camper-van tour of Spain
 

My family of 5 is contemplating a 3-week camper-van tour of Spain this summer. We know we want to see the sights, and take a day-trip to Tangiers, Morrocco. Other than that, are there natural areas, ruins, small towns, etc. that subscribers on this site would recommend? Has anyone done this sort of trip?

On a side note, is it just me, or is the airfare from North America to Europe way more expensive this year than the last?

Um, does this camper van have AC? If not - I wouldn't go anywhere near southern Spain (often temps over 100 - as much as 110 - for days at a time) in one. (We've been in Adalusia in late April and the daily highs were already in the low 80s.

I have seen very few camper/vans in Spain.

Were there places to park and stay the night?

How did you negotiate the cities and larger towns?

"a 3-week camper-van tour of Spain", including a day-trip to Tangiers? I don't know where you're from, but have you looked at a map of Spain lately? It's a bit larger than Rhode Island.

I imagine a camper van that would COMFORTABLY sleep 5 people would not be much good "touring" Spain.

Most people park them for the month at a beach campgrounds ( not cheap) and drag/rent a small car for touring. Getting into the towns wit that size vehicle will be a challenge and I can't imagine where you would park it outside of a huge hypermarket on the outskirts of the towns with bad transport into town.

5 do not fit in a taxi most places. Few taxis are the legal size for 5+driver.

The country is huge. Mountains everywhere. I suggest you read up on the areas and decide more or less where you want to go, then check out prices for campgrounds as you might decide, with gas at 1-1.25 EUROS a LITER, this trip's budget may turn out differently than you are imagining.

There is no reason why you should not hire a camper. The Spanish do use them just like any other European country, well perhaps less then the Dutch!
You will have to do your own research as to where to hire one from. But if you Google “Alquiler autocaravanas” I am sure you will come up with a lot of answers.
Now for some websites:
This one gives you where you can discharge your waste tanks if you are not using a campsite.
http://www.lapaca.org/
This website does have a forum too so if you read Spanish it will be a big help in organising your vacation. And apart from the forum it has loads of additional information.
The next is a website which lists camping sites in Europe, so read through the Spanish listings.
http://www.vayacamping.net/en/
There is not any official website which covers all campsites in Spain. Again there is a forum.

The problem with a caravan is that they are not practical if you wish to visit a city. They are often too big for some roads plus parking is usually underground and it is impossible to take a camper into one.
However if you plan well you can usually find a side street to park in and take a bus or train into the centres.
And do not listen to the nosayers
Aircon is available on campers these days.
There a lot of models that sleep five or more persons
And Diesel is at the moment round about 1.08€ a litre. But that does change a few cents from area to area.
Here is the website for fuel prices in Spain.
http://geoportal.mityc.es/hidrocarburos/eess/

Soultravelers3.com (posters here) have travelled all over Europe in a camper. Check out their site.

We travelled Europe by campervan for nine weeks and spent some of it in northern Spain and Portugal. Of the 32 campgrounds we stayed in the seven countries we visited, the ones in Spain were great for the most part but they were a little harder to locate near places we wanted to visit. That said, we found them to be close to transportation (trains or buses) that were easily accessible to the city centres. I assume you are renting a camper? We rented out of Germany as their prices were the best so can't comment on rentals in Spain. We did have a great book - The Traveler's Guide to European Camping by Mike and Terri Church - which proved to be invaluable. I can post further details as to where we went if you're interested but we went across the north which was spectacular and then back through the middle which was very uninspiring for the most part. I imagine it would be unbearably hot in the summer in the south. It was a great way to travel but definitely not cheap - more of a lifestyle that we totally embraced for the time we were there. Any other questions I'll be happy to try and answer. Happy planning!

Thanks, everyone for your replies. I was starting to feel a bit disheartened until I read the replies down toward the bottom! We have visited much of Europe by car, and thought that this would be a fun (maybe we're crazy) way to do it this time.
We thought of a camper-van because when we did a driving/camping trip through Italy a few years back, it seemed like everyone had a camper-van. We have had some experience locating the often tucked-away campgrounds using a guide book.
We are going to be renting the camper...I read that Madrid airport has some, but I don't know about us driving it out of there. Does anybody know if Madrid's International airport in city center or in a more rural spot, like Munich's? That will really influence where we rent the camper, but we are flying into Madrid.

Madrid's airport is surrounded by 4 lane highways and very busy for several kms in all directions.

For details of roads around the airport also look at Google maps.
http://tinyurl.com/yl9humh
I think linca means that they are 2 lanes is in each direction.

I mean the M30/ M40 going around is quite wide ( 4-5 lanes.. isn't it) until it branches off into three and two lane highways.

However, it probably doesn't matter much as people will certainly steer clear of that campervan in a better way than if you were in a sedan!

Sitting high up also has an advantage when in heavy traffic. It is just the size of some 'vans that put drivers of using one. But it does seem that simplicitas (and maybe some of the party) have driven a 'van before.
Lets hope we hear more about this trip.

yes.. it seems so. I wish starfish had posted/would post a trip report about her wonderful experience.i am sure it would be helpful to many.

here's the link to my somewhat brief trip report that I did when we got back - there was just too much info to try and write about so if there are any questions, ask away...
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-adventure.cfm

Also, we kept a blog of our adventures - this is an excerpt from part of our time in Spain -
So after the wonder of Salamanca Cathedral, we saw the 1000 year old walls of Avila with 86 towers, and moved on to Segovia. This place had a cathedral to match Salamanca (and we had a camera this time!), a castle that would start another castle envy round with the kids (and Real Gaston) and an enormous 2000 year old aquaduct (yes, other real Spike Gaston, we have seen an aquaduct - a heck of a lot of construction to carry a ditch about 150mm x 150mm, not sure they couldn't have paid the peasants to carry the water instead, but it sure looks neat, but pretty amazing that there is no mortar in it).
Met our first Canadian campers (from Burnaby) and stayed up way too late with Rioja and Port before the big (500km) road trip across the middle of Spain to the low point campground of the trip, but the scenery on the way was a spectacular mix of mountain, mesa, prairie, wind farms and river valley. Off through the industrial belt to get to Barcelona early the next day, to a campground with a view over the Mediterranean (clothing is apparently optional on their beaches) and close to the train (everyone was dressed, 15 minutes into the centre of town). We checked out their redeveloped waterfront (a huge marina, cruise port and theme park and bi-level roads and pedestrian boulevards), the gaudy Gaudi cathedral that has been under construction for over 1oo years as a tourist attraction (which one person said had nothing to do with God and all to do with Gaudi, which we will leave to you architects to discuss), and the Picasso Museum, giving a great perspective on the evolution of his art from 15 years old until 80 or so. We also had a superb dinner in the place that he used to hang out early in his career. And everyone was hanging on tightly to their purses and packs, which was disconcerting, so enough city for us. Next stop - the south of France.

I didn't see your post when I looked for it What a wonderful trip.
You certainly have a lot of good encouraging info here.

Thanks for posting the link and your blog.

It is really funny to hear the many views of RVing in Europe. We have been RVing all around Spain and Europe as a family, non-stop since 2006 so have more experience at this than anyone I know.

It's a FABULOUS way to go, especially for families and we do it VERY luxuriously for just 23 dollars a day per person.

Thanks jubilada for mentioning our website, www.soultravelers3.com and I highly recommend that you read the MANY posts on Spain:

http://soultravelers3.typepad.com/so...ain/index.html

Spain has some of the best luxury campsites in Europe & almost ALL campsites in Europe are close to public transportation, so one never has to go into a city or crowded site. All the main highways are as good or better than US & you can actually save money on gas because you are usually parked and using mass transit, bikes or walking.

That said, I would heed the advice on the heat/crowds in Spain in the summer, ( think northern Spain/Galicia if you are going in July or August) and reasonable distances that you want to travel as Spain is a very large and diverse country.

Do consider the most mountainous areas, although we had no problem taking our RV up to the top of one of the highest in Spain near Granada ( which has a fab campsite) where we did spring skiing.

There are FANTASTIC campsites near Barcelona, Seville, Madrid, Malaga, Marbella, Cadiz, Jerez, Bilbao, Santiago, Galicia, San Sebastian, Granada, Cordoba, Costa Brava, Costa Blaca, Costa del Sol and many,many more.

It's also quite easy to take an RV from Spain into Morocco, but spring or fall is the time to do that not summer.

Many smart folks winter in RV's in Nice, Barcelona, southern Spain, southern Portugal in totally luxurious resorts ( with pools, tennis courts, near Med sea, restaurants, grocery stores etc) for as little as 7 dollars a night! So don't let anyone fool you and say RV's & campers are not VERY plentiful ALL OVER Europe.

We love it so much that we are keeping our RV here as a vehicle/storage/home to return indefinitely for summers while we head to Asia this winter to immerse our child in her 3rd language, Mandarin Chinese and other continents to tour.

Also pay attention to size. The smaller the better. You will be surprised how quickly you adapt to smaller space as most of your living is outside ( tables, comfy chairs etc).

In our small van sized with cab over RV, we have 2 double beds and 2 bunk beds. It's our home for 6 or 7 month of the year, so we have lots more stuff in it than normal like a full sized digital piano and tons of books for homeschooling.

You can also bring a small tent like we do as our child loves to play in it or have "sleep overs" with the many friends that she meets from all over the world. It's the best way to meet and connect with other European families ( also bunches from Oz & Nz).

The key to RVing is not moving, moving moving, but slow travel. You pick good bases and use mass transit to go to all the places you want to see and save a ton of money by cooking your own food and letting the kids in the beaches, free kids clubs & pools at your base after touring or on rest days.

The Church book is good, but sadly it is very dated so some of the places no longer exists. Still it is one of our fave sources. See our websites for more great books that will help you.

Since you have already toured much of Europe by car, this should be easy for you if you listen to the cautions.


We almost never rent or use a small car and have gotten into almost every where with our RV that is the size of a van. After all vans can get almost every where in Europe.

(Although I admit occasionally, usually at night, we have had a few thrills while lost on unknown roads in very tiny, roads around Europe or on scary mountain roads ( our RV is old and VERY heavy with our books & heavy piano).

BUT we went up and down the scariest road in Europe in Santorini ( straight up switch back) and also Delphi and found many MUCH bigger RV's than ours when we arrived. ;)

There is not a place in Europe ( or Turkey & Morocco) that we have been that we have not seen RV's. If trucks and vans can go everywhere, why not RV's? There is also free camping around much of Europe if that appeals to you.

Good luck, you will have a great time!

The other thing that most Americans do not realize is that almost every campsite in Europe has rental cabins so one does not have to camp at all. We love the RV because there is no packing & unpacking, but some might like to just use a cabin rental.

Camping is very different in Europe than it is in America. It is thought of as a budget option and one even sees business men using these places when they do business trips. (Italian businessmen love to use their RVs). It is not usually a wilderness experience and often are very luxurious resorts with every amenity.

There is not a city or tourist site in Europe that does not have a campsite near it including several right in Paris, London, Dublin, Vienna, Rome, Florence, Barcelona, Granada, Stockholm, Oslo, Lisbon, Lyon, Venice, Dubrovnik, Salzburg, Tuscany, Santorini, Prague, etc, etc, etc.

They are wonderful places and a fantastic option for families and budget travelers that allows you also to meet other Europeans easily.

A friend of mine spent several months in Spain with a campervan and her 9 year old son. They had a great time

WTnow, did you take buses into the cities and larger towns?

Aduchamp1 - It will depend on the campsite, city and where you want to go. Sometimes you can walk ( or ride a bike as most RV's have bikes on the back for all) even in big cities. Sometimes you take buses, subways or trams. Sometimes they even have free private bus or van service that leave every 15 minutes day and night.

One of the very best ways to visit Venice is the many campgrounds nearby, then you take a short ferry ride to the city which is a very fun way to arrive!

http://www.soultravelers3.com/2007/0...oria.html#more

At this campsite right in Paris, we could walk to many things, but also they had a free shuttle & we used buses & subways and our bikes.

http://www.soultravelers3.com/2006/0...bois-de-b.html

This lux resort in Tuscany, has tour buses that take people to Florence and many places, even at night.

http://www.soultravelers3.com/2007/0...y-camping.html

When we stayed a month in Santorini, we could walk to everything easily, yet were in another world away from the crowds. We also took public buses & even rented a car for cheap one day to see the whole island well.

http://www.soultravelers3.com/2009/0...eece.html#more

http://www.soultravelers3.com/2007/0...ini-campi.html

We love this resort no a beach near Barcelona and have been there 8 times in our world tour, usually staying a month or more each time at bargain prices. We walk, bike, use public transportation and have even taken the free group bus tour into the city proper on our first visit.

http://www.soultravelers3.com/2007/0...ona-beach.html


Most campsites in Europe are set up as "resorts for budget travelers" so they are placed in areas that make it easy for people to tour and usually provide maps, information and often guided tours even.

They are also placed in areas that are usually easy to get to.

Some how American's have not learned this secret as we almost never run into Americans, but people from all over Europe, NZ & Oz ( even occasionally Chinese and Koreans). Unlike hotels, it is a great place to meet and connect with other travelers from around the world & it is common to have someone over for dinner, drinks or brunch etc....sometimes becoming life long friends. You can connect as much or as little a one wants as privacy is respected and they are very secure places, usually with security guards at night.

Sorry to top an older post but this is great. We are two well traveled (lots of driving in Europe) Aussies and we are thinking of hiring a 'small to medium' camper for a couple of weeks, to explore Portugal and some of Spain. This post has really got me excited. I'm going to read every link that has been offered.

It will be early January, after a week in Austria with the 'kids' for Christmas. They are all heading off in different directions and then we will all meet up in London before flying home. We have never 'caravaned' before but really want to try it. I'm thinking as it will be quite cool it would be a good cosy introduction.

Do camp grounds close for winter at all?

Can't wait to get serious and start planning this new adventure.

January can be cold in a lot of places in Spain, including Andalusia.
Yes a lot of camping sites will be closed then too.
I would do your sums first. Hiring a camper plus fuel; (higher than a car) higher road tolls (than a car). Having to pack every up before moving on. Parking/access is going to be limited with a camper over a car too. The camper will be slower than a car.
In winter the likes of hotles/hostals/casarurals will have good prices for accommodation.

I am just now seeing this @Aussiedreamer but maybe you will check back since you are not planning on traveling until January. MOST, if not all, of the campsites in Andalusia and southern Spain will be open.

It is true that it is not hot summer weather, but the Costa del Sol and Algarve in Portugal will be the warmest areas of Europe and usually sunny. We often just wore T-shirts during the day in December and Jan, but it can get quite chilly at night sometimes.

Just make sure you have a little heater with the rental ( a tiny one keeps things cozy all night long).

http://www.soultravelers3.com/2010/0...tography-.html

http://www.soultravelers3.com/2008/0...ng-in-alg.html

http://www.soultravelers3.com/2008/0...rto-de-sa.html

http://www.soultravelers3.com/2008/0...-marbella.html

http://www.soultravelers3.com/2010/0...ter-roman.html

There are even quite a few campsites open in winter ( and all year) in northern Europe, ( in Paris, London but also many small towns too) and I've known some who have done ski trips in Europe using their motorhomes. Of course, some close for the winter, especially in the north, so check ahead.

All the great campsites that we know in places like Granada, Seville, Jerez, near Nerja, Cadiz, Algarve, Malaga, Marbella etc are open all year at super low "snow bird" ( usually retires from northern Europe, but some from Oz, NZ) prices.

As low as 7 euros a night in luxury places.

One of the great things about motorhoming ( and a small van would probably be fine for your needs) is you do not have to pack and unpack and can easily make your own meals.

While staying in Marbella, you can easily take the hours ride to Ronda ( we did it in a van when family visited) and park your van at the beautiful parador ..then tour and have lunch there.

http://www.soultravelers3.com/2008/0...-to-ronda.html

The buses and trains are great in Spain so you can also do that from a base campsite when it is easier and you do not feel like driving.

Most of Europe is pretty wet, dreary and cold, so sunny southern Spain is a good choice!

Happy planning!

Thanks WTnow, appreciate you coming back to me. Its time we started 'nutting' out a 'rough' route to take and places to stop. I've just watched Rick Stein (UK chef) latest travels through Spain & I'm really excited.

I'll be back with lots of questions, thanks again.

aussieD; That Rick Steins programmes is a bit of a fake. The part he is in Glaicia does not give any sense of the travelling time between one location and another. At one point he remarks that one monastery is just outside Santiago. It is actually over an hour away by car, even longer in the "bus" he is supposedly driving around Spain. But hey that is TV for you.
When planning a trip remember some road tolls could be more expensive for a camper than a car.

good point, thanks ribeirasacra.

knickers me spelt cheque did not work ing at hall. sorry four the erros in that lasted posted.