Renting a campervan this summer could be a great option for those who are struggling to find reasonable transport and hotel options this year, as both have been dramatically increasing. 

Hotel prices surged by 40 percent over Easter 2023 and they’re expected to increase even more this summer. 

Demand for caravans and motorhomes has continued to rise over the past few years as people’s desire to go on holiday and experience the great outdoors is higher than ever after, particularly since the pandemic.

Currently, in Spain, there are approximately 70,000 motorhomes and campervans and 230,000 caravans, but only around 1,000 service areas are designed for them.

This means that there is a shortage of spaces, and many people choose to park in wild or natural areas instead. 

Where can I camp and where can I park?

As a general rule, wild camping in Spain is not allowed, even in a recreational vehicle, and you must find appropriate campsites to stay the night.

According to Furgoneteate and On Road Magazine, however, there are several caveats to this rule, meaning you can spend the night somewhere that is not a campsite. You are allowed to park your campervan anywhere where parking is permitted and sleep in it for the night, providing that you are not showing that you’re camping there.

READ ALSO: Can you camp or sleep over at any beaches in Spain?

What does this mean? Essentially that you can park somewhere for the night, cook, eat, sleep and do whatever else you want to do inside your private campervan, but you cannot extend your living area to the outside.

This also means that you cannot set tables and chairs up outside your campervan, you are not allowed to set up your awning or anything else that shows you might be there for some time, and you cannot turn on an electric generator. From the outside, it must look as though you are simply parked and not camping. 

Sometimes you can find specific camping areas in National and Natural Parks, however, as a general rule, wild camping is prohibited within these parks.

There are also rules about parking and camping next to the coast. General Traffic Regulations state that they “prohibit parking and circulation, as well as camping and camping sites, 20 meters from the beach in an urban area or 100 meters in a rural area, counted from the shore of the sea”.

Campervan and motorhome rules in Spain. Photo: Fabian / Unsplash

To make things more confusing, each region, and sometimes each municipality has slightly different rules when it comes to how long you can park your campervan in one spot. 

The regions mentioned below have specific campervan rules or limits on the number of hours you can park in one. If a region is not mentioned, it doesn’t have specific limits on the number of hours you can stay, but wild camping is still prohibited, so make sure you are parked and not camping.

Catalonia

A few years ago Catalonia brought in a new law, limiting the amount of time that a private campervan or motorhome could be parked in one space (other than a campsite) to a maximum of 48 hours.

Valencia region

In January 2021, the Government of Valencia brought about changes to its decree on regulating tourism accommodation. It added the word ‘motorhome’ to the decree saying that wild camping will be prohibited. It defined ‘wild camping’ as “the installation of tents, caravans, motorhomes or other mobile shelters, intending to stay overnight in places other than the establishments covered by this provision”.

Andalusia

In Andalusia, there seems to be even more of a grey area with regards to campervans and motorhomes than in other regions. Like in many other regions, the practice of wild camping is prohibited. The Decree in Andalusia, however, defines wild camping as “the installation of mobile shelters, caravans, tents or other similar elements easily transportable or removable outside campsites”. Obviously, campervans are mobile and removable, therefore it’s unclear in this region what is allowed and what is not allowed.

To be on the safe side, stick to campsites and designated campervan parking areas, however, if you do park for the night outside these areas, make sure it doesn’t look as though you are camping in any way.

Galicia

In Galicia, motorhomes and campervans are considered to be vehicles and, as such, they can spend the night in parking areas, as long as they do not display items outside the vehicle and they do not occupy more than one space. There are however different rules on how long you can stay in each place depending on which municipality you are in. For example, in the municipality of Porto do Son, southwest of Santiago de Compostela, you can only spend a maximum of one night.

Navarre

The Navarre Tourism Board state that campervan stays should be “short and limited”, but they don’t define the exact number of nights or hours.

Castilla-La Mancha

There is a 48-hour limit on parking your campervan or motorhome in Castilla-La Mancha.

Murcia

In Murcia, the law states that wild camping is prohibited including in motorhomes, caravans, and campervans, in order to avoid crowds, especially in natural spaces. The text indicates that these vehicles must be parked, not used for camping. There is a 72-hour limit on parking your campervan or motorhome in Murcia.

Asturias

In Asturias, only vehicles classified as motorhomes may park in areas specially reserved for them, excluding any other type of vehicles such as trucks, caravans and cars. The maximum parking time in these areas is 48 hours.

Where can I camp or park with my campervan or motorhome?

The user-generated map below shows practically all places where you can camp in Spain. Use the + symbol to zoom in to the area you want to check or open the map in a separate window here. 

To find out where you can park for the night, the website and app Park4Night offers a global map in which people pin their favourite spots to stay overnight.