UKC

Hey guys,

Hoping for a bit of advice. The girlfriend and I are heading off to Europe for a year in van at the end of October, first stop is going to be El Chorro. We're hoping to avoid using campsites etc where we can, hoping to get some advice on good places to keep the van overnight, as I know some parts of Europe are more excepting of this than others, I was hoping to get some advice before trying my luck.

Any other tips/advice would also be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

In reply to Jon Thorne:


When I was there, plenty of vans used parking areas down near the dam. And a friend stopped in a van somewhere up the access road to Poema de Roca. A quieter area than down near the dam, which is close to the village centre.

There seems to be plenty of options anyway, and vans are quite common.

In reply to Jon Thorne:

I loved the slightly quieter areas in the north, such as Desplomilandia. You're right next to some beautiful lakes too - worth a couple of nights!

In reply to Nick Brown - UKC:


Really nice place, and you can drive right down to the lake. A lot quieter than El Chorro (dogs/motorbikes/the dam!!!).

In reply to Jon Thorne:

A good chunk of campers definitely seemed to be stopping partway along the road to Frontalés, and another few down near Desplomilandia - as mentioned above you can get right down by the lake which certainly makes the cheeky van wash a bit easier!

Logically though, would it not make more sense to hit Chorro later? The end of October will still be very warm, whereas areas further north will be in great condition at that time of year. Food for thought...

In reply to MischaHY:

Definitely. It was roasting hot in January at times, too hot really on a few days. I imagine October would be a lot worse. Northern Spain would be better, fingers crossed anyway (I'm off to Margalef end of October).

Desplomilandia is in the shade, so a good option when it is very hot.

In reply to MischaHY:



We've done 2 El Chorro trips in late October and not found the temperature to be a particularly troublesome.

In reply to 1poundSOCKS:


Frontales will be far too hot in the sun in October. Desplomlandia should be fine.

In reply to Robert Durran:


Frontales is fine from dawn until at least mid-morning

In reply to timjones:


And at night presumably? There were a bunch who a did a head torch session at the crag above The Olive Branch. Made a right racket, whooping and hollering. :S

In reply to timjones:


ie when it won't be in the sun...... like I said

Thanks for all the advice guys, I'm gunna pick up a guide book for the north i think as we're actually getting a ferry to Santander, so we'll be near by. My girlfriends practically cold blooded so we're aiming for slightly warmer temps anyway.

Anyone know if there is access to free clean water in/around El Chorro? Header it's quite common in Europe for there to be something.

Thanks again for all the info