How to visit Spain in a motorhome or van?
Are you particularly inspired to visit Spain in a motorhome, van or camper van? You’re right. The second most visited country in the world after France, Spain is a land full of wonders: generous sunshine all year round, magnificent beaches, a soft, lilting language, grandiose landscapes, one of Europe’s richest historical heritages, a cultural crossroads of civilizations, a population as festive as it is welcoming, all topped off with a multi-faceted gastronomy to be savored to the sound of traditional music that gets the emotions dancing.
So why take a plane to the other side of the world, and why stay in a hotel when you can sleep in the wild, just a few hours’ drive from France? Here’s our mini-guide to Spain by motorhome, van or camper van!
Route ideas in Spain by motorhome
Spain is a vast country of 505,911 km², with mountains, arid plains and a rich biodiversity. Spain is one of only three countries in the world with both an ocean and a Mediterranean coastline – along with France and Morocco – and boasts many must-see cities: Barcelona, Girona, Toledo, Valencia, Alicante, Salamanca, Madrid, Seville, Cordoba, Granada, Cadiz, etc. You could also rent a motorhome in the Canary Islands to enjoy the eternal spring in Tenerife, or in the Balearics to get your feet wet.
Setting up an itinerary for your visit to Spain in a motorhome or van will therefore be rather difficult, especially if you don’t have much time. If you’re arriving from France, crossing the Pyrenees – the parks of the Catalan and Ariège Pyrenees, the Hautes-Pyrénées – will be your first essential stop. But where to go from north to south to visit Spain in a motorhome in 7, 10, 15 days or a month?
There’s a plethora of itineraries to choose from, depending on whether you’re looking for regional nature parks, mountains for hiking, seaside resorts or cultural pilgrimages on the lookout for the best historical monuments that have stood the test of time since antiquity. Nevertheless, we’ve put together a few ideas for itineraries in Spain, depending on whether you have a week, two weeks or a month’s vacation:
- 7 days: Costa Brava (El Port de la Selva, Cadaqués, Roses), Girona, Barcelona, Tarragona, Ebre Delta Natural Park, Valencia, Sierra Calderona Natural Park
- 7 days in Andalusia: Jaén, Granada, Antequera, Malaga, Ronda, Seville, Cordoba
- 15 days in Spain: San Sebastian, Valladolid, Salamanca, Plasencia, Cáceres, the Roman ruins of Mérida, Seville, Cordoba and Granada, Almería, the Tabernas desert, Valencia, Tarragona
- A month or more in Spain: same route plus Picos de Europa Nature Park, Madrid, Segovia, Don Quixote Route, Serrania de Cuenca Nature Park, Zaragoza
Photo credit: Caramaps
Photo credit: Caramaps
Photo credit: Caramaps
Photo credit: Caramaps
These routes are indicative only. The aim is to optimize your stages so that you don’t spend all your time on the road!
How and where to rent a motorhome in France?
It’s now easy to rent a motorhome in France. How? By using platforms such as Yescapa to put renters (yourself) in touch with private motorhome owners.
How does it work?
- Start by choosing the motorhome in your city (e.g. Bordeaux, Nantes, Toulouse, Paris, Montpellier or Marseille).
- Make sure you choose unlimited mileage, check the number of beds available and whether it’s possible to travel abroad.
- Make an online rental request and share your travel information (dates, rental options, mileage, etc.) with the owner.
- If your request is accepted, after payment you will have access to the owner’s contact details to set up a first meeting.
- On the day of departure, present your driver’s license and pay the deposit.
- An inventory offixtures is drawn up and a rental contract is signed by both parties. On your return, after an unforgettable road-trip, you sign the return inventory and that’s it!
How and where to rent a motorhome in Spain?
Before landing to visit Spain by motorhome, it’s a good idea to make an online reservation. Yes, it would be a shame to arrive in Barcelona, Malaga, Madrid or Seville only to discover that there are no vehicles available at any of the agencies, or worse, that rates have skyrocketed.
If you want to own a motorhome, we recommend you use an online motorhome and converted van rental platform. There are now many such sites on the road-trip and wild camping market. The principle is simple: you choose the vehicle you want – based on the daily price, the type of camper/van/convertible van and the vehicle’s equipment – and send a rental request to the owner.
Last step: once you’ve paid online, you’ll receive a confirmation e-mail and you’re off to visit Spain in your motorhome!
Driving a motorhome in Spain: traffic rules you need to know
As you may have guessed, when visiting Spain in a camper van or van, driving is on the right-hand side of the road, and the rules of the road are much the same as when driving a car. On mountain roads, it’s compulsory to honk your horn on bends if you lack visibility. It’s worth noting that, like Italy, Spain has introduced the concept of limited zones where only local residents can drive: these are called » area de prioridad residencial » and are accessible only to people with special authorization: you are therefore forbidden to cross these zones.
Motorhomes and vans must carry a warning triangle, a set ofspare bulbs and a yellow vest (no, not for Saturday demonstrations) for each passenger on board. Of course, you must also carry your driving license, insurance and vehicle registration document.
Let’s not forget the obvious: every occupant must wear a seatbelt, and no passenger should sleep in the back of the motorhome while driving. Children under 10 years of age must be secured in booster seats, and a rear warning sign (with red and white diagonals) must indicate the presence of any fixed object exceeding the vehicle’s clearance.
The speed limits for visiting Spain in a motorhome are as follows:
- 50 km/h in built-up areas,
- 80 km/h outside built-up areas,
- 90 km/h on two-way roads with hard shoulder,
- 100 km/h on dual carriageways.
What about the maximum permitted blood alcohol level? It’s 0.5 g/l.
Good to know: gasolina means « gasoline » in Spanish, and gasóleo means « diesel ». Don’t be mistaken!
Freeway tolls in Spain: how much does your motorhome category cost?
Good news: there are few tolls on Spain’s freeways! Visiting Spain by motorhome and heading south offers a fairly good road network. The road network comprises 346,858 kilometers of roads, including 9,063 kilometers of freeways. In post-Franco Spain, roads have been rebuilt with the help of European subsidies, often giving a choice between the national highway and theautovía. As a result, country roads are empty and much less dangerous than they used to be. The motorway network is made up ofautopistas (freeways) andautovías (expressways).
There are 21 toll freeways and three times as many (62) free motorways. The « AP » freeways are very busy in Spain, used in particular by tourists and heavy goods vehicles. So it’s best to use the free autovías (marked with an « A »)! To pay for the freeway, you have to pass through a ticket-taking gate at the entrance, which you hand over at the » peaje » toll plaza to pay for the distance covered.
Beware: fares are higher at peak times! The sign with the blue background indicates payment by credit card, while Spaniards with an electronic toll service use the Via-T lanes. Tolls in Spain can be quite steep. Here are some price indications:
From Perthus to :
- Gerona: €6.4,
- Barcelona: €14.45,
- Tarragona: €21.8,
- Valencia: €47.95,
- Seville: €124,
- Hendaye to Burgos: €27.35
Motorhome parks in Spain: where to park?
In Spain, you can set up camp anywhere, and go wild camping everywhere! Unfortunately, we’re only joking. Stopping anywhere to sleep when visiting Spain in a camper van is literally forbidden and is considered wild camping. Controls are not strict everywhere – there are many remote areas in the country – but you do need to be careful. Normally, you can only stop and sleep at motorhome parks and campsites. Also, avoid regional nature parks. Basically, you’re allowed to park wherever you like, as long as there are no signs forbidding it.
Nobody’s going to check what you’re doing in the vehicle – whether you’re eating, cooking or sleeping – but it’s forbidden to set up your camping equipment right on the public highway (tables, chairs, deckchairs, parasols, windbreakers, etc.). So don’t install the wedges on a parking space in a built-up area! Note that it is still possible to escape mass tourism – isn’t that the point of sleeping in your car, after all? – by sleeping in vineyards and camping on farms. This solution is called España Discovery, and refers to over 250 sites in Spain where you can sleep while discovering the local gastronomy or wine, and 800 service areas for motorhomes and converted vans. Unfortunately, this service is not free and costs €29.
Would you like to visit Spain in a van or a camper van, and have a taste for risk (especially a taste for nights under the stars)? The Park4night mobile app is the reference for wilderness bivouacs. It’s a free mobile app that shares travelers’ experiences, with interactive maps giving access to parks, deserted roads, camper van parks, campsites, remote forests, and so many other « spots » where you can sleep.
You’ll also see the « no-go » zones (for travelers who have been stopped by the police), the pay zones and the free parking lots. If you want to visit Spain in a camper van or van van, this is pretty tempting, isn’t it?
Several other websites may also prove useful: Campercontact or Caramaps.
When is the best time to travel in a motorhome in Spain?
Finally, when should you visit Spain by motorhome? Spain is a Mediterranean country, but the Iberian Peninsula is subject to a variety of climatic influences. It can be cold in winter and scorchingly hot in summer, especially in Andalusia, southern Extremadura and the central regions of Castilla y León. Spain has three climates: oceanic, continental and Mediterranean.
Generally speaking, the climate for touring Spain in a converted van is favorable fromApril to the end of October, leaving 6 months for sunny travel. On the other hand, nights can be cool (8° to 10°C at night) in April, May and October.