Christmas / Winter in Spain (1 Viewer)

Tincataylor

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We got our MH in January this year and we simply love it. We retired in May this year and have been all over the place in UK learning the ropes and generally enjoying ourselves and the people we have met along the way.
We want to try our first 30 day+ trip this winter and we would like to be somewhere relatively warmer in Spain or Portugal over Christmas in the company of like minded people, with a view to coming home at the end of February latest. Reading other posts it is apparent that many people head for Benidorm and stay on sites that offer special rates for 30 day+ stays. We are a little nervous about committing to so long on a site that might not suit us as for us motor homing is all about moving on if where we are doesn't suit us. Do these sites get fully booked so that we have to book in advance and take pot luck that it suits us? What alternatives can you more experienced guys give us?
All information will be gratefully received and we look forward to meeting some of you on the road and raising a festive glass or three.................

The Tinca's
 

Minxy

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Aug 22, 2007
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Hi there, you've pretty much summed up our thoughts too about being 'stuck' on a site for a long time and one thing that puts us off doing such a winter trip, so it'll be interesting to read responses.
 
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Lots of people stay in one place, many others tour around and in many years of doing these trips we have never booked. Some of the more popular sites do get full, solution is go somewhere else, plenty to choose from.

Most sites do varying reductions for length of stay starting at 3 days but one night stops, particularly in Spain, can be expensive so an ACSI discount card is essential if that is what is planned.

We now stay mainly on one site in Portugal but spent many years touring to find places and sites that we liked, I would not consider booking for a long period on a site that I had not visited unless I had a particular reason to go there.

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Sep 26, 2013
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We now stay on one site for 4 months which suits us fine, it also helps to keep the costs down with a serviced pitch costing around Ā£9 or so a night.

Mike
 

vwalan

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at the other end we spend almost every winter not going on campsites and traveling around . spain ,portugal ,morocco. do very rarely use a site. always manage to find a nice place to stop. visit little villages and use little small roads you can find some great places . if you arent on the closest road to the sea you probably are on the wrong road. have fun ,smile and be happy.
 

MikeD

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We toured Spain/Portugal in the autumn last year and the sites did start to fill up around the southern parts of Spain as late November arrived.

We had to come back before the winter but I suspect some of the more popular sites would be fully booked.

One thing we did notice is that some sites tended to get a lot of one or two countries people on them. Not a problem for us but sometimes we were the only Brits on site.

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wanderer

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We toured the whole coast of Spain/Portugal finishing at lloret staying in 45 different campsites befor deciding that we liked Cabo De Gata in Almeria so we returned for xmas and have returned for the last 6 years . We liked this site because it was very dog friendly for our 2 pooches , good scenery ,wildlife(birds,flamingoes , wild boar , very rural , good onsite ambiance , good facilities and low 9 euro long term rates . Bad points for some are -out of the way , greenhouse plastic .
If your a Benidorm type of person this site will definately not suit you but if you like to interact with the locals it will . There are plenty of wild camping oppertuneties locally if thats your bag .
Most of the better pitches on spanish sites will have been prebooked from year to year or in some cases will be for rallies only.
Have a great time wherever you end up
 

JonMac46

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We spent 90 days last Winter touring Spain anti-clockwise. We were only turned away from a site once. Mostly 3 to 7 day stopovers, one of 33.
Another vote for Cabo de Gata.
 
Aug 18, 2011
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Most sites around Benidorm are fully booked xmas through to mid March.Went out last Feb without booking and only one very small pitch available on Almafra,,rest of the area was rammed..Have been sensible and booked Almafra for this xmas..BUSBY:):)

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SandT

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Try Sicily its a great island in the Mediterranean with good weather and plenty of campsites open all year.
A good ferry service from Naples, just 12 hours overnight and arrive in Catania refreshed and ready to go.

We live in Malta and go over regularly so can recommend some great sites!

Terry
 
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We toured the whole coast of Spain/Portugal finishing at lloret staying in 45 different campsites befor deciding that we liked Cabo De Gata in Almeria so we returned for xmas and have returned for the last 6 years . We liked this site because it was very dog friendly for our 2 pooches , good scenery ,wildlife(birds,flamingoes , wild boar , very rural , good onsite ambiance , good facilities and low 9 euro long term rates . Bad points for some are -out of the way , greenhouse plastic .
If your a Benidorm type of person this site will definately not suit you but if you like to interact with the locals it will . There are plenty of wild camping oppertuneties locally if thats your bag .
Most of the better pitches on spanish sites will have been prebooked from year to year or in some cases will be for rallies only.
Have a great time wherever you end up
Not being a Benidorm type , this could be of interest to me, do you have a link, or web address?
Martin
 

mentaliss

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We got our MH in January this year and we simply love it. We retired in May this year and have been all over the place in UK learning the ropes and generally enjoying ourselves and the people we have met along the way.
We want to try our first 30 day+ trip this winter and we would like to be somewhere relatively warmer in Spain or Portugal over Christmas in the company of like minded people, with a view to coming home at the end of February latest. Reading other posts it is apparent that many people head for Benidorm and stay on sites that offer special rates for 30 day+ stays. We are a little nervous about committing to so long on a site that might not suit us as for us motor homing is all about moving on if where we are doesn't suit us. Do these sites get fully booked so that we have to book in advance and take pot luck that it suits us? What alternatives can you more experienced guys give us?
All information will be gratefully received and we look forward to meeting some of you on the road and raising a festive glass or three.................

The Tinca's
we are currently pitched at BONTERRA PARK, BENICASIM on the coast eastern spain first time we have ever
stayed at a camp site for a month, we usually move around but its really nice here, lots of people stay from September end right through till November end............so the point is what ever makes you feel comfortable will
in the end help you decide

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wanderer

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Not being a Benidorm type , this could be of interest to me, do you have a link, or web address?
Martin
Hi Martin
I haven,t got any details with me but the campsite at Cabo De Gata is in the ACSI book plus there are plenty of reviews if you Google Cabo De Gata camping .
 
Aug 18, 2011
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we are currently pitched at BONTERRA PARK, BENICASIM on the coast eastern spain first time we have ever
stayed at a camp site for a month, we usually move around but its really nice here, lots of people stay from September end right through till November end............so the point is what ever makes you feel comfortable will
in the end help you decide

Thinking of heading that way...whats the weather like at the moment? BUSBY.
 
Aug 18, 2011
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Not being a Benidorm type , this could be of interest to me, do you have a link, or web address?
Martin

Dont know what a Benidorm type is but we find there is something in that area (altir,albir, alfaz.calpe,benidorm,finnistrat) to suit anyone. We mainly enjoy sunshine, walking,cycling, eating and the odd vino. Excellent area for all off that and if the weather turns iffy we can jump on the tram to Alicante or Denia etc. Good job we are all different...Love Cabo De Gato too but not over winter...BUSBY:):)

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scotjimland

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We tried staying on one site for winter at Roquetas, but after three months I was climbing the walls.. it was like living in a housing estate .. In fact one row of Brit vans was nick-named Coronation Street.. they had street parties, played bingo, had quizzes in the bar and generally got pissed up every day.. .. sorry not for me.. so we split and headed to Morocco....

Also not a Benidorm type.. ie holiday resorts, just not interested.. winter or summer.. much prefer moving on every few days or so.. maybe staying a week if it's a particularly good site .. there is one on the beach near Almeria that we liked but the RV was too large to get down to.

Not for resort lovers.. it's on the beach.. no shops, restaurants or bars etc within walking distance.. just how we like it.

Camping
la Garrofa
Carretera Nacional 340A KM.435
04002 AlmerĆ­a, Spain
+34 950 23 57 70
http://www.lagarrofa.com/

Location on
Google Map

.

As said often,.. horses for courses.. no right , no wrong..
 
Last edited:

vwalan

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i know where that is jim .if heading east we always take the coast roads . cant do it coming west its all one way on that bit of coast road .does get full in winter sometimes .
nice place though .
mind we dont use campsites .
 
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Hi TINCAS. As you can see from the posts, it is hard to choose using other peoples taste.. The best bet is to get down there and look around !! Hug the coast and you will find lots of places where you can just park up and chill.. The limiting factor for us ( and lots of others ) is the need to empty your toilet and get water.. It is usually possible to utilise manholes linked to existing sewer systems.. You can pop into any campsite and empty and top-up for about Ā£3..Most people buy their drinking water by the gallon ( about 40p ) and just use local water for washing and showering etc.. There are so many beautiful places where overwintering is possible ( and there are campsites ) But, DO use the ACSI out of season discount book for this.. Order it NOW from "Vicarious books" It only costs about Ā£14 and will pay you that back on the first site !!!
Hope this helps.. Mitch...

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Apr 23, 2014
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There are so many beautiful places where overwintering is possible ( and there are campsites ) But, DO use the ACSI out of season discount book for this.. Order it NOW from "Vicarious books" It only costs about Ā£14 and will pay you that back on the first site !!!
Hope this helps.. Mitch...

We are going away in Nov for 5-6 months , Are you able to use the 2014 card in 2015 otherwise its prob not worth buying for us :unsure:

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vwalan

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come on now we have seen the benidorm type on the telly .
kiss me quick hats . british breakfasts . scooter to the esplanade . then bingo in the afternoon . ,possibly a night show from sticky vicky or something like it . ha ha . or a nice chinese meal at the chinese resaurant to the east of the beach .
not my ideal place . but have spent a few stops there . my brother has an apartment over looking the out door market.
altea or albir is more my place .
but have fun . lots do like it .
never know dave might be buying the old casino just outside to the west . ha ha .

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mikebeaches

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We tried staying on one site for winter at Roquetas, but after three months I was climbing the walls.. it was like living in a housing estate .. In fact one row of Brit vans was nick-named Coronation Street.. they had street parties, played bingo, had quizzes in the bar and generally got pissed up every day.. .. sorry not for me.. so we split and headed to Morocco....

Also not a Benidorm type.. ie holiday resorts, just not interested.. winter or summer.. much prefer moving on every few days or so.. maybe staying a week if it's a particularly good site .. there is one on the beach near Almeria that we liked but the RV was too large to get down to.

Not for resort lovers.. it's on the beach.. no shops, restaurants or bars etc within walking distance.. just how we like it.

Camping
la Garrofa
Carretera Nacional 340A KM.435
04002 AlmerĆ­a, Spain
+34 950 23 57 70
http://www.lagarrofa.com/

Location on
Google Map

.

As said often,.. horses for courses.. no right , no wrong..

We stayed at Camping la Garrofa in May this year. What a lovely spot - we were able to get a pitch directly on/adjacent to the beach - and all for ā‚¬16 (Ā£13 GBP) with hook-up using ACSI card - MAGIC !!

But, yes, it was fairly tight getting in, though thankfully not a problem for us at just 6m. Bus stop at the gate and about 3 miles into Almeria city centre, but felt a world away.

Mike
 

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