienced winter snowbirds tell us will there be campsites open around the coast, is it reasonable to expect they would have spaces?we are intending to set off beginning of January, would it be warm enough? Any help much appreciated thanks for your help.kevin and kath *-) ;-)Could I respectfully suggest that you do a lot more research before setting off blind on this journey. Are you aware of the aires sites in France, Spain and Portugal for instance? How are you going to traverse France and the Pyrenees in January? Strongly recommend that you obtain books, maps and guides on motorhoming in Europe. As mentioned Vicarious Books have all the necessary publications. Get yourself a good quality sat nav with the campsites/aires pre loaded. Buy MMM magazine as well. Sorry but you cannot expect forum members to answer all of your questions. Don't be so negative, France is no problem in winter, Aires open all over, some have water off but toilet dumping is always available if you go via bieritz no problem or via the Eastern route to Barcelona no problem, crossing the Pyrenees via Andorra is Ok and so are the tunnels ,we did need snow chains one year however, it is all an adventure ,nothing ventured nothing gained I say. Say they need CAMP Sites as do not have toilet/washing facs on board PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 JonMac46 - 2015-09-24 4:28 PM The only site we couldn't spontaneously use was the one in Calpe. Three months puttering around Dec to Feb. Just left Calpe mar, and already nearly full with long termers. There is a new Camper park opened up not far from the Oddessea one, Lots of vans already going south through the Somport route, mainly French, but the Belgians are already filling up Calpe site! They seem to have taken over from the Dutch/Germans.Weather been very hot. I would be very careful on planning a first time journey , definately get the 2016 ACSI book, and check availability . Also be aware if travelling through France there are not that many sites open all year, they are already closing down , as we have found, on our way back to Ferry PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 PJay - 2015-09-24 6:06 PM JonMac46 - 2015-09-24 4:28 PM The only site we couldn't spontaneously use was the one in Calpe. Three months puttering around Dec to Feb. Just left Calpe mar, and already nearly full with long termers. There is a new Camper park opened up not far from the Oddessea one, Lots of vans already going south through the Somport route, mainly French, but the Belgians are already filling up Calpe site! They seem to have taken over from the Dutch/Germans.Weather been very hot. I would be very careful on planning a first time journey , definately get the 2016 ACSI book, and check availability . Also be aware if travelling through France there are not that many sites open all year, they are already closing down , as we have found, on our way back to Ferry PJay I dunno.......just when the weathers getting bearable down there your coming home? 8-) .......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron. Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Just a word about the weather. Barcelona won't be particularly warm in January (around 55F max) whilst the Alicanti/Murcia area should be around 6 degrees warmer. Further south has much the same temperature but twice the rainfall - ON AVERAGE, so don't blame me if ............ :-D Campsites will be quite full in the more popular destinations, but having said that we have never come completely unstuck in over thirty years of wandering the area. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 vindiboy - 2015-09-23 10:16 PMMike B. - 2015-09-23 9:32 PMvindiboy - 2015-09-23 9:12 PMhttp://s358.photobucket.com/user/vindiboy1/library/CHRISTMAS%20BENICASSIMCamping Azahar benicassim, note the empty pitches.Not surprised unless they've done it up fromMarch-looked very run down then!Mike Well just along the road from Azahar is Camping Bonterra, go there and pay a lot more , Choices.True it is more expensive but far better site-same old story you gets what you pay for. However for the sake of just a couple of euros, I know which I'd pick but of course it is up to the individual Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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