Heading to West and Central Portugal (1 Viewer)

Jul 5, 2013
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We are in El Rocio in Spain and are now heading into Portugal and want to start heading North up through Portugal and across the North coast of Spain. We have done the Algarve before so we want to see some new sites

We would like to go up the west coast, but would also like to see some of central Portugal to. Any tips on must see places as well as good places to stop - campsites, Aires, and wild camping - would be appreciated.

We have never visited Lisbon - what places would you recommend us to stay if we decided to go there?

Aldo tips for places on the North Coast of Spain welcome please.
 

Sundowners

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Oct 30, 2007
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Try the aire at Barril de Alva, it's between Oliveira do Hospital and Arganil. There is a quiet road between the aire and the river. It's free but you can buy electric for 1€ per day. It is right next to a restaurant where you can buy off the menu or have their Prata de Dia for €7. Really good food. The surrounding area is really beautiful. A nice place to while away time. Monseraz is also a lovely aire, depends where you plan to go over the border.
 
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peterc10
Jul 5, 2013
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Try the aire at Barril de Alva, it's between Oliveira do Hospital and Arganil. There is a quiet road between the aire and the river. It's free but you can buy electric for 1€ per day. It is right next to a restaurant where you can buy off the menu or have their Prata de Dia for €7. Really good food. The surrounding area is really beautiful. A nice place to while away time. Monseraz is also a lovely aire, depends where you plan to go over the border.
Thanks. Should have said that last time we did Monseraz as well as Elvas and Marvao.

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irnbru

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If you are going near it,We done some wilding at Estrela, no facilities but the scenery was wonderful. Nice and peaceful. Public toilet in the village.
 
May 8, 2016
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Lisbon, Cascais, Sintra and the National Palace at Mafra are really worth the visits

Obidos castle, close to the coast, Arelho do Foz (beach, plenty of sites to park, great restaurants), short trip to Sao Martinho (beautiful lagoon plenty of sites). Nazare (adjacent Citio is a good spot), Batalha for a bit of gothic culture, Tomar for culture and beauty

That lot should keep you busy for a few days

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Cooldude

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Feb 23, 2017
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We travelled through Portugal and Spain last year. We visited the west coast of the Algarve on the northern edge staying at Parque de Campismo Sao Miguel in the Parque Natural de Sudoeste Alentejano. The coast is very pretty and we cycled a lot from the site to the coast. (see my avatar, photo of the beach). Much quieter than the resorts on the south coast of the Algarve.

We also visited Lisbon staying at the Parque Orbitur Costa de Caparica. The site is adjacent to the road and is very busy. It's ok, but probably the most convenient site for visiting Lisbon. You will also need a long cable for the EHU (we used a short and long one together) and will probably have to trail it across a few pitches! It's only a short walk to the beach which is very picturesque. There is a good walk or bike ride along the boardwalk and plenty of cafe bars to sit at and watch the surfers. There is a small supermarket near the site.

Porto is worth a visit. We stayed on the coast, at Parque de Campismo de Vila Cha which is north of Porto. Again the site gets very busy because it is so convenient for Porto and they pitch caravans and motorhomes very close. However the lady in reception was extremely helpful, highlighting all places of interest to visit in Porto. The train station is a short taxi ride from the site. Again, the coastal area north of the site is lovely with board walks which cross a nature area. We cycled from the site to Vila do Conde, also a pretty area. The one thing to mention is that when you turn off the main road in the direction of the site, the roads are all cobbled, a bit disconcerting to start with, but it seems to be a feature of the local area! Rattle, rattle, rattle!!

Finally there are 2 sites on the north coast of Spain which we would recommend. Camping Ribedesella which is just outside the town of Ribedesella and Caravaning Oyambre which is close to the towns of Comillas and San Vincent de la Barquera. The site is about 40 miles west of Santander. Caravanning Oyambre has a small restaurant which does a good set menu. The beach is a 15 minute walk from the back of the site.

Hope you find this helpful. Enjoy your trip!
 
May 8, 2016
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To be honest, I can't give many details of aires/camping stops as we haven't used a huge number of them in Portugal, mostly pulling up in random spots here and there for the occasional overnight stop. We've never once been moved on or had anything but the occasional friendly wave or a friendly enquiry as to whether we are ok by a passing gendarme.

In mid Portugal our favourite spots are near Sesimbra (20 minutes south of Lisbon), plenty of free camping, outstanding location - https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place...1d905e068b!8m2!3d38.444217!4d-9.1014903?hl=en
Also Lagoa de Albufeira (15 minutes south of Lisbon) with great restaurants, fantastic beach - https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place...1cabd8bc4!8m2!3d38.5146022!4d-9.1691413?hl=en
Also; Mira (small fishing town, beaches, forest, restaurants, etc - Obitur site)) https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place...19b710db7!8m2!3d40.4396872!4d-8.7894287?hl=en
And; Castelo do Bode (barragems, good site, spectacular views over the dam, forest, near to Tomar and Fatima): https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/39°32'28.3"N+8°19'07.0"W/@39.541188,-8.3207977,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d39.541188!4d-8.318609?hl=en

Near to the northern borders, Belmonte is a nice small town, sleepy, with castle, a good free aire and a decent adjacent restaurant: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place...c61b35814!8m2!3d40.3596259!4d-7.3484802?hl=en

Not done much motorhoming in the Algarve, although we did live at Loule for 6 months and are very familiar with that area up to Alvor, the latter I can recommend for being a little less saturated with tourists. Really it's just a long day out from our place, and we have nicer countryside and far fewer tourists, golfers etc and everything we want within 10 minutes drive at most from our home. Tavira is on the list in a few weeks time

Always happy to help via PM if needed

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Last edited:
May 6, 2017
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Depending on which way you enter Spain, Vila Nova de Cerveira is a lovely town with an aire or Braganca has a lovely terrraced aire just below the castle. Thereare so many places you might stop, but I would agree that Tomar is one not to miss. You can park in the town square, although I have seen vans right up at the wonderful castle.
 
Aug 30, 2012
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We are now slowly working our way down from the north coast of Spain Santander
Planning on just hugging the coast and doing as little traveling as possible for next 2 months
Currently here


IMG_1420.PNG
 

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