On our most recent luxury camping trip in Spain, we found that Andalucia is as beautiful as its name. After all, whats not to love in a country that has parrots flying free and figs growing wild in the countryside. In fact, when we traveled to the mountains we found walnuts, sweet chestnuts, figs, plums, apples olives and other delights around the campsites, ready and available for all to pick at their leisure. It was an Andalucian gastronomic delight and we were very happy glampers indeed, as you can see in the video below.
We traveled in October, so the weather was perfect for staying in a camper and the campsites were almost empty. We had a few days of rain in the mountains, but this turned into endless days of sunshine and hot evenings by the coast, perfect for eating and playing outside. We kept our trip largely unplanned, but our one requirement for campsites was for there to be a pool for the kids, and this wasn’t difficult to achieve. The only day we had a problem was when a local map pointed us in the direction of a few overpriced campsites with closed swimming pools and a naturist site, which had the kids in fits of giggles.
We aimed to head north east into Granada and Sierra Nevada, onto Malaga and Marbella and forward onto our final destination; the British lump of rock tucked onto the edge of Spain called Gibraltar. I had always wanted to visit it, but our hosts (the lovely Gonzalo and Carolina from Flamenco Campers) advised against it as political wrangling’s were making entry into this quirky part of Britain very lengthy and tiresome. As a result, we decided to head towards Tarifa, where you could almost reach out and touch Africa, and its influence was evident everywhere.
Having a campervan allowed us the freedom of the road to explore the region without fear of ending up without a bed for the night, and it wasn’t long before we settled into a routine of deciding where to travel next, finding a campsite along our route and transforming our VW California Westfalia – Lola – from a vehicle into a dining and sleeping area for 4 people. By the end of the holiday, with no distractions, I was able to convert Lola into any configuration in a matter of minutes, which the glamping camper geek in me was very proud of!
Before we set off as through Spain, we had a plan and researched what we wanted to do before we left. We made sure our trip would take us past things to keep the kids entertained. We also enjoyed stopping off at supermarkets, as the food was so varied and fresh, then making the most of the campervan kitchen facilities.
There were some parts of the trip which the kids found tedious, especially when there was a lot of driving involved. Although we loved the spectacular scenery of the mountains we should have spent more time by the coast where they were happiest playing in the sea and exploring the beaches, allowing us to be very happy glamping campers indeed.
Top Tips For Glamping In A Campervan
Pack Light
We decided on two small suitcases so we could stack them in a small space easily. They were also easy to wheel around when we didn’t have the campervan to carry us. Packing even lighter than that would have been even better, such as a small backpack per person, but having two young children and the necessity for toys and games made this impossible for us.
Stay Organised
Everyone settled into their routine once they were given a job to do. My job was to organise the campervan, while Roy ended up with the unenviable task of entertaining the children. Getting everyone to help keep things clean and keep everything in its place helped us to live happily in the small space.
Know Where To Stay On The First Night
Although we only had a general plan about our overall route and where we would stay, we made sure we knew what we would do on our first night. We were all tired after our journey and wanted time to get to know our van, so this forward planning helped us a lot.
Get A Good Guide Book
Get a good book to show you through the maze of good and bad campsites. The Alan Rogers book comes highly recommended from many campers we chatted to during our stay in Spain.
Get A Discount Card
In Spain you can invest in a camping cheques or a discount card. This costs 15 Euros per cheque but is a cost-effective way of camping and covers the cost of 2 adults, 1 camper or caravan and electric. For example, we stayed in a campsite that would have cost 34 Euros but using our camping cheque we were only charged for the children at 7 Euros. So with the camping cheque it cost a total of 22 Euros in total… a saving of 12 Euros. Brilliant!
