Exploring Fuerteventura in a Van: New Parking Rules According to Spain’s DGT

Discover everything Spain has to offer in the most liberating and exciting way: hitting the roads with a van. In recent years, traveling through Spain in a motorhome, camper, or caravan has become increasingly popular. It offers a unique freedom that you simply don’t experience when staying in a resort, bringing visitors much closer to nature.

However, this type of travel also comes with certain concerns, especially when it comes to parking. Over the years, different town halls have played with rules and regulations against so-called “wild camping,” especially in protected areas, so it’s no wonder that there is confusion.

To eliminate the stress and worry of road trips, on July 11, the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) changed its regulations to clarify the difference between what is considered parking and what it classifies as camping once and for all.

The new DGT rules for parking vans, caravans, and motorhomes

The Spanish Association of the Caravaning Industry and Commerce has welcomed the update, believing it will reduce “conflicts due to the lack of specific regulations.”

Basically, the DGT has no problem with motorhomes stopping on public roads or in parking lots, as long as they don’t take up additional space or generate noise. In this way, they are treated by traffic authorities exactly the same as cars and other vehicles.

As of July 11, 2023, the DGT accepts that parking is not camping. Motorhomes are free to park like any car under these requirements (PROT Instruction 2023/14):

– If the vehicle, with the engine turned off, is only in contact with the ground through the wheels (stabilizing legs or other devices are not used, except for chocks, provided for by Traffic Regulations).

– The vehicle does not occupy more surface area than it does when closed, that is, without the deployment of projectable elements, chairs, tables, etc.

Explore Fuerteventura with complete peace of mind, making the most of the freedom that traveling in a van provides, now with the DG