Spring in Spain - Our Motorhome Route
There are few nicer things in the world, I have decided than ditching the cold British spring and heading off to Spain, where the sun is shining and great red wine comes in at under five Euros a bottle. And the wine in the boxes isn't bad, either. We did the trip in our camper van, staying in free stops in small towns and in off-peak campsites when we needed to use facilities.
This is the route we took:
We headed down through the middle of France to Collioure (had a few days on the way). Stopped in a carpark at the top of the hill, no facilities but worth the stop. Collioure is beautiful.
Then, took the coastal road into Spain towards Roses. An iconic coastal drive of spectacular clifftops and hairpins. You've got to do it!
Stayed near Torroella de Montgri right in the heart of Catalan. Took bike rides to L'Estartit and enjoyed spending time in this interesting part of Spain.
We avoided Barcelona and headed to Peniscola. Had a depressing night jammed-up on a caravan park with a hundred leather-skinned retired Northern Europeans. The experience put us off coastal Spain.
Headed for the hills and re-kindled our love of Spain in Campell, high in the hills surrounded by the almond and lemon blossom. Paradise.
We stopped to visit friends and spent the weekend in Biar, inland from Alicante, a place that knows how to put on a good Medieval festival. Absolutely fabulous.
Then we headed back into the hills, visiting Alhama de Murcia and spending a wonderful few days walking in the national park Sierra Espuna. We stayed in a well-serviced campsite in El Berro.
From there we head back towards the coast and Cabo de Gato. Once the home of spaghetti westerns, it's now the home to some serious plastic, with poly-tunnels across the whole landscape as far as the eye can see. We escaped after a night and found a little haven, La Mamola, a place on the Med for Spanish weekending families and a world away from the bronzed wintering caravaners up the coast.
From there, we visited Granada and then spend a couple of days in the Sierra Nevada, before heading then across via Olvera to Puerto de Santa Maria, ready for a few days in Cadiz.
Cadiz is fantastic. Try out the fresh fish and explore the markets and the tapas. Then go to the sherry towns. We stayed in a low key campsite by the beach and biked into Sanlucar de Barrameda and Chipiona. It was a beautiful part of Spain, well off the caravan and wintering tourist track. It was warm, really beautiful and excellent for cycling.
Sadly, it was time to head back North. We stopped overnight in Zafra, the start of our bullring stays. Then on to the Roman ruins of Merida and small town Truijillo for another night at the bullring. We kicked back for a couple of days in the Montefrague National Park where we went birding, or vulturing to be precise. We took a guide and saw an amazing array of big vultures, buzzards, storks and eagles.
North afterwards, to the amazing city of Segovia. Another free bullring stopover. If you want to know what the Romans ever did for us, take a trip there.
Then through Arnedillo to Estella, the only place in the world with a free wine fountain. Set in a vineyard for pilgrims of the Santiago way (but take a plastic cup and hobble up to it in walking boots and no one will know.)
At last, we reached the end of our month's journey and took the ferry back to Blighty from Santander.
Tips:
This is the route we took:
We headed down through the middle of France to Collioure (had a few days on the way). Stopped in a carpark at the top of the hill, no facilities but worth the stop. Collioure is beautiful.
 |
| Collioure |
Then, took the coastal road into Spain towards Roses. An iconic coastal drive of spectacular clifftops and hairpins. You've got to do it!
Stayed near Torroella de Montgri right in the heart of Catalan. Took bike rides to L'Estartit and enjoyed spending time in this interesting part of Spain.
We avoided Barcelona and headed to Peniscola. Had a depressing night jammed-up on a caravan park with a hundred leather-skinned retired Northern Europeans. The experience put us off coastal Spain.
Headed for the hills and re-kindled our love of Spain in Campell, high in the hills surrounded by the almond and lemon blossom. Paradise.
 |
| Campell |
We stopped to visit friends and spent the weekend in Biar, inland from Alicante, a place that knows how to put on a good Medieval festival. Absolutely fabulous.
Then we headed back into the hills, visiting Alhama de Murcia and spending a wonderful few days walking in the national park Sierra Espuna. We stayed in a well-serviced campsite in El Berro.
From there we head back towards the coast and Cabo de Gato. Once the home of spaghetti westerns, it's now the home to some serious plastic, with poly-tunnels across the whole landscape as far as the eye can see. We escaped after a night and found a little haven, La Mamola, a place on the Med for Spanish weekending families and a world away from the bronzed wintering caravaners up the coast.
From there, we visited Granada and then spend a couple of days in the Sierra Nevada, before heading then across via Olvera to Puerto de Santa Maria, ready for a few days in Cadiz.
Cadiz is fantastic. Try out the fresh fish and explore the markets and the tapas. Then go to the sherry towns. We stayed in a low key campsite by the beach and biked into Sanlucar de Barrameda and Chipiona. It was a beautiful part of Spain, well off the caravan and wintering tourist track. It was warm, really beautiful and excellent for cycling.
 |
| Cadiz Beach |
Sadly, it was time to head back North. We stopped overnight in Zafra, the start of our bullring stays. Then on to the Roman ruins of Merida and small town Truijillo for another night at the bullring. We kicked back for a couple of days in the Montefrague National Park where we went birding, or vulturing to be precise. We took a guide and saw an amazing array of big vultures, buzzards, storks and eagles.
North afterwards, to the amazing city of Segovia. Another free bullring stopover. If you want to know what the Romans ever did for us, take a trip there.
Then through Arnedillo to Estella, the only place in the world with a free wine fountain. Set in a vineyard for pilgrims of the Santiago way (but take a plastic cup and hobble up to it in walking boots and no one will know.)
At last, we reached the end of our month's journey and took the ferry back to Blighty from Santander.
 |
| Stunning Roman engineering in Segovia |
- It's definitely worth investing in the ACSI card to get big discounts on camping,
- Don't bother with the toll roads in Spain if there are free motorways alongside.
- Get an app for free camping spots. Spain has a whole host of park up options in small towns and camper-vans are embraced.
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