Mikeandthewife Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 Hi all My wife and I, will be in San Sebastian beginning of May in our motorhome and have two months holiday, my original plan and holiday route was San Sebastian, Pamplona, Zaragoza, Valencia then to slowly work our way along the coast stopping wherever and traveling as far as Cadiz, then work our way back. I'm now thinking because it will still be early season with regards to general weather temperatures, to now do the opposite and head south through mainland Spain??? to the Gibraltar area, spend quality time around that area and then slowly work our way back up the coast towards Valencia. I'm not asking for people to best guess weather conditions for May/June, or try and second guess what complete strangers want from a holiday destination. However, there are many of you no doubt with loads of experience because you've been there and done it, that could give me valuble, welcoming advice on must visit towns/destinations, routes, etc, etc What I do know is that we want to do the coast area from Gibraltar to Valencia but not sure of anything else. We normally stay in Aires but also happy with campsites, thanks in advance people.^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sapper520 Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 Over the last four years, my wife and I have toured extensively in Spain. Not in a motorhome (in the process of buying our first one now), but on our motorcycles. However, we have done the routes you are considering and can say the interior is fantastic for empty roads. We’ve usually gone from Plymouth to Santander in early May, never had a problem with weather.......other than 40 degrees in Seville (not comfortable in motorcycle clothing). We very rarely used motorways, easy to pick routes to avoid tolls. We didn’t enjoy the roads south of Valencia (around Benidorm etc). If visiting Gibraltar don’t bother driving across the border as the roads on ‘The Rock’ aren’t designed for larger vehicles, and, it can take a long time to cross the border depending on the political climate. Really easy to walk across the border and use the local buses (NOT the tour buses). No information about the motorhome side of things, but it’s a fantastic country to tour. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMP Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 There is a wealth of choice of good campsites all along the coastal area east of Malaga. I do not have any knowledge of the campsite to the West. You need to buy an ASCI book/card, which covers most of them. Once you get into Almeria, they are in abundance. Isla Plana, for instance in Almeria has a spotlessly clean and well run site. You can find this one on Youtube, too. Aguilas has 2 campsites. Once you are into Murcia province, you will again have a good range.In Alicante province,plenty of sites south of Valencia Campng Marhal for instance - personally I would steer clear of Benidorm, though! All in the ASCI book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeandthewife Posted January 23, 2020 Author Share Posted January 23, 2020 Hi Thanks for feedback, much appreciated. Are most roads in central Spain motorhome friendly then, you obviously can get away with two wheels more than you can in a 6m camper, did you always feel relatively safe and can you recommend any places to visit, around our planned route, traveling from San Sebastian to Gibraltar. Oh and happy motorhome hunting, you wont regret the decision to buy one. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeandthewife Posted January 23, 2020 Author Share Posted January 23, 2020 Hi Thankyou for you reply and suggestions on campsites, I will look them up tonight. Is the ACSI card worth it then, never thought about that before, we have only been to Spain once, usually do France and mostly on Aires and a little amount on campsites. Not been to Benidorm either, but you may have put me off anyway by your reply. Will check out the ACSI card tonight, thanks again. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve H Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 If you intend to make your way to Gibraltar first then I would recommend using the E05 all the way south. It's dual carriageway and toll free (and surprisingly quiet). We spent one night at Burgos having come off the ferry, then down to Camping International Aranjuez, at Aranjuez, south of Madrid. The town itself is lovely and has the winter Royal palace. The added bonus is that you can get a train from there to Madrid. Then carry on south on the E05 via Cordoba and Seville, which is well worth a visit and has a camperstop beside the river with an Aldi supermarket nearby. From there you can head south to Gibraltar where you can park in the lovely marina at La Linea a stones throw from the border crossing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sapper520 Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 Mikeandthewife - 2020-01-23 12:50 PM Hi Thanks for feedback, much appreciated. Are most roads in central Spain motorhome friendly then, you obviously can get away with two wheels more than you can in a 6m camper, did you always feel relatively safe and can you recommend any places to visit, around our planned route, traveling from San Sebastian to Gibraltar. Oh and happy motorhome hunting, you wont regret the decision to buy one. Mike There were few roads we used that I wouldn't be happy driving a 6m camper along. Getting through the Pico's I'd stick to the main roads or use the motorway to get over them. Always avoided Madrid (doesn't mean we don't want to go, but notoriously bad for traffic), towns / cities like Segovia, Leon, Salamanca, Caceres, Toledo, Cordoba, Seville, Granada etc are all worth a visit. I could list smaller towns as well, too many to list, which is why we kept going back. We could travel on excellent A roads and see almost no traffic. Obviously, the closer you get to civilisation the busy it gets. Are the locals friendly...….absolutely. We were staying in towns where English was a foreign language.....can you believe that? ;-) Eating and drinking out is far cheaper away from the tourist haunts. Our fuel range on our bikes was only 200 miles, but never struggled to find fuel. Don't try driving through towns centre's, the roads get narrow and we came across more than one German MH trying to reverse back down one way streets. Town centre's are definitely easier on a motorcycle! Our policy on our bikes, and it will be the same in our van (ordered on Tuesday, not ready until August / September unfortunately), park on the outskirts of towns / cities and either walk or take public transport into the centre. When I plan my routes, I've got the old fashion maps first, then TomTom Drive App and finally, if I want to take a closer look at the road, Google Earth is very helpful. Agree with the La Linea comments, also got a laundrette near to the seafront. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 Every thing can happen in Spain. i follow now a friend on a winter trip in spain at this moment. Ten days there he faced Gloria storm in Murcia area. and went up hill in higher sea level. He started whit four days sunshine at the beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeandthewife Posted January 23, 2020 Author Share Posted January 23, 2020 Great Steve thankyou, will check site out, plus E05 sounds good route to take and being toll free is a bonus, when you look at Spain on the Google maps, it looks daunting and baron, feel a bit more at ease reading some of the replies, thanks again Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeandthewife Posted January 23, 2020 Author Share Posted January 23, 2020 Thanks Sapper, made note of towns will research later, your right there is always more to see on route and we will explore as we travel, wanted to get a view of the basics first and I'm digesting all replies which is what I wanted, thanks again, you will be wishing the months away to get that motorhome Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeandthewife Posted January 23, 2020 Author Share Posted January 23, 2020 Hi Hans Wow what a mix, one day in shorts, next day battered in wind and rain, hope we dont get many of them days Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve H Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 Further to my previous post, having followed my suggested route, from Seville you could travel south on the toll road to El Puerto de Santa Maria. There is a camperstop there N36.598071 deg W6.220827 deg from which, following a brisk walk you'll arrive at the railway station. From there you can catch a train in one direction round to Cadiz, or in the other to Jerez de la Frontera, home of sherry where you can enjoy a tour of a bodegas. If you want facilities then it's only a short drive to Camping Playa Las Dunas near the beach. Then it would be off to Gibraltar after which, having seen some of the real Spain you can travel north up the Med coast, passing through Expatland enjoying fish and chips and a pint of Watneys Red Barrel as you pass through Benidorm. Enjoy your trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeandthewife Posted January 24, 2020 Author Share Posted January 24, 2020 Hi Thanks for further info, will look the places/suggestions up. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John52 Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 There's no official parking for motorhomes in Gibraltar, but you can stop at Morrison's car park for 3 hours - and fill up with cheap fuel (another bone of contention with Spain as its sapping their tax revenue) Its just like Morrisons in England, except the prices of untaxed goods are a bit dearer as they have 14 artics on the road at any one time just to supply that store - not helped by the fact the fact Spain closes the border to them from Friday evening to Monday Morning, perishable goods or not !!! Only thing really worth seeing IMO is the view from the top of the rock - best viewpoint is probably the cable car station. The tour buses only go part way up. But there are equally impressive views on the coast of Spain which is far more motorhome friendly. So I don't rate Gibraltar as a 'Must See'. In a motorhome its probably more trouble than its worth. :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 We have toured Spain and Portugal in a 7 metre A Class MH and rarely encountered challenges on the roads. Spanish motorways are good and mostly free except for the E coast and the bit near France. ACSI isn't all that useful in Iberia because only a minority of campsites have joined it, so be prepared to use Google or other books to find sites too. The Aire at the marina just outside Gibraltar is pleasant and an easy walk across the border into Gibraltar, which is chaotic for vehicles at peak times so not worth taking you MH. Catch a bus just inside Gibraltar to get into town. Lots of duty free booze and cigarette shops and fish & chip eateries and not much else so not our favourite place. Salamanca is really worth a visit and there is a campsite a couple of miles to the East co-located with a hotel (and a bus stop into town) which is OK. The Algarve exceeded expectations, especially the Autocaravan Park (listed as an Aire close to the West side of Silves) is a geat place to stay for a few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John52 Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 StuartO - 2020-01-27 8:44 AM duty free booze and cigarette shops I don't know about booze or tobacco, but I noticed the other stuff in Duty Free shops (like cameras) not priced despite the staff standing around or haranguing the customers - you had to ask the price, and what I checked could be bought cheaper online back home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeandthewife Posted February 1, 2020 Author Share Posted February 1, 2020 Apologies not been on the forum for a while, thanks for info on Gib much appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeandthewife Posted February 1, 2020 Author Share Posted February 1, 2020 Sorry been off the forum for a bit, great info, will do some research on Salamana, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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