Mike Brooks 670 Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 Hi allPlanning to travel through France via Pyrenees onto Southern Spain . Ok with France ,need advice using ACSI and Aires from Pyrenees and Southern Spain . Never used Aires ,only just bought books from Vicarious .Looking for real Spain not Benidorm ,coast and inland .Any recommendations for sites/towns/villages/routes etc would be most welcome .Thanks Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowie Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 Hi Mike, we took the ferry to and from Bilbao, so route will differ from your intended, but I’d recommend sights at these locations. Sites were ok too, mostly ACSI as I recall. We don’t do aires, so no knowledge.TordesillasCaceresEvoraAlvorAguilasEl BerroCuencaZaragoza, most are visually nice places, cities, small towns, some coastal villages or mountain villages.,plenty to see and do.Regards, Snowie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 Mike Brooks 670 - 2018-04-01 12:36 PM...................Looking for real Spain not Benidorm ,coast and inland . Any recommendations for sites/towns/villages/routes etc would be most welcome . Thanks Mike I'd suggest you borrow or buy a decent guide book on Spain, and look through it for places that appeal to you. That way you get a description of a place, rather than just a name, and can better judge its appeal. Then, look for nearby sites or stopovers. It is usually possible to find parking places in, or near, places of interest, so that you can park while you visit, and then travel on to your overnight stopping place later. Or, you may find a campsite or stopover within walking distance of, or with public transport to, your place of interest, which makes life easier still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 Saw this on another forum, posted by a member who lives in Spain. Take careMany towns now have changed their law regarding motorhomes parking overnight if there is a authorised parking area within 12 klm you will get a 90 euro fine on the spot this is happening to many towns along the coast one beach where i go fishing there is a new sign been put up saying on overnight parking for autocaravans . and a reply to a question asked by another member ref the original post. A lot of the time it,s locals going on about the mess that is left behind or not being able to park in the car parks when they take the family to the beach or campsites seeing all the money they lose when they see all the vans parked for weeks on end, mind you if these campsites would lower the price the might get a few more in, but there is still many places you can park without any problems, i tell my friends that come over sure park on the beach in the day time then find a village nearby and park up there for the night that way you not near lots of motorhomes and want be moved on also in these villages it's safer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowie Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 Brian Kirby - 2018-04-01 7:41 PM Mike Brooks 670 - 2018-04-01 12:36 PM...................Looking for real Spain not Benidorm ,coast and inland . Any recommendations for sites/towns/villages/routes etc would be most welcome . Thanks Mike I'd suggest you borrow or buy a decent guide book on Spain, and look through it for places that appeal to you. That way you get a description of a place, rather than just a name, Absolutely agree Brian, and I’d recommend DK Eyewitness travel guides, I swear by them, as I prefer pictures rather than just words. My wife likes the Rough Guides. A good cookbook serves us well too. Regards, Snowie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phalange Posted April 2, 2018 Share Posted April 2, 2018 hi Mike we've stayed at several places heading south Olite - free aire, nice small town Burgos- free aire nice town great cathedral Carinena- free aire small pleasant town, good bodegas Segovia- free aire next to bull ring, lovely old town with impressive aquaduct Toledo- acsi campsite, lovely walled town Caceres- free aire, lovely old town Teruel- free aire, lovely town Seville- free aire, amazing city Aranjuez- acsi campsite, royal palace worth a visit enjoy and safe journey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matrix Meanderer Posted April 2, 2018 Share Posted April 2, 2018 vindiboy - 2018-04-01 8:07 PM Saw this on another forum, posted by a member who lives in Spain. Take care Many towns now have changed their law regarding motorhomes parking overnight if there is a authorised parking area within 12 klm you will get a 90 euro fine on the spot this is happening to many towns along the coast one beach where i go fishing there is a new sign been put up saying on overnight parking for autocaravans . and a reply to a question asked by another member ref the original post. A lot of the time it,s locals going on about the mess that is left behind or not being able to park in the car parks when they take the family to the beach or campsites seeing all the money they lose when they see all the vans parked for weeks on end, mind you if these campsites would lower the price the might get a few more in, but there is still many places you can park without any problems, i tell my friends that come over sure park on the beach in the day time then find a village nearby and park up there for the night that way you not near lots of motorhomes and want be moved on also in these villages it's safer :-D I hope that these signs are in the German language as most of the wild campers we have seen are from Germany. €90 Danke! Could be a nice little earner for the town budgets but more importantly it will clear the car parks for the local and legal users. As for campsite prices, most of the long stay winter campsites we checked were charging below €12 per night this winter for a proper pitch with all services. We paid €19 per night for a very good site during a 3 week stay. I don't think you'll find any UK beach location campsites charging anywhere near that price. And they had a very good bar/cafe plus shop on site. Reliable WiFi at €12 per month. Why park on an open car park?? The wild camping logic defeats me 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laimeduck Posted April 2, 2018 Share Posted April 2, 2018 Mike Brooks 670 - 2018-04-01 12:36 PMHi allPlanning to travel through France via Pyrenees onto Southern Spain . Ok with France ,need advice using ACSI and Aires from Pyrenees and Southern Spain . Never used Aires ,only just bought books from Vicarious .Looking for real Spain not Benidorm ,coast and inland .Any recommendations for sites/towns/villages/routes etc would be most welcome .Thanks Mike Mike we did exactly this sort of trip last year and with the same thing in mind, to see Spain - not the Costas/Benidorm etc. We have eclectic taste in what to see from historical sites to Bodegas to wildlife and natural wonders to sitting in Playa Mayors watching the world go round. (But not sitting on a beach with hotdogs and Sangria with the wafts of suntan oil! ...Aaaarrgghhh! I've sent you a PM with extracts from my blog detailing towns/sites.We went from day to day with only a rough route planned overall which we adapted as we went. We first called in to the Tourist offices in each place we visited and they are great - free local maps/booklets and advice almost always good English spoken - a really good resource rather than carting loads of guide books around. There is of course also always good info on Google/Wikipedia. Jeremy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Brooks 670 Posted April 2, 2018 Author Share Posted April 2, 2018 Many thanks to all who have replied with tips . Totally agree with "Eye Witness " guide books ,we too like pics rather than words , went to Croatia last year ,would have been lost with out the pics and details ,where to visit and not to bother with . We would never sleep in a location that we didn't feel safe ,saving a few pence isn't worth it . Our first choice would be ACSI but on our travels have noticed some Aires that look ok ,many are glorified rubbish tips , hence we will be taking our new Aires book as back up . Again thanks for your input ,always welcome more tips . Regards . Mike . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The oldies Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Hi Mike - take care on French aires, as we had our motorhome broken into when we were asleep. Thief used a key on our Fiat Ducato vehicle. Thankfully, I disturbed the thief and, apart from my husband’s wallet and UK cash, we were lucky nothing else was taken. We now rope our cabin doors together every night wherever we are and keep any valuables under the pillow. There is a lovely clean site at Aranjuez, just south of Madrid (WiFi 4euros per day for one iPad). They take ACSI discount card. Javea in the south of Spain is also a very clean site; pitches fairly close together. WiFi free. They also take ACSI card. The ACSI book would be great for discovering sites and their opening dates etc. Unfortunately, we didn’t get ours in time to go off on holiday, due to it being held up by bad weather. We loved the travel through France, Spain, Belgium and Luxemburg. Enjoy your trip. We loved our travels down through France, into Spain, then back via WW1 graves of relatives in Cambrai, Warlencourt, Vimy Ridge, then into Ypres in Belgium to WW1 grave of relative, and visit to Menin Gate. Onwards into Luxemburg, then back to Bastogne in Belgium (visit to the Bastogne War Museum and memorial (The Battle of the Bulge) was fantastic, then into Passchendaele Canadian Memorial, and Zonnebeke village, before heading homewards via Calais. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmcvit Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 We liked the site at Aranjuez too. Great site if you have a dog, plenty of walking around Aranjuez. Good loos, nice restaurant/bar. We were there in March. If you want an unusual site, just near Nerja. Cortijo San Miguel. You cannot pre-book, just drive up pastthe car park to the gates and hope the farmer has a pitch. WIFI, Electrics, Nice loos. Parking under avocado trees. Great place. Walk do across the big car park on opposite side of the road down to the beach, or along to Nerja. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 The oldies - 2018-04-10 9:57 PM...........................Hi Mike - take care on French aires, as we had our motorhome broken into when we were asleep. Thief used a key on our Fiat Ducato vehicle. Thankfully, I disturbed the thief and, apart from my husband’s wallet and UK cash, we were lucky nothing else was taken. We now rope our cabin doors together every night wherever we are and keep any valuables under the pillow............................ I apologise, as I've said this before, but you were not on a camping-car aire when you were robbed. You were on a rest area on the toll free A75 autoroute. Had you been on a proper, designated, "aire camping-cars", the risk you inadvertently took would have been substantially lower. It is obviously impossible to say you would not have been robbed, as robberies take place in all kinds of locations, including guarded camp sites. But, unfortunately, the place you chose to stop presents just about the highest risk category there is. I am not unsympathetic with your experience, but I think it unreasonable to imply that "aires" in general are unsafe, while failing to distinguish between the designated "aires" that are purpose built for the use of motorhomers, and a motorway rest areas. They are not at all the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 snowie - 2018-04-01 5:00 PM Hi Mike, we took the ferry to and from Bilbao, so route will differ from your intended, but I’d recommend sights at these locations. Sites were ok too, mostly ACSI as I recall. We don’t do aires, so no knowledge. Tordesillas Caceres Evora Alvor Aguilas El Berro Cuenca Zaragoza, most are visually nice places, cities, small towns, some coastal villages or mountain villages.,plenty to see and do. Regards, Snowie Zaragoza is a sh*t site expensive but convenient when desperate *-) ....... Or so it should say in the guide book :D ....... Dunno about the other's?......anymore info Snowie?......... Just askin? :-> ....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowie Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 pelmetman - 2018-04-15 7:11 PM snowie - 2018-04-01 5:00 PM Hi Mike, we took the ferry to and from Bilbao, so route will differ from your intended, but I’d recommend sights at these locations. Sites were ok too, mostly ACSI as I recall. We don’t do aires, so no knowledge. Tordesillas Caceres Evora Alvor Aguilas El Berro Cuenca Zaragoza, most are visually nice places, cities, small towns, some coastal villages or mountain villages.,plenty to see and do. Regards, Snowie Zaragoza is a sh*t site expensive but convenient when desperate *-) ....... Or so it should say in the guide book :D ....... Dunno about the other's?......anymore info Snowie?......... Just askin? :-> ....... I think it depends what you define as “sh@t” really. I think this site was given that reputation by the Caravan Club Europe Guide. It could do with a bit of tic, but showers with hot water, ditto sinks and basins. Washing machines and dryers worked fine. I think the facilities were heated, but they were draughty. Otherwise, can’t say I felt strongly negative about the site. Put it this way, we stayed 2 nights, used all of the facilities, and found the city well worth visiting. It’s. Pity, but modern architecture often ends up like this, built by local authorities here or elsewhere around Europe. It needs maintenance, and often doesn’t get it. Often the buildings are badly detailed. As for it being expensive, you may be right, it could do with being an Acsi site, decent prices and an inspection now and then Regards, Snowie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 We,ve used the Zaragoza site on several occasions, as is ideal for stop off from Somport Tunnel, then a straight run done to Valencia, Calpe, Benidorm. Agree site is expensive, and the facilities could do with some TLC, but you do have your own on board, and water is on pitch with EHU Large pitches as well For any one interested www.campingzaragoza.com Sat Nav. 41,637922 - 0,942759 PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonMac46 Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 We spent two nights in Zaragoza in Feb and thought it quite OK. No special, but a reasonable break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starvin marvin Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 “All the Aires...” book, not as comprehensive as “Guia de Areas de Servicio Para Autocaravanas”, usual price 12E. www.areasAc.es Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bojitoes Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 We have stayed at Zaragosa a couple of times and have found that not only are the staff are very helpful, there is a bus to the city every 15 minutes, which takes 20 minutes, and the bus stop is 200 yards away. Surely these are the important things that every motor homer needs to know? There is a wealth of places to see and things to do in the city and the site staff are overjoyed to help and make recommendations. In respect of the site itself the facilities are excellent, plenty of hot water, regular electricity and excellent site wide wifi included- which may make the cost seem expensive to some. Anyone who decides to forego seeing Zaragosa on the basis of a review stating the site is "s..t" will never appreciate what a gem of a city Zaragosa is. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.