Summary of motorhome journey through Spain, Portugal and France escaping Covid-19

2020-03 Spain & Portugal trip overview

This should have been a leisurely motorhome trip taking the ferry from Portsmouth to Santander followed by a pleasant drive through Spain, into Portugal, south to some warmer weather in Portugal as March 2020 proceeded and then back to Santander for the ferry back to the UK. Our motorhome trip turned out to be a race against borders closing and lockdown that threatened to strand us in Europe. Read this account of how we escaped from Portugal into Spain by taking a remote mountain farm track that was not wide enough in places and so steep and rough that we never got out of first gear.

59 hours driving, almost 2,200 miles, 15 overnight stops exciting but not what we expected.

Our motorhome holiday to Spain and Portugal began on March 9th, 2020, when we left home and drove 280 miles to Portsmouth, stayed overnight then caught an early ferry operated by Brittany Ferries, from Portsmouth to Santander. No problems along the way. We drove across Spain, taking our time, stopping overnight at Camaleño, Leon and Molinaseca before taking a winding mountain road into Portugal.

Click an overnight location for the detailed description of the day

We kept an eye on the Covid-19 situation, but at this stage were not too concerned, so carried on with our planned journey. We like to stay relaxed about exactly where we are going; Porto was a possibility as was Braga. One plan was to stay outside Porto and take the train into the city, our plan for Braga was to stay on an aire close to the Bom Jesus church. In the end we decided to go first to the Douro valley, then return north via Porto and Brag before returning north into Spain and back to Santander along the coast road. Those plans were of course overtaken by events and we ended up driving all the way to Calais.

We were on an aire at Freixo de Numão in Portugal when the man who collected rents appeared and told us and the other two motorhome owners that he had to close the site and we would have to move off as quickly as possible. Not the kind of thing you want to hear when you are just a few days into a holiday that was planned to last at least 3 weeks.

We spoke to the other motorhome owners, they were not very helpful as one of them suggested that Spain and France had closed their borders. Our return ferry was booked from Santander, so we were naturally very concerned. If we could not enter Spain then we would be trapped in Portugal for an unknown length of time.

The ‘escape’ from Portugal into Spain

We moved off the site and parked close by to consider our options. We were a LONG way from home, several days drive from Santander and uncertain about the situation. After a lengthy discussion we decided that if the Spanish border really was closed, then the Spanish would not have the resources to close every road, so we would seek out a small road leading from Portugal to Spain and try that. Google maps was a great help, we spent time studying the terrain and roads and finally decided on a fairly direct route, through the Parque Natural do Douro Internacional.

This was not really a road, but a series of farm tracks. Memories of old movies came to mind when people were trying to escape from occupied countries during the war. Hour after hour we drove on, the track was so narrow in places that Gill had to get out to guide the Hymer between obstacles, trees pressed in from both sides and rocky outcrops had to be carefully avoided. In places the gradients were so steep that the transmission was locked into first gear.

It was a great fortune that we did not meet any vehicles coming in the opposite direction because turning around was impossible and backing up extremely difficult.

The mountain part of the journey took nearly 3 hours and was the most difficult drive we’ve ever done in the Hymer. The track was not suitable, but we finally crossed the river Agueda into Spain without any difficulty. We were greatly relieved ; of course we knew nothing of the difficulties that we faced on the remainder of our journey home, which was a good thing.

Across into Spain without being stopped, a great feeling; then contacted Brittany Ferries who said we could return to the UK via Caen in France, 4 or 5 days drive away. Not good news, but we did not have many options open, so we booked that and headed for Caen. As you might guess, that booking was also cancelled, so we were running out of choices. Time spent on the internet showed that Eurotunnel was still operating so we booked the first available crossing, and changed our travel plans yet again, heading for Calais by the most direct route.

Driving is generally enjoyable as we pass through rural areas taking in the scenery and different styles of housing and farming. On this occasion it was different, just a matter of covering distance as efficiently as possible. We were amazed by the lack of people and traffic on the roads. At times we drove with no other vehicle in sight or just trucks.

To cut the tale short we reached Calais as planned, Eurotunnel was running – on our train there were about 6 motorhomes and maybe 20 cars, that’s VERY low traffic, usually there are lots and lots of motorhomes and other vehicles.

Back in the UK traffic was not really any lighter than ‘normal’. We drove the 330 miles from Folkstone to Lancaster in around 7 hours plus stops, which is what we would normally allow.

Glad to be home, not looking forward to 14 days isolation, but as usual we had stocked up on cheese, ham and wine plus a variety of other Spanish and French produce so we would not starve.