Spain – Info for New Travellers
Following on from the last post after writing my list of places to go to in Portugal I thought I should follow it up with the same about Spain :)
Some
park ups and some cool places to visit and a few tips for newbies on
the road in Spain :)
Some of the best things about Spain and
vehicle living/travelling are:
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Police usually relaxed, (even though they look scary and put on a stern face). I haven’t heard as many people getting fines as in Portugal. Make sure you are legal and carrying all the necessary things like warning triangle and high viz jacket though.
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The rule is no free camping within 1km of a campsite, the reality is you can get away with being nearer most of the time. Be friendly and polite and move on as soon as asked.
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Lots of amenities for van dwellers in areas where van dwellers dwell! Laundrettes, waste water/toilet disposal and water are common place and only cost a few Euros.
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Fiestas! Every day is a fiesta day somewhere in Spain. Every village, town and city has it’s own fiesta, every area has a fiesta, there are fiestas on religious days and other notable days.
Some of the downsides about Spain and
vehicle living/travelling are:
-
Generally a drier country than Portugal especially central and southern areas so not always as easy to find springs for free water although they are about!
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Siesta time! If you run out of baccy at 2pm be prepared to wait until 5pm for the Tabac to open or find a machine in a bar. Supermarkets stay open but most other shopes shut between about 2-5pm.
Park ups and places to visit loosely in
the order of starting on the north east coast at the border with
France and heading south then west until the border with Portugal at
Ayamonte then heading north past Portugal until back on the west
coast and following the coastline all the way round until heading
east and back to the border with France. Also dipping inland now and
then but most of our travelling has been along the coast! These are
all places we have visited and enjoyed except a few that have come
highly recommended to us that we haven’t visited yet!
Espolla and around – Have heard there
are loads of Neolithic sites in the area although we haven’t
checked them out yet.
Romanya de la Selva – Beautiful park up
at Cova d'en Daina ancient long barrow dating from 2700-2200 BC.
Cala Romana – Off the N-340 just before
the village there is a beach park up for campervans. In the summer
they charge but we were there for a few days in the winter and no
charge. There is a couple of different ways in, one is under a bridge
too low for any van! Good stop off after visiting Barcelona.
Villarreal de Huerva – Picnic area off
the N-330 north of the village before the turning for the motorway.
Nice park up for a few night by a river.
El Altet – A couple of car parks around
here that are OK but a lot of litter and a lot of cottaging (gay men
cruising for sex) going on. Have used them when meeting someone from
Alicante airport as very close by so handy for that.
Elche – Beautiful town with lots to see
including the Palm Grove (an orchard of over 200,000 palm trees),
Altamira Castle, Arabic Baths and the Calahorra Tower.
La Marina de Elche – Car park at the
beach with free WiFi. Sign says no campervan overnight parking but we
had no problems for the few nights we were there and made friends
with one of the people living in one of the houses there. Also a
restaurant there.
Las Pesqueras – Just 2km from the above
park up in an industrial estate off the N-332 which has supermarkets,
laundrette, waste/toilet disposal and water.
San Pedro del Pinatar - Located at the
north end of the Mar Menor, the natural lagoon created by the La
Manga strip. Drive up the strip to the salt ponds and see the
Flamingos, this area is all Natural Park, no great park ups but some
parking areas where we have had a night or two. Mosquito heaven here
though!
La Manga – Avoid driving up the south
end of the strip, it’s all hotels and nothing much to see and
no-where really to park overnight that is beautiful.
Calblanque Natural Park – There are
loads of different tracks and roads into the park and I seem to have
gone a different way every time but you need to head out of Los
Belones south. You’ll need to look at it on a map or ask a local
but well worth it as a few large parking areas next to beautiful
coastline. We stayed for a week or so with no problems. Some of the
tracks in are a bit dodgy so be careful and turn back to find a
better route if it looks like you might get stuck!
Cartagena – Nice enough town for a day
trip, sights include Roman remains and Baroque, Modernist and
Neo-classical buildings.
Bolnuevo - Heavily eroded sandstone
formations along the beach of Bolnuevo known as Ciudad Encantada are
an amazing sight, carry on west along the coast until it turns into a
scary track (not suitable for some big vehicles). Here are the nudist
beaches, the first couple for anyone and further along there is a gay
nudist beach (not sure its official but that’s how it goes). There
is some cottaging going on here but it such a massive space with
numerous small beaches you can find a spot away from that if you
want. We have stayed at the first beach, Playa Cueva de Lobos for
weeks and also inland a bit off one of the many tracks with no
problems at all. The area is natural park and absolutely beautiful.
There are loads of tracks to explore on foot, bicycle, motorbike or 4
wheels. You can also get to this area from the other direction to
avoid the scary track, take the RM-D21 from the AP-7 and head for the
coast, again there are loads of tracks, some drivable, some not so.
This is a better way to come if you are in a 7.5ton or bigger.
Calabardina – Off the D-15 towards
Todosol is a huge area by the beach where there are always lots of
vans.
Calarreona – South of the town just off
the RM-333 is a massive beach park up.
Las Ventanicas – Playa Macenas has a
large beach park up where although we were told the police would move
us on they didn’t. We only had a few nights there but our friends
stayed over a week.
Cabo de Gata Natural Park – Lovely area
with places to park. Just north of Las Negras is San Pedro a famous
hippy beach where people have lived for years squatting in the castle
ruins, in tents, yurts and vehicles. Access is not easy, at one time
you could only walk although I have heard there is now a track.
Guadix – Amazing cave houses well worth
a visit.
Granada – Worth it for the Alhambra
alone but lots to see and do in the capital city of Andalusia.
Santa Fe – One of the best park ups in
Spain, people have spent months here. Just west of the city of
Granada are the hot springs just outside Santa Fe. There are always
loads of travellers here, access is good as long as it hasn’t been
raining a lot and I have seen massive lorries here so don’t worry
if you are in a big truck! The mineral rich hot water pumps into a
big communal pool and there are also smaller pools and some more
private pools but you need to shake off your English prudish nature
for this experience! Lots of nudity, cottaging, loud music and drug
taking but a friendly place and a good place to meet other travellers
as well as take a bath and wash clothes for free! Heading west on the
A-92 take the exit for Granada airport, just before the roundabout
and petrol station turn left onto a narrow tarmac road, follow the
road round past a few houses and a farm until it turns into a track,
keep following the main track and you will no doubt see the trucks
and vans nestled in between the olive trees. Drinking water is
available in Santa Fe as is a Dia supermarket. Ask people at the
springs for directions. At the March Equinox the Dragon Free Festival
is held here, the festival can go on for a few weeks but the main
weekend is nearest to the 21st.
Well worth a visit weather the festival is on or not.
Orgiva – Lots of hippies escaped to
here in the 60s and 70s and it has kept its new age feel. There are a
few places to park around but best to find people and ask once you
get there. The valley at El Moreon is where lots of ex travellers now
live and there are loads of old buses, trucks and vans down there.
Nerja – Amazing caves here and Nerja is
nice for a tourist town. There is a small layby park up off the
N-340-A east of the town under the aquduct but on the other side of
the main road. There is a lovely walk down to a secluded cove from
here.
Cordoba – North west of the city is a
good park up at a view point. From Cordoba take the CO-3400 or
CO-3402, turn right onto the CO-3314 and then right again onto the
CO-3401 signposted to the viewpoint.
Antequera – Three massive dolmens here,
all fenced off but free to go in during opening hours.
El Torcal Park – Beautiful park made up
of unusual landforms, so unusual that movies have been shot here.
Also an abundance of wildlife and a few places to park up.
El Chorro Gorge – Amazing gorge made
even more interesting by the Caminito del Rey a death defying walkway
falling away from the gorge. Some places to park up for the
night/nights further up into the mountains towards the reservoir.
Torreguadiaro – North of the town off
the N-340 at the roundabout is a large beach side carpark. The beach
is called Playa del Gobernador. We have stayed here for a few nights
with no problem and have met people who have stayed longer.
Santa Margarita – Some parking along
the beach here, handy if you’ve been to Gibraltar for the day and
quieter than La Linea.
La Linea - Some parking along the beach
here, handy if you’ve been to Gibraltar for the day!
Tarifa – The kite surf capital of
Europe, loads of good bars, cafes and shops and a beautiful old town.
Van/truck dwellers well looked after with a couple of laundrettes,
water point and waste water/toilet disposal all in the industrial
area behind the Mercadona supermarket. Also a couple of eco/natural
shops one in the same industrial area and one in the Eco centre just
off the main high street which is also a great little cafe with WiFi.
Tarifa is by far one of our most favourite places in all of Spain and
we have spent a lot of time here :) There are quite a few places to
park up for the night in the town itself but the best places are a
bit further out.
Los Lances – 5km west of Tarifa and
known as ‘The Strip’ to many of the travellers this is a 1km long
strip of track by the beach available to park on, there are always
vans and trucks here and is accessible to larger vehicles. There are
two entrances to the strip from the N-340 and also a couple of much
smaller car parks a bit further along the road.
Casas del Porro – In this tiny hamlet
lies (in our opinion) the best park up in Spain. Turn off the N-340
about 10km west of Tarifa at the bar and follow the track behind the
houses into what is known to the travellers as ‘The Pig Field’.
There are always many vehicles here and many travellers from hippies
to surfers and everyone in between. People come from all over Europe
to kite surf in Tarifa and if they’ve come in a van or truck it’s
very likely they will stay here at some time. This is a good park up
all year round with little trouble from the police, it is a beautiful
field right on the beach. All vehicles can access the field just be a
bit wary if there has been lots of rain unless you are in a 4x4 as it
does get very muddy and people do get stuck!
Punta Paloma – Only 1km up the road
from the pig field turn off the N-340 onto the A-2325 and take the
first left to the car park at the end. This is a fair sized car park
but can get very busy with vans especially if the pig field is too
muddy and also lots of day trippers and fishermen in cars park here.
Nice car park right on the beach and a campsite a minute away with a
small shop. Take a look at the incredible sand dune from the beach
and then walk up it and see how the road is being eaten away by the
sand!
Embalse de Barbate – Massive reservoir
with car park. Turn off the A-381 onto A-2228, take second left to
car park overlooking the water.
Guillena – North of the village off the
SE-3411 is a track signposted as ‘Ruta del Agua’ some good places
to park up out of the way along here. We did a few nights with our
friends in another van and a tent with no bother. Handy after or
before a visit to Seville.
Sanlucar de Guadiana – Massive zip
slide over the river going to Alcoutim in Portugal. We haven’t been
yet but it looks awesome!
Alajar – Free aire in a field just off
the HU-8105 south of the village. Beautiful typically Spanish village
with nice walks and the usual good bars and cafes. Free spring water
also available in the village centre.
Cabo Finisterre – A sight to be seen as
it is the final destination for many pilgrims who have walked the
Camino de
Santiago to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. There is a car
park there where we stayed for a night with no problems.
Hontoria – Playa la
Huelga & Playa de la Canalina, beautiful small coves one good for
swimming and the other an amazing strip of sand surrounded on three
sides by tall cliffs. A stunning rock arch just off the coast adds to
the beauty. You can get in and park in a van but not in anything
bigger than a LWB panel van. Worth a visit if in the area even if you
do have to park a bit further away.
Orio – Through the
village there is a car park at the end by the beach, quite a nice
little place. We stayed a night there and met someone there who had
stayed a few nights.
We don’t like parking up in petrol
stations, towns or industrial estates and so even when travelling to
a specific destination and only need to spend one night we still go
off the main road and try and find somewhere pretty. It’s nice to
explore a bit, nice to wake up somewhere beautiful and nice for the
dogs too! GPS mapping really helps to find potential good locations
although for the first couple of years of our travels we only had a
paper map. We tend to look for either some kind on ancient site like
a dolmen or stone circle as we haven’t been to one yet where we
haven’t been able to park for the night. Also reservoirs can often
have at least big laybys off a quiet road, forest areas too where
there could be a picnic site or car park. Don’t be too picky though
if it’s just for one night as you could end up driving miles
looking for the ‘perfect’ spot!
Markets
Pick
up the free English papers for the local area (mainly in the places
where lots of English live, Gibraltar, the Costas del, Sol, Almeria,
Calida, Blanca) for information on things going on. Please don’t
rely on this information as some is a few years old!
San
Pedro del Pinatar - The main market takes place every Monday. There
is also the Mercadillo de Artesania “El Sal” is a periodic market
(check with the tourist office when you are there as the days change
according to season) it’s an arts and craft market which takes
place in Parque de los Reyes de España y Explanada de Lo Pagán.
Orgiva
– Every Thursday morning in the town centre.
Coin
– Every Sunday 10am – 2pm at La Trocha.
Lake
Iznajar – First Thursday of every month in the grounds of the Hotel
Caserio 9am – 1.30pm
Mijas
– Every Sunday at the race course 8am – 2pm.
Loja
- 2nd
Sunday of the month at Lucas Lavado 9am – 1pm.
Mollina
– Every Wednesday at the Hotel Saydo 9am – 1.30pm.
Sabariego
– Once a month on a Sunday (not sure which Sunday) at Bar San
Antonio between Alcala la real and Alcaudete on N-342 9am – 1.30pm.
Nerja
– Every Sunday near urbanisation Almijara II 8.30am – 2pm.
English
bookshops can be found in English areas, quite a few second hand ones
and there are charity shops. Check the local papers for details or
ask locals!
Some of the places mentioned are featured
on my website and/or blog at www.positive-evolution.org.uk
Useful websites
Wild
and Not Wild Camping Map - http://www.furgovw.org/mapa_furgoperfecto/
Propertery
for sale including in Spain - http://www.greenshifters.co.uk
Sunseed
eco community - http://www.sunseed.org.uk
HelpX
volunteering exchange - http://www.helpx.net
Coffee
Break Spanish language podcast -
http://radiolingua.com/2009/08/introducing-coffee-break-spanish-step-by-step
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