Hey,

A friend and I are planning on going to Spain and Portugal in April next year for about 2 months. I am just after some info regarding locations, conditions etc. Also if anyone could give me an approx $$ for day to day living costs, it would be much appreciated.

We are looking to buy/hire a van and drive around the coast of Spain and then into Portugal, is this easy to do??

Also on the way we will be in Australia for about 1 month between Sydney and Brisbane. Are there any good locations in this area that anyone knows of?

Any help would be great

Thanks

Spain and Portugal in April - (been a nomad round here a couple of times surfing and kiting)

living in a van is the way to go

My advice is buy the most low km vehicle (for a stress free holiday)you can get for your money in London -loads of people do this at this time of year (may/june onwards)

nip accross the channel from Portsmouth (very expensive but no other choice - kind of like the cook strait)
cross the channel and make your way down the west coast of France stopping where ever you like (hossegor and Lancanau are fun - North west is also highly underated - but quite cold water still this time of year)

Parking and sleeping in your vehicle is hassle sometimes - ie people stealing out of your van at petrol stations while you are asleep in it - french police issuing teh ocassional ticket - but not too bad - common sense will see you through it all - not speaking one word of the language can help loads

June July and August and the beaches of Sw france go so crazy that most places you will not be able to get a kite session where ever you want due to naked people lying all over the beach - that is if there is any wind - this is surf season - wicked waves for surfing in Hossegor.

So then to france Spain Border and decide if you will drive to Portugal (awesome place) accross central spain to the many awesome huge uncrowded beaches of Portugal (Cold water) or being that you are a kiter you wil be drawn to Tarifa too in Southern Spain for the wind - costa del windsurf/kitesurf as it is known The 2 winds are windy(Poniente 12-20 knots) and nuclear (Levante 30- 60 knots) and they switch from one pattern to another every week or so. Staying in a camp site is worth it just so your vehicle does not get knocked about by the wind. Levente is too windy for kitesurfing for most kiters - so head west to other beaches and there will be less wind

cost wise you will need to know petrol costs - you can live on a budget if you like bread wine and cheese - perfect...

spain is not as cheap as you may think - portugal is reasonable and france is average - $$ a day? not sure now- at least $60?

Sydney to Bris (Been a few times)
A few good spots (loads for surfing) but the truth is I reckon further north is better - Sunshine coast noosa and any other estuary location south of here (and a few north)- Byron is great for seeing the water wildlife below the sea but not a great riding spot estuaries are where it is at. NJOI

Thats a great help. Thanks a lot

Portugal/Algarve area is a superb kiting playground.
Went to Tarifa for a few days - sure its got the primo wind, but also mega crowds. You have 100m or so of beach space in between two cones in which you are allowed to launch. This hundy metres is normally shared by the 100 or so kites on the water, including 3 or 4 kite schools with beginners launching/flying/falling right in your path and kiters who should know better attempting kite loop/handle passes virtually on the beach... The only place I have kited (out of NZ/Hawaii/France/UK/Croatia/Spain/Portugal) where wind shadow from so many other kites plays a MAJOR part in your session...
... but if you want parties ... Tarifa is your place.

Just up the coast/across the border in the algarve are some mint spots with no crowds. Stayed at Fuzeta (20 mins from Faro airport) - came for a day, stayed for 2 weeks. There is a great campsite there: you catch a water taxi/ferry across to a sandbar/island that stretches for kms in either direction. (Costs something like 50cents) All the tourists stop on the beach within 100m of the ferry landing/bars/cafes, but if you can walk a couple of hundred metres further, the (almost, apart from nude sunbathers) empty white sand beach disappears into the distance .. Well worth a visit/stop for a few days of hassle-free, uninterrupted kiting. The wind seemed to kick in each afternoon through the summer, even when it started out dead-calm in the morning.

Vans are the way to go - but they do not like free-camping in the algrave area so just be inconspicuous. The campsites aren't that expensive and are tailored for vans/campers. The food there is great and quite cheap.

Algarve area around Fuzeta:
http://www.algarvehome.nl/E_Omgeving.html[/url]