First Time Spain

waz51 replied on 03/12/2019 19:15

waz51

Posted on 03/12/2019 19:15

Hi Everyone , I would be grateful for any help/advice for first time abroad . I'm booked on Portsmouth to Bilbao on 8th January towing 7.5m Swift single axle . Have booked with the club and have 4 overnight site vouchers to use . Am thinking of travelling to southern Spain for the warmer weather but have not booked anywhere as yet . Any suggestions as to where to stop overnight on the way down ? Do the Spanish have municipal sites ? Are they any good ? Wife will require numerous toilet breaks , at home we just pull into layby and use the van , can we do this in Spain ? or do we have to use services ?

Any pointers greatly appreciated .

Am travelling tomorrow so will be evening before i can log-in again

Anyone else travelling on same ship or route ?

76 replies

peedee replied on 03/12/2019 19:34

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peedee

Motorhomer from Bedfordshire

Posted on 03/12/2019 19:34

Some stopover suggestions in this thread

You should find plenty of service areas on the motorway (autopista and autovia)

peedee

replied on 03/12/2019 20:17

Posted on 03/12/2019 20:17

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Philnffc replied on 03/12/2019 20:49

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Philnffc

Motorhomer from Nottinghamshire

Posted on 03/12/2019 20:49

Spain doesn't do municipal sites like France most are private owned and of a good standard with the top sites better then the CAMC but here lies a problem for you as most will be full or near to and when you are thinking of coming almost definitely, we live close to Alicante/Elche and all the sites in this area are nearing full.

The other thing Spain doesn't do is layby's but do plenty of service stations along the way which usually are restaurants that do cheap menu del dia but these are not the place to spend a night and campsites only on route.

Fuentes Blanca campsite in Burgos is a great first stopover from Bilbao and it has an excellent restaurant if you don't fancy cooking the locals use it also this campsite is in the ACSI book which is a good investment.

You say the South of Spain which part do you mean because it is a big country like I said I live in Alicante province which is classed as South but can travel 400 miles south and still be in the south in the Cadiz area.

South of Valencia is where the sun shines

Phil

waz51 replied on 03/12/2019 22:42

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waz51

Caravanner from Staffordshire

Posted on 03/12/2019 22:42

Thanks for help so far.......

which are the main routes with no tolls ? or is it best just to pay the tolls for ease of use and directness ?

was thinking of ending up in Gibraltar area........

peedee replied on 04/12/2019 08:49

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peedee

Motorhomer from Bedfordshire

Posted on 04/12/2019 08:49

Spanish tolls are not so expensive as France. It is a while since I went directly that far south but as I recall It is worth paying the toll to Burgos and it is then toll free A1 to Madrid andA4/A44 to Granada and Malaga. If you have a sat nav select a toll free route from Malaga to Gib.

peedee

replied on 04/12/2019 09:00

Posted on 04/12/2019 09:00

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Lutz replied on 04/12/2019 09:29

Lutz

Caravanner

Posted on 04/12/2019 09:00 by

Peedee they have been abolished altogether now.

Posted on 04/12/2019 09:29

I returned from Spain last week and was still paying tolls.

1 person likes this

Longtimecaravanner replied on 04/12/2019 09:34

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Longtimecaravanner

Caravanner from Cambridgeshire

Posted on 04/12/2019 09:34

John goes to Spain every year for the winter and by different routes. I found his blog of immense help when planning our trip.

https://jondogoescaravanning.com/2015/10/06/welcome-to-my-blog/

I also wrote a blog of our first trip

https://jennyandjohngocaravanning.wordpress.com/2017/11/11/spain/

cyberyacht replied on 04/12/2019 09:37

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cyberyacht

Motorhomer from Hampshire

Posted on 04/12/2019 09:37

The A7 is a toll free alternative to the AP7 from Valencia all the way down to Almeria via Alicante & Murcia. You do get a lot of lorries on it though. Keep an eye on your fuel gauge if travelling on a Sunday. A lot of the petrol stations close.