Pitching Up, our view on parking up your motorhome.

Arrival on a campsite or aire is fraught with all sorts of issues you have to think about. Where to park is it flat will you hit something etc. etc. of all the times we argued, for a long while this was it. So many stressful things that can go wrong, we have been lucky and careful so touch wood, all good to date. At the bottom of tis post is every place we have stated with GPS and a short review. If you have never motorhomed before it is great fun. Watch the video to see where motorhomes can get you.

 

Pitching up is not just arriving and parking the van, we over the months, have developed a routine for both pitching up and leaving a site.

Here are our Top 5 things we look for.

1. Try to find a flat surface, putting the van up on chocks is extra work. Having the van flat helps you sleep and your fridge will not like be being on a slope, it can stop working nothing like warm wine, or even food going off, to ruin your day.
2. Make sure that your door has room for you to get out, I know this sounds strange but an easy mistake to make.

   

3. Since the weather turned warm we have found that if you want to keep your food cool, the fridge side of the van should be out of the sun. Basic rule of thumb we have found to work is park our van facing north-east. This means our fridge gets the least amount of sun on it during the day and the afternoon heat is kept off it.
4. We had no real idea just how important shade was in the hot summer days. Parking in shade can mean the difference between sleep and no sleep. The van keeps the heat in the panels, also closes the shades on the windows facing the sun.
5. Make sure the pitch is easy to get back off again, narrow access roads are very common and reversing off them is not that easy. So plan your exit when you arrive, it will make your life easier.

So what is our routine when we park in order

1. Put hand brake on and leave the van in gear.
2. Get out and check that you have the van level and there is room all around and you are square on you chocks if have used them.
3. If you have an electric connection check the polarity and connect the van. Make sure if you have electric heating that the setting is right for the power you have. You don’t want to trip the fuse and be without power when cooking dinner.
4. Then turn on the master, and in our case silence the low water warning.
5. Then open fridge and prepare beverage of choice.

Leaving is the reverse but with some extra bits.

1. Close all windows, on hot days pull roof blinds while travelling. This prevents the van getting hot on the road.
2. Disconnect electricity and put away, if on chocks drop the van off them and put them away.
3. Empty all waste grey and black reduces weight and helps fuel economy.
4. If as we do a lot, you will be staying on an aire or freedom camping, fill up your fresh water tank. If going to another campsite you can leave low but in our opinion always have the minimum of 20% full for emergencies. Our preference for keeping the fresh tank full has helped us put out a fire for a farmer saving his animals. Mind you we lose around 30% of our fresh water as we travel from the overflow on the fresh tank. Annoying so I have fitted a stopcock to the overflow for when we travel.
5. Lastly another run around the van checking all drawers and cupboards are locked shut. A quick look in the fridge to check it is loaded correctly so nothing can force it open in transit is a good idea as we have had it empty it’s contents while we were on the move.

Life in a motorhome is fun but simple checks help keep it and you safe and on the road. Whatever you do don’t drive off still connected to the electricity supply. From what we have seen his really annoys the owners of the site and is VERY expensive.

Here are all the places we have stayed.

001 Santander Free Aire Cabarceno, our very first stop in Spain lovely location, can recommend. We would love the weather to have been better to see the elephants nearby. GPS 43°21'30.0"N 3°49'08.7"W

002 Nr Salamanca Free Aire, El Encinar,Spain, very remote but did the trick. Wind howled. GPS 40°52'48.6"N 5°34'55.8"W

003 Caceres free Aire, Cacares, Spain very good aire, right on the edge of town. Wter, grey and Black waste. GPS 39°28'50.0"N 6°21'59.5"W

004 Camping Vejer, Vejer de la Frontera, Spain, our first campsite, well laid out and clean. lovely The owners could not be more helpful. Will aleays feel this was our 'Home' in Spain. As we were attending Spanish school in the town we booked the whole of Jan and a bit of Feb to give us a base. Also gave us time to learn to operate a motorhome. GPS 36°15'07.8"N 5°56'20.4"W

005 Parking Santa Catalina, Cadiz, Spain. Just a very expensive place to park. GPS 36°32'00.5"N 6°18'27.8"W

006 Camping Rio Jara, Tarifa, Spain A lovely campsite on the beach. Not an ASCI camp but charged us €25 a night. Lovely site on the beach great facilities, cash machine on site. Beach is amazing goes on for miles. GPS 36°02'30.8"N 5°37'48.9"W

007 Camping Parque Tropical, Estepona, Spain This campsite was a little rough right beside the dual carriageway, difficult to park and not the cleanest, less said the better really. €26 per night to boot. GPS 36°27'15.0"N 5°04'54.2"W

008 Camping Vejer, Vejer de la Frontera, Spain, Return afaer time away, so same review! Well laid out and clean. lovely The owners could not be more helpful. Will aleays feel this was our 'Home' in Spain. As we were attending Spanish school in the town we booked the whole of Jan and a bit of Feb to give us a base. Also gave us time to learn to operate a motorhome. GPS 36°15'07.8"N 5°56'20.4"W

009 Puerto Gelves Aire, Seville, Spain, a wonderful paid aire, €12 per night and €2.80 for electricity, water, grey and black waste included. It is 10 km outside Seville bus to town 140 €2.10 directly out side, also easy to cycle to city. GPS 37°20'27.4"N 6°01'24.4"W

010 Camping La Aldea, El Rocio very good quality campsite. ASCI card rate €17. Lovely location very quirky town most of the roads are sand and peole uses horses to get around. Be there for a Sunday as there are processions of the brotherhoods of the Virgin of EL Rocio for each of the Sunday masses. Don't even try and go during Pentecost as 2 million people converge on the town for that weekend. On top of that there is the sunning Doñana National Park that has the Ibeian Lynx and as many birdsas you can think of plus Flamencos. GPS37°08'31.0"N 6°29'24.2"W

011 Free Aire, Palma Del Rio, Spain, a bit forlorn but OK, a car park, free and greay and blackwaste disposal and fresh water, felt safe but busy. Large childrens adventure playground right by it. GPS 37°41'32.0"N 5°17'04.1"W

012 Camping La Campiña, La Guijarrosa, Spain, this was a lovely campsite south of Cordoba recommend. Location is rural, with great walks and cycling nearby. Owners very friendly and helpful. Bus to Cordoba directly outside the campsite. before we bought a ACSI card €21. GPS 7°37'22.4"N 4°51'31.2"W

013 Montilla our first Freedom Camp, Literally out side a Bodega as the aire promised in the town by Espana Discovery could not be found! For the excitment here is the GPS 37°34'52.9"N 4°38'36.4"W

014 Free Aire, Cabra, Spain, A lovely Aire in a most beautiful town lots to do, only two spaces, but lots to do here. There is a Via Verde right beside the aire a 68km cycle track on a disused railway track (Think flat). You can cycle for miles without killing yourself! GPS 37°27'58.5"N 4°25'25.4"W

015 Free Aire, Antequera, Spain this is a lovely town, the aire is beside the football ground. Fine for a night. The town is beautiful and the aire is close to the centre. It is very busy and quite noisy. GPS 37°01'16.6"N 4°34'17.7"W

016 Paid Aire (Rincon La Vctoria), Malaga , this was a lovely site the owner could not be more helpful. we would recommend it.€12 inc eletricty. GPS 36°42'58.9"N 4°14'16.0"W

017 Camping Playa de Poniente, Motril, Spain, a surreal town did that we really did not like much. To date the only place where we had a restaurant rip us off. €21 GPS 36°43'06.3"N 3°32'51.3"W

018 Camping Los Lomas, Guejar Sierra, Granada, Spain, set high in the Sierra Nevada near Granada. This was our first 'Camping Red' Campsite and it was wonderful, amazingly helpful staff good value at €19 inc electricity. There are stunning walks nearby and the views are extraordinary. Loved it. GPS 37.160119, -3.454482

019 Freedom Camp, San Jose, Cabo de Gata, Spain, a carpark but safe and secure near the beach lovely. At the time we were there overnight parking was allowed and so we did. Great restaurants nearby lovely walks pretty town. Remember freedom camping means NO facilities so make sure all your tanks are either full or empty as required before you stop. GPS 36°45'52.9"N 2°06'35.1"W

020 Paid Aire, Puntas de Calnegre A lovely spot very quitewith some nice walks nearby some resarunts near that were ok. €6.50 no electricity. GPS 37°30'44.4"N 1°24'43.2"W

021 Paid Aire Narejos, Los Alcázares / San Javer, Spain, Very pleasant spot, how paid Aires should be done. €11 per night €3 for electricity. Lots to do and see around here with great food to be had and lovely beaches near. GPS 37°45'47.4"N 0°49'52.3"W

022 Free Aire, Mula Village, Spain, fresh water, grey and blackwaste disposal. The smell of orange Blossom was amazing. Town is small and the is a lot to see around but then the rains came. GPS 38°02'22.6"N 1°28'53.7"W

023 Back again to the Paid Aire Narejos, Los Alcázares / San Javer, Spain, Very pleasant spot, how paid Aires should be done. €11 per night €3 for electricity. Lots to do and see around here with great food to be had and lovely beaches near. GPS 37°45'47.4"N 0°49'52.3"W

024 Camping Los Batanes, Lagunas de Ruidera, Spain This was a stunning campsite in natural park. As you might guess now we are staring to love Spain's National parks. It is in the middle of nowhere off any tourist track but lots of walks and and cycle paths, good restaurants near as well. Cost €21 including electricity. GPS 38°56'14.7"N 2°50'51.9"W

025 Camping El Greco, Toledo, Spain We stayed for Easter 'Semana Santa' Toledo is the centre of the Catolic faith in Spain and the celebrations were ver atmospheric. It was expensive at €30 per night including electricity. But located really close to the city with lovely views. So happy enough. GPS 39°51'58.8"N 4°02'51.8"W

026 Freedom camp, Playa Municipal, Cuneca, Spain We parked beside the river, this was near the local summer beach so doubt it would be availbal in the July, August. The rest of the year fine. There are no services other than a dustbin, so make sure you are ready for this. Close to town and cycle routes. The town is wonderful and worth visiting the 'Hanging Houses' and coulors are special, really you should go here. GPS 40°05'11.6"N 2°07'46.0"W For the record there is a lovely looking campsite just outside the town that is not in any of the books. ACSI or Alan Rogers, Camper contact.

027 Camping La Serradora, Peralejos de las Truchas, Spain , Another great find not in any books, found it on Google maps by accident. €20 a night including electricity. Fantastic cycling, walking, hiking. Right by a river. Lovely owners very helpful. We will be heading back. GPS 40°35'37.7"N 1°55'42.1"W

028 Paid Aire, Valencia Camper Park, Valencia, Spain This is a good value paid Aire very near a Metro station for access to Valencia. Very clean. The town nearby is not bad but not a lot to do. It's all about Valencia access, there is a pool in summer. Quite good food. €15 per night including electricity. GPS 39°34'46.8"N 0°26'43.7"W

029 Area Camping Car La Marina, El Saler, Nr Valencia, Spain this was a paid Aire €11 it had no eletric We di have water and grey and black waste, to be fair it was rining and forlorn but it was not worth the money. GPS 39°23'12.1"N 0°19'58.0"W

030 Freedom Camp, Puerto Deportivo, Denia. Spain, The rain Poured and we parked on the harbour road with spectacular sea views. We were reasrching to find places to stay for friends visiting in June so it will be intresting to see what the place looks like in June with no rain HOPEFULLY! GPS 38°50'15.3"N 0°07'16.7"E

031 Camping Altomira, Navajas. A Stunning Campsite great value €15 with our finall bought ASCI discount card. On the longest Via Verde in Spain. Really recommend this site. GPS 39°52'25.2"N 0°30'35.4"W

032 Camping Bonterra Park, Benicàssim, Spain a slightly industrial campsite with excellent facilities but too big for us. Full of 'Snowbirds' GPS 40°03'31.4"N 0°04'19.9"E

033 Camping Didota, Oropesa del Mar a simple campsite great facilities narrow access to pitches. Has a great value restaurant and is right beside the beach. GPS 40°07'16.1"N 0°09'30.9"E

034 Camping Ribamar, Alcossebre, Spain, this is a stunning campsite 5* luxury in an amazing location, we really recommend this site and the location. Alcossebre is what you would hope that Spain could be low rise well presented and great beaches. GPS 40°16'12.7"N 0°18'23.0"E

035 Free Aire, Morella, Excellent facilities fresh water grey and black waste, with a view of one of the most lovely towns in Spain before you. The town is lit up at night at the weekends. another MUST see GPS 40°37'26.8"N 0°05'28.0"W

036 Camping Ciudad de Albarracin, Albarracin, Spain a lovely location with great walks nearby, The town is picture post card pretty, in fact the town is stunning a MUST see. Good site ACSI rate €17 GPS 40°24'42.2"N 1°25'37.1"W.

037 Free Aire, Jalance, Spain a pleasant stop when in transit, town lovely but we could not find a restaurant open but such is life. Water grey and black waste disposal available free. A side note, Spain's largest nuclear site is 3 k's away. An an amazing sight at 1000m altitude. It has it's own dam for cooling water. It creates it's own cloud cover. GPS 39°11'15.0"N 1°04'34.0"W

038 Free Aire, Puerto Lapice, Spain, this is a lovely free Aire well situated and free water grey and black waste disposal. The village has all the Don Quixote and Cervantes you need. Good food too. GPS 39°19'35.3"N 3°29'00.3"W.

039 Free Aire, Luciana, Spain This was a strange one but met our requirements to be near one of the best Manchego cheese producers in Spain 'Villadiego' that we wanted to visit. Has won the most awards in Spain, the cheese was great mind you! GPS 38°58'57.7"N 4°17'32.0"W

040 Camping Mirador de Cabaneros, Horcajo de los Montes, Spain, yet another 'Camping Red' site, which have to date all been marvelous, Could not be happier. It is right beside the Cabañeros National Park with beautiful scenery, walks and wildlife. The 'Spanish Serengeti' it is called in the guide books. ACSI rate €19
GPS 39°19'23.5"N 4°38'57.0"W

041 Camping Merida, Merida,The ACSI reviews for this site are appalling and we understand why. There is no one around they seem to turn up when they feel like. the site is expensive at €18 and there are no seats on the loos. But it is clean and there is a restaurant on site open all day. Merida is a must see place and they have closed the aire so there you are, one night to see the most fantastic Roman ruins in Spain GPS 38°56'06.0"N 6°18'16.1"W

042 Camping Alentejo, Evormonte, Portugal, After Merida we decided to treat ourselves to what was said to us in Albarracin something special, a big thank you the unknown caravaner and this site is special we crossed the border to Portugal and for €12 we have a site that is possibly the best we have been on so far on the journey. Pool, spotless, large pitches, slight downside is a little road noise. If you are going through this area stop for a couple of nights run by a Dutch family, it is stupendous. GPS 38°47'30.3"N 7°41'19.5"W

043 Free Aire at Monsaraz, Portugal, If you have never stayed at an Aire this one might just convert you. The location is stunning on the one of the ramparts of the village, overlooking the largest man made lake in Europe. A truly stunning spot. Waste and water are not available but 2kms down the road these facilities are available. They were free when were there. Amazing. GPS 38°26'33.1N 7°22'47.4W

044 Free Aire at Monesterio, Spain. This was a more than adequate site close to the town, not in the aires book but camper contact had it. with free water grey and black waste disposal. The town is the 'Home' of Jamon with one of the best Jamon musuems in Spain and we certainly thought it was amazing. GPS 38°05'34.9"N 6°16'36.2"W

045 Free Aire at Fregenal de la Sierra, Spain, at a bus station and now they allow lorries to park so a lot of toing and froing sleep not good. But again free water grey and black waste disposal, and the town is lovely, so worth a night. GPS 38°10'11.0"N 6°38'58.5"W

046 Free Aire at Zafra, Spain, again a safe place to stop for the night with free water grey and black waste disposal. on a main road so some noise. The the town is lovely worth a night or two. GPS 38°25'31.2"N 6°24'39.6"W

047 Lorry Park at Jerez Los Caballeros, Spain, We were visiting the 27th Jamon fair here and there is nowhere to stay and it was pouring with rain. We were able to stay at the lorry park €12 a night. OK except there noise form the fair went on late like all things in Spain! The town is lovely and the Iberico was worth it! In the end though we had paid we moved due to the noise from the fair due to go on until 1.00 am GPS 38°19'44.5"N 6°45'43.5"W

048 Camping Cáceres, Cáceres Spain. Municipal Campsite accepts ACSI cards €17 individual toilet and showers on each pitch. Nice. The town is wonderful with great food options and loads of history. we stumbled on the WOMAD festival, this was fun but the heavans opened and we beat a hasty retreat back to camp. Caceres is also a great base to visit the wonderful medeival city of Trujillo another must see in Extramadura. GPS 39°29'21.4"N 6°24'41.7"W

049 Free Aire in Moraleja, Spain, good location but the water and waste machine broken when we were there. GPS 40°02'53.8"N 6°40'23.3"W

050 Free Aire in Torre de Don Miguel, Spain. Amazing location overlooking the valley, free water grey and black waste disposal and free to stay. Be very careful coming up the road as it is very easy to ground the vehicle as we did. GPS 40°13'19.1"N 6°34'16.6"W

051 Camping Monfragüe, Plasencia, Spain is the campsite for the Monfragüe National park, this is one of the most special places, take a guided tour, it is worth doing. The site is homely, but the facilities are excellent and the staff amazing. could do with a little smoothing of the edges but that said great value with ACSI cards accepted. €15 GPS 39°56'41.2"N 6°05'01.0"W

052 Camping Yuste, Aldeanueva de la Vera, Spain, Idyllic location, very narrow services could have been a little more up to date. Owners were very lovely, tapas very good! Valle de la Vera is the 'Home of Pimenton' truely lovely area. €22 GPS 40°07'32.8"N 5°41'37.5"W

053 Camping Jaranda, Jarandilla de la Vera, Spain, Lovely location beside river with rapids, All very pleasant indeed, the services were very good. Narrow to get motorhome in. €21 per night. GPS GPS 40°08'14.8"N 5°40'01.4"W

054 Free Aire in Jerte, Jerte, Spain, here we are in yet another very pretty valley, the aire is on a min road but it is not that busy at night and is safe. There is a restaurant across the road. The reason to visit is the cherries Blossom at the end of march first week of April and the best cherries in Spain from early June. There are also some incredible walks and bird life around here. GPS 40°12'34.4"N 5°46'21.4"W

055 Camping El Pinajarro, Hervas, Spain, beautiful campsite near the lively town of Hervas, shops just up the road lots of walks and cycle routes near. Plus the most stunning motor museum. ASCI card €17 worth it. GPS 40°16'12.6"N 5°52'48.7"W

056 Free Aire in La Alberca, La Alberca Spain, The town is yet another must see place. nd though the roads are all white ones on the maps it is an easy and very worthwhile run to see what we consider to be the prettiest village in Spain to date. To top it off they provide 10 spaces free for motorhomers less than five minutes walk from the center of town. And all for free, fresh water, grey and black waste sorted as well. Why not? GPS 40°29'20.1"N 6°07'00.7"W

057 Camping Don Quijote, Salamanca, Spain, a lovely campsite which is about 6Km from the center of town. Facilities are goo,d the toilets having just been refurbished. ACSI card is accepted. So €15 a night off season was not bad. They bake fresh croissants every morning and bread is fresh daily. All in all very good. GPS 40°58'31.1"N 5°36'15.5"W

058 Municipal Aire, Pinto, Madrid, Spain, this is a paid aire with video security and regular visits while we were there of a security car to check on the site. There is water, grey and black waste facilities of a high quality. The site is right beside a lovely large park and a shopping center is also beside the site with some of the cheapest diesel we had seen for a while. The town itself is lovely and safe with a lot to do, and trains to the heart of Madrid every 15 min make this a very safe and good stop for Madrid. It is €8 a day but for location worth it. Downsides there is noise from the nearby motorway. which is not as far as we were concerned oppressive. GPS 40°14'19.3"N 3°41'27.0"W

059 Kiko Park Rural, Villargordo dal Cabriel, Spain Just off the A3 heading back to Valencia we stopped here for three nights. really quite campsite ACSI card accepted €17 per night. It is in a lovely location with large lake nearby. Though it has rained and rain since January when we arrived not hear it seems as the lake is only 25% full. The village nearby has limited shopping opportunities, so if you need stuff bring it. GPS 39°33'10.4"N 1°28'28.9"W

060 Camping Javea, Xabia, Spain This is a lovely campsite in a great location. Staff could not be more helpful. Pitches are large and have shade units over them and at 32 degrees this is an asset. The pool is large and clean with a lifeguard first we have ever seen. ASCI Camping card price €17. GPS location 38°46'58.4"N 0°10'19.3"E

061 Marjal Camping and Resort, Guardamar del Segura, Spain. This is the first what they call a 'Comfort Class' I.E. The best of the best. The site is extremely well organised and very efficient. The pitches are large and have electric, water and grey waste points on each pitch. Very good ASCI card price €19. GPS location 38°06'33.1"N 0°39'20.7"W

062 Paid Aire Narejos, Los Alcázares / San Javer, Spain, Second of probably a few returns to this very pleasant spot, how paid Aires should be done. Now high season €12.50 per night for first three nights and drops to €9.50 per night after. This is for a shaded spot, very much needed in summer. €3 for electricity. Lots to do and see around here with great food to be had and lovely beaches near. GPS 37°45'47.4"N 0°49'52.3"W

063 Camping Moraira, Moraira, Spain, A catagory 1 campsite in a lovely location, facilities are very good, pool truly lovely, BUT for a motorhome this is a tough site, access is very very narrow and the pitches are small so NiKi felt a bit squeezed. Staff were lovely. If you don't like tight maneuvering this site is not for you. ASCI Card €17 per night. GPS 38°41'12.2"N 0°07'09.5"E

064 Camping Las Corralizas 1727m, Bronchales, Spain This is the highest capsite in Spain at 1727 Metres or 5666 feet in Brexit numbers. It is very rustic and slightly rough and ready. The staff are wonderful and the location is special. Make sure you have long electric cables as you may well need them. All in all we would recommend this site. ASCI Card €15 GPS 40°30'01.8"N 1°35'38.8"W

065 Camping La Serradora, Peralejos de las Truchas, We fled this camp in March when the tempature went from 23 degrees to 3 overnight. This is a great find not in any books. Not ACSI but good value at €20 a night including electricity. Fantastic cycling, walking, hiking. Right by a river. Lovely owners very helpful. We really recommend you visit. The location is stunning road is not the best but not that hard. GPS 40°35'37.7"N 1°55'42.1"W

066 Camping Urbion, Soria, Spain We met up with Jon and Syl who after having completed the 2000km cycle to Santiago de Compostela from Seville are off to Holland and then a tour of Argentina for a few months all on bikes. The camsite does not get great reviews. But they are unfair. The site has a lot of permanent pitches. Which can look tired but pine needles will fall.There are not designated pitches either, which seems to get up he goat of some people. We found the location brilliant and the facilities were in good condition. It was our last ACSI site until September at €17 per night. All in all great. GPS 41°50'25.9"N 2°46'39.2"W

067 Free Aire, Medinaceli, Spain What was not to like? A wonderful spot rated as one of the mot beautiful villages in Spain and you can pitch up for free and get Water and dispose for grey and black waste for nothing! A must stay place, lovely town. GPS 41°10'17.3"N 2°25'54.0"W

068 Camping El Aqueducto, Segovia, Spain So now in High season so we have to pay full rate but €21 per night was not bad we did not use electric as this is €5 in summer. The site is fine and the ladies facilities have been recently refurbished. It is only 4 km from the centre of Segovia. Well located. GPS 40°55'54.4"N 4°05'27.1"W Note there is a free Aire down the road by the Plaza De Torros there is a market there Saturday and you have to move your van before 7am GPS for this is 40°56'26.6"N 4°06'28.5"W

069 Camping Riberduero, Peñafiel, Spain This is a lovely small family run campsite in the heart of the Ribera del Duero wine region, Has a great restaurant serving local wines and food. Our stay cost €16.50 per night, without electricity that would have been €4.50 extra. GPS 41°35'19.1"N 4°08'03.0"W

070 Free Aire, Valladolid, Spain, exactly what it says on the tin, a free place to stay, a five minute walk from the Plaza Mayor, Black and grey waste disposal and fresh water. A great spot in a lovely city. GPS 41°39'21.0"N 4°44'14.0"W

071 Camping Serria de la Culebra, Figueruela de Arriba, Spain, a stunning location and takes ASCI until the 15th July, though the picture looks like we had a lousy run with the weather, in fact the thunderstorm passed over in half an hour after dropping hail and rain in amazing quantities. The site it's self was lovely again family run with great food. We went on a wolf tracking tour from here and it was wonderful. ACSI rate €15 GPS 41°51'52.0"N 6°25'11.9"W

072 Camping Santa Tecla, A Guarda, Spain here we have a a 1st Category campsite right o the River Minho estuary, we looked out over the river to Portugal. Boy can they party. We stayed the night they won the Euros. The birdlife is fantastic and the food in A Guarda is brilliant. The staff and the campsite are lovely, the shower and toilet facilities are a little dated, but are spotlessly clean. The restaurant does a fantastic value €8 Menu del Dia weekdays and €10 weekends. We were there no high season so not cheap.€24.60 per night without electricity €4.50 extra. Lovely all the same. GPS 41°53'59.6"N 8°50'45.0"W
P.S. There is a ferry to Portugal down the road and it costs €4.50 for a motorhome.

073 Paid Aire, Camping Car Area Playa Arneles, O Hio, Spain This is where having more than one method of finding places to stay is very handy, this was from 'Park for Night' A French application. When you arrive it will seem that you have to drive down a cliff face to get there, but do not be afraid it is an easy run and worth it. The owners live on site and look after you as long lost friends. The price is €12 per night and an extra €3 for electricty. The Illas Cíes are nearby and they will book your tickets and for a very modest €5 drive you to and pick you up from the port, the island is a magical place. The Guardian Newspaper rated the beach on the island as the 'Best In The World'! The site has a little bar and shower,s toilets and bread is delivered each day. Beach and small supermarket nearby. all in all a treat! GPS 42°16'35.6"N 8°49'59.1"W

074 Paid Aire Playa Pragueira, Snaxenxo, Spain This paid aire is located in Galicia (Spain) Sanxenxo beach Pragueira for 10 € / day you have water and electricity included + a room for washing dishes, there are washing machines, barbecues available, a playground for children, a large sandy beach is at the edge of the area. A very quiet area and a very friendly atmosphere, the owner lives on site and is always available. There are bars and restaurants on the beach and the lovely town of O Grove and Toxa spa are only a simple 10km cycle away. GPS 42°24'34.2"N 8°51'44.0"W

075 Paid Aire, Borio, Galicia, Spain, Right on the beach with a bar just across the road, restaurant 100 mts to the left as you look out and the main town about 2km away lovely spot. Grey and black waste disposal and water all for €6 a night high season, or €3 from end of Sept to end of April. The local police came and collected the money around 7.30pm or you can pay in the main car park about 2km away. In summer they open up the grass area for parking so there were over 40 places availabe when we were there. 16-17 July GPS 42°38'30.5"N 8°53'47.2"W

076 Freedom Camp, Playa de las Furnas, Porto do Son, Galciia, Spain Lovely location by Surf Beach. Restaurant beside and a little beach bar lovely to spend an evening with our new friends, Geoff, Lesley and Jackson No facilities but free. GPS 42°38'30.1"N 9°02'16.0"W

077 Freedom Camp, Muros Port, Muros, Galicia, Spain A Park4night special, this was lovely town with great restaurants, we tried Pulpo de Feria for the first time at Casa Sampedro, Pedro the owner could not be more lovely the food was fantastic. In the morning the local harbour personnel asked us to move on. But it seems to be a non issue to stay the night if you move off early. GPS 42°46'34.6"N 9°03'16.5"W

078 Paid Aire Fisterra, Galicia, Spain A simple Paid Aire in Fisterra. Actually seconds from the town, €5 a night €3 for water and empty, Eletric available for €3 If you have a long ovehang you will bump your bottom on the way in. Take it very slow and no problem. GPS 42°54'40.4"N 9°15'48.6"W

079 Freedom Camp, Mordomo, Galicia, Spain NiKi parked up free for a few nights in the north of Spain, This is one of our favorite spots we have stayed in Spain. At a picnic site about 200 mts from a lovely bar and 200 mts fro the beach. There are toilets there and water is available. The bar is great organised daily bread delivery to van while we were there. GPS 43°10'58.2"N 9°03'17.4"W

080 Free Aire, Encordo de Beche, Abegondo, Galicia, Spain This is in the middle of nowhere between A Coruna and Santiago. Very rural but lovely full facilities Water grey and black waste disposal. There was fresh bread delivered to two houses nearby just listen out for the horn and go to van. Lovely spot. GPS 43°11'00.6"N 8°18'20.6"W

081 Camping As Cancelas, Santiago de Compostela. We are fans of Camping Red campsites and Santiago de Compostela is a MUST see if you are here so we stayed and it is a great campsite though it can be a bit chaotic. Clean and a good restaurant, large shopping centre nearby and the city is a 2 km walk. We were there high season so not cheap. GPS 42°53'23.1"N 8°31'24.2"W

082 Freedom Camp, Balneario Thermal Baths, Laias, Ourense, Galicia, Spain, this came from Espana Discovery and it was our first ever success with the book. a lovely location beside a thermal bath spa complex, on the river lovely spot. GPS 42°19'37.6"N 8°01'50.1"W

083 Hotel Break, Casa Louteiro, Orellan, Castilla y Leon, Spain, OK so we don't always stay in the van. Karen's brother and family came out so we stayed in this very cute Casa Rural in the middle of nowhere. Las Medulas is worth the visit and the view point is 2.5km up the road. I think you could get away with parking there overnight the view early in the morning is awesome. The GPS 42°27'33.3"N 6°44'44.8"W is for the viewpoint carpark

084 Free Aire, Oviedo, Asturias Spain, a very busy free Aire in the city easy bus access to the city and the facilities are great, water grey and black waste. More than a little impersonal but felt safe and clean. GPS 43°22'58.5"N 5°49'25.3"W

085 Free Aire, Entrago, Senda de Oso Asturias, Spain, a very busy site with lots of young vanners who climb during the day. They work to Spanish time so bed is around 2am, That said it is located in the most lovely position and is free. All usual facilities grey, black disposal and fresh water. There is a Via verde cycle path there and you can do a lovely cycle there and see bears! Lovely place. GPS 43°10'13.3"N 6°05'48.2"W

086 Free Aire, Cangas de Onis, Asturias, Spain The gateway to the Picos de Europa we were able to get easily to Santuario De Covadonga by bike which is worth the journey. There are great bars and restaurants in the town nearby. The Aire is not that well set out but serves it function with black, grey waste disposal and fresh water available free. A bit noisy. GPS 43°21'07.6"N 5°07'31.4"W

087 Paid Aire, Posada de Valdeón, Spain, Amazing location, at a reasonable price of €8 which includes electricity and access to showers and toilets at the local sports stadium beside the site. Take the bust to Cain in the morning and you can walk the amazing Senda del Cares and get back for dinner! GPS 43°09'08.7"N 4°55'02.8"W

088 Freedom Camp, Nr. Fuente Dé, Spain We could not find anywhere to park up and the ever helpful Park4Night came to our rescue with this lovely spot near Fuente Dé, in the Picos so we could get to the cable car the next morning. GPS 43°08'08.1"N 4°42'53.2"W

089 Freedom Camp, Cue, Spain August on the coast a nightmare to find somewhere to stay for the night, but Park4Night came up with this idyllic spot beside a beach in Cue, near Llanes, GPS 43°24'54.2"N 4°43'52.4"W we stayed one night peacefully but the next day a lot more Motorhomes showed up and were cooking etc. So at 11 pm we were moved on by the police. Very nicely we should add. If it was not August doubt it would have been an issue.

090 Freedom Camp, Llanes, Spain We had spotted that the circus was in town earlier and so when we were moved off our previous site we went here. There were a lot of vans in the area so not an issue. Also just in front of the circus, the local town has built a lovely fully facility Aire which will take 20 Motorhomes. It will be a pay for water and waste type and if I got it right will cost €2 for waste and a fill of water and extra to stay the night. The GPS is the Aire 43°25'26.1"N 4°46'05.2"W It is good spot easy access and near the town.

091 Camping Santillana del Mar, Santillana del Mar, Spain. We needed washing and as Santillana del Mar is slightly inland we were able to get on. An OK site and good value given it is August at €25 including electricity. The town is a must see very picturesque, facilities were good the food in the restaurant was dull. GPS 43°23'33.4"N 4°06'42.0"W

092 Free Aire, Burgos, Spain A very well organised municipal aire with grey, black and waste water all free. It is near a shopping centre and approx. 3km walk into the city. The city itself is well worth a visit just for its cathedral a jewel. There are lots of shops and the food is wonderful. If you like black pudding which David does it is the very best in the world GPS 42°21'03.1"N 3°40'49.8"W

093 Free Aire, Eltziego, Rioja, Spain This is where the €85 million Frank O’Geary designed Marquis De Riscal hotel is, just down the road is an inspired Aire, really well designed with grey, black waste and water free plus for a €2 token from nearby shops or restaurants you can have 12hours of electricity. Great spot. GPS 42°30'54.0"N 2°36'55.1"W

094 Free Aire, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country, Spain. Another municipal Aire with grey, black and fresh water provided free, Access will be an issue on Wednesday mornings, as there is a market there so if you want to get out I believe it can be an issue. That said we arrived on a Wednesday afternoon, though the site is a little industrial the city is not and is worth the visit. 42°52'00.8"N 2°41'07.4"W

095 Paid Aire, Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain This is municipal paid Aire in Bilbao that has stunning views over the city, the 58 bus €1.25 gets you down into the amazing revived town The Guggenheim was the catalyst for the regeneration, and is a beautiful building. But make sure you take the metro down to Portugalete to see the most wonder feat of 19th century engineering the Vizcaya transporter bridge. The cost per night is €15 this gets you electric hook up and waste disposal and fresh water. There is fresh bread every morning, lovely spot with great views. GPS 43°15'35.0"N 2°57'50.7"W

096 Grand Camping Zaruitz, Zarautz, Basque Country, Spain At €31 per night the budget was blown as we were here for a week to meet up with friends that had come over to see us and some did a surf course. This town is surf city and the Royal golf club only nine hole is lovely and at 65 for a day pass not bad value either. The campsite was very very busy and we were lucky to get on to it. The staff were friendly even with the fact they were always run off their feet. The facilities were very clean even though the site was full to the brim. The ASCI discount rate off season is €17 a bargain. GPS 43°17'25.4"N 2°08'46.5"W

097 Paid Aire, Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain

We came back for an extra night after having dropped our friends to the airport, here is the view from the Aire.

This is municipal paid Aire in Bilbao that has stunning views over the city, the 58 bus €1.25 gets you down into the amazing revived town The Guggenheim was the catalyst for the regeneration, and is a beautiful building. But make sure you take the metro down to Portugalete to see the most wonder feat of 19th century engineering the Vizcaya transporter bridge. The cost per night is €15 this gets you electric hook up and waste disposal and fresh water. There is fresh bread every morning, lovely spot with great views. GPS 43°15'35.0"N 2°57'50.7"W

098 Camping Jaizkibel, Hondarribia, Spain A small campsite near the border with France. Very friendly helpful staff, but it is very expensive at €33 a night.
No pool but a ten-minute walk from the medieval town. The black waste disposal is in the ladies’ loo, which was a surprise. GPS 43°21'58.5"N 1°48'16.6"W

099 Free Aire, Pamplona, Spain. This is a perfectly adequate stop point in Pamplona Grey and Black waste is free, but if you require water you need to head down 300 metres to the municipal pool and get a token. As we did not need water we did not. At GPS is the bus stop where the 17 bust will take you to town. There is a number of bars and shops nearby as well. Not perfect but OK. GPS 42°50'25.1"N 1°39'54.4"W

100 Paid Aire, Sos del Rey Cathlico, The is another one of the Pueblos mas Bonita de Espana and is truly beautiful. The fee per night is €5 and includes grey, black waste and fresh water plus the use of the showers and toilets in the sports facility and the pool. You can swim for an extra €3. The town it’s elf is lovely well deserving of its title. While we were in the area we passed the 10,000 miles in the van and this was our 100th stop of the trip. GPS 42°29'28.3"N 1°12'49.4"W

101 Camping Valle de Ansó, Anso, Spain Again another ‘Mas Bonita Pueblo’ set at the foot of the Pyrenees, we opted to say on a site here as it cute and easier. €21 without electric, it has a lovely restaurant and the facilities are clean and loads of hot water and a pool. The town lives up to the advertising! Very beautiful and there are lots of great walks and bike rides around. The food in the area was fantastic, we had a one of the very best ‘Menu del Dia’ here. You will have read Karen’s Food blog for that. GPS 42°45'05.7"N 0°49'47.3"W

102 Free Aire, Jaca, Huesca, Spain This is a brand new Aire in the very lovely town of Jaca. very close to the town. All usual facilities grey, black waste and fresh water provided. Looking that the site it does looklike it will charge in the future and provide ehu as well. Town well worth a visit great food. GPS 42°34'04.0"N 0°32'42.9"W

103 Camping Río Ara, Torla-Ordesa, Huesca, Spain An amazing campsite in a stunning location truly 5*. Facilities spot on, staff wonderful, location superb. There are great walks nearby and the village has some lovely restaurants. €25 no eletric
GPS 42°37'54.7"N 0°06'25.8"W

104 Free Aire, La Pobla de Segur, Spain A lovely little Aire beside the railway station. Don't worry its the last stop and the trains only run evry hour. Grey, black waste and fresh water free PLUS you can get 1 hour of EHU free as well. Quite town good overnight stop. GPS 42°14'20.8"N 0°57'58.1"E

105 Free Aire, Rialp, Spain, We were going to sty in Andorra but did not like to much so headed back to Spain, and found this reasonable stop. Grey, black waste disposal plus fresh water free so all good. You can buy a card for electric hook up but very expensive. That said we were offered one free when we bought cheese in a local shop.
GPS 42°26'21.0"N 1°08'01.0"E

106 Camping la Noguera, Sant Llorenç de Mongai, Spain a very nice camp site quite near to Lleida where we hoped to get our wing mirror fixed. Lovely clean facilities with a fantastic restaurant, lovely walks around the lake. Not the cheapest at €26 per night no electric. That is high season price. Liked it.

GPS 41°51'39.0"N 0°49'48.5"E

107 Free Aire, Parc Natural del Delta de l'Ebre, Spain.
A lovely spot lots to see and do around loads of bird life and the rice fields are lovely. Cycling is a breeze as it is perfectly flat. Parking is free but waste disposal and fresh water costs €3, access from little shop. Beware this being perfectly flat and sitting water everywhere is not only a birding paradise but a mosquito paradise also!! The flamingos make it all worthwhile.
GPS 40°39'33.3"N 0°40'31.6"E

108 Camping Els Prats Village, Mont-roig del Camp, Tarragona, Spain
One of the most lovely campsites we have stayed on in Spain all the facilities are top notch, and on top of that ASCI card is back and discounted rate of €18 per night is fantastic value. Everything about this place was good.
GPS 41°02'23.7"N 0°58'58.2"E