We are travelling back from Alicante to Santander mid Oct to catch ferry ..what route would anyone suggest.. Allowing for 1/2 overnight stops .. Sites look few and far between on the most direct route ,going around Madrid..
Any thoughts appreciated.. We are towing a caravan
------------- Nomad06
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I've not done the start of your journey but I am familiar with the route north west from Valencia.
Viamichelin has the following route at 572 miles with 540 of it motorway if you go on toll roads which would cost £26 if you were towing a caravan.
First nights stop is at Manzanera which is just off the A23 Valencia-Teruel road at a shade over 180 miles from Alicante. I have not been to the campsite, Camping Villa de Manzanera but my ancient Caravan 1 book describes it as a good night halt.
My second night halt is the tried and tested site at Haro. This is a favourite for people travelling up and down from the ports to the med (and vice versa) and is an ACSI site.(Site No 2138 on page 408 of the 2013 book)
Haro is approx. 450 miles into the whole journey leaving a comfortable 120 miles for the last leg of the journey to the port.
Going non toll doesn't add much to the journey but does reduce the motorway miles by 120 miles.
Basic route Alicante-Valencia-Manzanera/ Manzanera-Teruel-Zaragoza-Logrono-Haro/ Haro-Bilbao- Santander
Hope the above is of some use
Regards
------------- How come when some people visit the fountain of knowledge, they only gargle!!!
I have not travelled past Madrid but I have towed my caravan down from Northumberland to Benidorm using most of the route 'emmitdb' above mentions. Past Valencia, Zaragoza and San Sebastian. The roads are all good dual carriageway with plenty places to stop for a rest. The toll parts of this route were not too expensive. We stopped at Zaragoza Municiple site on our way down. That would split your journey in half. Alicante to Zaragoza is just over 300 miles. We missed out Zaragoza on our way home and did about 500 miles from Benidorm to Urrugne in France. That shows how good the roads were.
Best of luck,
Fred.
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I'd forgotten the site at Zaragoza for the OP. Ideal if he wants to adopt a "one stop"strategy as they say in F1 land.
How did you find, 'finding' it?
I've heard of people wandering around and around in their efforts to get to it.
As you say, towing in Spain is totally different to here in the UK. Vast distances can be put under the (cam)belt in a day because their roads are so good. I wonder which EC budget they came out of?
------------- How come when some people visit the fountain of knowledge, they only gargle!!!
The way to go to Zaragoza campsite from the south is.
A-23 From Valencia on to A-68 signs for Madrid and Pamplona Join A-68. Come off at junction 33a Green sign 'Via Hispanidad' easy right turn.
This becomes the A- 2 then N-11
Go up to the right in a circle and keep right N-11A
This road is Autovia de Madrid
Past the Peugeot garage then turn right, Yellow camping sign.
Go under bridge then turn right [ Yellow Campsite Sign]
Over canal bridge and straight on at roundabout [Camp signs]
Go right down this road, turn at roundabout and come back up the other side to camp entrance.
Use the same route in reverse to get back on to the A-68 motorway.
Good big roads for towing.
Tip. When going up the ramp to the campsite, keep left to give give plenty room for the right hand turn into campsite. Good English spoken when I was there.
Hi, I've only just spotted your post so apologies for the tardy reply. We regularly use the Alicante/Madrid/Santander route. If you want to do the Madrid route, I'd recommend the site at Aranjuez, just south of Madrid. This site is about midway on the journey. It's worth stopping off for a couple days as the town is described as the Versailles of Spain. You can walk into town from the site, and I understand you can also get the train into Madrid.
There's also a nice site further north at Riaza,called Camping Riaza off the A1 at Jcn 103/104. I've not stayed here but had good feedback.
Camping Pico de la Miel at La Cabrera off the A1 at Jcn 57 is also an option but I personally do not like the site. The overnighters tend to be put in an area where the facilities are not that good and access is via a narrow winding roadway with tall hedges either side. If you want any more info please PM me
I think you'll like the Aranjuez site Frederico.. The added value of the madrid route is that there are no tolls! However the only problem when heading south is that if you disembark ship after midday, it's heck of a drive in one day to get to Aranjuez.
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It is 30th March 2014 when we set off to drive with a caravan from Northumberland to Benidorm. 6 weeks in total. I will be staying for two nights at Urrugne in France near the Spanish border. That is where I will set off from to Benidorm, 500 miles. Or from Urrugne to Aranjuez 324 miles should be ok? Leaving 260 miles to Benidorm. Longer but we would see a different part of Spain with a few days near Madrid.