# Playa Flamenca ....no vans.Does anyone know why?



## McGeemobile (Jun 10, 2010)

We're in Spain at the moment and have driven through Playa Flamenca three times in the last few weeks. There have been no motorhomes parked in the car park next to Mercadona. This is really strange as there are usually lots of wild campers, and I have never heard of this being a problem here. Does anyone know what has happened?


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## tuk-tuk (Jul 8, 2009)

It`s the police (or the local mayor) getting back handers off site owners. Where I live there are lots of empty car parks but you are not allowed to stay overnight. The so called aires charge as much as a campsite in France. Thats why I am touring France right now.
Tuk-tuk


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## C7KEN (May 27, 2005)

I really dont know why people post wrong facts. These are the facts. You can park anywhere a car can park provided that there are no signs saying NO Aparcar No sign saying Solo, You are not causing an obstruction. you dont put rear stabilisers down although you can level the van with the yellow blocks. I expect its about one month too early for vans to park in this car park behind Mercadona and next month there will be plenty of vans.I have not been to see if they have started to arrive at La Marina which will be packed all winter down in the *car **park* at La pinet beach. NOT the beach itself as that is NOT a parking area. Regarding aires The going rate for both the Odissea aires at Denia and Calpe is €8 per night incl electric for winter stay, they have washer, dryer, showers,WiFi etc. so not expensive compared to the UK and I think cheaper than Spanish campsites. And the winters here are dryer than the UK or France. There is even a Motorhome parking area here (in Peniscola) with outdoor big screen cinema and a pool also incl WiFi and electric for €9.5 per night that's £7.60 in UK money


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## bktayken (Oct 11, 2008)

*Playa Flamenca*

Spot on reply Ken ....by he way where is the one you mention in Peniscola is it Camping Volta?

Brian


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## tuk-tuk (Jul 8, 2009)

Hi Ken.
You are lucky where you live if you`re allowed to sleep in your rig in a car park or on the road. You would definately not be allowed to do it in the Benidorm area. Where I live there are 2 very large (empty) car parks with signs saying "no autocaravanas". I find the prices for "a one night stand" on Spanish sites to be very expensive. On this forum there is a document in Spanish & English on the official parking laws, but I would`nt be inclined to put it to the test. If the police say move you move.
tuk-tuk


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## C7KEN (May 27, 2005)

Hi Brian yes it is La Volta and I have been there.

TukTuk the agreement with ALL the powers that be including traffico is nationwide in Spain. If there is a sign saying no autocaravanas then obviously you cant park there similar to a no parking sign. However some of the police have never heard of the agreement which was organised by Lapaca I believe and on one occasion I had to show one the letter and explain it to him he then had no option but to agree. Right now there is a small RV parked in the square at Torrevieja and its been there for a week with no hastle. There are areas such as near the marina in Denia which are classed as maritime areas and you cannot park there, but turn up in daylight on any street with dotted lines along one side and park as I described and providing that you comply with what I said there will be no problem. I mostly wild camp and just make sure I keep to these rules and have no fear of trouble with the law. Benidorm is maybe a bit difficult as its hard enough to find suitable car parking but the rules are the same as everywhere else.


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## andyandsue (Sep 7, 2008)

*short videos of the sites ken describes*

a short video of one of the sites Ken talks about is here


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## McGeemobile (Jun 10, 2010)

Thanks for the replies. You may well be right Ken about it being too early. We had to come out a bit earlier this year, but I'm sure we have been in this area at the back end of September before.
Of course we could have tried to stay on our own at Playa Flamenca but we wouldn't have felt safe.
By the way I was in La Marina today trying to walk my way round to see if there was an approach which avoids the 3.5 tonne weight limit. There were 4 vans on the beach near the restaurant (parked where they are not allowed) and one van legally parked in the parking area you described. There were no vans in the car park at the other end where there are signs saying no autocaravanas.


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## suedew (May 10, 2005)

Thanks for the info Ken, mayl come in handy when we leave Benicassim.

Sue


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## C7KEN (May 27, 2005)

A little update .
There are now vans parked both at the car park next to Mercadona and at Pinet beach car park at La Marina so it was just too early when the original post was made. I expect to go to La Marina one night this week and take my boy as he loves to run on the sand dunes so I just stay overnight and let him have fun. See photo attached


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## C7KEN (May 27, 2005)

A little update .
There are now vans parked both at the car park next to Mercadona and at Pinet beach car park at La Marina so it was just too early when the original post was made. I expect to go to La Marina one night this week and take my boy as he loves to run on the sand dunes so I just stay overnight and let him have fun. See photo attached


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## sprozmusic (Jun 22, 2012)

*La Marina*

Hello All

We went to La Marina about eight weeks ago. To the beach area. Where we were parked last year in the car park were notices banning autocaravannas and no motorhomes in sight. We went towards Alicante and stopped on the promenade at Santa Pola. It was excellent! No bother from the authorities. There is also a privately owned aire nearby. They operate three tariffs: basic parking (under security cameras)8E; with electric 11E; motorhome servicing 3E.

Sproz


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## C7KEN (May 27, 2005)

This is an ideal opportunity to explain exactly where you can and cannot park. After reading the previous post I decided I would take the dog down to La Marina and have a look. Indeed there are signs saying Prohibito Aparcar both at the Pinet beach end and at the south end down the road opposite the porcelano shop. However these signs are prohibiting parking on the areas that are NOT a proper car park , they do NOT apply to the proper car park surfaced in tar and marked with white lines at Pinet beach and indeed there are a good few vans staying there with no problems. There is a difference between a proper car park with a "P" sign and a bit of unsurfaced land and that's what I tried to explain on my last post. Frankly I think the Spanish are silly in restricting parking on the waste land and in the summer there will be plenty of Spanish cars there with the owners on the beach but that is one of their strange decisions. This morning I met a Belgian couple who wanted a coffee in the cafe on pinet beach and they could not get served because they had a dog, in the cafe at the south end dogs are welcome on a lead and with the owners sitting in the awning as they are at all the spanish bars i've ever visited with my dog . Its crazy in this recession to turn away custom especially as they had a very well behaved dog who would have sat beside the owners in an almost empty cafe awning.


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## ambegayo (Jan 7, 2007)

*La Marina*

We were staying in my daughter appartment last Jan-Feb 2012 and drove up to La Marina, we spoke to an English couple who said they had no trouble and there was water and toilet empying facitities there. We noted that at the entrance to La Marina Site there was a Racelet installed. They vans parked in the photo are not in the car park but below.


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## C7KEN (May 27, 2005)

This is one of the areas with the Prohibito Aparcar signs as they were never a designated car park but just a peice of land that many parked on. There are no vans here now. The only vans are on the proper car park at the north end of La Marina at Pinet beach. Next summer I expect there will be lots of Spanish cars parked in these area's but that's a different story. Anyone who ignores the signs will get a very heavy fine i'm sure.


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## ambegayo (Jan 7, 2007)

*La Marina*

When we were there talking to the English couple they said that the police came down and just checked but not action was made to move them on. The year before I read that they had been all cleared out because of the complaints from residents and holiday homes who would be coming down for Christmas. Everyone seemed very well 'dug in' in Jan2012. It seems that it a try and see. The La Marina was almost full - mostly German vans.


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## C7KEN (May 27, 2005)

No its NOT a try and see. There are signs saying No Parking and that will be good enough for the local police to get their card reading machines out and fine you heavily before telling you to move. Don't lets forget they get a bonus for Christmas but have to earn it. What used to happen on these areas at La Marina has no relevance to the current situation. They did not have the no parking signs last year. I also noticed today a couple of vans parked next to the beach in Torrevieja on a similar piece of land to that in La Marina, this is a real bad move, I know of people being broken into when parked there and leaving their vans for a walk but even if that does not happen i'm sure the police will be calling with the card reader. I'm not saying all this to be a smart Alec or a holiday dampener but to save some of you from the misery of losing possessions or having unnecessary expense on your visit to Spain


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## CostaBlancaServices (Dec 22, 2012)

I can confirm they are all back again, especially it seems around weekends when it has been packed solid!


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