Spain, we’d been looking forward to returning to Spain for two years, having left just as the pandemic started to break in 2020. We had hoped to return later the same year, then last year and we had planned to return after Christmas but that wasn’t to be. It feels so good to be back on the road and head towards some sun. Although we only have a three month window this time and the Schengen Shuffle (dipping in and out of the Schengen Zone,there is a little explanation here: https://motoroaming.com/the-schengen-shuffle-for-motorhome-travellers/) isn’t really an option, for us, at the moment with the crisis in Ukraine, we have planned to visit some of the places we’ve previously been and some we hadn’t!
We crossed the border from France on the Mediterranean, between Cerbere and Portbou, having chosen a good weather route, not over the Pyrenees or across the Spanish plains, where we knew the weather could also be bad, and travelled along the coast of Cataluña, stopping at a lovely site in the town of L’Estartit https://www.campinglesmedes.com/en/ where the sun shone for all but one of our four days. The site is a short walk from the beach and the town.
We left L’Estartit and headed south to Cambrils and a site we had stayed at before – Camping La Llosa https://www.camping-lallosa.com/en Right on the beach and a short walk to the town, with a bakery / patisserie/ cafe on the doorstep. We took a stroll to the town and enjoyed an ice cream on the beach, before wandering around the old town. The weather was still on our side and we enjoyed a few more days in the sunshine.
Continuing our journey south, and into Communidad Valencia, we headed for another site, we’d stayed at before, in Peñíscola, but this time we were unlucky and the site was full, so we had a brief check on the interweb and the guide books and found a lovely site slightly further along the coast, along two miles of unpaved track, in lovely wooded grounds at Alcossebre https://campingribamar.com/?lang=en. A definite little gem and a short walk to the rocky beach, you could hear the waves crashing onto the beach from the campsite.
From Alcossebre, back along the unpaved track, we headed along the coast to Oliva, and a campsite, which in the book sounded great, but was a big disappointment, despite being right on the sandy beach, the rest of the local area was a bit deserted and run down. Being shown to our pitch, which was just about big enough, we had to clean it before we could get sorted, but it was ok for one night! https://www.camping-ole.com
Our trip now took us to the Murcia Region, and a site we’d also been to before at Mar Menor, https://www.camping.info/en/campsite/camping-caravaning-mar-menor, between the towns of Los Alcázares and San Javier, right on the edge of the Spanish Air Force Base, and the planes take off regularly every day! The site is located next to a nature reserve but with good walking and cycling routes into the towns and right on the beach of the Mar Menor – a coastal inland lagoon, protected from the sea by a peninsula.
Continuing south and into Andalucia, we found a lovely quirky campsite in the town of Adra. Camping Las Vegas, situated at the end of a road surrounded by greenhouses and small residences, it is a lovely spot to stop.https://campinglasvegas.jimdofree.com/ The sea is just over the road and although not much of a beach, ideal to let Reg run! This is one we will return to!
We continued on to Málaga, and had hoped to stop in a Motorhome Aire, but it being a nice, hot, sunny Friday the place was full, as was the next place we tried, the third was closed and we finally found a place to stop in Estepona, not exactly our cup of tea but ok for the night (what was more disappointing was the fact that we didn’t use our ACSI (cheaper camping) card, as there was no signage stating it was an associated site, but found it in the book a day later and about five minutes down the road there was a free camper stop, but lesson learnt…
Hello Gibraltar, moving further south we arrived at La Línea de la Concepción, and the motorhome stop on Alcaidesa Marina. We walked into Gibraltar, after being told off by the Border Guard, for not having our passport stamped when we entered Spain (or Europe, we’re not sure which) but made sure it was stamped when we left, took a trip to Morrisons, for some English bits – Bacon, Sausages, Walkers Crisps… and a bottle of water – in GIbraltar (and some of Andalucia) you are expected to wash down dog wee!
La Línea de la Concepción, is a beautiful Spanish town, in its own right, and we spent a couple of days wandering around the old streets and squares, before heading west to El Puerto de Santa Maria, near Cadiz. We had Christmas here in 2019 and met some wonderful people, this was high on our list to return to (and still is)! Arriving in glorious weather we made a lovely long term camp, and enjoyed the sun, before the rain arrived, followed by two more glorious days and then more rain…. Although it stopped us exploring out and about on our bikes, we still ventured into the town and along the port. https://www.lasdunascamping.com/el-camping/
Continuing west, we found an absolute gem of a Motorhome stop https://camperpark.es/en/home-3/ Camper Park Playas de Luz, in the small village of Pozo del Camino, just outside the fishing town of Isla Cristina, ten kilometres from the Portuguese border. On the edge of another nature reserve, complete with flamingos that you can see from the window and walking and cycle routes along a green lane. What a find, although when it rains, it rains!
We have fallen in love with Andalucia and it will be sad to leave but we’re continuing our adventure into Portugal, before we return to Spain, so for now it’s, ¡Hasta Luego España! – we’ll see you soon.
As always, thank you for reading and following our journey. We hope you and your families remain safe and well and we’ll be back with an update from Portugal, soon…
Sounds like such an idyllic holiday and I can see what a wonderful time you’re having. How nice to be so free and if you don’t like a place well you know it’s only for the night. So nice to be able to take Reg with you. We have to put our two boys into kennels, although not sure how much longer we can do they with them getting older, the price you pay for having dogs though.
Thank you Ali,
Oh this looks like such an amazing trip! I love Spain and would love to do something similar…looking forward to seeing what you get up to in Portugal!