# Planning first trip, advice please



## Chocolatecake (Mar 11, 2010)

Hi everyone,
My partner and I are planning our first trip, to Spain and Portugal. We're doing a lot of research but wanted some first hand experience and advice....

We're planning on going for 2 months in June/July, or 3 months starting late August. We can't decide on timing and would appreciate any advice!

Will many campsites still be open in Autumn? of the ones that are open, do they get very busy and is advance booking required?

Will it be too hot in June/July, or too wet in Autumn? Would we need to book campsites in advance for June/July?

We want to enjoy warm weather of course, but aren't took keen on crowds so aren't sure which optiopn would give us the best balance ..... any advice appreciated, thanks in advance.


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## averhamdave (May 21, 2005)

June and July will be blisteringly hot and quite expensive for camping.

August will be as hot. September to November would be nice (better for me anyway). Sites will also be cheaper.

It is not the norm to book your sites in Spain and Portugal. You can but its more usual to just turn up. There are plenty of them and you won't have a problem. (In fact I wouldn't bother in Portugal, just mix a bit of official camping with wild camping).


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Assuming you'll be going via France then be aware that many campsites close around the beginning of October. You'll have no problem finding somewhere to stop, aire or campsite, but you should not assume a place will be open.

There is also, we've noticed, a tendency for the weather to suddenly turn to heavy storms in mid-September and while they won't- usually- affect your day time plans they can be pretty terrifying !

If you go at the end of August then it is worth buying an ACSI discount card which gives you a large selection of sites for a fixed sum, off season. You can save the cost in two nights camping.

http://www.vicariousbooks.co.uk/acsi.htm

G


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## hogan (Oct 31, 2006)

Dont even think of coming here in August,unless you like 30 to 40+ temps.jam packed roads and paying anything up to €50 a night site fees.
My advise would be to leave in August take a slow trip down through France leaving Sept/Oct for Spain/Portugal.
Good luck.


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## tomnjune (May 1, 2005)

hi,

just remember if you do decide to go down end of aug for 3 months its a long drive back in nov, not much open then except aires, we did this last year and had to travel back up to the channel ports because brittany ferries cancelled our ferry from santander. they could not offer us another sailing because we have a dog. 
we stopped on the aires, most where quiet , but the weather was cold and wet, in the end we made a dash for the port.

that apart we had a brilliant time, we leave again in three weeks time. 
as allready stated make sure you take the acsi card/book its a must if your going off season.
tomnjune


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## 04HBG (Dec 9, 2007)

We usually leave the UK mid September for 9 weeks and go down to Portugal, the weather at that time down there is usually very nice and warm still, certainly warm enough to swim in the sea.
It does tend to deteriate slightly towards mid November.

You will find no need to book sites at that time of year and one point worth noting is that the sites in Portugal go down to half price from October 1st.
In Spain campsites tend to be a lot more expensive unless you stay at least a month.
Wild camping is quite common in Portugal.
RD


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## Chocolatecake (Mar 11, 2010)

So we’re thinking a late August departure is probably best - we are planning on doing a mixture of free/wild camping and staying at sites, so hopefully we’ll be ok. The ACSI card looks definitely worthwhile. No doubt I’ll be back with more questions as we get further into the planning process but for now, thanks to all for the helpful advice!


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