Any advice for camping in Spain

[vdubskunk]

Hi all

We are planning a trip round Spain in our van and wondered if there was anyone out there who has any advice to offer after doing similar.
Such as things to take, places to avoid, things to see and what not to do.

We are going for about six weeks in October.

cheers
c

 

[Araon]

be careful where your parking up theres lots of horror stories of campers being robbed...... other than that enjoy....

 

[leon]

We travelled around spain out of season about 10 years ago and it was brill. We never paid for any camping! We headed for the seafront carparks, check for other campers, then all camped for free! Safety in numbers and all that, I would usually ask any vans if they were staying the night. It was funny, cause you'd start the afternoon with two vans, then by tea time carpark was full. Just don't take the wee wee! Showers are on the beach, a little fresh, but as good as some campsites. Fill your water buckets at the cemetary, free water for flowers :wink: Toilets, find a Mcd's, that's all they are good for. One down side is all the free campers were OAP's in their posh campers.
I don't suppose this will be much use to you, but i enjoyed sharing it
I'm so jealous, :mrgreen: cause we can't travel out of season anymore. Misses is a teacher.
Enjoy.

 

[leon]

Also, just been over this summer in our van and you need some items for breakdown purposes.
Every passenger has to have a yellow jacket, and they have to be on display.(I bought mine in France at a hypermarket, half the price of Halfords)
Fire extingy thingy(spelling?)
Two triangles.(jobs worths)
Bulb kit
Van documents. Insurance, and registration.(probably why so many get nicked)
Tin/bottle opener. Not essential, but it's amazing how often this item is over looked, trust me i know. I've got 20 of the blighters, from forgetting. :lol:
This may be a bit more useful.
Enjoy

 

[ant]

We travelled around spain out of season about 10 years ago and it was brill. We never paid for any camping! We headed for the seafront carparks, check for other campers, then all camped for free! Safety in numbers and all that, I would usually ask any vans if they were staying the night. It was funny, cause you'd start the afternoon with two vans, then by tea time carpark was full. Just don't take the wee wee! Showers are on the beach, a little fresh, but as good as some campsites. Fill your water buckets at the cemetary, free water for flowers :wink: Toilets, find a Mcd's, that's all they are good for. One down side is all the free campers were OAP's in their posh campers.
I don't suppose this will be much use to you, but i enjoyed sharing it
I'm so jealous, :mrgreen: cause we can't travel out of season anymore. Misses is a teacher.
Enjoy.

lol leon did you have some lucky heather and a dog on a string too ............ seriously tho, sound cool, i like cheap. cheap is good

 

[ianscooby]

no advice just bring back the sun with you, good luck

 

[leon]

lol leon did you have some lucky heather and a dog on a string too ............ seriously tho, sound cool, i like cheap. cheap is good

No matey that was Ireland, and guitars and hair raps. but that's another tale.

 

[who?]

One tip....get yourself down to Alicanti! The coast heading West from there to Almeria is full of places to stop.

The drive from Garrucha/Mojacar to the southern point of the 'Cabo De Gata' is awesome! If your brave enough...lives have been lost!!!

Couldn't resist this photo...these dudes were looking cool on Mojacar filling station MMmmm.

Cheers

Matt

 

[vdubskunk]

Cheers for all the advice guys I am counting down the days till we set off!

The van is just about ready minus a few bits I am still trying to pick up.


Thanks
C

 

[who?]

Hi C

Hope you managed to get everything ready for your trip...

Where's your pre adventure photo Then!

:lol: :lol:

 

[vdubskunk]

Coming soon!! in cyprus at the moment, but as soon as I get back to the UK on Friday I will shine up and take some pics!! ;-)

 

[Benyon]

Ginga on here is currently in Spain, set off middle Aug. I think he has currently settled in Ronda nr Malaga. Maybe worth a PM to see where he's been...?

 

[jollatine]

I am on my way to spain in june, would love to hear about your trip - ups and downs

 

[siestacampers]

Hi if you have any mechanical problems and need pieces for your bus or need it fixing you should contact this guy
Volkstuning
Ave Jose Martin Mendez Nº 85
Nueva Estebbuna
29680
Estepona, Malaga

TEL: 952 804 168 / 951 704 906
FAX: 951 901 002
His name is Luis I think he grew up in U.K. so speaks english, he stocks loads of stuff. you can even pick up a whole remtec engine from him.
Also when you park up for free in car parks watch out for the guys who put on a flourescent vests and pretend they are working for the council collecting parking fees, usually smack heads.
Check out Granada and head up into the sierra nevada, and the foothills Las Alpujarras, truly amazing.. make sure your brakes are good as some pretty mean winding roads.
If you don't fancy staying in campsites but want the luxury of a shower you can ask at the reception and pay to just use showers. Also if you are on motorways the big service stations provide free showers you have to ask for the key at the bar.
you could even go to a vw show here
http://www.bugspain.com/#/comollegar/
there is a good vw show in Tariffa on the 16th of july which is a cool place to visit, excellent for kite surfing.

 

[ginga]

I can vouch for Luis, he's fitted a new engine in my 71 and sorted the brakes for me. Anyone coming out to spain before end of June then you're welcome down here in Ronda if we're about. There are loads of great campsites in Andalucia, particularly in the mountains but stay away from the costa del sol/golf. Coast seems only worth it from tarifa west unless you drive a transit and wear a vest!!

I can particularly recommend camping trevelez in sierra nevada. Scenery is great and owners are really friendly, he used to be a rally mechanic as I found out when my gti engined t25 decided starting was too much to ask for!!

Drove down west coast last year and after barcelona until valencia way it wasn't up to much. You can camp on sea front in Valencia and is safe as the spanish seem to party there (quietly)every friday night.

Cabo de gata is awesome as mentioned, There are quite a lot of sites in the national parks which only open in summer so they are worth a look.

If anyone wants any info about a particular area then give me a pm and I'll see if I've been there.

Off to cambodia next week (without van!) anyone any advice for me??

 

[aogrady]

One tip....get yourself down to Alicanti! The coast heading West from there to Almeria is full of places to stop.

The drive from Garrucha/Mojacar to the southern point of the 'Cabo De Gata' is awesome! If your brave enough...lives have been lost!!!

<SNIP>

Cheers

Matt

Hi!

Just come back from Spain. Yes, that's a lovely drive down the coast, there are loads of places to stop, always lots of spanish campers on the sea front areas in Mojacar - saw a crossover dormy (IIRC), J reg, blue with primer on front? Anyone on here? Good on whoever it was getting to Spain - would love to here the story - my Mum lives about a hour or so from Mojacar, she is in a little village called Velez Blanco.
Only saw 2 aircooled VW's all week, this camper and a late bug......Wish i had stopped and got a pic of the camper now.....

Alistair

 

[monkeyvanwestybike]

One tip....get yourself down to Alicanti! The coast heading West from there to Almeria is full of places to stop.

The drive from Garrucha/Mojacar to the southern point of the 'Cabo De Gata' is awesome! If your brave enough...lives have been lost!!!

<SNIP>

Cheers

Matt

Hi!

Just come back from Spain. Yes, that's a lovely drive down the coast, there are loads of places to stop, always lots of spanish campers on the sea front areas in Mojacar - saw a crossover dormy (IIRC), J reg, blue with primer on front? Anyone on here? Good on whoever it was getting to Spain - would love to here the story - my Mum lives about a hour or so from Mojacar, she is in a little village called Velez Blanco.
Only saw 2 aircooled VW's all week, this camper and a late bug......Wish i had stopped and got a pic of the camper now.....

Alistair

Well just browsing the site and saw this,

The 71 van you saw im sure is more a purple colour when you get close to it
it belongs to the girl who runs the Harmony gym in Estrella del cantel , it has been in Mojacar for at least the last six years when i go out next i will try and take a pic to show all!

 

[aogrady]

One tip....get yourself down to Alicanti! The coast heading West from there to Almeria is full of places to stop.

The drive from Garrucha/Mojacar to the southern point of the 'Cabo De Gata' is awesome! If your brave enough...lives have been lost!!!

<SNIP>

Cheers

Matt

Hi!

Just come back from Spain. Yes, that's a lovely drive down the coast, there are loads of places to stop, always lots of spanish campers on the sea front areas in Mojacar - saw a crossover dormy (IIRC), J reg, blue with primer on front? Anyone on here? Good on whoever it was getting to Spain - would love to here the story - my Mum lives about a hour or so from Mojacar, she is in a little village called Velez Blanco.
Only saw 2 aircooled VW's all week, this camper and a late bug......Wish i had stopped and got a pic of the camper now.....

Alistair

Well just browsing the site and saw this,

The 71 van you saw im sure is more a purple colour when you get close to it
it belongs to the girl who runs the Harmony gym in Estrella del cantel , it has been in Mojacar for at least the last six years when i go out next i will try and take a pic to show all!

Hi!

Cool! Yeah pic would be nice - not too sure when i will be there next though, it'll be you getting the pic i reckon.

Cheers!

Alistair

 

[jollatine]

I went to Spain in may/june 2009 in my 1971 Bay. It was a nightmare getting the interior finished in time but managed within 3 hours of leaving for the ferry - Portsmouth to Bilbao. We had 3 weeks and 2 days away drove 2500 miles (aprox) and it was fantastic. We drove diagonally south east towards Valencia then drove down the coast towards Cabo De Gata and Almeria. We planned to stay in Cabo de Gata as it was a nature reserve. The landscape is fairly bleak there but some of the coast was lovely
I wouldn't attempt certain parts of spain without opening quarter lights.
One thing that surprised me was that I hardly saw any other bay windows, but the open road was pretty much ours alone anyway.

 

[monkeyvanwestybike]

One tip....get yourself down to Alicanti! The coast heading West from there to Almeria is full of places to stop.

The drive from Garrucha/Mojacar to the southern point of the 'Cabo De Gata' is awesome! If your brave enough...lives have been lost!!!

<SNIP>

Cheers

Matt

Hi!

Just come back from Spain. Yes, that's a lovely drive down the coast, there are loads of places to stop, always lots of spanish campers on the sea front areas in Mojacar - saw a crossover dormy (IIRC), J reg, blue with primer on front? Anyone on here? Good on whoever it was getting to Spain - would love to here the story - my Mum lives about a hour or so from Mojacar, she is in a little village called Velez Blanco.
Only saw 2 aircooled VW's all week, this camper and a late bug......Wish i had stopped and got a pic of the camper now.....

Alistair

Well just browsing the site and saw this,

The 71 van you saw im sure is more a purple colour when you get close to it
it belongs to the girl who runs the Harmony gym in Estrella del cantel , it has been in Mojacar for at least the last six years when i go out next i will try and take a pic to show all!

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ie=UTF8&hl=en&ll=37.120769,-1.833858&spn=0,359.998045&z=19&layer=c&cbll=37.120785,-1.833888&panoid=y3scTWVI5pKACBoz-ke9Iw&cbp=12,272.26,,2,5.91" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

thanks google ! still better to go out there tho!