# Over Wintering in Portugal



## teensvan

Hi All.

We have been thinking of giving Portugal a try for an over winter stay. We do not wish to wild camp and would like some recommendations for campsites along the Algarve.

Her indoors would like a site near to a town that is open in winter a nice beach and if possible with piped TV as we do not own a 2mtr sat dish.

I know this is asking a lot any idea on long term stay prices. We are stellplatz hopping up the Mosel at the moment and only using WiFi where we can find it so I may not answer any posts straight away. So thanks in advance for any replies.

The weather has not been too good this last week with a lot of rain.

steve & ann. --------- teensvan


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## suenmike

Watching post with interest as sounds like a good idea after last winter in UK. :wink:


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## Grizzly

We went down to the Algarve in January this year, hoping to have a week somewhere by the sea. We managed 3 days and never again. The sites were PACKED, the ones we looked at provided shady pitches but no-one wanted them in winter so everyone parked along the roadsides and they looked like vast refugee camps. Pitches were tiny and you were living cheek by jowl with your neighbours. We saw wild-campers in several places but they looked like third world shanty dwellers in bleak encampments.

We went on further to the Spanish coast but that was as bad. At one site we overnighted in a car parking space. If you plan to go then BOOK. We were laughed at at two sites in Spain for being optimistic enough to think we could get a pitch without putting our names down at birth.

Awful ! The rest of Spain and Portugal were wonderful but the weather was not brilliant.

G


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## lifestyle

We too are going to Portugul at the beginning of Sept,but only for a couple of months,and would love some recommends of where to stop`campsites`.Just want to chill out for awhile.

Thanks 

Les


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## homenaway

Hi,

We stayed for a couple of nights at Camping Alvor near Portamaio recently as the private aire near Monchique was temporarily closed. 

Not our sort of place but the remnants of the over-wintering Brits were still there mostly looking rather fried. The site was a bit scruffy in places but quite near the town and beach.

They do long stay deals but we got caught out as they had a minimum stay of three days with a 50% reduction on the nightly fee which wasn't made clear to us when we arrived. They wanted €36 for two nights so we paid €30 for three and moved on after two. There were a few motorhomes parked near the beach by the sports centre we discovered later.

Steve


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## teensvan

Hi.

Thanks for your replies so far.

steve & ann. ----------- teensvan


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## peedee

I'm with Griz, it does get very crowded and the weather can be not that great as far as we are concerned. As a rule you should get a bit more sunshine than here in the UK.

Have a look at Camping Orbitur Quarteira, it looks like they still haven't closed it. If you can stand the crowds do advance book. Both clubs run winter rallies there.

peedee


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## Don_Madge

teensvan said:


> Hi All.
> 
> We have been thinking of giving Portugal a try for an over winter stay. We do not wish to wild camp and would like some recommendations for campsites along the Algarve.
> 
> Her indoors would like a site near to a town that is open in winter a nice beach and if possible with piped TV as we do not own a 2mtr sat dish.
> 
> I know this is asking a lot any idea on long term stay prices. We are stellplatz hopping up the Mosel at the moment and only using WiFi where we can find it so I may not answer any posts straight away. So thanks in advance for any replies.
> 
> The weather has not been too good this last week with a lot of rain.
> 
> steve & ann. --------- teensvan


Hi Steve & Ann,

Have you thought about Greece for your winter break?  It certainly won't be crowded and if you head for the Peloponnese you usually find the weather on a par with Portugal and Spain.

It is not a cheap option in Greece any more but you should be able to negotiate yourself a reasonable deal for long stays.

Have a look at http://www.magbaztravels.com/content/view/1068/30/
http://www.magbaztravels.com/content/view/69/30/

We plan to leave for Turkey on the 1st December if we can extend our 3 month tourist visa we will stay until April. If not we will have to leave Turkey about the 11th March and spend a month on the Peloponnese.

I hope this helps, safe travelling.

Don


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## kaacee

We stopped at Valverde Orbitur site last November/December.

http://www.campings.com/camping-orbitur-valverde-lagos/?idlengua=3

Plenty of space and approx. 1.5 mile from Praia da Luz and 3 from Lagos.

Weather was great early on but lots of rain end of November early December.

No TV hook though.

We didn't book, just turned up and stopped for 5 weeks @ €13 per night

Only problem was a lot of work going on around the site, but as we were out and about most days not a major hassle.

Keith


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## Grizzly

If you are over 60 then you will get very good discounts with the Orbitur chain if you get their discount card. Write to their offices in Lisbon; it costs you nothing but does take a little time.

We found we were charged below the lowest ACSI rate per night and used several of them.

G


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## spatz1

might be a daft question, but having summered in san sebastion years a ago and still remembering the high winds off the atlantic......

isnt portugal an odd choice to overwinter being much more exposed ????


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## Grizzly

spatz1 said:


> isnt portugal an odd choice to overwinter being much more exposed ????


The Algarve is sheltered and much calmer and warmer than the north. Northern Spain is not just bitterly cold and windy in winter but very wet as well...hence Green Spain. Those people who allege that the "rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain" have never been to Galicia !

G

Edit: An article in the Times recently was promoting the Alantejo district of Portugal as being the new, smarter Algarve. Certainly much emptier.


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## Don_Madge

spatz1 said:


> might be a daft question, but having summered in san sebastion years a ago and still remembering the high winds off the atlantic......
> 
> isnt portugal an odd choice to overwinter being much more exposed ????


The west coast can get very windy but the Algarve is not too bad in places. 

Don


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## spatz1

interested because my time will come !

Don Madge...
pelapenise seems an obvious choice,but after my villa trip to explore Zante,i came back reflecting on the endless wildcamping or strike up a deal with a local opportunities there were there and how green ,undeveloped and stunning it was.... Nice cheap LYDL too !!


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## Don_Madge

Sorry for highjacking the thread but it has been mentioned how difficult it can be finding a site to overwinter in southern Spain and the Algarve.

These photo's were taken onone of the most popular wilding camping spots on the western Algarve. Regulars users should recogonise the place even though the restaurant is no longer there.









This shot was taken in 1995.


















These two were taken in 2007.

Safe travelling.

Don


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## Foghorn-Leghorn

peedee said:


> I'm with Griz, it does get very crowded and the weather can be not that great as far as we are concerned. As a rule you should get a bit more sunshine than here in the UK.
> 
> Have a look at Camping Orbitur Quarteira, it looks like they still haven't closed it. If you can stand the crowds do advance book. Both clubs run winter rallies there.
> 
> peedee


The C&CC have not used Quarteira since before 2008 for winter rally's 
The winter rally site's are Turiscampo and Albufeira .
Not suprised really as Quarteira is not up to much with poor Toilets and showers .
Turiscampo on the other hand is excellent


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## teensvan

Hi All.

Thanks for all the information on the subject. Ann and I have plenty to discuss now before making up our minds where we go. We also have to factor in my hospital oppointments before we take the plunge this year. We already have the ferry booked Dover/Calais for 25th October. We may even end up in Benidorm again after a 2 year gap.

Thanks once again.

steve & ann. ------ teensvan


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## bambi2

*overwintering in portugal*

Try looking up on google the prices for Armacao de Pera campsite (the one near the beach) it's in a good position for the beach and the town. Bambi 2


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## Wizzo

*Re: overwintering in portugal*

Armacao de Pera was 10 Euros a night early this year. It's close to the town and reasonably close to the beach but it is a site that does not have specific pitches so a bit luck of the draw as to whether you end up with a lot or a little space.

We overwintered in Portugal and generally the weather was very good. It could be very warm during the day (21/22deg) but is cold once the sun disappears (another plus point is that the days are about 1 and a half hours longer in the depths of winter). Try and pick a site without too much shade though.

We stayed on one particular site for 3 months but eventually visited most down the Algarve before we came back.

I cannot think of any sites with piped tv though. Portuguese tv consists of game shows, news, some American series (like the Mentalist, Grays Anatomy, Bones etc) and American films. Fortunately because Portuguese is not the most popular language in the world the American stuff is just subtitled so the English dialogue is still audible.

Albufeira was the most expensive at around 15 Euros a night. Most of the others would be around 10 Euros. Long stay deals are available. Many sites are crowded with unoccupied 'statics' (Olhau particularly). If you are going over in October and are down on the Algarve before Christmas then you will have a chance to stay at one or two for a while before you make up your mind.

JohnW


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## christine1310

*Winter in Portugal*

Hi

Sorry for the late reply but I have only just read this post.

We have stayed a couple of winters in Portugal on the Valverde campsite near Luz. You can walk to Luz beach, 15 minutes, and it's also near Lagos (bus or drive). This winter just gone we got pensioners rate for €13 per night but it is also an ACSI site €15. Quite a few Brits over winter here and there is always space. You have to take the weather as you find it, although it ended up in the high 20's C before Easter.

I hope this is of some help and we might see you there next Feb/March. You can see some pictures on our blog - link below.


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## safariboy

You seem to be able to hire a 2m+ dish in the Algarve. We saw several sites with lots of almost identical dishes.
But although most of Portugal was excellent the Algarve was more than full. There seemed to be lots of "Clubs" organised by the inmates.

Safariboy


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## pomme1

Sorry to hi-jack the thread, but can anyone suggest a route from Bilbao or Santander down to the Algarve, and what about stopovers on route.

Yes, I have tried searching!

Thanks

Roger


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## peedee

First night >Camping Regio< Salamanca. It is well worth a couple of nights here to visit the beautiful city of Salamanca.

Second night >Camping Orbitur Evora< Travel via Badajoz and again it is worth acouple of nights to visit Evora

Last stage is the run down to the Algarve.

peedee


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## dragabed

*http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopic-reply-109190.html*

camping obitur is a group of about 24 sites in portugal which open through the winter we have spent 3 winters in potugal and tried out their sites and also wild camped on the alarve at villamora and quateira from nov through to feb. 
the weather can be bad at times with high winds and storms but still much warmer than at home in the uk. 
portugal is also very cheap when buying day to day living stuff. 
most towns are open as normal and everyone seems to speak english to some degree. 
we find it very pleasant and friendly with lots of dutch and german motorhomers also visiting at this time of the year.


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## Gilroy

*Winter in Algarve*

We have visited Campismo Ria Formosa for the last two winters and would recommend it.

A newish site out 4 years old) with good facilities but no piped TV. Sometimes neighbouring Brits will let you connect your Sat box to their big dish though.

Located near Cabanas which is a short walk away and Tavira which is a longer walk. Also there is a train station in the village which takes you to other towns on the Algarve.

Good rates for long stays, different rates for different size pitches so you pay for what you want.

www.campingriaformosa.com[/url]

Gilroy


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## ned

*portugal?*

HI guys,

Sorry to be a damp squib on this one but we went down to the Algarve , on the turiscampo site at Pria de luz and I can honestly say it was the worst european visit in 35 years. We started off taking the Brittany Ferries, with the dog friendly cabins, to Bilbao. Boat trip Ok and the DFCabins were good until I woke up the following morning completely covered with Dog flea bites from the previous occupant :roll: We elected to drive down in 2 days so did 320miles down to Caceres and stayed on the ACSI site OK but rough. The turiscampo site was Ok, they are in fact Acsi but not in the english version of the book. We used the scooter for touring around to Lagos and Sagres etc. But the place (Algarve) absolutely littered with english trying to make ends meet with various businesses. Campsites are not really our thing and the mindset of the people who spend long periods of time 'shacked up' in camping butlins ( circa 1960s) I am afraid slightly reminds me of visiting my Dad in a retirement home. Everyone is so institutionalised :wink:

Not my cup of tea at all. Quickly pulled out when one person who had been there 6 months and had obviously bored the arse of everyone else latched onto us. We moved over to the aire at Alvor on the beach which was much better. Then went up to the Chicken Shack campsite for a couple of days just to see what it was all about  Much better and well worth it but right out in the sticks :roll:

Portugal is Ok for a fly in Fly out golfing holiday but with the price of fuel and travel to get there is not our cup of tea. we rate the Algarve at about 2 out of ten which is better than Spain which I absolutely HATE :twisted: :twisted: and rate at -10 out of 10

Right got that off my chest Sorry................... Wilse are you going to the western? want to see you new Van

Keep em waxed ............ Ned


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