# Bilbao to Malaga/Murcia/Mar Menor March 2008



## motorhomeviews (Jan 9, 2008)

Hi 

We are off to Spain March 11 2009. 

Will travel down through Spain taking our time and starting to put a few plans in place. Seemed like a good idea to start this on new years eve, with a few glasses to see in the new year. 
Looking for ideas for stops on the way down, think we,ll probably take a few weeks at the Mar Menor region, think it's Murcia. Return via France to pick up the ferry at Calais. 
Know aires are few and far between if you can find them , so we have ordered the campingcard subscription from Vicarious books. 
We have Gaslow refillable LPG , is it readily available in Spain? Also do we need a Spanish adapter, we have one for France. 

So any advice welcomed re sites, LPG, roads , point of interest for TomTom satnav etc 

Best Regards for 2009 

pat and trev eden


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## aguilas389 (May 18, 2008)

*Spain*

Hi Trev & Pat,
There are only 24 (at last count) LPG (Autogas) stations in the whole of Spain, we know we ran a IH Tio with Gaslow tanks for 6 months and our nearest fill up was 100km away from where we live. The other prob is, during the heat of the day you can't get your bottles filled properly and have to do it once the storage tanks have cooled down. If you "Google" LPG in Spain you can download a spreadsheet listing all the LPG filling stations and one of them has the coordinates in which you can input into a SatNav. Each filling station we used had their own adapter which they used refusing to use the one I carried but as they are only a few bob I would certainly carry a Spanish one.But hey don't let that put you off Spain. Using the Vicarious ACSI card is certainly a top idea, we use it each year and out of season you save a fortune, I noticed on your blog that you only came over the border from France and said it was too expensive and left ! I maintain that France is the ripoff, even a cup of coffee is twice the price than in Spain (mind you, I grant the border area jumps on the bandwagon and charges almost French prices) Spain is certainly no where as advanced as France with regards to facilities for "Autocaravaners" but there are plenty of campsites, and plenty of beach camping. Probably not in the Mar Manor region though as that is just one huge golf complex now. Travelling along the coast from that region as far as Malaga you will find numerous places both sites and wild to stop over and then of course you have all the inland areas. Mind you living here permanently we are bias I guess. Ironically it is our plan to pop over to the UK in April then head back via Netherlands/Belgium/Germany/Austria/Italy/Southern France/Andorra and then back home to Aguilas. Although I must say last year we planned a months tour of Portugal and in the time allowed only got as far north as Lisboa due to all the fantastic things we saw/did on the way there thus proving the beauty of motorhoming, "you can do and go where you like". Anyway enough of my ramblings, any other info I can help with let me know.
Regards
Mike & Marion


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Comprehensive reply from Aguilas, we can't add much. Although I would say that downloading co-ordinates for LPG stations is useful we have found that they are not always very accurate. I suggest you check the details given against the large scale maps in your GPS device and try to pin point the site using the address, or at least the street name. It is not uncommon for GPS co-ordinates to be inaccurate. 

Places to stay are readily available although many people use camp sites. We are not keen on the camp sites as many of them are very cramped, with vehicles being parked right next to each other. Camp site prices can also be quite high. Finding a place to stay each day can take time so we have learned to begin looking early. A few times, as a result of not starting to look early enough in the day, we have ended up driving till late and become a bit hungry and fed up. That is not what we are in Spain for. So now we begin looking earlier. 

You will find camp site reviews in MHF, there you can compile a virtual brochure which can you can bring with you. 

We have had a great trip so far and hope you also enjoy your trip, Regards, Alan.

Also should have mentioned that Aires with facilities seem quite rare in Spain, we find we have to rely mainly on camp sites for emptying and filling.


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## motorhomeviews (Jan 9, 2008)

*thanks*

Hi Mike & Marion,

Thanks for your very welcome advice.

We have sent for the Spanish Aires and LpG sites book from Vicarious. Last year we found the All the Aires book (France) very useful.
We have one Gaslow refillable and one ordinary calor cylinder, so I suppose we may be able to get the ordinary cylinder changed easier than a refill.
Will google for the LPG locations POI's for the TomTom. Will pick up Spain European adapter from brownhills Newark, "belts and braces"
We have also purchsed camping cheques for the journey, noticed that La Manga site accepts camping cheques and will allow 14 nights for 11 checks (meeting up with friends we met last year in St Raphael).
The camping cheques work out much cheaper than either booking direct or through the caravan club.
Our experience of Spain last year was limited to Lloret, went there years ago in the 60's. Unrecognisable now and we hit it on a Spanish Bank holiday so prices were sky high. This year we hope to do it more justice by starting in Bilbao Spain and travelling back through France to catch the return ferry at Calais. The greater majority of our holiday will hopefully be spent in spain.

kind regards

trev and pat


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