Northern Spain.....mountains & beaches

[Azteccamper]

Hi All
Thinking of going here over Easter (April) for 10 days. Couple of thoughts:
A) what is the weather possibly going to be like?
B) are campsites likely to be open this early in the season?
C) when does the mosquito season begin?
Cheers
Aztec

 

[andyinluton]

We often go Costa Brava at easter (top of Spain, Mediterranean coast) -

A) Varies year to year & day to day, would expect temps to be 16-22 degrees maybe one or two days of rain. However it does get cold at night.
B) From what we've seen, not a lot open. To be honest we didn't try too hard looking for open campsites once we found we could get a superb villa at reasonable rates, we normally pay something like £40/ night for something typically with 4+ bedrooms, 2+ bathrooms, heated private pool, WiFi etc. We then just use the Cali as a day van & something to sleep in on the journey there & back.
C) I don't know but we've not had problems with Mozzies that early in the year.

Our favourite location is Tamariu & have found there that compared to the summer many restaurants & shops are not open during the week only weekends. In the bigger towns i.e. Pallafrugal almost everything is open.

We've sat on the beach in shorts & T shirts in 20 degree heat at the end of March whilst the locals still have fur coats scarfs & gloves on looking at us as if we are completely mad.

 

[Azteccamper]

Thank you Andy. Appreciate your comments - especially the one about you on the beach whilst the locals are all hat and gloves! So true.

 

[snowy55]

A The weather will be mixed with the potential to be a lot hotter then the UK. If it turns bad then head south! You need to go to the south side of the mountains and the weather will be totally different.

B A lot of the campsites will be closed. Down load the ACSI app of Spain for a few quid, works off line. It will show you what is open. The Rioja region is only an hour and a half south of Bilbao with some crackin all year campsites.

C Never had a mozzie problem anywhere in Spain so you will be ok.

 

[MartinMere]

It depends where you are as Snowy says. If on the Atlantic coast you can expect similar weather to the UK at that time of year (we often get the tail end of Atlantic depressions). Inland from the coast the land rapidly rises to 550m metres (I'm not referring to the mountains but to the plain where the main cities are), so it can be quite cold even in April. It can even snow at the end of March but that is rare. Even in the south of Spain easter week is often wet (especially when they bring the "precious things" [a la League of Gentlemen] out of the churches for the easter parades).

On the other hand it can be very decent weather....

Mosquitos at that time of year would be rare.

The Rioja region is great. Laguardia is worth a visit as is Elciego for the Frank Gehry-designed bodega/hotel. Vitoria near where I live is a fascinating under-visited medieval city. There are lots of great restaurants in the countryside/mountains, especially traditional cider places.

 

[Azteccamper]

Thanks all. We normally do UK at Easter but fancied a bit of much need warm (or at least dry) weather. Ferries not cheap!

 

[estresao]

We often go Costa Brava at easter (top of Spain, Mediterranean coast) -

A) Varies year to year & day to day, would expect temps to be 16-22 degrees maybe one or two days of rain. However it does get cold at night.
B) From what we've seen, not a lot open. To be honest we didn't try too hard looking for open campsites once we found we could get a superb villa at reasonable rates, we normally pay something like £40/ night for something typically with 4+ bedrooms, 2+ bathrooms, heated private pool, WiFi etc. We then just use the Cali as a day van & something to sleep in on the journey there & back.
C) I don't know but we've not had problems with Mozzies that early in the year.

Our favourite location is Tamariu & have found there that compared to the summer many restaurants & shops are not open during the week only weekends. In the bigger towns i.e. Pallafrugal almost everything is open.

We've sat on the beach in shorts & T shirts in 20 degree heat at the end of March whilst the locals still have fur coats scarfs & gloves on looking at us as if we are completely mad.

LOL, it's true what you say about the locals. I'm Spanish and live in UK for several years, and it's funny to me when in summer people are "diying" when it's near 30 degrees. On the another hand I'm impressed in winter when I'm frozen, wearing a thick Northface and girls wear such a sort outfits when going out.

I have to say I'm from the south and to my a normal summer is when it's around 45 degrees.

MartinMere explained pretty well. Spain is not as flat as UK so, depending of where you go you could lay donw in the sand of becah and have a bath or go for a skiing experience.

The northen beaches (Santander, Bilbao, etc...) usually are similar to the British ones, but more likely to be sunnier.

If you want warmer water I'd head to the Mediterranean coast.

Any case have a look to the weather forecast becahse it could change year after years.

Regarding mlsquitoes I think there are not many in Easter yet