It's still Spain in June (1 Viewer)

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peter anthony

Deleted User
Hello again,
Lots of you seem to know Spain very well, June does not appear on the radar very often but it is the month for us. Are we likely to encounter overcrowding in campsites at Malaga, Seville, Lisbon, Porto etc.? Also routes from Lourdes back to Madrid, any problems?
Thanks for any advice
Peter
 

johnsandywhite

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Jul 29, 2007
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:Cool: We usually travel through and out of Spain in June heading towards the UK. No real problems except at the weekends when they all head out to the coast to party. July and August are a DIFFERENT matter altogether. PACKED SOLID. :winky:
 

hogan

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The above post is spot on,June is ok but try to stay put during the weekend.July/August dont even think about it we dont use our van during these months its manic.

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peter anthony

Deleted User
spain

:Cool: We usually travel through and out of Spain in June heading towards the UK. No real problems except at the weekends when they all head out to the coast to party. July and August are a DIFFERENT matter altogether. PACKED SOLID. :winky:

Thanks for the info, we will be back with more queries
 

nippy57

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Spain in August

Hi Hogan, We are travelling down to Valencia on the 24th of August. Any advice on where to cross on the ferry and any imfo that will be usefull would be a great help. We will be travelling by motorhome. Thanks Dave.
 
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I thought I was in a time warp!

I read the thread as:

It's Still June in Spain :ROFLMAO:

Chris

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Jul 29, 2007
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Hi Camping Lisbon will be the same, packed out in July-August ok the rest of the time. I know a nice wildcamping spot there if your interested.

Olley
 

hogan

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Hi Hogan, We are travelling down to Valencia on the 24th of August. Any advice on where to cross on the ferry and any imfo that will be usefull would be a great help. We will be travelling by motorhome. Thanks Dave.

Hi We always use the tunnel then down over Millau bridge route.You may have probs getting on a site in August but sept will be ok.If you are into wild camping have a look at.
Link Removed its all in Spanish but cut and paste into bablefish.
Be very careful if you stop at motorway services between Barcelona and Valencia,and dont even think about spending the night on one.
I f you are asked to stop by a unmarked police car pretend to take a pic of it then pretend to make a mobile call it will prob drive away.If not pull into a safe crowded place.
 
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peter anthony

Deleted User
Hi Camping Lisbon will be the same, packed out in July-August ok the rest of the time. I know a nice wildcamping spot there if your interested.

Olley

Hi Olley,
I would be interested in your campsite details in/near Lisbon for mid-June also interested in your comments re crowding, something we are certainly unaccustomed to'
Cheers Peter

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Jul 29, 2007
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Hi Peter we stayed at Camping Lisbon (.:: Lisboa Camping ::.) which is the only campsite close to Lisbon, Its a huge site (36 Hectares) set under pine trees in the Parque Florestal de Monsanto. I believe it has around 200 concrete hardstandings all of which are fully serviced, 16amp, water, grey&black waste, patio table and rubbish bin. Excellent toilet blocks and showers.

The hardstandings are separated from each other by about 20-30' so don't get crowded, just full, you will need to book in season to get one. The tenters and their are lots, just pitch anywhere (not around the hardstandings)

Because of the large size of the access roads I reckon I could get on 90% of the pitches, a 40' might only be able to fit on 50%. Satellite is very problematic because of the extensive tree cover, they are all mature high trees so low branches are not a problem. Internet is available at the cafe, or reception out of season. Excellent english spoken at reception.

Buses to the Vasco de Gama centre go from right outside, Buses into the centre of Lisbon from another stop 400yds up the road, buses are clean, cheap, frequent and crowded ::bigsmile: their is only one fare for any distance €1.50? or thereabouts. Its de rigor to give your seat up for the elderly, disabled or pregnant, you will even see teenagers do this.

You can buy 7 day tickets from the metro stations which give unlimited travel on the metro, buses and trams for about €15. Taxis charge about €5-€7 to and from Lisbon.

If you intend to wild it at all I can recommend "Motorhome Trails Portugal" Link Removed it lists about 70 odd sites that the writer has stayed in personally with descriptions of the site and local area. Be careful with his GPS, some of them are way out, his written directions though are spot on. I have done a tomtom POI off his sites with updated GPS which you can have if you buy the book.

We wilded it for a week next to the monument to Henry the navigator at Belem, right on the river front along with about 15 others mostly French, this was in late September, nice spot easy to find as the monument is about 100' high and clearly visible from the road. Restaurants directly behind with large free bins in the road, water on the opposite side of the monument, I presume the euro-vans dump in the river or down a drain. Buses/trams into Lisbon and free wi-fi at McDonald's about 1200yds away.

I think I am rambling on here ::bigsmile: We loved Portugal and Lisbon, very friendly people, many of them speak good English, and we have a friendly history with them since wellingtons time. The only thing you may not like are beggars, you will get them on the streets, buses, trams, metro and if you sit outside a restaurant eating they will come up to you, very rarely we found anything more than a firm "no" was sufficient to send them on their way.

I have posted some pictures here: Link Removed

Anything more you want me to bore you with please ask.

Olley
 
Last edited:
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peter anthony

Deleted User
Hi Peter we stayed at Camping Lisbon (.:: Lisboa Camping ::.) which is the only campsite close to Lisbon, Its a huge site (36 Hectares) set under pine trees in the Parque Florestal de Monsanto. I believe it has around 200 concrete hardstandings all of which are fully serviced, 16amp, water, grey&black waste, patio table and rubbish bin. Excellent toilet blocks and showers.

The hardstandings are separated from each other by about 20-30' so don't get crowded, just full, you will need to book in season to get one. The tenters and their are lots, just pitch anywhere (not around the hardstandings)

Because of the large size of the access roads I reckon I could get on 90% of the pitches, a 40' might only be able to fit on 50%. Satellite is very problematic because of the extensive tree cover, they are all mature high trees so low branches are not a problem. Internet is available at the cafe, or reception out of season. Excellent english spoken at reception.

Buses to the Vasco de Gama centre go from right outside, Buses into the centre of Lisbon from another stop 400yds up the road, buses are clean, cheap, frequent and crowded ::bigsmile: their is only one fare for any distance €1.50? or thereabouts. Its de rigor to give your seat up for the elderly, disabled or pregnant, you will even see teenagers do this.

You can buy 7 day tickets from the metro stations which give unlimited travel on the metro, buses and trams for about €15. Taxis charge about €5-€7 to and from Lisbon.

If you intend to wild it at all I can recommend "Motorhome Trails Portugal" Link Removed it lists about 70 odd sites that the writer has stayed in personally with descriptions of the site and local area. Be careful with his GPS, some of them are way out, his written directions though are spot on. I have done a tomtom POI off his sites with updated GPS which you can have if you buy the book.

We wilded it for a week next to the monument to Henry the navigator at Belem, right on the river front along with about 15 others mostly French, this was in late September, nice spot easy to find as the monument is about 100' high and clearly visible from the road. Restaurants directly behind with large free bins in the road, water on the opposite side of the monument, I presume the euro-vans dump in the river or down a drain. Buses/trams into Lisbon and free wi-fi at McDonald's about 1200yds away.

I think I am rambling on here ::bigsmile: We loved Portugal and Lisbon, very friendly people, many of them speak good English, and we have a friendly history with them since wellingtons time. The only thing you may not like are beggars, you will get them on the streets, buses, trams, metro and if you sit outside a restaurant eating they will come up to you, very rarely we found anything more than a firm "no" was sufficient to send them on their way.

I have posted some pictures here: Link Removed

Anything more you want me to bore you with please ask.

Olley
Hey Olley,
Good of you to take an interest in us. I have checked out Camping Lisbon and it looks perfect for us, do you think it would be necessary to book (mid June). We could get day tours etc. from there no doubt and sounds like good bus and rail also so probably park up the m/h for a week do you think? A bit of luck for me to find a Portugal enthusiast like yourself,if you have time a few suggestions re our as yet unplanned route would be greatly appreciated. We pick up our hire m/h in Gijon after train from Madrid and then south to Lisbon, Malaga. We could allow approx. 3wks. for that leg. How would you do it? I had a look also at Motorhomes Trails Portugal and will get a copy when we get over there, bookstores, servicestations? Thanks again in advance.
Peter
 

ruffingitsmoothly

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Jan 2, 2008
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Hi Peter

We set off on 1st August 2006 and travelled South from Calais with no real agenda we just drove and after about 4 or 5 hours of steady driving on old roads (ie not Toll roads) we would start to look for a campsite I must say that the Caravan Club Site guide was very handy, however we also just looked for the sites advertised along the road and did not have a problem getting on any even with a 27' RV!

We then crossed into Spain and headed down the East coast and managed to find a couple of sites to accomodate us for just the one night most were very helpful although one was very busy they allowed us to stay on a part of a roadway as we could not fit under their canopies and low trees.

Our only real goal was to visit friends in Javea and there we found Camping Javea very pleasant and helpful and stayed there about a week again we were right around at the back of the site as they too had reed canopies everywhere for shade.

We then started to make our way back and headed up across Spain to Zaragossa and crossed in to France stopping a couple of times on the way, It was around Biarritz we encountered our only problem in finding a site we also saw that we were not alone as we looked for a site as there were also many other motorhomes searching so we carried on Northwards and did wild camp for one night in a huge parking area.

We then had no problem in finding sites up towards Bordeaux staying at Mimizan-Plage and then Aracahon then we stayed at avery nice municiple site in Bellac and another small site at La Trimouille then up to another municiple site at Orleans a pretty walk along the Loire into the city. Next we spent a night at a site in Perrone then finally back to Calais for the following evenings ferry back to England.

I must say that the weather in France during August was not really good and it did seem to rain at least once a day we also encountered thunder and lightning showers, in fact in my pigeon French with a fellow camper in Aracahon he said that September was usually better!

So there you have it there are sites available during August but you may have to seek them out!

Have a good time

Reagards Pat

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peter anthony

Deleted User
Hi Peter

We set off on 1st August 2006 and travelled South from Calais with no real agenda we just drove and after about 4 or 5 hours of steady driving on old roads (ie not Toll roads) we would start to look for a campsite I must say that the Caravan Club Site guide was very handy, however we also just looked for the sites advertised along the road and did not have a problem getting on any even with a 27' RV!

We then crossed into Spain and headed down the East coast and managed to find a couple of sites to accomodate us for just the one night most were very helpful although one was very busy they allowed us to stay on a part of a roadway as we could not fit under their canopies and low trees.

Our only real goal was to visit friends in Javea and there we found Camping Javea very pleasant and helpful and stayed there about a week again we were right around at the back of the site as they too had reed canopies everywhere for shade.

We then started to make our way back and headed up across Spain to Zaragossa and crossed in to France stopping a couple of times on the way, It was around Biarritz we encountered our only problem in finding a site we also saw that we were not alone as we looked for a site as there were also many other motorhomes searching so we carried on Northwards and did wild camp for one night in a huge parking area.

We then had no problem in finding sites up towards Bordeaux staying at Mimizan-Plage and then Aracahon then we stayed at avery nice municiple site in Bellac and another small site at La Trimouille then up to another municiple site at Orleans a pretty walk along the Loire into the city. Next we spent a night at a site in Perrone then finally back to Calais for the following evenings ferry back to England.

I must say that the weather in France during August was not really good and it did seem to rain at least once a day we also encountered thunder and lightning showers, in fact in my pigeon French with a fellow camper in Aracahon he said that September was usually better!

So there you have it there are sites available during August but you may have to seek them out!

Have a good time

Reagards Pat
Hi Pat,
Thanks for the info, we are actually going down thru Portugal then back up from Granada (roughly), Cordoba, Salamanca to Zaragoza and cross into France as you did. We haven't done as much research as we should as yet,(we both still work flat out) but we would like to spend some time at least near the Pyrenees and learn something of the lifestyle and culture both sides of the border. I will keep handy your details of campsites for France as we head also for Bordeaux. Sounds like the weather was'nt that good to you, we found it great in June last year. We are in Early winter here, not bad tho 6-9c overnight up to 17-22c afternoon. leaving next week, thanks for your help.
Regards Peter
 

dethleff

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Be careful with his GPS, some of them are way out, his written directions though are spot on. I have done a tomtom POI off his sites with updated GPS which you can have if you buy the book.

Hi Olley
Any chance of sharing these POI.
Stan
 
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Hi Peter sorry for the delay in replying, I have only just seen your post, from what an English fulltimer told me on the camping Lisbon site, its only July, August and September when its really crowded, outside of those times you should be OK.

Motorhome trails is unlikely to be available from book sellers, as far as I know you can only get it from Vicarious Books Motorhome, Caravan & Camping Book Specialist, aires guides and campsite guides from Europe ACSI, France Passion, All The Aires, Camperstop Europe, Go Motorhoming. and Link Removed The author is I believe a one man band so its not widely published.

Hi Stan for this reason I am reluctant to give out the POI's unless you have bought the book, it (to me) feels as if I am doing the dirty on him, plus the book is full of info about the areas he has recommended for wilding, and at £5 plus £1.60 delivery, is hardly expensive.

As for your route I would head across to Coruna and then follow the coast road down via Porto to Lisbon not forgetting Santiago de Compostela SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA by All About Spain

We haven't been above Lisbon yet but its on our list of "to see places"

Olley

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Jim

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That Portugal book can be boughtLink Removed

I bought my copy direct from the guy a little while ago, and whilst the information within is OK, the whole layout and quality is very naff, my copy had been cut wrongly and was all lop sided, I would have sent it back, but it only cost a fiver so I couldn't be bothered. :Smile:
 
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Hi jim I was going to ask if you could get it, one step ahead as usual.::bigsmile:

My copy was fine and I think your being a bit unfair, he's not a mainstream writer, just a guy traveling around doing write ups, and at £4.00 :whatthe: stop bl**dy moaning.

Olley
 
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Galway

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Hi Peter we stayed at Camping Lisbon (.:: Lisboa Camping ::.) which is the only campsite close to Lisbon, Its a huge site (36 Hectares) set under pine trees in the Parque Florestal de Monsanto. I believe it has around 200 concrete hardstandings all of which are fully serviced, 16amp, water, grey&black waste, patio table and rubbish bin. Excellent toilet blocks and showers.

The hardstandings are separated from each other by about 20-30' so don't get crowded, just full, you will need to book in season to get one. The tenters and their are lots, just pitch anywhere (not around the hardstandings)

Because of the large size of the access roads I reckon I could get on 90% of the pitches, a 40' might only be able to fit on 50%. Satellite is very problematic because of the extensive tree cover, they are all mature high trees so low branches are not a problem. Internet is available at the cafe, or reception out of season. Excellent english spoken at reception.

Buses to the Vasco de Gama centre go from right outside, Buses into the centre of Lisbon from another stop 400yds up the road, buses are clean, cheap, frequent and crowded ::bigsmile: their is only one fare for any distance €1.50? or thereabouts. Its de rigor to give your seat up for the elderly, disabled or pregnant, you will even see teenagers do this.

You can buy 7 day tickets from the metro stations which give unlimited travel on the metro, buses and trams for about €15. Taxis charge about €5-€7 to and from Lisbon.

If you intend to wild it at all I can recommend "Motorhome Trails Portugal" Link Removed it lists about 70 odd sites that the writer has stayed in personally with descriptions of the site and local area. Be careful with his GPS, some of them are way out, his written directions though are spot on. I have done a tomtom POI off his sites with updated GPS which you can have if you buy the book.

We wilded it for a week next to the monument to Henry the navigator at Belem, right on the river front along with about 15 others mostly French, this was in late September, nice spot easy to find as the monument is about 100' high and clearly visible from the road. Restaurants directly behind with large free bins in the road, water on the opposite side of the monument, I presume the euro-vans dump in the river or down a drain. Buses/trams into Lisbon and free wi-fi at McDonald's about 1200yds away.

I think I am rambling on here ::bigsmile: We loved Portugal and Lisbon, very friendly people, many of them speak good English, and we have a friendly history with them since wellingtons time. The only thing you may not like are beggars, you will get them on the streets, buses, trams, metro and if you sit outside a restaurant eating they will come up to you, very rarely we found anything more than a firm "no" was sufficient to send them on their way.

I have posted some pictures here: Link Removed

Anything more you want me to bore you with please ask.

Olley

Great post Olley.

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