Rules · Spain
Overnight parking and wild camping in Spain with a motorhome: what the law says
In Spain a motorhome may park wherever, and under the same limits as, any other vehicle, and sleeping inside it is irrelevant to whether it is correctly parked, as long as it touches the ground only through its wheels, takes up no more space than when closed, and lets no fluids or noise out (DGT instruction PROT 2026/04). Camping is a separate matter regulated by each region, many of which ban it outside campsites, and councils can limit parking times and prohibit motorhome camping by ordinance.[1][3]
Last reviewed 13 October 2026 against the primary sources listed below. Covers mainland Spain and the islands. Rules on camping come from each autonomous community and parking rules from each council: check local signs and ordinances. This is a summary of the law, not legal advice: local signs and bylaws can be stricter.
At a glance
| Where | Verdict | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Parking in town or a car park (wheels only, nothing outside, no fluids) | Allowed with limits | Same conditions as any vehicle; councils' signs and ordinances (time limits, bans) apply.[1] |
| Camping: awning, chairs, table, levelling jacks or stabiliser legs | Not allowed | No longer parking; camping is regulated by the region and is often banned outside campsites.[1][3][4] |
| Motorways (autopistas, autovías) | Not allowed | Parking is prohibited except in areas designated for it.[1] |
| Beaches and the public coastal strip | Not allowed | Camping (including habitable vehicles) is banned on the whole public coastal strip, and parking on beaches.[5][6] |
| Designated motorhome areas | Allowed with limits | Regional camping decrees (e.g. Andalucía) exclude motorhome parking areas; the council's rules for the area apply.[3] |
Where you can stay and service your van in Spain
- Aires & motorhome parking
- 1,642
- Of those, recorded free
- 723
- Campsites
- 1,564
- Service points (dump stations)
- 718
Counts of places mapped in OpenStreetMap; 44% of aires and parking places are tagged free. Being on the map doesn't make overnighting legal at a spot: check its page and the signs.
- Motorhome aires in Spain 1,599
- Dump stations in Spain 718
- Water points in Spain 1,019
- Motorhome aires in Andalusia 269
- Motorhome aires in Catalonia 231
- Motorhome aires in Castille and León 228
- Motorhome aires in Galicia 169
- Motorhome aires in Valencia 148
- Motorhome aires in Aragon 104
- Motorhome aires in Castille-La Mancha 88
- Motorhome aires in Asturias 82
Parking is not camping: the DGT instruction
Spain's traffic authority (DGT) set out its position in instruction PROT 2026/04 "Autocaravanas", which took effect when signed on 11 March 2026 and repealed the previous instruction, PROT 2023/14. Older pages that cite instruction 08/V-74 of 2008 are out of date.[1]
"Estacionar no es acampar": a motorhome is correctly parked when it touches the ground only through its wheels (wheel chocks are allowed, stabiliser legs are not), takes up no more space than it does closed, without awnings, chairs or tables, and emits no fluids or noise outside. Whether people are inside is irrelevant.[1]
Anything that extends beyond the vehicle's perimeter, such as awnings, levelling devices or stabiliser supports, takes it out of "parking".[1]
Motorhomes may park in the same conditions and with the same limits as any other vehicle, but must respect councils' rules and signs. Citing a Supreme Court ruling of 13 March 2018, the instruction confirms that a council's traffic ordinance can limit parking times and prohibit camping by caravans and motorhomes.[1]
Councils get that power from the Traffic Act: article 7 lets them regulate the use of urban roads by municipal ordinance, including the fair distribution of parking among all users.[2]
Camping is regulated by each region
Camping (acampada) is not a traffic matter but a tourism one, so the rules come from each autonomous community.[1]
- Andalucía (Decreto 26/2018): camping and overnight stays for holiday or leisure purposes outside tourist campsites are prohibited in general. Motorhome, caravan and camper parking zones are excluded from the decree; on urban roads councils regulate them.[3]
- Galicia (Decreto 159/2019): tourist camping outside campsites authorised by the Galician tourism administration is prohibited. The decree does not mention motorhome parking.[4]
The DGT instruction lists similar decrees in other regions, including País Vasco, Cantabria, Cataluña, Asturias, Murcia, Castilla-La Mancha, Navarra, Madrid and Extremadura. Some, such as the Basque decree, treat a van as not camping only if it rests on its own wheels without chocks.[1]
Beaches and the coast
The Coast Law prohibits unauthorised parking and driving of vehicles, as well as camping, on the public coastal domain (Ley 22/1988, art. 33.5). Its regulation applies the camping ban to the whole public coastal strip and the parking ban to beaches, and counts installing habitable vehicles or trailers as camping (RD 876/2014, art. 72).[5][6]
Inland of that strip, in the protection zone, authorised campsites with removable installations are expressly allowed.[6]
Low-emission zones and foreign vans
The Climate Change Act requires towns of more than 50,000 inhabitants, and island territories, to adopt sustainable mobility plans that include low-emission zones.[7]
The DGT does not issue its environmental labels (0, ECO, C, B) to foreign-registered vehicles, but says vehicles from countries with their own labelling scheme (such as France) can drive in restricted zones with their home country's label. Each city's ordinance sets its own access rules.[8]
Fines and penalties
| Offence | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Traffic offences under the Traffic Act (e.g. breaking a parking ordinance) | Minor: up to €100; serious: €200; very serious: €500 (art. 80.1)[2] |
| Camping on the public coastal domain | €40 per square metre occupied per day (minimum)[6] |
| Unauthorised parking or driving on a beach | €50 to €150[6] |
Know before you go
Changes to this page
- 13 October 2026: First published, citing DGT instruction PROT 2026/04 (11 March 2026), which replaced earlier instructions.
Sources
- Instrucción PROT 2026/04 Autocaravanas, Dirección General de Tráfico. Accessed 13 October 2026.
- Real Decreto Legislativo 6/2015 (Ley sobre Tráfico, Circulación de Vehículos a Motor y Seguridad Vial), consolidated, BOE. Accessed 13 October 2026.
- Decreto 26/2018, de 23 de enero, de campamentos de turismo (consolidated), Junta de Andalucía. Accessed 13 October 2026.
- Decreto 159/2019, de 21 de noviembre (campamentos de turismo), Diario Oficial de Galicia. Accessed 13 October 2026.
- Ley 22/1988, de 28 de julio, de Costas (consolidated), BOE. Accessed 13 October 2026.
- Real Decreto 876/2014, Reglamento General de Costas (consolidated), BOE. Accessed 13 October 2026.
- Ley 7/2021, de 20 de mayo, de cambio climático y transición energética (art. 14), BOE. Accessed 13 October 2026.
- Distintivo ambiental, Dirección General de Tráfico. Accessed 13 October 2026.
Written and checked by Campervan Atlas against these sources. Spotted a change in the law? Tell us.