Spain

We travelled 1726 miles in Spain over 32 days between 20 January 2014 and 26 February 2014. It was mainly sunny (14 days) whilst we were there

Key places where we stopped

Colombres aire

An aire visited on 25/02/14

Flat car park spaces reserved for motorhomes next to a restaurant on the N634. As the motorway nearby is being built, this is also used as a parking space for construction vehicles, so it was quite noisy and rather uninspiring as a stop. However, it was free and had free facilities. Stayed 1 night

Villaviciosa petrol station

A petrol station visited on 25/02/14

Filled up with petrol; 1.414 Euros per litre

Gijon aire

An aire visited on 24/02/14

A nice, level area of a car park near the port, specifically reserved for motorhomes, with good facilities. It's within a stone's throw of a small beach, but also close to a railway line and the main road into the port, so can be a little noisy. Stayed 1 night

Tapia de Casariego aire

An aire visited on 23/02/14

Quiet aire within walking distance of the sea with clearly marked spots for motorhomes. All slope slightly to the side. Good facilities, all free. Stayed 1 night

A Coruna petrol station

A petrol station visited on 23/02/14

Filled up with petrol; 1.433 Euros per litre

A Coruna car park

A wild camping spot visited on 22/02/14

Car park for the lighthouse, but no restrictions on staying overnight. It's a bit slopey, so choose your spot wisely! Free. Stayed 1 night

Lira aire

An aire visited on 21/02/14

Quiet aire on the edge of a nature reserve area. All of the standard facilities for free. Stayed 1 night

Santiago de Compostela aire

An aire visited on 21/02/14

Large car park with motorhome facilities (costs 3 Euros to use). Costs 3.50 Euros to stay there for a whole day, but if you want to stay overnight, it's an extra 12 Euros. We just stayed during the day, then headed to the coast in the evening!

Pontevedra petrol station

A petrol station visited on 21/02/14

Filled up with petrol; 1.428 Euros per litre

Pontevedra aire

An aire visited on 20/02/14

Area of wasteland by the river that's got evidence of once being an aire... it looks like there once were facilities for motorhomes there! Quite a few potholes and large puddles to navigate, but hey, it was free. Stayed 1 night

La Palma del Condado petrol station

A petrol station visited on 13/02/14

Filled up with petrol; 1.40 Euros per litre

Puerto de la Santa Maria campsite

A campsite visited on 11/02/14

Lovely campsite, conveniently close to the catamaran to Cadiz. We were the youngest motorhomers by far there! 16 Euros per night (with ACSI card). Stayed 2 nights

Los Barrios petrol station

A petrol station visited on 11/02/14

Filled up with petrol; 1.402 Euros per litre

La Línea de la Concepción car park

A wild camping spot visited on 10/02/14

Bit of wasteland a few hundred metres from the Gibraltar border. There were loads of other motorhomes there, but very little else... and the entrance to the wasteland was flooded. Quite noisy during the night; stayed for 1 night

Castellar de la Frontera aire

An aire visited on 10/02/14

We didn't actually stay here; just used it to empty toilet and grey water and top up our fresh water, but it looked very clean and flat

Marbella petrol station

A petrol station visited on 10/02/14

Filled up with LPG; 76.9 Euro cents per litre

Rincón de la Victoria car park

A wild camping spot visited on 30/01/14

Car park on the beach front packed with other motorhomes. There are clear "no camping" signs (meaning nothing should touch the ground other than your 4 wheels), but other motorhomes were blatantly disregarding this. Public toilets and beach showers are free, as is the parking. Stayed 1 night

Salobreña petrol station

A petrol station visited on 30/01/14

Filled up with petrol; 1.399 Euros per litre

Motril car park

A wild camping spot visited on 29/01/14

Dead end road next to the beach at Motril. No facilities, but plenty of space to park and there were lots of other motorhomes. Police did a drive-past and waved at us all, so they're obviously used to motorhomes stopping there. Free to stop. Stayed for 1 night

Venta del Peral aire

An aire visited on 28/01/14

Basically a motorway service station... but it's far enough away from the autovia that there's not too much traffic noise, there's a proper motorhome service point with all of the facilities, plus they've got free wifi! Everything for free! Stayed for 1 night

Velez Rubio aire

An aire visited on 27/01/14

Lovely aire with stunning views and great facilities. On a windy night it is a little exposed, and there are limited options for turning to face into the wind (the motorhome parking is slightly terraced). There's a sign saying it costs 5 Euros a night, but no indication of where to pay this... maybe it only applies in high season? Stayed 1 night

Lorca petrol station

A petrol station visited on 27/01/13

Filled up with petrol; 1.394 Euros per litre

Ibi aire

An aire visited on 26/01/14

Non-maintained aire in Ibi... there are remains of a water tap and waste disposal points, but they don't look operational. The parking area is surrounded by trees, giving some good shelter from wind and it's free (there's a sign saying you can stay for up to 4 nights). Stayed for 1 night

Alfafar petrol station

A petrol station visited on 26/01/14

Filled up with petrol; 1.329 Euros per litre

Playa de la Dehesa car park

A wild camping spot visited on 25/01/14

Car park next to a beach, near Valencia. There are no signs to say that motorhomes are prohibited and whilst there were no other motorhomes there when we arrived, when we woke up the next morning, there were 3 others. Free stop, but no facilities. Stayed 1 night

Casa de Fusta aire

An aire visited on 24/01/14

Restaurant car park in a nature reserve that has an area reserved specifically for motorhomes. Services cost 3 Euros (ask in the restaurant and they'll unlock them), but it's free to stay. Fresh water tasted a bit salty. It is quite an exposed spot and we were there on a very windy night! Stayed 1 night

L’Ametila de Mar petrol station

A petrol station visited on 24/01/14

Filled up with petrol; 1.406 Euros per litre

Barcelona car park

A guarded car park visited on 22/01/14

Guarded car park in the centre of Barcelona, within a stone's throw of Sagrada Familia. No motorhome facilities and a little noisy, but 20 Euros per night seemed cheap for peace of mind during day and night. Stayed for 2 nights

Figueres petrol station

A petrol station visited on 22/01/14

Filled up with petrol; 1.37 Euros per litre

Figueres car park

A wild camping spot visited on 20/01/14

Castle car park in Figueres. "No vigilat" means it's not a monitored car park, which means it's free to stay in overnight. Very handy for visiting the Dali museum. Popular with dog walkers, joggers, boy racers and "lovers". No motorhome facilities apart from a fresh water tap. Stayed 2 nights

Photos

View full gallery of images

Blog posts

Pilgrims, fuses and more waves (February 27, 2014)

Stormy seas and myriad motorhomers (February 18, 2014)

The joy of networking (February 12, 2014)

Mountains and mud (February 4, 2014)

The rain in Spain… (January 30, 2014)

Such a beautiful horizon (January 26, 2014)

The following information was last updated on July 21, 2014 and therefore may now be out of date. Please consume with a pinch of salt!

Personal comments:

Beautiful country with great topological variety; awesome beaches and interesting wetlands and stunning mountains. The autovia (free motorway) network is really good quality, and we had very few issues finding places to stop overnight in aires (or wild camping)... but we were there out of season

EU Member:

Yes

Currency:

Euro

Language(s):

Spanish

Numbers:

1 - uno/a
2 - dos
3 - tres
4 - cuatro
5 - cinco
6 - seis
7 - siete
8 - ocho
9 - nueve
10 - diez

Useful words / phrases:

Hello - Buenos días / tardes / noches
Goodbye - Adiós
Yes - Sí
No - No
Please - Por favor
Thank you - Gracias
Sorry - Lo siento
I don't understand - No entiendo
How much does it cost? - Cuánto cuesta?
Where is the toilet? - Dónde está el baño?
Petrol - Gasolina

Vignette / toll requirements:

Lots of toll roads along the eastern coast... it should be possible to avoid them though

Vehicle laws:

Speed limit on motorways is 120 kph, but 80 kph when passing through built-up areas, same for "1st category" roads, 100 kph on "2nd category" roads and 50 kph in built up areas.

Spare tyre and the equipment to change the tyre, 2 warning triangles and reflective jacket are compulsory

The use of full headlights is prohibited in built up areas

Watch out for scams involving people indicating that something's wrong with your vehicle

Horn is not allowed in built up areas

Fill up with LPG at Repsol stations - these are not petrol stations!

Wild camping rules:

Watch out for "no motorhome" signs around the coast. There should be plenty of free stopovers inland

Avoid motorway service points