Anthony & Nina, England
March 2012, 5 days

We decided to take a few days in Andalucía at the end of March to get away from cold wet London. I own a VW campervan myself, so you might think it sounds a bit crazy to fly to Spain and hire one? But the truth is nothing else can match the campervan experience for adventure. We tend to get itchy feet in a place after 1 or 2 days, so a campervan is the perfect holiday for us. Having been to Andalucía several times over the years, we knew there were places we wanted to see again, and new places to explore.

We arrived at Malaga Airport and were greeted bang on time by smiley friendly Gonzalo, who whisked us to his spotless garage about 10 minutes away.

We’d chosen Lola – the long wheel base high top – and there she stood, gleaming red. Gonzalo showed us around the van and how everything worked. He also talked to us about where to go, and what campsites to stay at. The actual admin bits were all quick and easy – a nice change from the queues at the airport when you’re picking up a hire car!

Before we knew it, we were already driving Lola out the garage and hitting the open road. If you’ve ever driven an old VW bus, then you know there’s a real art to it – they don’t really go, stop or take corners in any kind of hurry. Lola couldn’t be more different! The cab is very much like sitting behind the wheel of a car, and there’s loads of power from the 2.5 turbo diesel engine. The only difference is the size – Lola (being the high top long wheel base model) is a fair bit bigger than an old ‘bay window’ or ‘type 25’ I’m used to. The other difference is that Lola has no rear window. This took a bit of getting used to, but I soon realised the door mirrors are excellent and give you a good view behind.

Our first stop was a site in Torre del Mar. A nice enough place very near the beach, and a nice easy drive from Malaga for our first night – close to the autovia too so it’s easy to find. I wouldn’t really recommend it though as there are nicer campsites in the area.

What we noticed straight away was how well equipped Lola is. All the kitchen stuff you