Spanish campsites - noisy till late?

[justwondering72]

As I type I am sitting outside our tent in northern Spain, at the coast. It's nearly 11 pm and the site is so noisy! I know that the Spanish eat later than either Brits or even the French tend to but is it usual for Spanish sites to still be noisy this late? The live band down at the restaurant are still banging away, teenagers still shouting and chasing each other around, neighbours talking loudly outside their cabins... I naively thought that most campsites observed a 10pm = quiet time rule? It's our first time camping in Spain, nothing to compare it to.

Going to answer my own question in case anyone else is heading Spain-wards this summer!

After posting I noticed the sign at reception saying silence btw 1200 midnight and 7 am, which I think is pretty late. But having watched the Spanish on holiday(we are the only Brits on site) I can see it would be pointless trying to enforce silence before then. Lunch didn't start until after 2 pm and dinner rarely on the go before 10 pm. Plus -oh joy-it turns out that the site is also a base for French youth camps, so at least 40 15 -year olds milling about at all hours. That certainly wasn't mentioned on the campsite website!

We went to a Spanish festival, the primary aged Girls did their dancing at 10pm, they fired the fireworks at 11.30, plenary of very young children watching.

Hotel discos generally 11pm. Very strict rules in the family bits of Majorca about night club noise. Most are underground.

So I think a midnight cut off at a campsite is very likely.

I didn't get as far as Spain but a french campsite near the border where there were a lot of spanish campers. We would be tucked up in our tent at night ready for sleep and our spanish neighbours would be starting to cook dinner!! I didn't mind it so much but then I did have ear plugs packed. If you can't beat them join them (not forgetting a long afternoon siesta and plenty of sangria too!

I'd be impressed at a midnight quiet time in Spain on holiday, tbh. I know we'd be heading home from the bar at midnight in summer (weekday, working next morning), and our friends would laugh at us for being wusses They were all at work 8am the next day, too.

Holiday time I would say being up til the small hours is really normal for everyone. I think you just have to go with it and realise that Spanish people sleep less than northern Europeans . . .

People in Spain don't eat dinner til 10 pm usually. We were in Granada recently and saw families with babies and toddlers out at that time in the city centre. Can't imagine camping is any different!

Off the point I am afraid, but could I ask where your campsite is justwondering and if you would recommend it (late noise aside)? We are thinking of possibly heading down to northern Spain in late September and are looking for nice sites. TIA

In my experience yes it's normal to be noisy late. As someone else said they don't eat dinner until about 10pm as it's far too hot to be cooking during the day.

Try living in a Spanish village right beside a bar at the weekend. I've heard kicking out time as late as 3am and occassionally later if there's a big event on.