Ferry to Bilbao or Santander - then where to camp?

[hillbilly]

OK so have realised that "campfire" camping not going to happen in this region so I'll welcome all recommendations for good family campsites, not too commercial, not too many slides or entertainment. We will be a tent and a campervan. Thanks!

did you find anything?

This place is about 4 hours from Bilbao. We stayed there last year after getting the ferry down it was absolutely lovely and we were the only British people there, the DS's want to go back. Make sure you explore Bilbao first though, it was a fantastic city.

If anyone is still actually looking!

Wow this old thread! Thanks for the recommendation. We have ended up booking Les Valedes in France after thinking that a 24 hr ferry was not the best introduction to sea travel for the kids!

No, don't do 26 hours until you are sure of 6! We'd been taking the ferry over for 10 years with the older two before we bit the bullet and went all the way down. As it turns out the children are much more sanguine about it than I am . I recommend it for when you have had more practice as a family though, was the best holiday ever.

We're looking for campsites in this area too, we've booked the Santander ferry for August so now we want some sites. One by the coast, and one in the Pyrenees. The place LostinWales plinks too looks lovely but maybe too far south for us.

We stayed at Camping Portuondo in Mundaka which is probably closest to Bilbao but is not far from Santander. It is quite a hilly drive which nearly finished off our old VW campervan but I am sure in a modern vehicle you would barely notice (it is etched permanently on my memory which is why I mention it).

Unfortunately, when we were there it mainly rained so we didn't spend much (any) time on the beach - it is a bit of a surfing mecca - for us the fact that the site had a covered area for cooking and eating was its main advantage, but it is a nice site.

www.campingportuondo.com/en/camping/

Thanks Mummypigs, that one looks nice.

We blew up two VW campervan engines going over mountain passes, but these days we have super-boring family car instead so the gradient isn't a problem.

Santillana del Mar was the very pretty town near to Santandar, we had no where booked and camped not far from this town.

Then we headed inland after two days and ended up staying somewhere overnight and then moving on to here it was idilic country side and I never saw any English in this area.

Old thread, I know.. However..
Looking for a nice and quiet campsite in this region. Husband and I have been very busy converting an a van and want to stay in the region there for a good few days. We are not keen on the bigger campsites.. he puts quiet before beauty. I do like a good view however. Any of you know anything?
Valle de Hecho looks good, bit too far for the first days maybe but have postmarked it.

Hi we've just come back from Spain where our first week or so was in the Picos de Europe mountains, about 2 hours from Santander.

Would definitely recommend the Picos, stunning scenery, great walks, pretty green compared to the rest on Spain in August,

I updated on this thread when we got back www.mumsnet.com/Talk/camping/1797506-Anyone-camped-in-Picos-de-Europa

We've also camped previously at Sort in the Pyrenees where we I'd some great rafting here
www.noguera-pallaresa.com/en

Thanks, I'll have a look at that topic. We are planning to travel all across Northern Spain and the Pyrenees so we'll definitely go to the Picos.

2 hours may be doable from Santander but we would like something quiet and easy as a first stop.
So tired!
So if anyone can recommend something, we'll be interested.