Aiguamolls camping (1 Viewer)

[Susan W]

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good campsite near Aiguamolls in mid-April? We're birders (not twitchers) as well as cyclists. We have a Citroën Jumper Pössl.

 

[autorouter]

Camping Laguna, on the south bank of the river La Muga right on the sea, is quiet with very good facilities. It's right next to the town Empuria Brava, so plenty of shops/cafes but totally separated by the river. There's a bridge for pedestrians/cyclists about halfway between the main road and the sea. A cyclable path through to the reserve starts by the bridge.

You'll see bee-eaters and black-winged stilts even on a casual stroll round the reserve (even better on bikes), but you'll need to be a bit more dedicated to see the purple heron, night heron and bittern. There's a section with at least a dozen stork's nests, mostly in use.

The beach is closed during the herring gull breeding season, otherwise you can walk along it. These herring gulls, with yellow legs, are now recognised as a separate species from the pink-legged herring gulls common in northern Europe, including the UK. But of course you knew that already...

We've also stayed on Camping Aquarius, by the sea to the south of the reserve. It has better facilities for kids (we had the grandson with us for a week) and is ACSI.

For just one night you are allowed to stay on the car park by the reserve visitor centre (El Cortalet). I think you pay them about 10 euros. No facilities except toilets and water, but we didn't need any for just one night.

The grandson lives in central London, so even the pitch-black night was a novel experience. We went investigating strange sounds with torches, and in a pond we found a frog croaking away, its throat puffing out in time with the croaks. A magical experience for a five-year-old city kid.

 

[Susan W]

Thank you very much for that! I'd found Camping Riu, but Camping Laguna sounds much more convenient; we're also cyclists. I'll just have to make sure it's open when we plan to go, mid-April. I couldn't find the dates on their website or on Facebook, but I've sent them a message. We're ACSI members, so I'll check out Camping Aquarius as well.

We've been to Aiguamolls several times but, as it's only an hour and a half from where we've lived for the past 18 years (we're from Canada originally), we've always gone just for the day - and we didn't have a camper then. I'd intended to ask about staying overnight in the parking area, but we have a few other things we'd like to do in the region and we'd like to make a bit of a holiday out of it this time.

We enjoy the storks clacking their beaks in mating season, but especially the Nightingales singing in the open, rather than hidden in the trees and shrubbery, as they are where we live (in the Minervois, between Narbonne and Carcassonne). When they're here and singing, they're everywhere, but we very rarely see them.
Re Herring Gulls, I read recently that their numbers are declining quite alarmingly. Seems hard to believe, as they've always been so numerous.

If we happen to be in the same place at the same time, we have a white Pössl, registered in the Hérault (#34) And two over-animated terriers, including a Jack Russell (see photo).

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply, with so much information.

Susan

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[parigby]

Looks like it is open from the 4th April.

 

[Susan W]

That's great - thank you very much!

 

[Susan W]

Thank you!

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