Winter camping in Spain

While in many other countries on the Mediterranean most campsites close their doors at the end of September, a different phenomenon can be admired here in some parts of the Mediterranean.

In the last few days we have seen an incredible number of motorhomes whose number plates indicate that they should be home by the end of November, but that belies a small phenomenon! It is true that seasonal signs are now disappearing, but there is another type of camping tourism that is becoming increasingly popular.

In some areas of Spain there is almost as much going on in winter as in midsummer. There are many designated motorhome pitches with toilets and water/toilet disposal, as well as an extremely large number of campsites on the Mediterranean coast that are also open in winter.

Please don't get me wrong, Spanish winter also means temperature differences of sometimes more than 30 degrees compared to summer. Where I'm sitting in the sun in a T-shirt at 19 degrees, the locals are wearing their down jackets, I don't want to be here in summer, the heat would be too much for me, I would sweat constantly. The Spaniards are more used to this, but the year 2023 was also a year of extremes in Spain with too little rain, more than 30 degrees in March, capricious weather and heavy rain in the north, a lack of precipitation in the south. We looked at the climate tables, but so far it has never been that accurate, but yesterday morning it was 3.5 degrees and there was frost on the ground, which was a little surprise for us because the weather report was based on different temperatures.

STILL, let it be officially noted that it snowed at home today and I almost got a sunburn.

Back to winter camping, because I need to go into a little more detail here. There are many Germans, Dutch or British people who have settled almost permanently in Spain or who rent out their apartments in the country in the summer, but there are also a large proportion of people from France, the Netherlands, Great Britain or Germany I'm only spending the winter in Spain, which in turn makes the Spanish campsites happy, some of which also offer very good deals, because the longer I stay at the current campsite, the cheaper it gets per week. The price includes electricity, pets, hot showers, internet, use of the winter pool and optional participation in gymnastics or water aerobics.

The offer is more for people of retirement age, because half a year in Spain is rather difficult for working people, and depending on the job, it's probably not even conceivable. Christian and I even lower the average age here!

But there are also Spaniards from the north here who want to avoid the rain in their homeland, because northern Spain has a different climate.

I have to say that I was really scared of the campsite at first when we realized on the driveway that this campeggio belongs to the wintering category. Until now we had camped on the farm, we stood under cork trees and olives, now it's a campeggio with comparatively little space and you can hear the neighbors listening to the radio. (But that could also be due to the average age!)

It was a shock for me at first, but I wanted to see Cartagena, it was the only place nearby that wasn't fully booked.

Of course I can now give negative examples: the Germans, who toast a big birthday very loudly at 1 o'clock in the afternoon and sing a serenade or more loudly rather than following the melody, we had that today too.

BUT there are also our neighbors from near Hameln who chat really nicely with me, admire my pitiful yoga figures and also give little tips.

I have to admit that I would still prefer to be a little more lonely, but in an emergency I'll take a winter camper, because people here are all driven by the idea that they can escape the cold at home. AND if camping is cheaper than heating at home...

There are no Christmas trees here like in Germany, our host Gregory had put up one made of plastic. Maybe I should buy some Christmas tree baubles and hang them on an olive? ;-))

The French tend to head towards Morocco, which is something most Germans shy away from, unless they have visited the country before and know something about it. For most Germans on the square here, the desire for the familiar and the familiar predominates. They need their supermarket nearby, a few restaurants that can be reached by e-bike or scooter and perhaps a postal service, then there is a winter in Spain nothing more in the way.

We'll definitely have to visit more places like this on the way further south, but tolerance might be the better option here, because who knows what I'll do when I'm 70!