Location of the camp and how to come from abroad
Location of our camp
Natural environment and top quality facilities
The camp is located in the town of Robledo de Fenar (Leon), nestled in the beautiful" "Fenar Valley." "Access to the area has no difficulty, the roads have been modernized and from Leon capital you can arrive in barely half an hour.
GMR Summer Camps
Calle las Fuentes, 4,
24648 Robledo de Fenar, Leon
If you decide to know the region and come by car a few days before or after the summer camp, we indicate below suggestions of what to do, where to sleep or where to eat.
The transport organized by us for groups of campers in summer, is described in the transport section.
We describe below how you can get to our camp:
Route from Madrid
By road you can go directly on the A-6, to Benavente, where you take the A-66 to Leon. Once there you can take the ring road N-630 in the direction of La Robla. Arrived at La Robla, take the Matallana road CL-626 and in about 10 minutes you will reach the camp.
If you prefer to use the fastest way on the AP-66 toll road to the " La Magdalena / La Robla " turnoff, take the exit to the right and take us to La Robla, which we cross in direction to " La Vecilla " to take the mentioned road CL-626 until you reach the camp 7 km from La Robla.
Another alternative route would be Segovia-Valladolid, which would take us along the new A-601 dual carriageway between these two cities. When arriving in Valladolid, the road to Leon is already made by two-way road, in very good condition and with good visibility. They cross towns like Medina de Rioseco or Mayorga.
Eat and / or sleep:
If we use the route of the A-6, we could stop to eat at Arévalo (km 120) where there are several well-known restaurants, such as the Figón de Arévalo or the Asador Las Cubas. A little further on in the km. 156 we arrive at Medina del Campo, with a multitude of restaurants of various prices, although if we want to indulge, we will turn right towards Matapozuelos, a small town with a Michelin Star restaurant (La Botica), where we can eat for something more of 30 euros per person. Later we passed by Rueda, typical to eat a quick sandwich and buy some wine (you can visit any of its wineries- ask for hours). Already at km 196 we can eat a delicious beef burger with foie for 9 euros in Vega de Valdetronco. If we go through Benavente there are plenty of places to eat, it is better to see where the trucks are standing as it is the logistics center of the plateau.
Route from Asturias
From the north you arrive in about an hour on the A-66, which becomes the Peaje highway (the AP-66) once you leave the detour of the Puerto de Pajares. It is the same one that we use from Madrid but in the opposite direction, towards the south. In the same detour mentioned above, at the toll booth of La Magdalena / La Robla, we take direction this time to the left towards the East.
trip to the camp from asturiasFor the more mountaineers, the route without paying toll (about 9 euros) would be going up the famous Puerto de Pajares, not recommended if they carry children who get dizzy easily in the corners. This is a port with 15 km of curves and slopes of great unevenness in the final part, and in spite of its spectacular landscapes, usually has enough traffic because it is the alternative route to the toll. From cities such as Gijón and Oviedo, we will be in the camp in less than an hour and a half.
Eat:
The Asturians do not think they are surprised by anything in terms of eating, they come from good soil, however if they go down to La Robla from Pajares, they have probably heard of Ezequiel, in Villamanín, the restaurant that gives the most meals in the province of Leon. It is worth not only eating in this restaurant, but buying some of the famous cold meats from Leon that they sell in their store inside the restaurant. They are made by themselves.
Route from Cantabria
To come from Santander, we could choose two roads that practically have the same kilometers and it takes the same time, the first one would take us along the A8 or the Cantabrian motorway to take the route to the south that we have described previously, and the Second, it would go down south first on the A-67 to Burgos, where we will join the A-231, which is the highway from Burgos to Leon. Once in Leon you can follow the path described on the route from Madrid.
Eat and / or sleep:
Although the road from Cantabria is not very long, the two route options give us many possibilities. To the north, the A-8 would allow us to detour to eat anywhere on the coast, Llanes, Ribadesella, Lastres? ? | right here we could eat at the Bar del Puerto, where we will taste authentic Asturian gastronomy. If our excursion to Asturias does not take place in our fortnight, it would be worthwhile stopping to see the Jurassic museum with the children, the MUJA, before or after eating at Lastres. Already heading south, you eat well in the Paseo de Villaviciosa in several of its cider houses and restaurants, and links to the route already described from Asturias with the same options.
If you come by land inside, the option to get to Burgos and eat and know this city is tempting, but another interesting option is the mountain, through the famous Picos de Europa. If the children get dizzy maybe not the most suitable, but with time and desire of mountain it is lowered by the N-621 for towns like Potes or RiaÑo.
Route from the Basque Country
The Basque Country is the second place behind Madrid that gives us more campers. If we come from Donostia or Bilbao, we could also use the route of the North, that is to say the A8, although in this case without doubt the fastest would be Burgos, where any Basque knows how to get to the different highways of the Basque Country. From Bilbao for example there are 364 km and it takes a little over 3 hours by car to our camp, while from Donostia it takes 4 hours.
Eat and / or sleep:
Although this route we know it mostly from our many car trips to Ireland, the kings of the gastronomy are not surprised in their land by far, and they will prefer to arrive to Burgos or Leon to eat and / or sleep, already in Castilian land.
Route from the East
From cities like Pamplona the A-12 would take us to the AP-68, which arrives in Burgos as well, the road would be similar in time to from Donostia. If we come from Zaragoza, the road is all by highway (AP-68, A-231) equally, and the 504 km would be done in 4 hours and a half. LogroÑo is on that same route.
Eat and / or sleep:
From Zaragoza we pass by towns such as Tudela, Calahorra or Haro, however if we want to do something different when we arrive in LogroÑo, we can turn off towards Santo Domingo de la Calzada in La Rioja, and eat at Los Caballeros Restaurant for example, to then take a walk through the beautiful town and see its famous cathedral and the Plaza. If we come from further away, we have a national hostel there to sleep. From this town to Burgos, we crossed a national highway (N-120) that would allow us to stop to see several wineries in this land of wines.
Route from Galicia
The route from Galicia is clearly easier through the A-6, which crosses all Galicia and the Bierzo to Astorga, where we would take the toll road that goes to Leon. The route from A CoruÑa, for example, is 350 km long and would be done in just over three and a quarter hours. If you travel from the north of the province of La CoruÑa or the north of the province of Lugo, we have the option of traveling along the Cantabrian highway (A-8) to link the route to the south described from Asturias.
However given the size of Galicia, families traveling from the south, such as Vigo, would most likely use the A-52 motorway to get to Benavente quickly. When arriving to Orense we could shorten the road in kilometers (not in time) to cross El Bierzo through Monforte de Lemos, O Barco or Toral de los Vados, which takes us to the A-6 at the height of Ponferrada. From here we would follow the route described by Astorga.
Eat and / or sleep:
Between Galicia and Leon the options are endless for eating and sleeping as well as visiting interesting places.
If you come by the northern route, you pass by places like Ribadeo, Tapia de Casariego, Navia, Luarca, or Cudillero, among others. It connects with Oviedo that is worth stopping if you do not know to eat or spend the night even, and from there the route of Asturias continues described.
However, if you come from Santiago or La CoruÑa, the most usual is to follow the route of the A-6. This would follow the road through the Bierzo, with possible stops to eat at the Palloza in Balboa, just before Villafranca del Bierzo on the left, or in Villafranca itself to then take a walk through the most beautiful village of Bierzo. We could also sleep in this city on the Camino de Santiago in your hostel or more affordable options. Even so the most typical to eat would be to arrive in Astorga where we can eat a Cocido Maragato in the Houses Maragatas I and II, and see the most beautiful city of the province along with the capital. In the square there is a Basque restaurant among others that you can eat tapas at a good price.
For lovers of meat and with a little more budget, you can continue past Astorga on the A-6 to La BaÑeza, and divert to Jiménez de Jamuz, where the restaurant "El Capricho" is located, which was declared some years ago as the "best Ox of the World" internationally. We only deviate 12 kilometers of the route in Total.
Ruta de la Plata
From Extremadura or even from the East of Andalusia there is a fast and good road, which is the highway of the Ruta de la Plata (The A-66). From Cáceres for example it would take less than 4 hours to make the 445 kilometers that separate us from our camp. If we come from Seville, it is the same A-66 that after 706 kilometers would leave us in 6 and a quarter hours at the door of our camp.
Eat and / or sleep:
For those who come from further away, without a doubt the option of stopping to get to know Extremadura is attractive. On the way north we pass through Mérida, Cáceres (monumental city), the Lobos River, Plasencia, Hervás, Bejar, Guijuelo, Salamanca, Zamora, Las Lagunas de Villafáfila, and we connect the A-66 in Benavente, a well-known route and described. An exciting and little known trip surely by the majority of Andalusians. If we want to divert to buy Toro wine and see the city only 10 kilometers from the A-66 on the A-11 we are in the famous town.
Route from the Mediterranean under
To arrive by car from Castellón and to the south, from any place on the coast, the best option is to do it through the nationals that pass through Madrid. If you do not want to enter the big city, the bypass roads M-40 and M-50 can free us from it. From Madrid the route is the first one described.
With the arrival of the new AVE to Leon recently, we hope to increase the attendance to our camps in Leon from distant points of Spain Since we started offering camps in the Central Mountain of Leon, we have always had all the participating summers of all the autonomous communities without exception, but obviously the distance and the duration of the trip surely makes many parents look for closer options.
As of 2016, we offer a multitude of new possibilities, the departure of buses from Madrid to Leon will be from a point close to the Atocha station of the AVE, where most of the trains will arrive from the South and the East. This will allow participants from Andalusia, Valencia and Catalonia to take an AVE and be transported in our buses every fortnight from Madrid with the whole group.
AVE Madrid-Leon
Summer camps and excursions for schools: The arrival of the AVE in Leon has allowed us to increase assistance to our camps in Leon from far away points in Spain. Since we began offering camps in the Central Mountain of Leon, we have always had, every summer and in school, participants from all autonomous communities without exception. For schools it is a great option because they take more time in our facilities.
AVE from other destinations to Madrid
Both for the campers who visit us in school period with schools, as for those who come to our summer camps, the AVE offers many starting points as: Gerona, Barcelona, ??Tarragona, Lleida, Zaragoza, Guadalajara , Castellón, Valencia, Alicante, Murcia, Cuenca, Cadiz, Granada, Malaga, Seville, Cordoba, Puertollano, Ciudad Real, Toledo ... For all these departure cities, our company staff or accompanying monitors will be waiting for you at the station AVE of Madrid-Atocha to make the transfer to the AVE to Leon or make sure to place them on the bus from Madrid to Leon.
Another option we offer for the summer camps is to arrive in Madrid by AVE and then be transferred on our buses to Leon with the rest of the group. The output we make with buses from Madrid to Leon is at a point near the Atocha station of the AVE, where most of the trains arrive from the South and the East. This facilitates the transfer of campers from Andalucía, Comunidad Valenciana and CataluÑa
International students who come to the camps can enjoy the same reception service at the airport and transfer to the AVE from Madrid to Leon, or the bus from Madrid.
Summer camps: We offer a bus from the company FENAR de Leon, with regular departure at Méndez álvaro, and then pick up those who can arrive at the AVE, stopping at Valladolid and Leon if required by other registered campers.
We also offer a bus back to Madrid with accompanying monitor.
In any of the cases, if a certain number of children is not reached to fill the bus, we will opt for transportation on a bus line. Likewise, if you have chosen to use the Madrid-Léon AVE or train, a bus or corporate vehicle will pick up those who arrive at the station.
This service will be offered depending on the existing demand.
Excursions for schools: In the case of the schools that visit us, they have the option of managing the transport themselves or asking us for a quote from the company we work with, which is FENAR Leon. This allows them to compare prices and services and decide who they prefer to travel with.
The campers from Ireland (children of our host families of the school year program in Ireland, and children of school workers from Ireland with whom we work), or from other European countries, can fly to Madrid, Bilbao Valladolid or other nearby destinations, each group or student will assess their options and dates, all of them, including campers from other provinces of Spain and who choose to travel by plane, are picked up by our own fleet of vehicles or routes bus and they will be given support in the unlimited transfers.
The airport of Leon unfortunately does not have flights with affordable costs from Spain, and therefore no one uses it. It is much cheaper to fly from Germany, Ireland or England to Valladolid or Madrid for example, so we rule out reporting this option.
