# Part 2 - Over 3000 miles to find the best site



## Moonlight (Aug 12, 2006)

Right Marbella here we come. The jewel of Spain's Costa del Sol. Many of the rich and famous have made Marbella their home - what could go wrong??

Once again, in and past the security barriers of Camping Marbella Playa one word sprung to mind - "Ghetto!" 
Massively over-crowded and we wouldn't recommend it. 
Since being back and searching for reviews on the site (something we should have done before going) one said they thought "it was a deliberate attempt at breaking some sort of record for how many different items of outdoor living equipment you can pile onto one pitch at a time." 
We drove all the way around the site and straight back to reception stating there where no spaces large enough for us and left. Quickly!

This is where we discussed the fact that we haven't seen any British all the way from northern Spain across Madrid to the south. We were beginning to realise why.

I think it was about this stage that we were wishing we'd headed for Italy.

Are well, seeing as though we weren't that far away we skirted Gibraltar and viewed The Rock on the horizon whist heading to the most southern tip of Spain and Europe and ended up where the Atlantic and the Mediterranean meet, at Tarifa.

We found a choice of 4 campsites virtually next to each other, all with direct beach access. We chose - Camping Río Jara. A lot of space and green grass. Now we had Africa on the other side of the 15km wide Street of Gibraltar.

Strong winds blow over the Strait and for this reason Tarifa is a paradise for wind surf, kite surf and Wind farm turbines. In fact Tarifa is the windiest spot in Europe. And the Wind farm near Tarifa (one of biggest in Europe ) proves it.

Camping Río Jara is popular with locals at the weekends and music tends to go on well into the morning. Throughout the week the site is much quieter. Still, we would recommend this site.

Next stop - El Puerto de Santa María, 20 minutes across the bay from Cádiz and the winds were beginning to die down. 
Located on the Boardwalk of the La Puntilla Beach is Camping Las Dunas. The main camping area is covered in pines. But we preferred the camping area known as 'The Oasis' due to its open space which we found much better for the larger Motorhome. Lovely pool area which is lawned. A 15 minute walk into the town centre and a 10€ taxi to the Waterpark. 
We recommended this site but the beach is a habour and a bit slimey underfoot.

Our next site according to Alan Rodgers GPS coordinates is a plot of land for sale about 6 miles away from supposed destination - Camping Orbitur Quarteira, Algarve, Portugal.

My son refers to this as 'the site with the slimey pool'. 
Apart from the pool floor being slimey the man supervising the pool let the kids run wild, and the fume steps rocked back and forth. The rest of the site was fine, apart from the first shower block near the reception. 
The campsite is situated on the egde of Quarteira which is dominated by high rise holiday accommodation. Meaning all the amenities are within walking distance. The beach is about 600m away from the site but a land train runs from outside the camping gate down into the village. There's beach front parking for Motorhomes, but it's not as nice as the photo in Camperstop shows it to be. But it's FREE. Beach is nice but the sea is freezing.

Would we go back? Possibly.

We where now seriously doubting this coastline and its campsites.

Part 1: http://www.motorhomefacts.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=31699
Part 3: http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopicp-287247.html#287247
Part 4: http://www.motorhomefacts.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=31702


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