Northern Spain and Portugal

Kamperkev

Kamperkev

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Hi, we are off on a six week tour of France, northam Spain and Northern Portugal, in just over a week's time .
We have never been to Northern Spain or Portugal any recommendations where to visit we like mountains and the coast,not into cities
France will be a slow drive through taking about a week
We will be using ares most of the time and will be off Grid
Thanks Kev
 
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Kamperkev said:
Hi, we are off on a six week tour of France, northam Spain and Northern Portugal, in just over a week's time .
We have never been to Northern Spain or Portugal any recommendations where to visit we like mountains and the coast,not into cities
France will be a slow drive through taking about a week
We will be using ares most of the time and will be off Grid
Thanks Kev
Click to expand...
Doing northern Spain and Portugal also starting 1/9.
May see you on route, similar travels.
 
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It is surprising difficult to pay for Portuguese Toll roads, if you are thinking of taking any toll roads an Tag from Emovis-tag.co.uk makes life simple. They also do one for France.
I do hope you are never involved in any accidents but if you are unluckily involved with a Spanish vehicle that has a trailer make sure you have the registration of the front, not just the rear trailer registration which is red. ( Mysteriously records of which vehicle was attached some how disappear. )
 
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Round Square said:
It is surprising difficult to pay for Portuguese Toll roads, if you are thinking of taking any toll roads an Tag from Emovis-tag.co.uk makes life simple. They also do one for France.
I do hope you are never involved in any accidents but if you are unluckily involved with a Spanish vehicle that has a trailer make sure you have the registration of the front, not just the rear trailer registration which is red. ( Mysteriously records of which vehicle was attached some how disappear. )
Click to expand...
Setting the sat nav to no toll roads
Thanks Kev
 
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windboy said:
If you like mountains you should visit the Pico's in Spain, the Northern Coast of Spain is a must, lots of beautiful beaches, Cathedral Beach should be on the your list. You should look at Jumar's post as he is currently travelling the Northern Coast of Spain.
Kamperkev said:
Hi, we are off on a six week tour of France, northam Spain and Northern Portugal, in just over a week's time .
We have never been to Northern Spain or Portugal any recommendations where to visit we like mountains and the coast,not into cities
France will be a slow drive through taking about a week
We will be using ares most of the time and will be off Grid
Thanks Kev
Click to expand...
If you like mountains, go to Boltana in the Aragonese Pyrenees, an absolutely stunning location, surrounded by mountains with a fantastic river to swim in. There are lots of great walks in the area as well as some brilliant cycle routes. The village itself is medieval with some really good restaurants
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Spara4042 said:
We plan on visiting in October 😎
Any tips/advice would be gratefully received 👍
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October will still be nice weather wise. It can rain at times but the sun shines a lot!

The Aire in town is the old municipal campsite. Now free. It has water, dump and rubbish collection but not much else. Unmarked pitches mostly on “grass”. A little unkempt but popular, quiet, level and safe!

Campercontact

www.campercontact.com www.campercontact.com

It’s a five minute stroll to the river and a lovely cafe. 10 minutes, over the old bridge sees you in the old town centre with plenty to see, lots a places to eat.

IMG_1289.jpeg


The big attraction is the Convent which dominates the town.

1724865078776.jpeg



Well worth a couple of days in its own right due to its size. The gardens and exterior are free. Entry to Convent is €10. Well worth the time and money. It used to be the home of the knights Templar whose history pervades the town.

IMG_4206.jpeg


Other places nearby are the Aqueduct, (free)

1724865397087.jpeg


The churches of Santa Maria (Templars Church) and St John the Baptist (recently restored and a marvel) and the Roman “baths” (a very small exhibit in the street near the site)

Huge market on Friday.

If you can it’s worth giving the town two full days

Other towns worth a visit nearby are Obidos (History) , Fatima (awesome place if not catholic, major shrine and pilgrim destination if you are) and the coast at Nazaré (waves surfing, beach). Sao Martinho (Beach) Foz do Arelho (lagoon Aire is right on the waterfront)

Plenty of cares, restaurants and a Gelatomania ice cream parlour (not for those on a diet), and all reasonably priced. Many closed Sunday or Monday. Good curry and pizza places easy walk from the aire

Anything else just ask!
 
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Sdrawde said:
An hour west of Bilbao is a small town called Noja which has a great campsite with spacious pitches and only yards from the beach.
The mountains are behind you with the sea in front of you. Last time we went (a few years ago) was at the start of September, which coincides with the migration of many birds of prey from northern Europe back to Africa. One day I looked up and there must have been 30+ eagles above me.
Have a great trip.
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We were hoping to do a cruise with the bird migration theme but unfortunately can't due to circumstances. Maybe in a couple of years when (hopefully) a similar cruise is scheduled.

There is still a very slim chance we can do a Canadian cruise in October but probably not :(
 
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Round Square said:
It is surprising difficult to pay for Portuguese Toll roads, if you are thinking of taking any toll roads an Tag from Emovis-tag.co.uk makes life simple. They also do one for France.
I do hope you are never involved in any accidents but if you are unluckily involved with a Spanish vehicle that has a trailer make sure you have the registration of the front, not just the rear trailer registration which is red. ( Mysteriously records of which vehicle was attached some how disappear. )
Click to expand...
No it isn’t! It very easy

There are two systems in Portugal. The “Via Verde” motorways which are the traditional take a ticket and pay on exit tolls as in France/Spain. The motorways are not heavily used so the wait at toll booths is minimal. (Except in the Algarve)

For the other type where there are no toll booths, just gantries over the road which record your vehicle size and reg, just enter your reg number and credit card details on the Easy Toll website and your tolls will be collected automatically. Just remember to renew every 30 days. You can also link your vehicle and card at some soecial Booths at key points of entry in Pt

Easytoll website is here:

Home | Portugal Tolls

www.portugaltolls.com www.portugaltolls.com
 
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Ourense in Spain over the Portuguese Northern border is a MUST. It has free open air thermal baths. The council also provides changing rooms. About 300 yds away is free overnight parking. Look at Park4night. Didn’t go onto Ourense town. There are free services nearby. Also at the nearest garage free services including WC disposal if you buy fuel.

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If you do get into Portugal then a must visit is the Baragems. They are the inland reservoirs and there are many aires or free park ups and very quiet
 
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EmnM said:
If you do get into Portugal then a must visit is the Baragems. They are the inland reservoirs and there are many aires or free park ups and very quiet
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Agree. And Castelo de Bode is near Tomar! Along with awsome River Beaches (Praia Fluvial)

www.visitportugal.com

Barragem do Castelo de Bode | www.visitportugal.com

Situada no Rio Zêzere numa zona de grande beleza, a albufeira da Barragem do Castelo de Bode é uma das maiores em Portugal e estende-se ao longo de 60 kms entre os concelhos de Tomar, Abrantes, Sardoal e Ferreira do Zêzere. Rodeada por vegetação frondosa em que o pinhal é predominante, a...
www.visitportugal.com www.visitportugal.com

(translates as Goat Castle :eek: :giggler: :giggler: )
 
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I’m just arrived in Northern Spain “doing the Pyrenees”. Walked 14 miles up Errobide today (near San Sebastián) from a wild camp. (I’ve a few important tips if you want to do that walk)
On an earlier trip in April, I visited mainly Asturias and the Basque Country. I put a diary on Instagram/Facebook mainly for family. I don’t really understand Instagram. Should you want to see it, possibly you can PM me from MHF and tell me what you need.
The Someido Natural Park was impressive. They seem more worried about you scaring the bears rather than vice versa. Its ticks were a nuisance. You can’t wild camp in Natural Parks. I started at Someido which only seems to have one campsite near walking areas. It was excellent. I worked back to Picos de Europ but, although they are spectacular to look at, the limestone cliffs are steep and dangerous so you can’t walk up many Picos. (Gorge-walking doesn’t appeal to me.)
Tourist information provides stacks of maps & handouts relative to the areas. You need to look up opening hours. Most exhibitions, galleries and museums are free and plentiful. You may need a good translation app. There are lots of free Aires, often with services, in the smaller towns, usually shown as “Autocaravanas” on maps. Usually more functional than pretty. Comillas (Gaudi-ville) is lovely and you can walk between the main attractions in a day. Vitoria-Gasteiz has lots of old stuff and beautiful avenues. Eroski supermarkets seem to always have (well hidden!) fresh milk. I was caught out by an Eroski time limit. Cost me 5 Euros and a red face as I blocked the exit. Most are unregulated.
LPG is quite plentiful. Theoretically, they shouldn’t sell it except for use in an engine. A Repsol station told me their pump was broken but I didn’t believe them. No other stations refused me (External filler).
Weirdly, in my experience, there is no wind! None in April & May and none September so far. I think that this produces a high humidity. Thunder , today!
 
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Yesterday, I got totally confused by the toll roads East of San Sebastián. I only wanted to drive 15 miles! I simply couldn’t find a way around the toll roads. They seem mandatory. The one road that I found was closed for roadworks. Presumably they are building a toll station. In France, I like to amble along the back roads as I am never in a hurry and have a compact MH. After spending 2 hours to drive a few miles and visiting the same shopping complex 3 times, I was probably rather curt with the helpful toll booth girl.
IMG_2281.png
 
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pat100 said:
Yesterday, I got totally confused by the toll roads East of San Sebastián. I only wanted to drive 15 miles! I simply couldn’t find a way around the toll roads. They seem mandatory. The one road that I found was closed for roadworks. Presumably they are building a toll station. In France, I like to amble along the back roads as I am never in a hurry and have a compact MH. After spending 2 hours to drive a few miles and visiting the same shopping complex 3 times, I was probably rather curt with the helpful toll booth girl. View attachment 942154
Click to expand...
Fortunately not too many toll roads in Spain

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+1 for the Picos but check the roadworks on the N-621 to Potes. There were long sections of single lane in deep gorges with steep and often overhanging mountain sides on roads washed away by floods. It wasn’t comfortable in a 6m PVC. We chose to go on south and come back north on the much quieter N-625. Well worth it.
 
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ManTheVan said:
Brother in law and family just returned from Galicia (non MH hol) and found much antipathy towards tourists. Many restaurants flatly refused to admit them, saying they were full, despite obvious empty tables. They are just an ordinary quiet family with two kids.

They did enjoy the local almond cake though!
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Sometimes frustrating but often due to tables being booked or the restaurant just not having the capacity to cook for that many covers. Happens a bit near us when the kitchen is low on staff. Generally we found people reasonably friendly in Galicia in May. Many places the locals speak no English and not much Spanish.
 
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pat100 said:
Yesterday, I got totally confused by the toll roads East of San Sebastián. I only wanted to drive 15 miles! I simply couldn’t find a way around the toll roads. They seem mandatory. The one road that I found was closed for roadworks. Presumably they are building a toll station. In France, I like to amble along the back roads as I am never in a hurry and have a compact MH. After spending 2 hours to drive a few miles and visiting the same shopping complex 3 times, I was probably rather curt with the helpful toll booth girl. View attachment 942154
Click to expand...
Yes me too, no ticket at the exit unmanned booth, managed to get out, but received a toll fine 2 months later, £60 !!
 
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OldCodger said:
October will still be nice weather wise. It can rain at times but the sun shines a lot!

The Aire in town is the old municipal campsite. Now free. It has water, dump and rubbish collection but not much else. Unmarked pitches mostly on “grass”. A little unkempt but popular, quiet, level and safe!

Campercontact

www.campercontact.com www.campercontact.com

It’s a five minute stroll to the river and a lovely cafe. 10 minutes, over the old bridge sees you in the old town centre with plenty to see, lots a places to eat.

View attachment 941070

The big attraction is the Convent which dominates the town.

View attachment 941072


Well worth a couple of days in its own right due to its size. The gardens and exterior are free. Entry to Convent is €10. Well worth the time and money. It used to be the home of the knights Templar whose history pervades the town.

View attachment 941071

Other places nearby are the Aqueduct, (free)

View attachment 941078

The churches of Santa Maria (Templars Church) and St John the Baptist (recently restored and a marvel) and the Roman “baths” (a very small exhibit in the street near the site)

Huge market on Friday.

If you can it’s worth giving the town two full days

Other towns worth a visit nearby are Obidos (History) , Fatima (awesome place if not catholic, major shrine and pilgrim destination if you are) and the coast at Nazaré (waves surfing, beach). Sao Martinho (Beach) Foz do Arelho (lagoon Aire is right on the waterfront)

Plenty of cares, restaurants and a Gelatomania ice cream parlour (not for those on a diet), and all reasonably priced. Many closed Sunday or Monday. Good curry and pizza places easy walk from the aire

Anything else just ask!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the information, I’ll pass it on to SWMBO to add on to our itinerary.
Obidos & Fatima are already on the list 😏
 
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We did Potes which is very pretty, then into the Picos which sadly were shrouded in cloud when we were there but still stunning. Haro was good with great Rioja tasting, we loved lagrono especially Calle laurel with all the pintos, Pamplona was also stunning the aire was really handy for the city centre.

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Richard J said:
+1 for the Picos but check the roadworks on the N-621 to Potes. There were long sections of single lane in deep gorges with steep and often overhanging mountain sides on roads washed away by floods. It wasn’t comfortable in a 6m PVC. We chose to go on south and come back north on the much quieter N-625. Well worth it.
Click to expand...
Has anyone been up the N 621 more recently to report back on the roadworks? Was hoping to head that way soon. Also what’s the drive from there to Fuerte De like?
 
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Round Square said:
It is surprising difficult to pay for Portuguese Toll roads, if you are thinking of taking any toll roads an Tag from Emovis-tag.co.uk makes life simple. They also do one for France.
I do hope you are never involved in any accidents but if you are unluckily involved with a Spanish vehicle that has a trailer make sure you have the registration of the front, not just the rear trailer registration which is red. ( Mysteriously records of which vehicle was attached some how disappear. )
Click to expand...
Post Office to pay for Portuguese Toll Roads although some pay at toll desks as you drive
 
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Ziggy123 said:
We just did the same trip Mar-May this year for nearly 10 weeks and loved it. I tracked it on Polarsteps if you want to look, I added campsites to our favourites. Too many to shortlist!

We did it in reverse & intended heading south through central Spain thinking be better for Weather but it was glorious when we arrived in mid March so we took the slow route through the Riocha which we loved, stopping at Haro them onto the hot springs and through the dinosaur route. I highly recommend that drive! Headed south then, Monfrague national park worth a stop and also Salamanca...we don't do cities either, but this one was worth it. Turned right towards Portugal and slowly back up. Loved our campsite close to Tavira, with frontline sea views. Coast path walking in Portugal is glorious 🤗
Galicia was stunning and such an unexpected surprise. Weather turned when we got to picos in late April, had been mid twenties but we had snow...but i was thrilled! Loved our stop at Riano where we had campsite to ourselves and Potes, but I had high expectations of picos as read so many positives and I was little disappointed but mainly because we were travelling with our dog which meant we couldn't use cable cars or anything so more restricted. Ribadsella was my idea of heaven, a beautiful seaside town with the pico mountains as its backdrop as was san Vincente. (caravanning oyambre) .San sebastian worth a stop if you are a foodie!

All in all loved our trip, enjoy!
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Hi can I trouble you for your polar steps routing? I’ve tried ziggy123 but nothing apart from a Bicester address and your in Weymouth? TIA

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PARMER said:
Hi can I trouble you for your polar steps routing? I’ve tried ziggy123 but nothing apart from a Bicester address and your in Weymouth? TIA
Click to expand...
Sorry. It's under my real name which is Lisa Christopher..I'll see if I can add link to this
 
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Solution
We tried to get on the aire yesterday but it was full, now on a campsite just up the road, lovely site but more expensive than the aire 😭 staying 3/4 nights just relaxing with the lovely weather
Kev

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We couldn't get into either the aire or the campsite at the weekend, but found a charming little rural campsite called El Molina about 5kms out of Potes on the N621 at La Vega. The main building houses a mill hence the name, and we were the only customers there, but despite that all the services were working including hot water. The young guy managing the site was very helpful and spoke English. They sell nice cider too!
 
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