# Northern Spain - where do I start ???



## Flossydrop (Sep 20, 2010)

OK, we have spent this year using our new motor home for UK trips and want to venture to N. Spain next year - possibly Catalonia. I am a woman who likes to organise and have spent an hour or so investigating but to be quite honest I am totally and utterly baffled by the whole thing :? 

We would prefer Northern Spain to reduce travelling time and want to avoid major touristy areas (Lloret de Mar - great fun when we were 18 !!) 

My questions are rather basic and may seem rather silly but be gentle as we are new to this !

1. Best route from England (we are based in SE)
2. Best place to stop enroute (France obviously but where ?)
3. Roughly how long to get to Spain
4. Any amazing places in Spain to consider ?

ANY advice at all would be really welcome.

Thank you
Floss


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

The best route if you want to avoid tolls and don't want the pricey option of the Portsmouth- Santander ferry is Calais- Rouen- Le Mans or Chartres-Poitiers -Bordeaux-Biarritz and along the coast through St Jean de Luz and so on. Lots of aires and campsites en route. The N10 is a good fastish road- boring but free !

Not to be missed: Bordeaux, Santiago di Compostela, A Coruna, Bilbao, Santillana del Mare, the Picos D'Europa mountains and villages...

Remember that northern Spain is called Green Spain and this is because it rains - a lot ! It is gorgeous however.

G


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## Flossydrop (Sep 20, 2010)

Thanks Grizzly, this is a great starting point for me, I was blinded with science when started investigating via google ! Am aware that the weather not so good in N Spain, we have been to a couple of times previously years ago (not in a motorhome) and didn't experience brilliant weather but on the other hand we are travelling in our old girl and we don't have AC to cool us down so we don't want it too hot.
Thanks again, time to get investigating using your info.
Floss


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## lucy2 (Jun 27, 2007)

We are heading for Portugal week after next for 4 weeks.

Our route is Dover/Calais drive to St Nazaire catch overnight ferry to Gijon ( about 40 miles west of Santander) then drive down to Lisbon. Returning back to St Nazaire the drive back to Zeebrugge for overnight crossing to Hull.

We are using Camping Cheques as much as we can ( camping cheque sites a bit thin on the ground)


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## Mike48 (May 1, 2005)

Grizzly said:


> The best route if you want to avoid tolls and don't want the pricey option of the Portsmouth- Santander ferry is Calais- Rouen- Le Mans or Chartres-Poitiers -Bordeaux-Biarritz and along the coast through St Jean de Luz and so on. Lots of aires and campsites en route. The N10 is a good fastish road- boring but free !
> 
> Not to be missed: Bordeaux, Santiago di Compostela, A Coruna, Bilbao, Santillana del Mare, the Picos D'Europa mountains and villages...
> 
> ...


I think you are confusing the 2 Northern Spain's. As the OP wants to go to Catalonia she wants to visit the area of Spain presumably somewhere between the Pyrenees and Barcelona or wherever the Catalonia border ends.


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## Flossydrop (Sep 20, 2010)

Yes thank you for clarification Grizzly, should have been more procise - investigating ferries now and the Santander route is very £££££ !


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## masie123 (Nov 9, 2010)

hi the advice grizzly and Lucy have given is excellent as for how long will it take to get to Spain.
.well i am in eastyourkshire and i have done it in a day and many time i have taken a week or 2 depending how long i want to stop enroute for..happy traveling enjoy your trip..masie


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

gelathae said:


> I think you are confusing the 2 Northern Spain's. As the OP wants to go to Catalonia she wants to visit the area of Spain presumably somewhere between the Pyrenees and Barcelona or wherever the Catalonia border ends.


Quite right ! I missed "Catalonia" completely and simply read Northern Spain. I think of the Barcelona area as southern Spain but you're right; geographically it is northern Spain.

Sorry Flossiedrop - ignore above !

G


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## masie123 (Nov 9, 2010)

Grizzly said:


> gelathae said:
> 
> 
> > I think you are confusing the 2 Northern Spain's. As the OP wants to go to Catalonia she wants to visit the area of Spain presumably somewhere between the Pyrenees and Barcelona or wherever the Catalonia border ends.
> ...


easy mistake to make without thinking


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## Mike48 (May 1, 2005)

Grizly. Don't worry as when I first read "Northern Spain" I thought the same as you. The reason I picked you up on it is because threads can very easily run off course and before you know it the OP will receive advice about an area with which she has little interest.

Back to the topic. The route I take is Calais, Rouen, Chatres, Clement Ferrand, Millau, Narbonne, Perpignan then over the border into Spain.

I am never in a hurry but usually stop at the free Aires at Brezolles, St Eloy Les Mines then maybe at Camping Les Rivages in Millau, the Aire in Gruissan and then over the border into Spain. If pressed for time I would stop at Brezolles, St Eloy Les Mines and then into Spain. It depends whether you work or are retired.

There are plenty of campsites in Catalonia but they are beach orientated. If you say a bit more about what you need (eg kids) and the kind of places you like to stay then you will receive more advice.


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## Flossydrop (Sep 20, 2010)

Hi All, thank you, and you are right I need to be 100% specific on location and needs to get the best of the replies.

We have one son who will be 11. He is a very active outdoors child that loves skate parks, BMX tracks and living life to the full ! We aren't huge beach people as in sitting on the beach for hours but we like to be located close to a beach and enjoy a gin and tonic over sunset ! We LOVE good fresh food and fantastic scenery (I am a keen photographer).

We would be happy to travel away from the coast, as long as the sites had kids on them that our son can mix with we are easy  

Thanks again, I am now officially obsessed with this trip !!

Floss


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## Wilmannie (Feb 7, 2010)

Agree with gelathae, have taken this route so many times, its easy, no tolls, lots of good aires, quiet roads. Stop at lovely places like Bourges, St Flour, Le Boulou. For a site in n.Spain, Catalunya, check out Bon Repos, Sta Susanna, on the beach & easy train to Barcelona. Have fun!


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## CandA (May 1, 2005)

Hi
The Dali museum in Figueres is a fantastic day out - you can book tickets in advance.
We camped at Sant Pere Pescador and there are some good wetlands to visit for wildlife near there.
Cadaques, still on the Dali trail, is beautiful.
The Greek ruins at Empuries are also fascinating and near to Sant Pere Pescador.
The sites we stayed in and the sites we used are on our blog, see below or follow the link:
http://candakubicki.blogspot.com/2009/10/holding-hands-and-skimming-stones.html
Its a beautiful area, have fun.
CandA


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

Flossydrop,

Have a look at my post >here<

peedee


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Spain*



Grizzly said:


> gelathae said:
> 
> 
> > I think you are confusing the 2 Northern Spain's. As the OP wants to go to Catalonia she wants to visit the area of Spain presumably somewhere between the Pyrenees and Barcelona or wherever the Catalonia border ends.
> ...


Geographically speaking. Well I have always classed northern Spain as Santander, Bibao and Anything Northern Basque!.

To me southern Spain is anything from Roses to Seville !


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## Easyriders (May 16, 2011)

Hi, hubby and I are setting off for Catalonia on 27 August. We only bought our first motorhome 3 months ago, and this will be our first trip abroad in it, but in years gone by we used to make the trip in a 25 year old landrover with 3-5 kids, so perhaps our experience will help.

First, you are lucky you are based in the S.E. We face a 7 hour drive to get to the Eurotunnel from north Wales, so we will not drive far before finding our first overnight stop in France, probably near Abbeville, as there are lots of sites there. Then we will go via Rouen, Chartres to Clermont-Ferrand, where we will visit a friend who lives there. We usually try to get through northern France quite quickly. After Clermont, we can afford to take our time, so we may wander off our most direct route to look at the Ardeche or Carcassone or Albi - in fact the whole Midi Pyrenees region is fascinating. Then we are heading for somewhere near Girona, a city we love, and maybe further south in Catalonia. But we have just retired, so we can take 4 weeks for the trip: I guess with an 11 year old son, you will be taking a shorter trip, and will be tied to the school holidays? Anyway, for you my advice would be to avoid Paris en route at all costs. If you look for the route from Calais to Girona on Google maps, and select "no tolls" you will be given several alternative routes. Choose one avoiding Paris, I think the trip is about 11 hours in total, so you could do it with one overnight stop in France, but 2 would be more comfortable, and you will see more of France. If you're travelling in July and August, it will get hotter and more tiring as you go south, so make the first leg of your journey down the longer one. Also, in the summer holidays, you might be best to book overnight stops to save time. I wouldn't bother booking for Spain, because you won't know what you like till you get there, and there are plenty of sites. In Catalonia, we would recommend the arae around Pals and Palamos - watch the fishing boats come in at 5pm. Take a trip to Banyoles (where Olympic water events were held), and nearby Besalu (great photos). Girona is lovely, and of course Barcelona. But it is worth going a bit further south to Tarragona, an amazing Roman city. Just north of Tarragona is a great camp site calle "Roda da Bera", which your son would love - lots of activities for kids, and direct access to a great and very safe sandy beach. A bit further south again is the Ebro delta, a huge delta with paddy fields, great for bird watching, loads of flamingoes. The town Deltebre itself is divided by the river, and has several cute little ferries to get from one side to the other. Then if you drive up the Ebro valley inland, there is a whole different experience, a great day trip. You'll never forget your first sight of Morella, perched on a rock. I'm sure you'll all have a great time. One more piece of advice. When we used to drive through France to Spain, we sometimes booked through Eurocamp, who have tents set up for you and do overnight stops. You don't need to book through them, but it might be worth getting their catalogue, it gives you lots of info on campsites with activities for kids, and there are always lots of kids from all over Europe on their sites in Spain. The Roda da Bera one is one they list, I think. You can of course use all these sites independently. Good luck!


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

If you're on the north east coast near Girona, there's still a little of the old Costa Brava left at Calella de Palafrugel.

Nice campsite there (Moby Dick).

Quite a pleasant spot.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Easy Riders*

Paragraphs help me read better Easyriders


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## tomnjune (May 1, 2005)

tony has rightly said the costa brava , one of my favorite places not changed in 40 or more years . but i would think there are a lot more sites i would look at before camping moby dick. we looked at this site and they were asking top prices for very dirty scr  uffy site with no pool, ok for location but camping la seiesta bit less near beach but nice site with pool bars and very clean for same price?? camping international palamos also very good . this area as said has not changed still very nice with no high rises and beautiful sandy bays with lot of walks , with little sandy coves. will be back next year cannot wait.?? june


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## PincherM (Jul 28, 2011)

Lucy 2 I am first time Motorhome user and your route to Spain looks very interesting and much more reasonable cost compared to Britanny Ferries. It looks like about 400+ miles St Nazaire - Gujon and a similar distance Gujon - Albufeira. Assuming you have used this route before would appreciate any further info that you think may help. Thanks


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