Despeñaperros

Calle Infanta Elena, Santa Elena, 23213, Spain

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Ideal for ...

  • Dogs
  • Motorhomes
  • Peaceful stays
  • Walking

Why stay here ...

Conveniently placed for stopovers on the way to the Costa del Sol, this small site has a great location on the edge of Santa Elena in a natural park. It’s peaceful and relaxed, with fully serviced pitches shaded by pine trees and some picturesque views of the surrounding area.

Amenities include a pool, a charming restaurant and a good bar, but most are closed in low season, with the hotel close to the site entrance serving food instead.

The surrounding countryside is very pretty, and a visit to the magnificent narrow mountain gorge of Despeñaperros is highly recommended. Opportunities abound for walking, cycling and horse riding, and the historically interesting town of Santa Elena is a short walk from the site.

Around and About

La Carolina, Museum of the Batalla de las Navas de Tolosa, Despeñaperros National Park, Caves, Paraje Natural de la Cimbarra, Valdepeñas, Ciudad Real, Jaén, Córdoba, Hiking, Horse riding, Mountain biking.

Things to do on site ...

  • Playground

Facilities on site ...

  • Bar
  • Barbecues allowed:: barbecue zone
  • Disabled facilities -: good
  • Late arrivals area without electric hook-up
  • Motorhome service point
  • Restaurant
  • Shop
  • Swimming pool
  • Takeaway
  • Wi-Fi

Prices

Useful Info

Nearby

Map

Sites key: Overseas Site

Postcode:
23213
Region:
Spain
Distance to Calais: (kms)
1807
GPS:
Lat 38.343932 / Lon -3.536351
Michelin map no.
0

Transport links

  • Buses go to: Madrid, Bailen, Valdepenas
  • Daily public transport within 2 kms
  • Nearest port: Santander (711 kms)

Winter programme

Here‘s some additional info that you’ll find useful if visiting in the winter months

  • The bar and restaurant on site are not open during the winter, but there is a restaurant called El Mesón only 0.5km away.
  • Access for larger outfits may require care due to pine trees around site. There is a separate entry for larger outfits.

  • This site may have limited facilities open in low season.

  • Levelling blocks may be required.

Reviews

Rated 4 of 5

Overall rating

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 4 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 4 of 5

Good for families

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 3 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 4 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

A useful stopover with a good restaurant a short walk away, but not a great caravan park.

Despeñaperros
The showers and toilets here were clean but more than a bit sad. All of the toilets had had their seats removed. There was no liquid soap provided. All the facilities of shop, bar, restaurant were closed in Jan and March when we visited. On one of our visits it rained heavily and the sites became very sodden and dirty. There is a lovely circular 2 mile walk from the site including a lovely mirador with great views of the Parque Natural. Probably wouldn't choose to stay here again. Staff were friendly and helpful, though without any English language. Thankfully my Spanish isn't too bad.

9 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

Camping in the forest at Despeñaperros

Despeñaperros
Arrived at this site heading north. Please note do not follow the satnav when you reach the village and instead follow the signposts for "camping". We followed the satnav and ended up towing our caravan down a single track road for about 2 miles until we found a turning spot. The campsite is in a lovely setting surrounded by olive trees in the National Park. Found the receptionist/owner very pleasant and we managed with very limited Spanish but you do have to attempt some Spanish and the staff are more than happy to help. The entrance is quite tight through the archway, so line your unit up before driving through. We were allocated a pitch under a tree lined area which we found to be quite cold. The pitches on the edges of the site looking over the olive grove were bathed in sunshine and next time we will ask to move to another pitch. We spoke to a Dutch couple who were allocated a pitch in the same area as us but they just moved to the warmer pitch - it is perfectly acceptable to do this. We found the showers and toilets to be spotlessly clean. There are no toilet seats but this is only for hygiene reasons. The temp was -3C when we woke up, and although the shower blocks were cold, there was ample hot water so didn't have a problem there. Lovely walk /dog walk at the side of the site past the olive trees into the National Park. Took a stroll around the village in the morning which was really pretty and very well kept. There were local shops for bread and groceries, wine etc. When leaving the campsite to go north, turn right at the bottom of the campsite road and drive up through the gorge which is absolutely stunning. It is a very good wide road, and we had no problem with the van despite it being very twisty. We hope to return to this site again later this year when we head south again.

Atkinbrown

Caravanner from Durham

Reviewed on 28/01/2020 15:16

42 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 3 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 2 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 4 of 5

Location

Rated 2 of 5

Good for families

Overnight stay on the way south - could have been better

Despeñaperros
Convenient location next to the motorway, and quite easy to find. Being December, the site was very quiet, with no bar or restaurant open. There is water and electric hookup on each pitch, but no facility to connect a hose to fill the water tank. The toilet and shower block was clean, but quite old, and needing a good renovation. The block was actually cold, so we didn’t bother showering, and headed off pretty promptly in the morning! As we left the guy on duty wouldn’t raise the barrier to let us out, and demanded that we pay, even though we had booked and prepaid through the club - we managed to sort it, but just added to a pretty poor impression. Will certainly not be visiting again.

Diplomatico

Reviewed on 21/12/2019 15:57

3 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 4 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 3 of 5

Good for families

Good NH and Typically Small Spanish Village Location

Despeñaperros
This site is very convenient for the Madrid to Costa Del Sol auto-via. Access to the actual site through twin arches before you get to reception is very, very tight for larger twin axle or units over 7.5m. We advise that when entering and exiting the site use of the larger of the two arches is on the right on entry and left as exiting so that the outfit is lined up correctly for the reception barrier. Parked cars on the approach road can also make things difficult. Out of main season the pool/restaurant/bar complex is closed and we found that although bread can be ordered at reception delivery to the actual site can be an issue. The surrounding countryside is very picturesque as is the small quite sleepy village. There is an excellent hotel style restaurant nearby and a local bar which also serves very good food.

Grandad Bear

Caravanner

Reviewed on 29/10/2017 13:53

8 reviews

1 Helpful note

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 4 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 4 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 4 of 5

Location

Rated 3 of 5

Good for families

Interesting stop over

Despeñaperros
Site good, natural park interesting, good local restaurant nearby

THWoodward

Reviewed on 26/04/2016 17:20

6 reviews

1 Helpful note

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