🇪🇸 Spain — OpenVan.camp

Murcia City Council is processing an order to dismantle a caravan settlement on a plot next to the Segura river in Javali Nuevo. Residents reported on social media that caravans have been concentrated there permanently for several weeks. In early October, Murcia Local Police filed a report on camping with caravans in a prohibited area and notified the city's urban planning department. The plot does not permit such use and lies in a flood zone, where municipal rules prohibit occupation and camping. The settlement contains at least a dozen caravans, and the council says the eviction procedure is being handled under current regulations.

José Antonio, a public-sector worker earning €1,400 a month, has lived in a converted Volkswagen Transporter for almost two years. Without paying rent, he saved about €7,000 over the past year. He calculates that a 30% deposit on a €200,000 flat would be €60,000, rising to €80,000 with associated costs. At his current saving rate, he would need more than eight and a half years for the deposit and almost 11 and a half years for the full amount. Saving the entire €200,000 in cash would take more than 28 years.

Marta Tibau, 45, and Marià Miño, 48, met in an Andorran prison in 2007, where they had been called as journalists to cover a press event. After a trip to India in 2008 they decided to combine work and travel. Since 2012 the couple have covered more than 190,000 km across 21 countries in a 1995 Volkswagen California, and in early 2025 they bought a 2005 Toyota Land Cruiser Camper Series 79 for a project called La Vuelta a Australia. They document their life on the YouTube channel Furgoenruta, which has more than 200,000 subscribers.

Tribuna Viajera has published a motorhome route through the Basque Country with 10 stops, including Hondarribia, San Sebastián, Getaria, Zumaia, Lekeitio, Urdaibai, San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, Bilbao, the Urkiola Natural Park and Vitoria-Gasteiz. The article lists motorhome stopovers in Berio and Kobetamendi, with the Illunbe car park as an alternative. It notes that in 2026 advance free online booking is still required for San Juan de Gaztelugatxe due to limited capacity. In the Basque Country, parking and camping are treated differently, and fines may apply for placing chairs or tables outside designated areas. Coastal roads are narrow and winding, and large motorhomes are advised to use lay-bys to let traffic pass.

The 11th Tomas Bertol motorhome and camper van rally is taking place in Moraleja, Caceres, with around 70 motorhomes and more than 140 participants from across Spain. The event runs until Sunday 8 November. Attendees will visit tourist, commercial and cultural sites in Moraleja, as well as locations in the Sierra de Gata region and neighbouring Portugal. The town council said the rally supports tourism and local business during the event.

Several coastal municipalities in Spain have banned motorhomes from their beaches. Motorhomers expect to regain access to their favourite seaside spots following a reform of traffic regulations. Over a decade, annual new motorhome registrations in Spain rose from 3,000 to 9,000, and the number of motorhome stopovers grew from 150 to more than 1,000.

Buyers in Valencia say they paid for motorhomes they never received. They estimate 60 families are affected, with losses of up to €3.5m.

Parking Sevilla Puerto has applied for an environmental licence to build Salamanca's first public motorhome stopover. The site of 3,971 sq m next to the La Aldehuela sports complex will have 50 spaces and include toilets, showers, a laundry, a vending area and water and electricity hook-ups. The 10-year concession was awarded almost a year ago, and the company will pay the city around €1,000 a month excluding VAT (€11,669 a year). The licence application follows delays beyond the original two months for permits and three months for construction.

A caravan caught fire on a plot on Calle Guadalajara in Colmenar Viejo on Thursday 5 November at around 8am. Two people were treated, one for smoke inhalation and one for a hand burn.

Tomelloso council has approved a fee of €2.50 for a 24-hour stay and overnight parking at the municipal motorhome stopover. A technical and economic report initially put the cost-covering price at around €5, but the council proposed a lower rate, which the full council backed. Annual operating costs are estimated at €12,394, while revenue at full occupancy all year would reach €11,862.50. The 13-pitch site offers water supply and waste disposal, electric hook-up, electric vehicle charging and toilets with showers. Opening is pending approval of the electricity connection by the power company, although construction finished in July.

The eleventh Tomás Bertol motorhome and camper van rally will be held in Moraleja, Cáceres, from 5 to 8 November. The town council said five places remain for participants. No waiting list will be opened once the available places are filled, so the last registrations will go to those who make contact first. Information and registration are available by phone on 619 638 849 and by email at turismo@moraleja.es.

Rafael Sanchis from Malaga has lived in a motorhome for five years since his divorce. He bought the used motorhome for 25,000 euros and has seven years of financing left. He previously rented a converted commercial unit for 1,500 euros a month and later used a smaller camper van that cost 12,000 euros. He says a single salary is not enough to cover conventional housing costs. The city council has opened talks with motorhome residents about allocating a designated area.

Registrations of new motorhomes and campers in Spain rose 12.1% in October compared with October 2025, reaching 398 units against 355 a year earlier. New camper sales increased 32.9% to 194 units, while urban vans grew 48.8% to 64. New caravan registrations posted the highest percentage growth, up 72.7% from 55 to 95 units. Private buyers accounted for 357 registrations and the rental channel for 41. The used market declined: second-hand motorhome and camper transactions fell 3.5% to 2,139 units, and used caravan sales dropped 9.8% to 558 units, the third consecutive monthly fall.

The council of Ribadeo has begun installing signs along the coast banning parking and the passage of all types of vehicles after approving motorhome regulations. Signs placed in Piñeira (Ribadeo) were destroyed, as happened earlier in Arnao (Castropol). The growth of motorhoming in recent years has generated controversy over rules introduced to prevent indiscriminate parking.

Huarte Local Police announced a designated motorhome parking area at the Foro Europeo car park. The measure aims to make parking for these vehicles easier and more orderly. The area has video surveillance, but its use is voluntary. Under DGT instruction PROT 2026/04, motorhomes must park in line with traffic rules and municipal signs, without extending elements beyond the vehicle perimeter or discharging waste.

Sanzlera S.L. plans a paid private parking area for about 90 caravans 600 metres from Torla, near the Ordesa y Monte Perdido national park. The project is in the final stage of public consultation at the Aragon Institute for Environmental Management (INAGA) under file 500201/01/2026/08719, published in the official gazette of Aragon on 13 October. It faces opposition from 185 residents of the Ordesa-Gavarnie urbanisation and dozens of residents of the Broto valley, who demand stricter environmental impact assessment. The 25,000 square metre site lies within Natura 2000, 300 metres from the Ara river basin and 143 metres from the river channel. The mayor of Torla-Ordesa, Jesús Lanalet, declined to comment on the criticism, citing the private nature of the initiative and referring environmental and water control to INAGA and the Ebro river authority.

Buyers of motorhomes, camper vans and caravans paid between €50,000 and €130,000 but never received their vehicles. Complaints have been filed with the Guardia Civil and the company's sites are closed.

A draft mobility ordinance in Toledo permits motorhomes to park for up to 72 hours within the same week. This is 24 hours more than the 48-hour limit set by Castilla-La Mancha regional decree 94/2018 for campsites and motorhome areas. The city council is not obliged to create dedicated parking, although it has been looking for a suitable site for over three years. The text also bans discharging water and other fluids onto public roads, putting up awnings and making noise.

Madrid-based company Atrévete Van Life, launched in March 2025, specialises in renting latest-generation motorhomes to families, couples and travellers with pets. Its fleet includes automatic models for 4, 5 and 6 people, plus variants with a workspace for digital nomads. The rate covers kitchenware, bedding, towels, comprehensive insurance and unlimited mileage at no extra cost. The company provides personalised support from the founder, including route advice and pick-up at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport or Renfe stations.

The Directorate-General for Urban Planning and Territorial Organisation of Cantabria has put a private motorhome stopover project in the public domain on the public maritime-terrestrial easement zone of San Vicente de la Barquera. Objections can be filed within 15 days. It is the second such stopover processed within the Oyambre Natural Park, following a project announced in March in the same municipality that also plans 30 spaces plus 11 "in reserve" on rustic land. The new 30-space stopover will occupy a nearly 15,000-square-metre agricultural plot with direct access from the CA-236 road near Gerra, using only 3,000 square metres for parking. The planned investment is 183,000 euros, and motorhomes will be limited to stays of 48 or 72 hours depending on the area's tourist resources, with possible extensions in low season.