Iberian Peninsula - round trip spring 2022

It's finally starting! After surviving the corona infection, it's finally starting. After the weather forecast for the Mediterranean is not so good, we first drive to the Atlantic. So first in the direction of Luxembourg, then via Belgium or France to drive to the English Channel. We haven't even been to Brittany yet. Hope the weather stays good!

Simple parking space, free of charge, V+E available, not used by usVery nice morning walk on the lake/nature reserve.

Free parking space without service
Restaurant right next door, ate delicious pizza. English Channel in the immediate vicinity. We want to continue the next morning. Very windy at night.

Cancale Beautiful bay but very busy at the entrance to the town on the right is a parking space for €12 with V+E per night. We stay for 2 nights, because the sun is shining, our solar system produces enough electricity. There are oysters everywhere, for us it's nothing. 20 minutes on foot to the old town, very busy.

On the second day we do a bike tour in the direction of Saint Malo, always along the coast and then through the middle. The Komoot app helps well.

Right at the bridge. 2 nights with electricity for a total of €46.10 Since we only arrive here in the afternoon, we don't visit the area until the next day.

Today we make another bike tour to see the coast.

Parking for Womo in the city for 8 €/night including electricity. Walk to the beach and walk a total of 10 km. Actually to the viewpoint Le Puit's de Enfer But the weather is getting worse and worse. The next morning we want to continue driving and will try to stop by there again. Unfortunately it didn't work out because there is no parking space for campers.

Continue to La Rochelle, then drove to the island of Ile de Re. Drove almost to the end there. Stood on SP next to the CP in Baleines. €17 a night with electricity and water, gray water disposal but no chemical toilet disposal. Beautiful coastal path to the lighthouse, we walk there in the afternoon.

We drive on because it is very windy and cold. We land a little below Bordeaux.
For one night €10 with electricity right on the lake, it's a clear, very cold night. We decide to drive faster towards Portugal. It should be warmer there.

Still very cold and the weather is very unsettled.
We are in Spain, in San Sebastian. ACSI place for 1 night 22 € unfortunately cold sanitary building and only lukewarm water. Approach is narrow and steep up. In the night heavy rain and sometimes it snows. (0°-3°) The next day we continue in the hope that it will be warmer and the weather will be better

On the way in Asturias a small place near the highway. 15€/1 night with electricity There is a village restaurant Yolimar. Ate fish and prawns. YummyVery friendly everyone

ACSI pitch for €18/night incl. electricity. Sanitary building open and cold. Nice view of the bay. We hope for finally better warmer weather.
We will stay here for 2 nights.

to the lighthouse at 15° and lots of 💨 and ☀️ food at Mare Nostramus with a great view

Actually, we wanted to continue to Portugal straight away, hoping for better weather. But suddenly it's great here and so we stay here for one night.
Pitch right on the water. 1 night without electricity €10 with shower and toilet. Great view, great spaceFootpath right on the beach

Simple CP, but expensive for our feel. 1 night with electricity €26.87The restaurant and supermarket are closed. Unfortunately, because it was one of the reasons why we went to a campsite. Luckily we have enough on board, because we would have to drive or cycle to go shopping (not if it rained) because a bad weather area gave us a whole day of rain , we stay here 3 nights.

On the day of arrival we will visit Viana do Castelo. Unfortunately we have to walk over this bridge twice because the ferry only starts on May 1st. is back in operation. In Viana we got a prepaid card (from MEO) for our router. So we can use the internet with our router in the camper for 15 days. We need our data on our cell phones when we are out and about by bike.
We visited the Café Natario (it was recommended to us). Great different sweets. Very nice service. We decided on a little thing, didn't try it 😜 but very seductive.

Today it rains all day and we relax in the camper.
We bake cakes and cook together.

The sun is shining and we decide to take the train to Viana do Castelo. Then with the cable car up to the Cathedral of Santa Luzia. Should be a great view. The train left in Areia Darque (walked there, approx. 3.5 km from the campsite) (€1.45 per person). We drove to one station. Within walking distance from the train station to the cable car station in 6 minutes. Round trip 3€/pers. Every 15 minutes runs a cable car. Great view at the top, cathedral open, small cafe too.
It was totally worth it!!

Very nice pitch for €8.50 without electricity, with sanitary building, there are pitches with electricity, V+E available, bread service, lounge with TV, fireplace, vending machines for drinks, sweets and coffee, beer and wine. Great for smaller children there is a pool (pre-season not yet) mini golf possible. Very friendly staff.The beach is just a few steps from the site, the site is protected by a dune. We would love to come back here.

The place on the coast is known for high waves. We finally had sun and no waves.

We take pictures of the beach and have a light lunch with a nice view.

Then we continue.

ASA Peniche - pitch per night with electricity 10€, 1€ showers, -.50€ toilet. Everything clean and very friendly. English Safe place as completely surrounded by a wall. Aldi and Lidl just around the corner. In the evening we walk to the coast and take pictures of the sunset

Very beautiful peninsula. We cycled around it once. Delicious fish eaten in the harbor The coast here is very natural. Womos are free at the lighthouse (the police are there too), and there are also Womos from time to time on the coast.
We like it here very much!!

Actually we wanted to drive to Cabo de Roca, then to Cascais.
But the small roads and tight corners stressed us out. So we decided without further ado to go to Cascais. We can't find a quiet spot or parking space here, let alone a CP, so we continue to Setubal.
Here we find this beautiful pitch, which is laid out more like a CP. Sanitary building new and clean, but there is no hot water for rinsing. The camper costs €10.80 including the driver, the second person €5.80 and €3.60 for electricity/night. So we pay €20.20/night. It's Easter week and we're paying for the sea view here. We're staying here for 2 days to see Setubal.

Excursion by bike to Setubal, market hall and fortress is on the plan. We may see the dolphins that live in the Rio Sado.

Continue towards the Algarve.
Lunch with a great view

CP for 2 nights without electricity for 16.80 €/night Most beautiful weather, lots of local campers. Sanitary building simple but clean. Small restaurant on site, as well as a mini supermarket. In the afternoon we walk down to the coast. Tomorrow we will use the bikes to explore the coast.

bike ride. Actually planned to go to Vila Nova Milfontes, but since the route is very uneven and not so easy for us to drive on (certainly doable for younger, more adventurous people with a mountain bike)
We go to a small pizzeria in the fishing village of Porto Covo for dinner, highly recommended.
Best weather!

Good pitch with shower and V+E for 10€/night. Here we stay 2 nights. Very nice young operator couple. Explains everything.On arrival day I go for a hike,

Again by bike to the lighthouse "To the other end of the world" and to the "Last sausage before America". Afterwards we cycle to the fortress, then to the town of Sagres and have lunch here. A total of 28km by bike with wind (8bft), we are very happy to be back at the Womo.

Simple place, ok for one night. €11.50 without electricity. But I don't want to use more here. (Sanitary building is very old and really ugly, but clean)
We also want to explore the city and go for a walk on the beach. Since there is a lot of wind, short distances are best. A breathtaking beach with rock formations, probably similar to Benagil. In the pre-season it is not that crowded, it does not want to know what would be going on here in midsummer. The city of Lagos, or the old town center, is full of small streets, touristy, many nice restaurants, bars, cafes and in places Live music. There are knick knacks and souvenirs for sale. The city walls, a fortress and a large marina. Everything is here. One day with so much tourism is enough for us 😂

Very warm welcome when we drive into the square. Pitch very well occupied, but we find a place. Parking space costs 10€/night with electricity, showers 1€, V+E everything is there, except for the toilet, but that's not a problem for us. There is also a 12kg/5€ washing machine (so washing is done here). A lounge with books, billiard table and chairs is also offered.
The heated outdoor pool with 25 degrees warm water will be tested by me right away!
On the first day we walk to the beach (1.4km). We are likely to stay here over the weekend. It's supposed to rain on the entire southern coast on Friday anyway (also in Spain up to Malaga). Shops are also very close.
Albufeira by bike is also pending.

We cycled again today. Still quite a lot of wind, but with the e-bike it's no problem. But it's not raining anymore!

Albufeira is very touristy. Lots of English football fans sitting in the pubs and watching football on Saturday afternoons.
Not our thing.

We drive back towards the parking space and enjoy the sun a little longer.

Large parking space, with sanitary facilities, V + E, bread service. With electricity and fresh water on site. For 2 nights with electricity for a total of €22. The weather should stay nice now. The wind has finally stopped.

The place is well located for visiting Tavira on foot.

Tomorrow we want to cycle to this Ria Famosa nature reserve. Possibly also take the ferry to the island. Let's see what we're doing.

Today we're going to take it easy. Here in Portugal today is a public holiday (Freedom Day) and we have the best weather to visit the island.
We walk from the pitch va.30min. to the ferry terminal in Tavira. A return trip costs €2.20 per person, and there is a ferry every hour.
The island has a beautiful long sandy beach and despite a full ferry, it gets a lot lost on the island. Many small restaurants and bars/cafe's to linger. There are loungers and umbrellas on the beach.
The visit was just right for us, comfortable, walk on the beach, eat out and back again.

The plan is to go to Seville because I really want to see the Plaza de España. We were also in Seville and of course we looked out for a mobile home pitch. But after we drove to 2 parking spaces in Seville (urban traffic for us villagers rather nothing) (creepy, we didn't even want to stand here for 1 night) we drove back to the coast.

Here we have a pitch right by the sea, with toilet and shower, electricity, fresh water, and V+E, pitches freely selectable, which are separated by hedges and with a lawn (then cost €12/night without electricity) the others on the gravel are for 10 €/night without electricity. Very friendly and warm welcome. We stay here 3 nights to see Chipiona and Sañlucar de Barrameda. By the way, the weather isn't that great again tonight, let's hope for tomorrow that the sun will shine. Otherwise it's going to be stupid riding a bike in the rain.

The weather is kind to us, apart from the fact that it's windy (we're used to that by now) it's glorious sunshine.
We cycle to Chipiona this morning. Coast, lighthouse, cathedral and most importantly, we buy a prepaid card for our mobile router in the camper again. It's just convenient and we don't depend on the weak internet at the campsite/pitches. Besides, it's mine!!
In Portugal we were very spoiled when it came to the internet, here it was easy!!! and very cheap. €1 a day no matter how much data volume, we also bought a prepaid card from MEO here. This is valid for 15 days and can then be topped up via Xoom if you are in Portugal for longer than 15 days. There is also 20 days, but we didn't know how long we would stay in Portugal, so we decided to go for 15 days.
So now to Chipiona. Very nice coastal town, mainly Spanish tourists, probably because of the off-season. We also saw the promenade (because there was the Orange shop for our prepaid card). Beautiful beach and the town is very well maintained and spruced up.

Today we cycle to Sañlucar. Long beach with a bike path and many small cafes. In the old town is a beautiful square and many small tapas bars. There is something for every taste

Brand new parking space for Womos. Very nice with gravel, every pitch has electricity. V+E generously laid out. Showers and toilet new containers. Small kiosk run by the operator of the parking space. 12€/night without electricity. As always, we produce our own electricity with our solar system. Very friendly reception, even if we can only stay here for one night. Sunday, May 1st is a public holiday in Spain, so the Spaniards also have Monday off. This is being used and the place is fully booked from Saturday, a pity. The coast is not far and the constant wind means that people kite and surf here. The lighthouse is not far away. There are small bars, pubs and small stalls to buy handicrafts or souvenirs. I think the bear tap-dances here in midsummer. We walked along the beach to the lighthouse and it was wonderfully quiet and very little going on. Tomorrow we have to drive on, trying to get a place over the holiday on the way to Tarifa. We would really like to see Tarifa.

CP with a great view. €20.80/night with electricity. We have to economize a bit with our gas. So now with electricity. Here we stay 4 nights. We definitely want to visit Tarifa. To enjoy the weather. And don't do anything. Oh, we've been doing it all the time, so keep enjoying it. It's supposed to rain at home, so we'd rather be here. 🤪

Most wonderful weather, great view our best place so far.

Today we ride the bikes again. Tarifa is on the agenda.

Look at the weather map and decide where and when to continue. I met very nice campers from Germany and Switzerland. Tomorrow we want to continue in the direction of Algeciras, or shortly after Algeciras. The weather is still dry there. Only rain in Malaga and before Malaga. 😩 Maybe we can take a look at Gibraltar, we were here 35 years ago with the motorcycles. Oh, by the way, because of Corona, here in Spain (by the way, it was also very relaxed in Portugal) everything is easy. We wear a mask in the registrations/receptions, even when shopping, some wear one and some don't. We just carry one so as not to jeopardize our trip. But otherwise everything is very relaxed here. A mask is also worn in the restaurants, up to the square and then it's good too. No mask is worn in the outdoor restaurants, only the waiters wear one.

Was probably nothing with the weather. It rained heavily again and again. We take a break in Estepona. very close to a parking lot. After inspecting this parking space, it is clear to us that we will not be staying overnight.
That's why we drove to Malaga today. Are now on a very large pitch. 2 nights with electricity for €33.00.

Pitch for 100 mobile homes, with showers (1€), toilets, electricity (4Amp./6Amp.), fresh water and V+E. Map for the beach. Friendly reception, many explanations about taking the bus to Malaga (we won't need it, we'll cycle there) The individual spaces are narrow, so there's not really enough space to put a chair or table out comfortably ( we still do it behind the camper on the way). Dogs are probably not allowed here. Gravel places, many still free. (Easter - the holiday season in Spain is over for now) For the shower you pay another €1 for 3.5 minutes. Dishwashing place again only cold water. Bread/rolls are available in the small kiosk on site. It's ok to see Malaga, but otherwise we find it quite expensive and too cramped.

It is no problem at all to cycle from the parking space to the old town of Malaga. About 9km one way.
Pictures speak for themselves.

Today we drive on the Autobahn, it's very warm and we want to go a few kilometers further, as usual. We are interested in the Cabo da Gata nature reserve, but before that we have to do some shopping.
Along the A7 (free) the view is sometimes beautiful and sometimes very frightening. So many plastic greenhouses. We were here on motorbikes 35 years ago and can't remember seeing so many greenhouses. Dreadful. The Sierra Nevada mountains still have snow at the very top.
In Cabo da Gata we read that there is a campsite. We saw a parking space for Womos, but today we want to be free. We also want to go to the lighthouse.

I want to go there 😁
The last stretch to Faro de Cabo de Gata is a bit steep and narrow. But we are rewarded with the magnificent view. Some campers stay here for a night, which is probably tolerated. We'd rather go back to the small town at the foot of the mountain.

Here we are free (free) in a parking lot in front of a kiosk. Buy ice cream 😍 right away, we'll stay here for one night. Sea-view!

4.30 p.m.: Not anymore, in the narrow gap another camper is right in front of us. There are campers, you wouldn't believe that!!

Snake Bay - wonderful beach Directions a bit outside, last few meters only gravel. There is almost nothing in the place. 6€/ night. No electricity, which is not a problem for us. The bar is closed. Fresh water is available for 50 cents. Toilet and gray water disposal simple. It's ok for 1 night, we didn't want to stay here longer because it was too remote for us.

After inspecting the paid parking space in a residential complex, we drove on. The place actually has everything, very well maintained and costs only €10 without electricity. Showers and toilets are also on site.

BUT no awning may be extended, no chair and table may be put out.
If you are only passing through, the place is ideal. But to stand here for 2 nights, the parceled pitches were too small for us and the restrictions were stupid.

ACSI place without electricity 40€ for 2 nights. The place is close to the N332 but quiet. Good facilities with sanitary buildings and a pool.
We cycle into town to go shopping. There are Lidl and Aldi and various supermarkets.
At the harbor a long "pedestrian food court"
We went to the Capricho for dinner on the second day. We recommend. But it's not in the food court, but towards the north on the beach/sea in Santa Pola.

We had lunch in Santa Pola at the Capricho. The menu of the day was delicious and a lot for only 16€/person.

We made a small detour because I wanted to see the Art Nouveau church Impressive Then we continue to Alfaz del Pi

Orange Grove parking space for the next 2 or 3 days in L'Alfaz del Pi. Very friendly welcome in German 😃 Sanitary building very well maintained, small pool, washing machine, drying rack, everything is fine. The supermarket (there are 2 in L'Alfaz del Pi ) can be reached by bike in 5 minutes, the ride went through the orange plantations. In Albir there is the Lidl/Aldi and other supermarkets. We know the area well, because we have been here (Albir/Altea) quite often, even with our children. We visit a friend and then we continue. Altea is definitely a place to visit, it has a lovely old town and a beautiful little church on top of the hill. In Albir there is a campsite (Cap Blanch) and lots of restaurants and bars/cafes on the promenade. Benidorm, if you like tourism and lots of high-rise buildings, you will of course also find many campsites there. There is a bus from Altea/Albir/L`Alfaz del Pi to Benidorm. But everything is also very easy to reach by bike.

rode a bike. It has changed again in Altea (last visit in autumn 2021), now the large car park by the sea/promenade is gone and the promenade is being extended. We have known Altea for 40 years now and it used to be a small fishing village. Albir has always been touristy, but it has become increasingly violent over the years. We still know the beach without hotels and without a promenade, with small huts to eat tapas/paella. It had the better charm for me.

There are other mobile homes here too, the Policia comes by, but only looks for the right one. It's all good if everyone takes their rubbish with them and leaves it as they find it. That's my opinion.
Surely campers will also stay overnight here, but that's nothing for us. But just right for the lunch break with a view of the sea.

ACSI CP place for 12€/night with electricity. Old sanitary building simple but everything there and apparently clean. Washing is done outside, cold water 😞 There is also a washing machine and dryer. We're staying here for the next 2 days and tomorrow we're going to see Peñiscola. We were immediately asked about our license plate number, because they are compatriots here from our neighboring town in Germany. How small is the world. Today we have coffee and a view of the sea.
The area is very nice, but if we wanted to stay longer we would look for another pitch.

Today the weather is wonderful again for cycling.

We cycle the first stretch of road to Peñiscola on a well-marked bike path. And of course it's drawn to the Castello.

At noon we go to a pizzeria for a delicious meal and then we cycle back to the beach.

We let the afternoon end comfortably (it's getting too hot for me now)

We had first approached the pitch here in Pineda de Mar, but it was full. That's why we decided to spend the night at ACSI PLATZ, which is only a few minutes away. We paid €21.32 with electricity, very well maintained, everything very clean and quite tidy. I would also like to take a shower here 😊 There is a shop, a washing machine room and also a restaurant/bar. here we got vouchers for one sangria each. Let's see. The pitches are spacious and this is a great way to end the day. The beach is not far away and we will explore it on foot tonight.
Conclusion: Here you can endure it longer!

Large ACSI site, many permanent campers, 70 square meters costs 17 € with electricity and 4 € / person / night. Sanitary building sufficiently available, modern and clean. Shops, restaurants, children's entertainment and playgrounds, swimming pool everything that makes the holiday heart beat faster here in town our son, who is on vacation here. Roses, San Pere Pescador, and Empuriabrava are always worth a visit.

Today is a day with his son and family. Tomorrow we continue to go home.

lunch break

ACSI pitch, 16€/night with electricity. Very friendly welcome in German, small space with everything we need. Restaurant, bread service, sanitary building, washing machine room and V+E for the camper. Children's playground, need. we no longer but is there. Large beach 2.5 km away, but within sight of the road. We also received bicycle maps (in both directions Narbonne-Plage and Gruissan) straight away, as we mentioned that we want to be on the road by bike. Very good service. Very quiet place, today and tomorrow it's going to be really hot here (28°-31°), phew I don't really need that. The mosquito spray must be there, it's teeming here.

Today we start cycling again.
It's already 25°C at 10:00 this morning
And a lot of sun, hardly any wind.

ACSI CP for one night. Very quiet because there are not many campers there yet. It's very muggy and warm today. We had just walked to the beach, otherwise you have to go to Palavas. Here on the CP there is a restaurant, swimming pool, holiday homes and a playground for the children. The sanitary buildings are functional (French standard - some still have plumbing toilets)
Since we are on our way home, it is only one last stop for us before we leave the region (the sea).

Since we are not driving on the Autobahn, the Pont du Gard is on the way.

lunch break

Small ACSI place for €16 plus tourist tax/night. Located directly on the N7 with a view of the Rhone. Sanitary building clean, very friendly reception, even if the places are assigned twice 😂, we found a solution without any problems. Shops just 100m from the square, restaurants a little further but easy to reach.
For us it is a place to stay overnight on the way home. Tomorrow we continue towards home.

lunch break

ACSI-CP for €19.40/night with electricity and tourist tax. Very friendly welcome in German. Lots of free places despite WE and sunny weather. Our last day before we arrive home after 60 days on the road. There is a bread service and a restaurant here. The sanitary building is impeccable. We enjoy our last day/evening. Somehow it's a pity that it's over (60 days wasn't exactly short) and that's why I'm already looking forward to the next tour. 😁

Our conclusion: We loaded a few apps onto our cell phones beforehand: Stellplatz-Radar, Park4night, Caramaps - we used these 3 to search for parking spaces. ACSI app and Campingapp.eu for the CP. We used the Komoot app for cycling. We also had a tank app. Everything else we found with Google. (how was it in the past without smartphones 😂)
It's a good thing that we always had internet, since the data volume on our mobile phone wasn't sufficient, we bought different prepaid cards for our router in the respective country. It is cheapest in Portugal. The prepaid card for 15 days without a limit is easy to install and top up. In Spain we bought a prepaid card for €20/4 weeks with roaming, so we could also use it for France. There are also parking spaces in Portugal (if none can be found) at Lidl (4 pieces/for one night with V+E but without electricity and plumbing), sometimes a parking space is also available at Intermarche. Ideal if you go shopping and then probably want to stay there. Parking spaces that were described in any parking lot without any V+E, we no longer approached after the 3rd time. Free standing is nothing for us.
In France on the Atlantic very few CP were before 15.4. open, next time we will buy the pass for CampingCars here to be able to drive to these pitches. This pass is valid for 1 year, includes access to the parking spaces, and you will also be shown these spaces.
Tanken: This year really an abomination with the prices. In southern Spain we were lucky, the Penoil gas stations were by far the cheapest (20 cents/litre were deducted from the bill). So we were even able to fill up for €1.50/diesel.
Toll: Since all 3 countries have toll highways, we decided to use the Bip & Go device. Everything worked very well and easily, especially in Portugal where there are very different motorway toll systems. We didn't drive a lot of toll roads, but thanks to the simple system we were completely free and spontaneous in our route decisions.