Are all Aires in Spain dirty & uninspiring

[MichaelT]

Currently in Spain working our way to Portugal and we are totally uninspired by the state and location of the Aires we have tried so far (and Spain in general).

We stayed in San Sebastian yesterday which was great but the aire was dire, did what it said on the tin for access to the town but that was it.

Moved on today and found one in lekeitio (Mrs t wanted to be near the sea) and it was awful, gippos taking up half of it and the car park it was in was full of rubbish and other crap, so we moved on and now on one at erekalde auzoa, its OK but no services and not much in the area we can find.

Before Mrs T makes us turn back to France are there better ones or have we been spoilt in France/Germany et al. I have looked at peoples travels and are aiming for something have stayed at so hoping there is better to come.

 

[Gina M]

In a word Yes!!

Gina

 

[Tigertom]

If I'd stopped at two Aires and they were disappointing I would assume they were all alike within that country..
Yep I'm kidding, Spain has lots of fantastic Aires, a view from one of them.

 

[jongood]

lots of nice ones as well. Pamplona one is nice and very convenient for the town. Avila underneath the walls, some great small ones in the hills above Malaga. Bilbao one of the best city views ever. Santilana, nice new aire. I think its a bigger challenge finding a campsite with a nice view and Portugal with a few exceptions is generally worse.

 

[Badknee]

Currently in Spain working our way to Portugal and we are totally uninspired by the state and location of the Aires we have tried so far (and Spain in general).

I suggest you head straight for Portugal.

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[MichaelT]

If I'd stopped at two Aires and they were disappointing I would assume they were all alike within that country..
Yep I'm kidding, Spain has lots of fantastic Aires, a view from one of them.View attachment 657854

Which is?

 

[Badknee]

You need to check out jumartoo posts, some of her and Martins stops are fabulous.

 

[Rapido925M]

I've been on a couple of moderately uninspiring ones but the vast majority have been fine.

eg: IKEA at Murcia City: huge area, stores nearby, transport into city, free:
Chinchilla de MonteAragon: huge purpose built area, bit of a climb up into the village, regular police patrols, free
Marea Area Narejos, Los Alcazares: clean fenced aire with tarmac "pitches", showers, laundry etc €11.90 (2018)
Camper Park El Rancho, Caboneras: fenced aire with earth surface, shower etc, views over countryside €8 (2018)
Cabercerno (a favourite with many Biscay crossers): large tarmac area surrounded by trees and grass, adjacent to zoo, free (CDP is a bit rank BUT it's FREE!)
etc etc.

Gordon

 

[jongood]

Currently in Spain working our way to Portugal and we are totally uninspired by the state and location of the Aires we have tried so far (and Spain in general).

We stayed in San Sebastian yesterday which was great but the aire was dire, did what it said on the tin for access to the town but that was it.

Moved on today and found one in lekeitio (Mrs t wanted to be near the sea) and it was awful, gippos taking up half of it and the car park it was in was full of rubbish and other crap, so we moved on and now on one at erekalde auzoa, its OK but no services and not much in the area we can find.

Before Mrs T makes us turn back to France are there better ones or have we been spoilt in France/Germany et al. I have looked at peoples travels and are aiming for something have stayed at so hoping there is better to come.

San Sebastian isnt really a good example, the nearest campsite is a long way out of town up a road you would need to be nuts to cycle on and has lots of low trees and no views. give me the aire every time.

 

[Bolti]

If you think the aires are dirty and uninspiring wait until you visit a camp site!

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[jumar]

Currently in Spain working our way to Portugal and we are totally uninspired by the state and location of the Aires we have tried so far (and Spain in general).

We stayed in San Sebastian yesterday which was great but the aire was dire, did what it said on the tin for access to the town but that was it.

Moved on today and found one in lekeitio (Mrs t wanted to be near the sea) and it was awful, gippos taking up half of it and the car park it was in was full of rubbish and other crap, so we moved on and now on one at erekalde auzoa, its OK but no services and not much in the area we can find.

Before Mrs T makes us turn back to France are there better ones or have we been spoilt in France/Germany et al. I have looked at peoples travels and are aiming for something have stayed at so hoping there is better to come.

Turn around Whittington....Spain is not for you...it's our adopted country...we like it, we support it as it has supported us..just entering our 9th week of our northern tour.. don't think you would like to know where we have been, equally we wouldn't want you to enjoy the real beauty of our country..
So tell me are you comparing your findings with the Aires in the UK...,,,,,

 

[Gaston aires]

You’ve been unlucky so far. I found them from nice to very nice. Same in Portugal.
Phil

 

[kimndon]

Arnedillo and so many in central Spain. We just love Spain away from the touristy areas.

 

[simsy56]

We have stayed extensively on Spanish 'aires', some are basic, some are superb, but, I wouldn't call any of them 'dire'. Seems you have gone wrong somewhere.

Craig

 

[Roby2008]

Currently in Spain working our way to Portugal and we are totally uninspired by the state and location of the Aires we have tried so far (and Spain in general).

We stayed in San Sebastian yesterday which was great but the aire was dire, did what it said on the tin for access to the town but that was it.

Moved on today and found one in lekeitio (Mrs t wanted to be near the sea) and it was awful, gippos taking up half of it and the car park it was in was full of rubbish and other crap, so we moved on and now on one at erekalde auzoa, its OK but no services and not much in the area we can find.

Before Mrs T makes us turn back to France are there better ones or have we been spoilt in France/Germany et al. I have looked at peoples travels and are aiming for something have stayed at so hoping there is better to come.

Spain is one of our favourites too, but the Aires and Campsites are literally to be found at either end of the wtf spectrum.

We use the Stellplatz app ( download from Playstore) as part of our stopover arsenal, many of the sites have photos uploaded which can help with a decision, also Google maps is surprisingly effective when checking places out.

The stellplatz in Pamplona is indeed excellent, have used it a few times.
Zaragoza has a great stellplatz/camping if you go that far over.
If you go via Andorra for the booze and cigs then they have a few places across the country, and finally we like Roses on the Med coast, they have a new stellplatz, busy but very clean and 2 mins from the seafront.

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[jumartoo]

If you think these are dirty and uninspiring there's no point you being in Spain

All on our present trip in Galicia.

Most of them free and with services.

Tonight's parkup is maybe a bit uninspiring on photos so I haven't included it, but we're here to ride our bikes tomorrow. It's clean, full services, including leccy! And it's totally free.

 

[busby]

In a word Yes!!

Gina

Fully agree..BUSBY.

 

[Stonemags76]

Which app are you using to find the Aires? Search for Sites, or Camper Contact both have photos & revues to check before you go.

 

[knockersmith]

Aires in Portugal are mostly good well run and clean with the odd exception keep heading south .you won't be disappointed.

 

[MichaelT]

Which app are you using to find the Aires? Search for Sites, or Camper Contact both have photos & revues to check before you go.

We use SFS mostly and they got reasonably good reviews.

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[amarch]

We did a short tour of North Spain this June taking in the North Coast and along the Pyrenees. The sites were nothing special, possibly made worse by the heat wave. A lot of them wouldn't open their swim pools until the end of June even though it was 38C during the day. The flies really did it for me. They were swarming over everything and really annoying. Aborted after only a few days and fled into France into the Haut Pyrenees. Campsites so much nicer with open swimming pools and no flies!!!!

 

[MichaelT]

We did a short tour of North Spain this June taking in the North Coast and along the Pyrenees. The sites were nothing special, possibly made worse by the heat wave. A lot of them wouldn't open their swim pools until the end of June even though it was 38C during the day. The flies really did it for me. They were swarming over everything and really annoying. Aborted after only a few days and fled into France into the Haut Pyrenees. Campsites so much nicer with open swimming pools and no flies!!!!

Flies were mentioned yesterday

 

[MichaelT]

If you think these are dirty and uninspiring there's no point you being in Spain

View attachment 657877View attachment 657878View attachment 657879View attachment 657880View attachment 657881View attachment 657882
All on our present trip in Galicia.

Most of them free and with services.

Tonight's parkup is maybe a bit uninspiring on photos so I haven't included it, but we're here to ride our bikes tomorrow. It's clean, full services, including leccy! And it's totally free.

Maybe where we are now is not nice, we are working over towards galicia then south so will persevere.

On the plus side think we may have found a vet to give Reggie a passport

 

[jumar]

Maybe where we are now is not nice, we are working over towards galicia then south so will persevere.

On the plus side think we may have found a vet to give Reggie a passport

Might be worth keeping a watchful eye on the weather.....frontal systems are encroaching which will effect most of the North and West coast...
We left a more Northwesterly position yesterday and have put a plan into effect to avoid the worst of the rain... Autumnal conditions will prevail...The holiday season finished last weekend, you might see many signs of closing down....Galicia is totally different to the southern and eastern Costas....it has a more limited season..

 

[Bubba]

Turn around Whittington....Spain is not for you...it's our adopted country...we like it, we support it as it has supported us..just entering our 9th week of our northern tour.. don't think you would like to know where we have been, equally we wouldn't want you to enjoy the real beauty of our country..
So tell me are you comparing your findings with the Aires in the UK...,,,,,

As says, comparing to France. Spain has let itself go over the last couple of years.

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[L' Hobo]

Currently in Spain working our way to Portugal and we are totally uninspired by the state and location of the Aires we have tried so far (and Spain in general).

We stayed in San Sebastian yesterday which was great but the aire was dire, did what it said on the tin for access to the town but that was it.

Moved on today and found one in lekeitio (Mrs t wanted to be near the sea) and it was awful, gippos taking up half of it and the car park it was in was full of rubbish and other crap, so we moved on and now on one at erekalde auzoa, its OK but no services and not much in the area we can find.

Before Mrs T makes us turn back to France are there better ones or have we been spoilt in France/Germany et al. I have looked at peoples travels and are aiming for something have stayed at so hoping there is better to come.

When one pays nothing, one should expect nothing but saying that, there are some good ones in that area (or was a few years ago), perhaps, not so near the main cities/resorts and there is a reasonably priced campsite at Zarauz? just west of S/S.
(yer gets what yer pays for!)

 

[rosalan]

Free Aires in Spain tend to be basic, however there are cheap ‘aires’ at around 10 to 15 euros that provide all facilities and are clean.We have just left Andalusia having stayed in La Linea port, Rincon, Torox, Almerimar harbour, Roquetas de Mar amongst several other clean sites.
I Foz in Galicia is still open, that was clean when we last visited.
Both north and south of Cadiz there are several Aires which are mostly basic and Tarifa is ok but hot and dusty.
As for free Aires like France, I do not think Spain generally has the same incentives to supply them, although Caceres aire is free, Palencia is free (and clean) as are several in central Spain. Tha north and south coast are more commercially orientated.

 

[jumartoo]

rosalan We're on a free area de autocaravanas, still just in Galicia right now. It's inland from Foz (Foz is open but it was totally full when we were there because of many days of Fiesta!) We stayed across the water at Barreiros. You can see the motorhomes at Foz There's a new, private area just along the coast from here. The first photo I posted earlier. Excellent place.

Anyway, our present spot is at Castro de Rei. It's a fenced area next to a small forest. It has cut grass or herringbone concrete pitches. A huge grey water emptying platform and a black dump. Picnic benches, a barbecue (with stacked wood), a water tap with a frog handle, and free electricity. There are five of us here and it was sooo quiet overnight.

Yesterday I foraged some blackberries and I've just been watching a Robin and a Jay from my bed! Today we're riding our mountain bikes. For us it's perfect, but I acknowledge it wouldn't suit everyone.

 

[MichaelT]

We are not looking for free or something for nothing (though that's a bonus) so don't mind paying. We maybe just think this area is not for us so will be moving later, hoping to get on the elephant aire but got vets at 12 so maybe a bit late but will see.

 

[L' Hobo]

When one pays nothing, one should expect nothing but saying that, there are some good ones in that area (or was a few years ago), perhaps, not so near the main cities/resorts and there is a reasonably priced campsite at Zarauz? just west of S/S.
(yer gets what yer pays for!)

that should have been ZARAUTZ of course! ACSI site.

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