Pyrenees in Camping-Car: advice, areas, routes

Are you going to make a stay near the Franco-Spanish border? Find out how to visit the Pyrenees by camping-car!

Visiting the Pyrenees in a camper or in a van this year you are interested? The chain of the Pyrenees, cross-border between the Spain and France is full of wonders. What is better than sneaking through this mountain range from the Vermeille coast to the Basque coast? Do it by sleeping in his vehicle! Going on a road trip is a fashionable travel mode. Indeed, the travelling journey allows you to discover a region or country at your own pace, without having to check the hotel schedules and rates. You wander through stages, freely.

The Pyrenees stretched over 430 kilometres and separated France from Spain through two regions and six French departments: the Occitania and New Aquitaine. In Spain you will discover the foothills of Catalonia, Aragon, Navarre and Basque Country . This natural barrier culminating at 3,404 metres above sea level, is home to exceptional fauna and flora.

Are you going on adventure? Here is our mini-guide advice to visit the Pyrenees by camping-car or in furnished van.

Ideas of itineraries in the Pyrenees by motorhome

From the French or Spanish regions, there is a plethora of routes to visit the Pyrenees in campervan, van or fitted van. From Perpignan , start with the Vermeille coast and its famous seaside cities: Collioure, Port-Vendres, Banyuls-sur-Mer.

Come in. Parc natural régional des Pyrénées Catalanes , continue on Foix and the regional natural park of the Ariegeese Pyrenees. To the west from Lourdes or Bayonne, the old glacial valleys of Pyrenees National Park and the Basque country unveiled within the reach of wheels. Of course, everything depends on the duration of your stay.

You will not establish the same route as you come to visit the Pyrenees by camping-car for 7 days, 15 days, one month or more. You don't know where to go and what are the must-sees to visit? Here are our route ideas:

• From Lourdes : la vallée du Louron avec Arreau, Saint-Larry-Soulan, le lac de Génos, le pic du Midi by the Aspin pass, Bagnères-de-Luchon and the Aspe peak, the Tourmalet pass, Aragnouet and the lakes of the Neouvielle massif, Gavarnie's circusArgelès-Gazost.
• From Bayonne, toSpain : the pass of Izpegui and the pass of Otxondo, Roncevaux, Aribe, the canyon of Arbayun, Sangüesa, Torla-Ordesa and Monte Perdido, Jaca, the gorges of Lumbier, Pamplona, Saint Sebastian, Irun-Hendaye, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Biarritz.
• In the center of the Pyrenees: Oloron-Sainte-Marie, Laruns, the lakes of the Ossau valley and the Pic du Midi d’Ossau, Cauterets-Pont-D’Espagne.
• In the east of the Pyrenees: the same steps, plus the villages of the Ariegean Pyrenees Park, Ax-les-Thermes, Andorra, Porté-Puymorens, the Pic du Carlit, the Lac des Bouillouses, Foix, Font-Romeu, the Orgues d’Ille-sur-Têt, the peak of Canigou, the massif of the Albères with Céret, the coast Vermeille, the Anse de Paulilles, Cadaqués, Roses and Figueras.

These steps are only indicative and may not be suitable for everyone’s tastes. Especially, they are to be selected according to the duration of your road trip. To visit the Pyrenees in a week, it is enough to restrict a single area, for example, the Pyrenees-Orientales. Everything depends if you want to explore in detail or have a global overview of the Pyrenees' must-sees.

Driving in the Pyrenees in motorhomes: the traffic rules to know

The Pyrenees are on horseback between France, Spain and the Principality of Andorra. Driving in these three countries is on the right, and overtaking by the left. You will in any case only have very few overtakings to make in camping-car. Because roads can be winding, especially on high mountain passes.

Here are some basic rules for driving in the Pyrenees:

• Increase caution on mountain roads. These can be narrow, making crosses difficult.
• The rules applicable to the road code in Spain and Andorra are singularly the same as in France.
• Camping-cars whose weight does not exceed 3.5 tons are considered to be cars from a legal point of view.
• All passengers must have closed their safety belts when the vehicle is in operation.
• Of course, no one is allowed to sleep at the back of the camper during the road.
• The driver must be able to provide the driving documents to the authorities in the event of control (driving license, insurance and gray card).
• In addition, the motorhome must be equipped with a pre-signalization triangle, replacement bulbs and a reflective yellow jacket.
• On the Spanish side, it is mandatory to klaxonner in mountain turns if you lack visibility.

The speed limits in France are:

• 50 km/h in agglomeration,
• 80 km/h on double-way roads,
• 110 km/h on separate roads (100 km/h per weather),
• 130 km/h on motorways (110 km/h in case of inconvenience).

In Spain, limitations are similar except on separate roadways, where they are 90 km/h at 100 km/h .

Attention: maximum legal alcohol is 0.5 g/l .

Motorways in the Pyrenees: what price for your camper category?

Although the Pyrenees massif is replete with natural spaces, there are highways to access it. On the French side, the A64, the A63 and the A9 serve the south-west cities leading to the massif: Perpignan (A9), Saint-Gaudens, Tarbes, Pau (A64) and Biarritz (A63).

On the Spanish side, the AP-7 starts at Perthus and the AP-8 goes from Irun to Bilbao .

In France, highways are toll roads, which are managed by the ASF and VINCI. The A64 is paid from Toulouse to Sames before Bayonne. To cross the Pyrenees, the secondary network of national roads will be required. On the other hand, there is only the AP-7 and the AP-8 that are paid. Other highways (A-23 and A-21) are autovías and are free .

How much is it necessary to pay on the highway to visit the Pyrenees on a motorhome? Here are some indicative rates for Class 2:

• Perpignan-Figueras (A9 and AP-7): 3,90€,
• Toulouse-Le Perthus (A61 and A9): 34,40€,
• Narbonne-Le Perthus (A9): 15,40€,
• Bordeaux-Irun (A63): 23,50€,
• Bayonne-Irun (A63): 6,30€.

Crossing France from east to west to visit the Pyrenees can therefore cost expensive. The French toll system is simple: you just need to remove a ticket at the entrance terminal, and you pay according to the mileage you have travelled.

How and where to rent a motorhome in France?

In France, it is now possible to book its motorhome online? How? Thanks to the various online booking platforms, such as Yescapa For example.

How does it work?

• At first, you have to choose the motorhome in your city (For example Bordeaux, Nantes, Toulouse, Paris, Montpellier or Marseille).
• Be careful choose unlimited mileage, to check the number of beds available and if travel abroad is possible.
• Do your work online rental request and share your travel information (dates, rental options, mileage, etc.) to the owner.
• If your request is accepted and after payment, you will have access to the owner's contact information to organize a First meeting.
• Day J, present your driver's license and pour bail.
• One. status of premises is executed and a lease is signed between the two parties. When you return, after shaking the Pyrenean roads, sign the state of the return places and the tower is played!

How to rent a motorhome in the Pyrenees?

The Pyrenean massif is very touristic. Therefore, it will be easy to rent a motorhome in the area. Large cities such as Pau, Perpignan, Tarbes and Lourdes are the most convenient places to find rentals.

However, the demand is important. Once arrived, all motorhomes were rented. It is therefore advisable to book your camper for the Pyrenees, online, before leaving.

Camping-car areas in the Pyrenees: where to park?

Here’s a worrying question when we’re going to visit the Pyrenees in camper: where to park? A motorhome is allowed to park on the same locations only cars.

Know that officially, in Spain and France, making wild camping on the public road is prohibited By law. In principle, you are liable to a fine if the police controls you in the middle of the night and you are on the public road. However, there are many spots where to settle, especially in the isolated places of the Pyrenees. Avoid camping illegally in the natural parks of the Catalan Pyrenees and Ariegeoises, as well as in the Pyrenees National Park. Instead, take the villages that are not in the parks. In fitted vans or small vans, you will pass more unnoticed however.

If you are retif·s to sleep in the illegality, you will find a good number of campsites and service areas for campers. These places are paid, but authorized to receive travellers. Campercontact and Caramaps websites can be very useful to find the service areas for camping-car in the Pyrenees. If you would like to find an isolated spot, we have the solution. Check out Park4night's interactive map. This is a tool for sharing spots between travellers on mobile.

What is the best time to travel by camping-car in the Pyrenees?

Finally, the question of climate and weather is very important to visit the Pyrenees in camper or van. The Pyrenees chain is subject to significant climatic contrasts. To the west, the chain is under ocean influence.

In the east, Mediterranean and continental influences prevail. From Cape Higuer in the Gulf of Gascogne in Cap de Creus in Catalonia, the climate is variable. In addition, the altitude passes from the high mountain in the Hautes-Pyrénées and Ariège, at the sea level in the Pyrenees-Orientales.

So what is the best time to visit the Pyrenees in motorhome? Winters are pretty cold and summers can be very hot or even suffocating. In addition, precipitation can be important in altitude and in valleys.

In the summer, the accumulation of heat and humidity give rise to intense and powerful storms, especially in the Pyrenees-Atlantiques.

In the centre, between the Pic du Midi d’Ossau and the Carlit, the climate is more continental or even mountainous. In the east, the Pyrenees-Orientales are at a lower altitude and the sun is more generous.

You can therefore visit the Pyrenees by camping-car throughout the year. Prefer above all summer and autumn , enter June and end of October : it is a dry, sunny and temperate period. This makes it possible to visit comfortably all the reliefs of this natural region.

We only have to wish you a good way! And be careful!