Traveling through Spain with the camper during the corona crisis | Our experiences

We regularly get the question from people who are planning to go to Spain what it's like to travel during the corona crisis. We have spent the past 2,5 months with the camper in Spain and we share our experiences and tips especially for world travelers.

Also read: 100 days on the road | The life of a non-working #vanlifer

Corona rules in Spain per region

The corona rules in Spain are regional (unlike the Netherlands). Depending on the amount of infections per 100.000 inhabitants, a region / place falls into a certain category and each category has its own set of corona measures. 

Tip: the site www.mapacovid.es show for Andalusia very easily which corona category applies per place. The information is updated twice a week (on Mondays and Thursdays). If stricter measures are announced for a region, those rules will apply for at least 2 weeks. If you are planning to travel through Spain by camper, save this website in your favorites.

Mouth caps obligation, evening closure of catering and curfew

A mouth cap is compulsory throughout Spain. You will get used to this after only a few days. And above all: this is not a limitation on what you can do during your motorhome trip through Spain.

The catering industry is open during the day (unless the region is in the worst corona category) and you can sit both inside and outside on the terrace. It is true that after 18:00 only take-away can be offered. 

Enforcement and corona controls on Spanish roads

Many of the questions we get from the Netherlands are about what it is like to travel through Spain with a camper at the moment. After being in Spain (and in particular Andalusia) for 2,5 months, we have only seen a handful of checks ourselves. We were once turned away from a motorhome by the police, because we were (apparently and without us realizing it) in a village that was in the worst corona category. That also meant that no motor home was allowed in that village. We were kindly requested to stand elsewhere (no fine). Finally: we know of no stories that corona fines have been handed out to motor home owners.

Our experience: with the camper through Spain in corona time

• You can reach the border between France en Spain be asked what you are doing. We know of no stories of people being held back;
• Once in Spain, we did not see any corona checks on Spanish highways;
• In the sporadic cases where checks do take place, they take place in regions that are in the worst corona category. And then specifically on local roads exactly at the transition between regions. What we have seen and heard from fellow campers: foreign license plates are not stopped.

Also read: What to do in the event of a breakdown with the motorhome | Our experience and tips

It goes without saying that you should also be careful here and keep contact to a minimum. The way we keep our motorhome trip where we camp a lot in the wild (see also the article about wild camping in Spain), plus the fact that we can't visit family and friends, combined with the fact that we spend by far the majority of the day outside, makes us feel safer in terms of corona than in The Netherlands† For us, the corona measures in Spain do not hinder our motorhome trip in any case. Those who want to travel through Spain with the camper can still do so without too many restrictions.