First Time Spain

Hello

We are doing a similar journey in January (with our caravan), catching the ferry Portsmouth to Santander on the 10th. We are then traveling through Spain to Algeciras (near Gibraltar) before catching the ferry to Tangeir Med (Morocco).

We use (whisper) Camping and Caravanning Club on route sites (see their Winter Sun brochure). We do not book in advance at that time of year as there will be plenty of room. This gives us flexibility to stay anywhere for a few days if the weather deteriorates.

It is likely to be cold on the way down (we travel from the northern Scottish Highlands) and this year at Salamanca we had freezing fog and heavy frost. However by the time we reached Evoramonte (Portugal) the weather was sunny, dry and mild.

On the way down we used insulation on our Aquarol and had the heating on gas. The site we stayed on at Salmanca had 3amp EHU!!!

We pull in for toilet breaks on the occasional lay-by, but there are plenty of service areas with loads of parking for caravans.

As we are travelling in winter and want the best roads possible we use toll roads, which will be almost empty of traffic and in good condition. This means that we are not struggling on smaller roads and can make about 250 miles per day with ease. We travel in daylight whenever possible.

For the toll roads we have the Emovis tag for Spain & Portugal, also one for France. This makes it so simple, no worry about getting the right change or using your credit card. You pay just £5.00 pcm to use the cars and ONLY for months that you do use it. The toll fee is taken by dd from your account. BTW you also get a discount card for Galp fuel stations. Two fill ups per month gave us more discount on fuel than the monthly cost of the card.

We are not making any bookings in Morocco, but sites at the popular Spanish resorts do get booked up during the winter. However go away from the bigger sites or a bit inland and you'll be okay.

We also get an ACSI card (and books) to use the discount and also for the location of sites.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

KH

A great adventure, I’m envious.

You may already know it, but I spotted a useful stop-over at Gibraltar last week. It’s an aire on the Alcaidesa Marina at La Linea. Nice, quiet and safe location. Ideal as a stopover before your ferry trip and short walking distance across the border into Gibraltar. Plenty of shops/restaurants nearby plus a couple of toilets and washing machines available.

we used this aire earlier in the year, great place to overnight with easy access and safe, barrier controlled entry...€12 i think.

websites/apps like park4night give plenty of info on many, many pull in spots wherever you travel.

good luck.

Hello there Seaside Bill,

I'm not sure if your post refers to me (photo4x4), but I'll answer anyway!

We are towing a caravan so we can't stop in aires. We are heading for Camping La Casita at Algeciras. We'll stop a few days to sort out the ferry. But thanks for the thought.

KH

Whoops, missed that! Have a great trip.

Out of interest, have you done Morocco sites before? Any issues or advice worth considering? 

My sympathy to anyone heading to Spain today or tomorrow. Strikes and storms have come together this weekend, and several Brittany Ferries ships are cancelled, diverted or delayed for those two reasons. There's a long list of updates at the bottom of their own website. Some ports are closed, those ships still running are meeting 8 metre swells in the western channel, and motorists taking the tunnel and driving to Spain are reporting fuel shortages in some parts of France because of the strikes. 

As well as death and taxes, you can always guarantee two things in life. Disruption caused by weather and the French! 

No, never been before, but there always has to be a first time. It was a bit daunting going over to Europe and down to The Algarve the first time we did it - but now we know what to do. 

I have done lots of research, corresponded with someone who has taken a caravan to Morocco and I have a pal who has taken his expedition Land Rover there.

Also found a brilliant book - Motorhome Morocco, by Julie and Jason Buckley, ISBN 9781521201978 (available from Amazon). It is a guide on how to travel independently to Morocco in your motorhome or campervan. It is full of essential information which can easily be adapted for a caravan. They also took their dog and ours will be coming with us as well.

Hey, after driving all the way down from the northern Scottish Highlands (640 miles to Portsmouth) to the south of Spain, it's only one more short ferry trip to North Africa! 

KH

Thanks, some useful resources there. I fully intend to do a similar trip, probably winter 2020/21 as long as all the planets are aligned!

Enjoy yourself.

I've more or less decided to travel to Burgos (camping fuevas blancas) for my first stop , then onto camping Pico de la Miel  ,La Cabrera just south of Madrid for 2nd night stop and then onto despenaperros for another night and finally to Almeria . 

Possibly a stupid question but do the tolls have a fixed price , or do they vary ?