Cabo de Gata, Almeria (1 Viewer)

[Littlewheels]

We are intending to visit here next week, we have read about it being a natural unspoilt area.

Subject to being comfortable when we settle in! we might spend 7/10 days there,any recommendations on the best site/aire/spot.

All comments greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[vwalan]

there is a camsite on the way in .
in winter folk park to the left of the town by the fishing boats . or along at the end of the salinas . by a bar in the next village almadrava de montelva . it is getting harder to park wild and this year the park national were giving out warnings and fines .
there is campsites at san jose .
do you know the way?
i,m sure you will find somewhere.

 

[Littlewheels]

Cabo de Gata

Is the area all it's made out to be? The satellite shows the plastic greenhouses quite near,therefore,I am a bit worried it might be a let down!

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[JonMac46]

Los Escullos is great. Good restaurant, nice people.

 

[vwalan]

yes and no. there is alot of plastic tunnels . no green houses though . ha ha
its one of our jokes .
we tend to follow the coast but do venture in land on m,bikes . we prefer the east side of cabo de gato from above carboneras,at algarobicos to san jose .follow the sea where ever you can .
from agua armaga you have to venture in land but after 3 km . turn left on some maps its a track but it isnt ,its tarmac sign posted fernan perez. after 1.5 km turn down to the sea to cala del plomo . this is a track . it goes on for ages but is a real nice place at the end .
come back out and follow the road to las negoas or la isleta. we do it all.
you may find the information house and learn about the ermita de torre garcia and the roman ruins . theres a lovely peculiar church on the beach .waste .natural ground on the way to retemar but its on a track road . its ok . we take campers and trucks there .
keep hugging the coast and almeria etc is easy.
one day i must write a tour guide for spain maroc and portugal .ha ha . love it over there.
but only in winter when its cold in uk .
by the way dont miss the lighthouse at the toe of the cabo. lovely scenery .

 

[mikebeaches]

We also like the Cabo de Gata natural park. As mentioned the east side of the peninsular is probably the most scenic and dramatic, but the south side is also worth a visit too.

You can't drive directly from the east to the south sides around the coast (only on foot or bicycle) - it's necessary to go quite a long way inland to drive around.

I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Also, if you are travelling past Almeria city, there is what we thought a lovely little site right on the beach (a cove) 3 or 4 km to the west of the city. Handy for the motorway too, which runs nearby.

Camping La Garrofa: http://www.lagarrofa.com/

It's an ACSI discount site charging €16 euro at the moment. We stayed last Sunday and were fortunate to get a front-line pitch right next to the sea - we couldn't quite believe our luck at the price. :thumb:

Mike

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[2657]

A few pics from around the Los Escullos, San Jose, Las Negras area. The village of Cabo de Gata is disappointing compared to the scenery in this area.

 

[vwalan]

yes as mike says the coast road as been collapsing . it was possible several years ago .but now there are barriers etc . but have fun . spain is full of adventures . send off to amazon and get a mapamax map book . its the best . shows all the little coves and beach names plus shows tracks etc . http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb...earch-alias=stripbooks&field-keywords=mapamax.
better hurry.

 

[2657]

yes as mike says the coast road as been collapsing . it was possible several years ago .but now there are barriers etc . but have fun . spain is full of adventures . send off to amazon and get a mapamax map book . its the best . shows all the little coves and beach names plus shows tracks etc . http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb...earch-alias=stripbooks&field-keywords=mapamax.
better hurry.

If you mean the track from Los Escullos to San Jose, this has been impassable for vehicles for a number of years because of rock falls but it is still possible to get part way, trucks still use the road from Los Escullos up to a quarry but very infrequently ( not at all this year).
It is still possible to walk this route and probably on a mountain bike.

The road from San Jose to Cabo de Gata village via the lighthouse is still passable but blocked by barriers.

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[vwalan]

If you mean the track from Los Escullos to San Jose, this has been impassable for vehicles for a number of years because of rock falls but it is still possible to get part way, trucks still use the road from Los Escullos up to a quarry but very infrequently ( not at all this year).
It is still possible to walk this route and probably on a mountain bike.

The road from San Jose to Cabo de Gata village via the lighthouse is still passable but blocked by barriers.

yes you have it . we used to take vw,s down the tracks . but it was a few years ago . might be 12 yrs ago it soon flies by.
remember we do push our vehicles way past their intended use. but havent been able to drive all the way for awhile .
we go from cabo de gato all the way by the sea upto retamar . but not advisable for most normal motor homes . and not for us after a rain storm .
better take the road way . but turn off left for info and a bit later for the ermita .

 

[sedge]

Are the flamingos still on the salinas?

 

[chrissyvine]

there is a camsite on the way in .
in winter folk park to the left of the town by the fishing boats . or along at the end of the salinas . by a bar in the next village almadrava de montelva . it is getting harder to park wild and this year the park national were giving out warnings and fines .
there is campsites at san jose .
do you know the way?
i,m sure you will find somewhere.

Re the campsite at San Jose. I stayed here 3 years age when I had a Swift Mondial van conversion. Lovely little site and nice village BUT site definitely not suitable for larger outfits. I struggled to get round and find a pitch big enough. When a small coachbuilt arrived, the site owner got the pruners and cut some tree branches to get them in! There was a large car park near the site and some vans were parked on that. As I said this was 3 years ago, may have changed.

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[2657]

The flamingo's are still there but I don't know when the largest numbers arrive, when we are there in the winter only a few dozen.

The camp site in San Jose is only open in the Summer, we always stay at Los Escullos. I think there is still a small space in the centre of San Jose where they allow motorhomes to overnight but the authorities have certainly tightened up in recent years.Not surprising really, a few years ago some where parked up on a road near the seafront in front of houses all winter with generators on the footpath!!

 

[vwalan]

they still do. some park along the salinas as well.
for us its a couple of nights then on again .
hi matamoros we were by escullos on the19th of march . i remember a fifth wheeler way in front turning off to the village . was that you> we went on to san jose. we had been at la isleta,

 

[2657]

they still do. some park along the salinas as well.
for us its a couple of nights then on again .
hi matamoros we were by escullos on the19th of march . i remember a fifth wheeler way in front turning off to the village . was that you> we went on to san jose. we had been at la isleta,

Hi, no not us we were at Escullos for a month in November last year but we are now touring with a caravan!! The 5'er is now pitched 'permanently' at Ria Formosa near Tavira in Portugal after a bad experience of 'having our own piece of the Algarve' at a member owned site at the other end of the Algarve.

One of the reasons for siting the 5'er was the difficulty getting onto a lot of the sites in Spain & Portugal, at Escullos there is only one pitch that we can use and we had to start reserving that which I do not like doing.

That area is probably my favourite for landscape, coastline etc with some superb walks, unfortunately arthiritis has caught up with me and I can no longer do the walks I used to, taken up cycling now but too many hills round Escullos.:thumb:

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