Destination Spain hopefully (1 Viewer)

[Hunting High n Low]

Hi all, another newbie here. :thumb:
What a great site!
Got a Merc 307D and 8 of us (6 adults 2 kids) are hoping to spend the summer in spain. july/aug
Hubby is currently wondering if we can get there on veggie oil
The camp sites are looking rather expensive for 8 people.
I cant figure out the best route as trying to go for the flattest route possible from calais to avoid the higher altitudes (health issues)
Having said that ive booked the ferry!! (amendable of course)
Ive been looking at the airies but im guessing these are only ok to stop for the night.
Any advise much appreciated, looking for cheaper campsites in spain we are quite flexible on where we are going and still in the planning stagesoh:

Lets just hope we get there LOL

 

[Taran_Las]

:welcome:

 

[Hunting High n Low]

:thanks2:

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[Minxy]

Hi HHnL ... welcome to the fun house! :thumb:

Sorry, no knowledge of Spain but I'm sure lots of other people will be able to advise you.

Just out of interest, you're not an 'Ah-ha' fan are you????

 

[Snowbird]

No worries with your van running on vegie oil as long as you can carry enough of it. Regarding Spain in July/August its better to stay in France. You will find municipal campsites cheaper than Spanish sites and the weather is just as good if not better. Spain is too hot in July/August. There is no such thing as a cheap campsite in Spain in July/August.

 

[Gunner29]

July/ August

Hello & welcome

Spain. Its going to be;
a. very hot
b. very crowded with Spanish and children (they are very LOUD) the holiday period
c. very expensive esp for 8 people
I suggest France The Dordogne is fab

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[Hunting High n Low]

Thanks for the advise and yes Minx avid a-ha fan. Been to quite a few concerts in Europe.
I guess we knew spain was gonna be busy, we went by car last year in August. I really love Roses so was hoping to find somewhere in that area for a week or two.
Ive been looking at Orange grove camp site near Benidorm but would ideally like to tour down the coast of spain.
May have to consider France, well any recommendations would be appreciated, we are very flexible and we just got ourselves a little generator so perhaps we spend a few days in the supermarket carpark much cheaper.
I am looking for advise on routes to spain, toll charges and How High are the mountains???
Struggling to get any info off google maps/earth about maximum altitudes
Cheers

 

[Snowbird]

Roses is nice but busy at the time you want to go. Orange Grove is in the middle of nowhere, its neither in Albir or Benidorm and with kids with you I would not advise going there as you would need to catch the bus regardless of which beach you choose. The coast from Perpignan down through into Spain is good but be prepared to pay anywhere in France or Spain in July/August. As already said the Dordogne is as good as anywhere at that time of year and should not break the bank if municipal sites are used.

 

[stcyr]

Hi. To get to Spain you don't need to go over the mountains - take either the Atlantic route or the Mediterranean route depending on which part of Spain you're visiting. :thumb:

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[hilldweller]

6 adults and 2 children ?

Are you all driving down in it ?

That's one hell of a weight and can you safely seat 8 ?

 

[Hunting High n Low]

Yes we are a big family and plan to all pile in, have had to install seatbelts.
I figure we wont be breaking any speed limits

Have you got more of a specific route to avoid the mountains as ive found numerous ways to go but cannot get enough info on the altitudes along the routes:thumb:

 

[Reallyretired]

I don't think it matters which way you go as none are really mountainous as long as you go round the Pyrenees either side and not over them, but if you want to be sure, go down the west coast side of France, which is all pretty flat and go round the west side of the Pyrenees. This will get you the wrong side of spain for the Costas of course, but you can always cut across from around Biarritz to go past the mountains on the Eastern side into Spain.

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[Reallyretired]

With 8 in the van you may well be overweight, 8 'average' people weigh 600kg, never mind all the stuff they take with them.

 

[Reallyretired]

On another aspect you mentioned, most aires in France let you stay more than one night, some stay for weeks though this is not really in the spirit of the aires. Some have restrictions on maximum stay (see an aires book) and those near the coast in July/August will be packed.
There are not many aires in Spain though.
With 8 of you, sites can be expensive as most charge for 'extra' people, usually meaning more than 2, aires of course are by the van so all the people won't add to the charge. In July/August I would prefer France to Spain anyway as it gets very hot.

 

[Hunting High n Low]

Is there a weight restriction i dont know about?
I got a couple of skinnys n 2 small children.

I was looking at the routes going down through bordeux to zaragoza then possibly taragona or benidorm. It looks like some mountains through the middle of spain though

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[vwalan]

you could do cantarbria and asturia .much nicer than med spain and far better than just staying in france . not too hot either . lovely coves and fishing villages . i,m there now .lovely .
good surfing places as well.
plus there is a durasic are near colunga . was at playa meron yesterday where dinasour foot prints are in the rocks . get a cepsa mapamx map off amazon for spain and portugal .shows lots of little places not on many maps .

 

[Gunner29]

Route

Look at Calais- Rouan-Chartres- Bordeoux- St Jean de Luz -Pampola -Zaragoza-Valencia
If you have an Aires book you can find some good Aires with free electric and water.
One word off advice (but don't put you off) There are lots of Eastern Europeans out there looking for an easy buck If something doesn't look right move on quickly and DON'T Stop for bogus police Plenty of advice on here
Good luck

 

[Hunting High n Low]

Thanks I will have a look up, Ive got 2 grown up children im taking so i am looking for the bars as well as the beaches. A mix of things would be nice.
As I said I found Roses in Spain lovely last August. Its just a question of where we can park the van.

Is there a weight restriction??

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[Hunting High n Low]

Look at Calais- Rouan-Chartres- Bordeoux- St Jean de Luz -Pampola -Zaragoza-Valencia
If you have an Aires book you can find some good Aires with free electric and water.
One word off advice (but don't put you off) There are lots of Eastern Europeans out there looking for an easy buck If something doesn't look right move on quickly and DON'T Stop for bogus police Plenty of advice on here
Good luck

AArrgh bogus police??? how do I spot them? What airies book would you recommend?

 

[Reallyretired]

Is there a weight restriction i dont know about?
I got a couple of skinnys n 2 small children.

I was looking at the routes going down through bordeux to zaragoza then possibly taragona or benidorm. It looks like some mountains through the middle of spain though

Your rating plate will give your GVW or MAM which you must not exceed, it will also give the maximum axle weights.
On the plate there are four weights, the first is usually the GVW which is the maximum weight of the whole vehicle and contents, then axle 1 (front) and axle 2 (rear). The fourth figure, which is the highest, is the train weight (total weight of vehicle and anything being towed.
If any of these weights are exceeded then you are overweight and if pulled over and checked would be unable to continue until you'd reduced the weight. In the event of an accident being overweight would invalidate your insurance.
There are many motorhomes being driven around that are overweight even to the naked eye and eventually may come unstuck.
The best solution is to bung everything and everyone in and pay a visit to a weighbridge near you. The[STRIKE] tips [/STRIKE]recycling centres usually have them, some will let you use them for free if you don't need a printout.

edit The two axle weights added together usually are more than the GVW, but you still can't exceed the GVW legally.

 

[Hunting High n Low]

Thanks for that, I will have to keep an eye on the weight

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[mickymouse]

You can try this site near Denia [12kms], 15euros a night, bus for town goes past site and about 150m from beach but very little shade www.odisseacamperarea.com
Personally as I live in Spain I will be getting away as others have said it gets very hot and Spanish kids are very noisy.

 

[Hunting High n Low]

Thankyou, yes I think thats the sort of thing we will have to go for.
Any other reccommendations any area most welcome:thumb:

 

[f6c]

welcome

Welcome aboard

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[hilldweller]

Have you got more of a specific route to avoid the mountains as ive found numerous ways to go but cannot get enough info on the altitudes along the routes:thumb:

The one amazing feature of Spain is range of mountains and more ranges of mountains. You get to the top and see a huge great plain and in the distance another range of mountains. This happens a good few times.

Not massively high.

But as someone else said, hug the coast. So Le Mans, Tours, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Perpingnon, Barcelona. The long way.

You want beach and bars, can't beat Benidorm. Just search on Benidorm here.

 

[Hunting High n Low]

Thanks, we went last year but I cant remember the exact route we took, well we got lost a few times, anyhow we did manage to reach 1300m. We went through a big tunnel on the way back from Roses.
Although the mountains are really beautiful and i love them unfortunately the altitude and rate of change of it puts pressure on the lungs and this is what im ideally trying to avoid.

Now to figure where to park and where to camp:thumb: