Wintering in Spain by motorhome – what a month really costs in 2026/27

If you leave for Spain in November and stay until March, you do your sums differently from someone on a two-week holiday. The nightly rate is not what matters. What matters is what is left of the budget at the end of the month. Most guides quote "350 to 800 euros a month". True, but not useful. Here is what that number is made of and how to work it out for your own stay.

The monthly rate is only the beginning

A long-stay rate of 390 euros a month sounds clear. Whether electricity is included, however, quickly makes a difference of several hundred euros over five months. A site charging 450 euros with electricity included can end up cheaper than one charging 360 euros plus meter.

This is what monthly rates look like for the 2026/27 season on sites that publish long-stay prices openly:

Region	Monthly rate, pitch for 2	Electricity usually
Costa Blanca (Alicante, Benidorm, Dénia)	420 to 650 €	metered
Costa Cálida (Mar Menor, Mazarrón)	380 to 560 €	metered or flat rate
Almería (Mojácar, Vera, Cabo de Gata)	330 to 520 €	often included
Costa del Sol (Marbella, Estepona)	500 to 750 €	metered
Valencia and Castellón	360 to 550 €	metered

The range within a region comes mostly from location and facilities. Front row by the sea with a heated pool costs twice as much as the site three kilometres inland. For winter the second is often the better choice: you drive to the beach every day anyway, and the wind is weaker inland.

The tiered pricing matters. Many sites charge the nightly rate up to 30 nights, a first long-stay rate from 31 nights and another from 60 or 90 nights. An example from the Costa Cálida: 26 euros a night, 20 euros from 31 nights, 18 euros from 61 nights. Three months in one go cost around 1,650 euros there; three separate months with a change of site about 1,800 euros. Staying put saves money.

Electricity: the number everyone underestimates

In summer, electricity on a campsite is a footnote. In winter it is the second largest item. The reason is heating. Even on the Costa Blanca, January nights drop to 5 to 8 degrees, and a motorhome holds no warmth without heating.

Work with these figures:

• Electric fan heater (2 kW) on cool evenings and in the morning: 4 to 8 kWh a day.
• Fridge, lights, laptop, kettle: 1.5 to 2.5 kWh a day.
• Together 6 to 10 kWh a day, so 180 to 300 kWh a month.

Metered prices in 2026 are between 0.40 and 0.55 euros per kWh on most sites. At 0.45 euros that is 80 to 135 euros a month for electricity alone. A site with a flat rate of 60 to 90 euros is cheaper as soon as you use more than 150 kWh. In January almost everyone does.

Two questions before you enquire therefore save money: how many amps does the pitch have? With 6 amps, no heater runs alongside the kettle. And how is electricity billed, metered or flat, and at what price?

Tourist tax: only in a few regions

Unlike Italy or France, most of Spain has no tourist tax on campsites. The exceptions:

Region	Tourist tax on campsites	Per person and night
Catalonia	yes	0.60 to 1.25 € (more in Barcelona)
Balearic Islands	yes, reduced Nov. to April	0.25 to 1 €
Valencia, Murcia, Andalusia	no	0 €

For two people in Catalonia that adds 36 to 75 euros a month. Further south the item disappears. It is one reason sites in Tarragona, despite a good location, are less in demand among winter guests than the coast from Castellón southwards.

Dog, gas, water, laundry

Smaller items that add up over five months:

• Dog: 2 to 5 euros a night, on long-stay pitches often 30 to 60 euros a month or included. With two dogs, ask for a flat rate.
• Gas: if you heat and cook with gas, you need an 11 kg bottle every 10 to 14 days in winter. Spanish bottles from Repsol or Cepsa cost around 18 to 22 euros but need an adapter and usually a contract. Many winter guests therefore heat electrically and keep gas for cooking: then one bottle a month is enough.
• Laundry: 4 to 6 euros a load, dryer similar. At two loads a week, 40 to 50 euros a month.
• Water and waste: included on long-stay pitches; on motorhome stopovers without a contract sometimes 2 to 4 euros per fresh-water fill.

Three budgets for one month

Two people, motorhome up to 8 metres, one dog, January on the Costa Cálida. Food and outings are deliberately left out; in winter Spain they cost about the same as at home.

Item	Frugal	Normal	Comfort
Monthly pitch rate	340 €	480 €	680 €
Electricity (metered, 0.45 €/kWh)	70 € (150 kWh)	110 € (250 kWh)	included
Dog	30 €	45 €	included
Gas (1 bottle)	20 €	20 €	20 €
Laundry	25 €	45 €	45 €
Total pitch and running costs	485 €	700 €	745 €

The comfort site with everything included ends up only 45 euros above the mid-range site with a meter. That is the point hardly any guide makes: all-inclusive rates look expensive, but in winter they rarely are.

The questions to ask before you enquire

Do not write "What does a month cost?". Write this:

1. Pitch for a motorhome of X metres, two people, one dog, from 5 January to 28 February. What rate applies for this length of stay?
2. Is electricity included? If metered: price per kWh and amperage?
3. Is there a tourist tax?
4. What deposit is required, and until when can I cancel free of charge?
5. Can I extend if I like it, and at what rate?

Sites that answer these five points cleanly are usually the ones where the stay runs smoothly too.

When to enquire

The good long-stay pitches on the Costa Blanca and at the Mar Menor are full for January and February from mid-October. Enquire in September and you have the choice. Enquire in December and you get what is left. For the south, Almería and the Costa del Sol, the pressure is lower and pitches are still available into November.

On Campavia you see the monthly rates directly on the site page, with the electricity rule, deposit and cancellation deadline, before you enquire. The site usually replies within a day, and you transfer the deposit directly to the site. No booking fee, no mark-up.

Long stays on the Costa Blanca · Costa Cálida and Mar Menor · Almería · Costa del Sol · Valencia

Prices are drawn from published long-stay tariffs for the 2026/27 season and are for guidance. The rate the site confirms for your dates is what counts.