Camping, motorhomes and rural stays in Andorra

Andorra is small enough to drive end to end in no time, which makes it tempting in a motorhome or campervan, especially if you’re coming down through France from the Channel. But arrive knowing one thing plenty of people don’t. Here you can’t simply sleep where you park, however quiet the lay-by looks. The rules are strict and the authorised spots are few and specific, so I’m listing all of them, plus the roofed alternatives for anyone who’d rather have a stone borda than a tent.

What do the rules say?

Andorra Turisme is blunt about it. Rules across the whole Principality ban overnighting and camping in motorhomes, caravans, campervans and converted vans outside campsites, camping areas and authorised aires. Overnighting means the vehicle is parked at night with people inside. Camping is wider, covering levelling blocks or stabiliser legs, an awning, table or chairs, or noise and waste beyond the engine’s.

In practice you can park by day in the car parks set aside for it, but to sleep you need a campsite or an aire. Andorra Turisme lists daytime motorhome parking in every parish, from Canrodes in Andorra la Vella to Les Pardines and the Cortals in Encamp. The general parking rules are in parking in Andorra.

Where you can sleep

In summer, it’s the campsites. Andorra Turisme speaks of six campsites and one camping area, and the government’s tourism map places them. Four are in Canillo, the Santa Creu, Casal and Janramon campsites and the Font de Ferrosins camping area. The other three are Camping Valira in Andorra la Vella, Xixerella in Erts (La Massana) and the Borda d’Ansalonga in Ordino. For me, Canillo is the natural base, about twenty minutes’ drive from the capital by the resort’s own reckoning, with the Riu valley and Montaup on the doorstep. It’s also the parish of the Tibetan bridge and the Roc del Quer viewpoint, so days when the van stays put still fill up nicely.

In winter there’s something few destinations offer. The resorts open overnight aires right by the slopes for the 2026-27 season. At Ordino Arcalís, l’Hortell has 50 spaces and Planells 10. At Grandvalira, Grau Roig has 25, Pas de la Casa 40 and El Tarter 30, the last with services. At Pal Arinsal, Caubella has 24, Coll de la Botella 20 and Comallemple in Arinsal another 20. In summer, Caubella also opens 60 spaces between 20 June and 12 September.

Winter in a van, with some sense

Two things to bear in mind. From November until mid-May the law requires snow chains or winter tyres, and the UK government flags the same rule for British drivers. In a motorhome I’d practise fitting the chains at home before you ever need them. Second, coming from France on the N-22 you enter through Pas de la Casa and climb the Port d’Envalira at 2,408 metres, and a motorhome is not a hatchback when it snows. I’d check Andorra road conditions before every pass and avoid arriving after dark. The Mobilitat service answers 24 hours a day on +376 1802 1802. Everything else about the drive is in driving to Andorra.

Glamping and mountain huts

If you like sleeping out without pitching anything, Andorra Turisme highlights the Sedornet glamping site, with furnished tents in an Ordino forest at 1,650 metres and activity packages. And if the high mountains are your thing, the refuge network is the cheapest and most authentic option, covered in hostels in Andorra.

Bordas and rural houses

For stone walls and a fireplace, Andorra Turisme has a selection of unusual stays. In Canillo it picks out the Borda del Pi in the Montaup valley and the Borda de l’Ovella Negra in Incles. It also names Les Pardines 1819 Mountain Suites & Spa, the Borda del Mollà in Encamp, Casa Vella Garibaldi in La Massana and La Mariola in Sornàs, and the Ordino parish list adds Cal Batlle in La Cortinada.

A borda in Incles in deep winter is one of my favourite ideas in the whole country. The valley is a classic glacial U shape, sits between El Tarter and Soldeu, and in summer closes to cars and runs an electric train instead. It’s all in the Incles valley guide.