Where in Spain in Jan/Feb?

[Grahamh]

Hi,
after a great tour last year in May we thought about going to Spain in Jan 2011 for maybe 6 weeks. What will the weather be like then and will there be sites open? We like the quieter spots by the sea. I have been reading the thread about cheaper ferry crossings with camping checks, is this the best way to do it? Thought we would go Portsmouth/Santander as we are both fairly good sailors. Last time we used the ACSI card and thought it was great.
Thanks

 

[RayS]

Weather in coastal Spain is usually pretty good early in the year - around 20C on New Years day down in the south east (except last year - not quite as good).
Plenty of sites open all year - get CC Europe 1 handbook and you will see member's reports on them. Beware that many sites charge quite heavily for short stays but then a discount system comes into force and the price for say 60 days can be - per night - less than half that for one night.
If you want quieter sites they take a bit of finding but in general those south of Murcia on the east coast are quieter than those further north - possibly becasue it's further to go. Pitches tend to be smaller than in UK and if you have a big van then suggest a mover if you don't have one. EHUs tend to be 6 amps or possibly a bit more, so no point taking UK domestic appliances of 3 Kw.

Up on the plateau - inland Spain - can get very cold particularly overnight, and not many sites open. From the Mojacar area - on the coast - you can get to some very peaceful and interesting countryside - and up to the snow at 6000ft in about 45 miles from the beach - come back to the site and change into shorts !
Driving on autopista / autovia generally very easy; again much less busy down in the south east.
If you go to Santandar, have a look at the route via Zaragoza to Valencia and onto the coast - lovely open roads with very little traffic except around Zaragoza and Valencia themselves. Open all year sites at Sabinan / Calatayud south of Zaragoza, in Zaragoza itself and then Manzanera and Navajas just inland from Sagunto / Valencia.
Quite long distances between service stations so don't leave fill-up's too late.

 

[Grahamh]

Thanks very much for that. Still thinking would like to go but what puts us off is the long nights. When the days are long we love it but when it's dark longer than it's light I always feel cooped up in the van. We need space or we squabble;-) Not sure how couples manage in a small 2 berth.....
Thanks again tho
Graham

 

[RayS]

Nights get lighter sooner down there (much further south - more equal day length) and do not seem so bad when the temperature is reasonable. If you have an awning it can be very pleasant just after dark. This is also the time for a bit of socialising - adopt the spanish tapas habit and eat main meal much later - very civilised.
We go for about 3 months and have never been at a loss for something to do. Many sites have wifi, many people (not us) take sat. dishes and TV, catch up with the reading, do some painting - great.
Many sites have informal whist drives, quiz nights etc. and because the average age is - shall we say - well above teen age, it tends not to be very noisy.

Give it a go !

 

[Grahamh]

Thanks,
I take your point about average age etc. Last spring we travelled pretty well the route you described stopping off at a site near Huesca (the last 40Km is indelibly printed on my wife's memory ) Really enjoyed visiting Barcelona before travelling up to S France.
We had this notion of going the other way to the southernmost coast and maybe further west. The return fares on Brittany via Santander seem about the same cost as driving down. Don't think we'd like to stay at the same site for so long tho. Last spring we never stayed more than 4/5 days before moving on; did 17 sites in six weeks coming back via Caen. Next spring we are planning France/Italy over 6 weeks. Just fancy a bit of sun during the winter.....