Traveling to Denia Spain via eurotunel route

How far do you want to drive in a day? I have never been tempted to go in winter, but it can be done to the Spanish border in two days though the daylight is short. 

Calais to Tours - Camping les Acacias - is 322 miles.  
Tours to Urrugne - Camping Larouletta - is 347 miles.

Those campsites are open in January and are probably more cheerful than motorway Aires. Others will advise on crossing Spain as Denia is over 400 miles from the border. 

Many thanks, I was getting nowhere on google re open all year round sites. Back in March 2020 we drove continuously from Caceres to Calais when the pandemic cut short our holiday and Brittany Ferries cancelled our ferry from Santander. So the mileage for these two suggestions are good to have. I can see Camping Larrouleta is open all year round but I have emailed Camping Les Acacias as it unclear on the website if they are.

My next problem to solve is whether we can take the dogs dry food (Eukanuba, made in Holland) with us 

Camping Tours Val de loire is open mid October and i thought was open all year, but not 100 pct sure.

Tours to Urrugne - Camping Larouletta - is 347 miles

we do this journey and normally spend 2 days at Larouletta to rest up.

from Larouletta we go to Camping Aranjuez south of Madrid, site open all year, you just need to call day before arrival, if you book on line it is a minimum of 2 days, 

Aranjuez to Denia, never done this journey, but google says it is 425 kms. some go via Zaragoza 423kms, did not like the municipal site but apparently it has been improved,

re dog food, we have continued to take all our normal stuff, worst case scenario is that it just gets confiscated, so, with this in mind hide 4 meals for your dog under bunks or somewhere where it is difficult to find so that pooch does not goo hungary.

would be more concerned re snow in Northern Spain rather than France, but this will be our first time to travel in January (90 days rule )

 maybe out paths will cross

I guess the “western route” is cheaper but the direct route is Reims, Lyon, Montpelier etc. Either way, any autoroute full services (with fuel etc.) will have ample space for overnight parking and also should have shower facilities. I have generally found that the toll sections are better, for example, on the A75 from Clermont-Ferrand south there are very few services. We have stopped overnight in services several times in the past, occasionally using the lorry area although you can get noise from refrigeration units. Unfortunately, it is often the case with the autoroute services that as you enter you have to choose the lorry section or follow the caravan sign and it can be impossible to navigate from one to the other!

"Camping Les Acacias as it unclear on the website if they are"

somewhere in the back of my mind i remember staying at Les Acacias on our outward journey March this year, but the site was full of Ukranians, and when we tried to book for return trip site had been given over to Ukranian refugees.

Camping Le Futuriste at Poitiers is open all year. 

Its possible to get from Calais to there then down to Larrouleta at Urrugne if you do early starts and don't mind the long drive. 

Other sites that are open is at Bordeux 

If you check on UK Campsites and click on France, select open all year sites you should find more enroute if needed. 

It's certainly not in Acsi this year. 

Hi Barry Jones,  

fwiw …  I’ll share my recent knowledge …

Note to all - for Jan 2023 to Denia ?
We have towed (with our well travelled Terrier) from Leeds, Tunnel crossing, and then down to Northern Almeria, so we pass Denia, in January 2018,19. & 2020. We are keen to repeat in Jan 2023 for another 8 / 10 week overwinter again in the sun. You don’t say if you are overwintering / long term pitching ?

For us, our 2023 routing / plan is to accommodate the practicalities plus to resolve & consider new & previous issues. We have found travel & arrive in day light is very very much preferable, France in January is usually grey & gloomy, short days and it can snow or freeze down in mid France.  Strange sites with often quirky Winterised owners, dogs and us to exercise, shops closed etc etc. 

Our plan will be  …

Day 1 UK.  Leeds - Folkstone. Animal Health Certificate - we will use Abbeywell at Folkstone again and arrange chip check & collection at 5 pm ish, pitch up prior (likely at Drum Inn) in daylight hours and also dog exercise before dark. Pub meal. 
Day 2 France. After a predictably 1st night poor sleep ( strange bed) on the Caravan we do a prompt day light start for Tunnel and then a steady c.200 miles run. Previous attempts at routing longer distances with leap frogging down France at available sites ( there are quite a few) has led us though to follow this steadier common to many routing & sites.  
Calais, Rouen, Evereux, Dreux area, there was or still is two fairly convenient acceptable sites - Camping Le Domaine de Marcilly at Basse (dog walk in forested site) or Les Etangs de Marsalin. 
Day 3. Dreux, Chartres, onto Peage north of Orleans down to south of Limoges and on to Camping de Montreal at St German les Belles, again arrive in daylight. Nice us & dog walk around the lake - usually grumpy owner.
Day 4. South to Toulouse dog leg slightly towards Med coast park over toward Narbonne then south over Border to popular Camping L’Albera at Capmany again arrive in daylight. 
Day 5. It’s then 375 miles for you then to Denia (500+ for us) so your choice but we will stop at Benicassim (3 sites).

There are of course other options for stopovers & routes. We prefer the Med coast of Spain for milder days and often the orange blossom & sea views rather than central upland Spain for the sake of a few miles. We would not choose to stop at most Services or the Picnic Aires. We have and would though stop at Baie de Somme Services (Caravan & MH area) twixt Calais & Rouen which might assist in you missing out a night at Dreux Northern France if you do home to there on the first day. Early start & 2nd day down St German. 

I would use ‘via Michelin’ for routing, distances and likely Cat2 Tolls cost. 
Useful for reviews & details and other searches is UK Campsites with filtering. 
The key often to finding sites is that they usually have bungalows, statics, full timers or workers etc and are open 365 days. Most of the municipal are shut mid winter for Tourers. 
The CMC winter overnight site options in France is woeful as a resource. I have complained that they could / should be offering an overview of all sites open in Winter for travellers like you / us. 
Hoping this might assist you or others.

M

Many thanks for that, we are planning an eight to ten week stay in Spain in essence wintering in the sun. We plan to leave home on The Wirral early Sunday 8th Jan (weather permitting).

The dog is booked in for her AHC on Friday 6th Jan with our own local vet. Have some rest before boarding the Euro tunnel train on Monday morning 9th Jan.

Once in France we will crack on to Camping le Futuriste, Poitiers for the first over night stop, second stop Camping Larrouletta, Urrunge  and then on the third day head directly to Camping Los Pinos, Denia for a three week stay.

Next up will be a two/three weeks stay at Camping Sopalmo, Mojcar and finally a few weeks at Estepona.

Thanks for all the tips and camp site suggestions. All the sites mentioned will be new to us. Looking forward to exploring and meeting new friends.

Small update to Montessa's route:

Day3 Camping Montreal now owned by British lady called Alison, far from grumpy.

Stayed on Monday on our way back from Spain, & ate in restaurant which was very good (she has also taken this over)