campervan travel around europe

Road tripping through Europe with a campervan in 2024 (Itinerary)

With another eventful year behind us, where our trips were less wild and our adventures less spontaneous than they used to be. A year where we were constantly inspired by the beautiful pictures and crazy videos that our social media algorithms presented us.

Since we knew the roads would be calmer in November so we decided to follow our ‘Saved Instagram pictures’ and enjoy a wonderful autumn trip through Europe.

Our bucket list took us from the outskirts of Brussels to gorgeous medieval German castles, from the astonishing Dolomites to the picturesque Venice, and finally from fashionable Milan to the peaceful Strasbourg – How is that for an adventure?

In this itinerary, we’ve listed all the info you’ll need for a road trip through Europe with a campervan; what items to pack, how to rent a campervan, itinerary ideas, and finally: some tips for a fantastic adventure on the road.

Page Contents

Our road trip summarized in numbers. 

• 1x stuck in the Italian snow
• Crossed 7 country borders
• 0 Speeding tickets
• … a thousand new adventures and stories to tell about

The roadtrip

After an earlier adventure in which we discovered the Dolomites with a campervan , we immediately knew that we wanted to travel the same way; through Europe with a campervan! 

As we see it, this is the easiest solution to travel through various countries while still complying with all the COVID measurements and having a minimal risk for infection; we’d stay in our own bubble while still having all the comfort we needed: large beds, a small kitchen, and even a shower!

Our goal would be to drive from Brussels to Venice and back while discovering the most fabulous places we could find; after all, we had an immense amount of inspiration and a huge bucket list of places to visit. 

Essentials for a road trip in a campervan

Are you planning to go on a campervan road trip, but want to make sure you have the essentials with you? We briefly listed the essentials that made sure our trip was a success.

Ecoflow River Pro Powerstation

As content creators, we’re always haunted by our fear of not having enough power, from the fear of being stranded in the middle of nowhere without a GPS to the fear of having a dying camera battery just when you’re about to shoot your favorite location. 

Either way: We’ve all been there, so we all know these are valid worries! No wonder why one of Google’s top road trip-related searches is about finding or generating power. While there are various solutions, we found one that put our minds at ease before starting our road trip; The Ecoflow River Pro Powerstation !

In essence, the Ecoflow River Pro is a massive power bank with 2 AC power outlets and a few USB connections, generating enough power to charge our Macbook M1 Pro laptop 13 times, our smartphone 58 times, and our Sony A7III camera over 30 times. Due to its dimensions, the River Pro can usually last 8 hours, being a massive help for every road trip.

When you’re planning to cross various borders or wander around mountain passes, you’ll have to switch radio stations regularly, or you’ll end up with noise. Our trick? Make sure everyone has made their own Spotify playlist in advance! That way, you won’t be bothered by the noise and leave room for spontaneous singalong moments to occur.

Data Roaming

If you are located in Europe and are traveling through various countries, you’ll need to ensure that your data roaming is enabled on your phone to keep having an internet connection. 

You shouldn’t worry about the amount of roaming you use, thanks to the European Union’s roaming regulations which say data providers can’t charge for roaming in the European Union. However, keep in mind: Switzerland is not included in this regulation! So don’t forget to turn off your Data Roaming when entering Switzerland.

What have we learned about road tripping through Europe with a campervan?

Our campervan trip through Europe confirmed something we already knew: that it’s very easy to travel between European countries. A 100 kilometers drive can bring you to a different cultural and diverse community.

Next to this, we had a few other learnings as well. 

The ease of a camping site with decent facilities

While traveling in a sustainable campervan, you’ve got different options in terms of camping:

• You could visit an official campsite which has loads of facilities.
• You could park overnight at Highway stops.
• You could wild camp and stay at a new place every night.

Most European countries have different rules and regulations about camping, but generally, they (Switzerland, Italy,…) aren’t allowing wild camping … which makes it technically illegal. However, in most cases, overnight parking where you don’t set up camp or leave in less than 24 hours is allowed. 

Our tip? Make sure you can drive off at any moment so that nobody can complain about it.

The thing is: If you’re on the road for over a week, you’ll need to clean your campervan and want a more luxury shower. Don’t hesitate to stop wild camping and pause at a camping site with decent facilities. 

The ease of planning

Being prepared for your campervan trip ensures that you can switch gears faster and need to spend less time worrying. The things that helped us a lot were:

• Backup locations. Since we used our itinerary as a guideline, we had the flexibility to skip specific locations because of bad weather. Having backup locations made it less of a hassle to find hidden gems.
• Ecoflow River Pro . We knew we would probably wild-camp a lot, which meant not having the power to charge our electronic devices (laptop, camera,…). Luckily our friends at Dutchtravelshop.nl hooked us up with this mobile power station, which we didn’t have to recharge one single time during our 8-day trip.

The costs Tolls and Vignettes

Something we have underestimated is the fact that most European countries have toll roads, which can make your trip very expensive very fast. Luckily, there are exceptions, such as Germany, Netherlands, and Belgium.

Some countries such as Austria and Switzerland are working with a vignette, which is a prepaid motorway toll in the form of a sticker you typically purchase from petrol stations before you cross the border and which you stick on your windscreen.

Alternatively, you can always avoid tolls by picking alternative routes on Google Maps or Waze, but these will guide you through the smaller roads, resulting in a slower and longer route. 

Our tip? If you have the time, save your money and go for the slower, more scenic route. If you’re in a hurry or have a tight schedule: go via the tollways.

Our road trip Itinerary

Since the lockdown started, we’ve been saving Instagram pictures of destinations that inspired us and deserved a place on our bucket list. We’ve added them all to a Google Maps collection and started planning the regions we wanted to visit.

From there on, we casually decided that we wanted to visit the Dolomites, Venice, and Milan. Because the beauty of a road trip in a campervan is that you can make up your itinerary along the way: when you’re experiencing bad weather, you can just start a few 100 km’s and adjust your itinerary as you go.

Additionally, once your start to post Instagram stories or timeline pictures of your trip, people will automatically start to recommend locations that weren’t on your bucket list to start with!

Remember that our style is to have a flexible road trip itinerary and adjust our planning accordingly. As a result, we’ll need an internet connection during our trip, which can’t always be found when traveling to rural destinations like the dolomites.

DAY 1 – Getting started

Our first day was mainly focused on picking up our campervan, unpacking the bags, and learning how to drive the campervan properly. Ultimately we already wanted to drive to our first location so that we could start our hike early!

Pickup Campervan in Brussels

We started our trip by picking up the campervan in Brussels in the afternoon, where we finally met the owners of the campervan face-to-face, received an extensive explanation of how the campervan functions, and finally managed the paperwork (for example; noting down the milage of the car, check for damages, etc).

After unpacking our bags and filling the drawers, we started driving towards our adventure! We left Brussels around 3 pm and drove straight to our first stop in Rheinland-Pfalz. Just when we crossed the steep hills of Malmedy, darkness fell over the highway, and fog started to appear. 

Since the darkness prevented us from sightseeing opportunities, we quickly arrived at our first stopover and sleeping place – the “Wanderparkplatz” in Nothweiler on the German-French border . This parking is located in the middle of the woods, which explains why we came across some wild boars on our way to the parking spot.

Wegelnburg – Wanderparkplatz Nothweiler

After (wild) parking at Wanderparkplatz Nothweiler, we looked up at the sky and noticed how beautiful the stars were in the sky. We decided to unpack our Nanlite Pavotube II’s light tubes and used them to illuminate the (unlit) hiking trail, looking for the perfect spot to stargaze.

We decided to follow the winding hiking trail that crosses the German-French border until we found an open spot, which we used to capture the stars.

Day 2 – Chasing castles

We knew in advance that during our road trip to Venice, we had to pass through the German provinces of Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg. Both regions are known for their medieval castles, of which most have a panoramic view.

Our goal was to visit the most impressive castles on our route to Venice.

Wegelnburg, Germany

Wegelnburg , a ruined castle located in a forest on the French-German border, is best known for its panoramic view and incredible sunrise.

We wanted to witness that specific 7 am sunrise, so to observe this, we had to start our hike at 6 am, where we followed the zigzagging hiking trail to the Wegelnburg. This took us 5 kilometers, regularly crosses the German-France border, and passes by several other ruins on its way. The hike was covered in darkness since the sun was still about to set, making it an authentic experience. However: seeing the sunbeams roll over the mountains with such a fantastic panoramic view was just … unreal.

Be aware tho: the entrance of Wegelnburg is surrounded by fencing, so at first, we thought it was closed to visitors, but nothing could be further from the truth!

We found a shorter hiking trail on our way back, which brought us directly to the village, only 200 meters walk to the Wanderparkplatz Nothweiler. 

Schloss Lichtenstein, Germany

To make our route to Venice even more interesting, we aimed to visit interesting stopovers every 2 to 3 hours (+- 200 to 300 km). In this instance, we drove towards Schloss Lichtenstein : a 12th-century fortress built on top of an 800-meter high cliff.

We noticed that the castle was managed from a commercial point of view, where everything involved a cost: parking, entering the courtyard, etc. 

Nevertheless, the panoramic view over the valley and the fantastic color palette of the surrounding trees, hills, and valley made it worthwhile. It also struck us how beautifully everything had been restored and how detailed they had for their sculptures.

Hohenzollern Castle, Germany

Located less than 40 kilometers from Schloss Lichtenstein, you can find Germany’s most visited castle: Hohenzollern Castle! The castle has been known as “The Crown of all Castles” ever since 1267. Reason enough for us to visit it and admire it with our own eyes!

Our tight itinerary wouldn’t allow us to stop by the Hohenzollern Castle for an extended visit, so we decided to admire the castle from Zeller Horn’s legendary viewpoint ; It’s the mountain range located about 1.5 kilometers away, at the same height as the fortress. As a result, you have the best view of the castle and the surrounding area.

We have to be honest tho: it took us a while to find the exact location of the Zeller Horn viewpoint, but once we found it … we loved it! You can judge for yourself … 

Plansee, Austria 

While we had already discovered some of the most amazing places, we decided to push our luck: our goal was to visit Plansee lake, located just beyond the Austrian border, and search for its very instagrammable viewpoint that looks down over the lake.

Unfortunately, a combination of traffic jams and mandatory stops (buying our Highway Vignette to enter Austria) caused us to arrive just after sunset. We learned during our road trip through the mountains that as soon as the sun has set, it’ll be pitch dark in a matter of minutes. The same goes for our visit to the Plansee lake: as soon as we crossed the bridge, we couldn’t move without using our Nanlite lights.

After our short stop at the lake, we decided to continue our journey to a place to sleep for the night: the legendary Innsbruck city.

Innsbruck city

We’ve visited Innsbruck city numerous times, and we may even say that it’s our favorite city in Austria. This is because of its beautiful mountain background, architectural gems, alternative culture, and Innsbruck’s importance on the winter sports community.

Once we arrived, we decided to head downtown to reminisce memories from the past and see how the historic buildings (such as the Liberation Monument on Landhausplatz and the building with the golden roof) are lit up at night.

We decided to end our evening at the Hard Rock cafe to explore the same downtown area the next day after dawn before the shops opened.

Day 3 – Arriving in the Dolomites

During our previous road trip, we visited the Dolomites and missed out on a few of our bucket-list locations. Since the Dolomites were only a slight detour from our route to Venice, we decided to give some of these places a second chance … but not before we wandered around Innsbruck first! 

Innsbruck, Austria

Imagine the feeling of waking up, opening the doors of your campervan, and looking out across the streets of Innsbruck with their impressive mountains as a backdrop. Well, that’s precisely how we woke up!

After a quick shower in our campervan, we decided to wander around the city again and rediscover the same historic buildings, but this time using daylight. 

Another reason why we stayed in Innsbruck is that we’ve been following Holzkern Watches on Instagram for ages and noticed we could visit their shop in Innsbruck. We made an appointment, and were welcomed by their store manager Stefan who explained to us more about Holzkern’s philosophy and lifestyle, showed us how an automatic watch works and how to replace the chains of a wristband.

During our visit to the store, we fell for the charms of the La Concorde watch and the Intergalactic watch , which we took home as a reminder of our road trip.

MMM Corones

Since we visited the Dolomites last year, the MMM Corones (being designed by Zaha Hadid) have been on the top of our bucket list. When we entered the region around the Dolomites, we noticed that the lakes weren’t frozen and the roads were not covered with snow … so our first reaction was to visit MMM Corones.

Unfortunately: the ski lifts were closed because the season hadn’t started yet, and the roads were now permanently closed and accompanied by prohibition signs. So one thing is sure: MMM Corones can only be visited in a dignified manner when the ski lifts are open.

With pain in our hearts, we had to make a cross over our visit from MMM Corones, but luckily there are plenty of other places to visit in the region … so we decided to drive to the legendary Lago di Braies .

Lago di Braies

Lago Di Braies – also known as Pragser Wildsee – is the biggest lake in the Dolomites and is known as the most beautiful lake of the Alps because it’s surrounded by beautiful pine forests, towering limestone peaks, and included a unique boathouse. As a result, most people know it as (“Lago di Instagram”). 

The last time when we visited the lake, it was totally frozen and covered in snow. This setting certainly had its charm, but we also wanted to visit Lago di Braies before the snow fell. Unfortunately, there was so much fog that we still couldn’t admire the lake in its best condition. Next time!

St. Johann church in Villnostal

Noticing that the sunset was approaching fast, we decided to revisit one of the most legendary sites in the Dolomites: St. Johann in Ranui Church in Val di Funes, Villnostal.

While driving over the winding roads, we noticed that the weather conditions would be utterly different from our previous visit: there wouldn’t be any snow, but the church and its surroundings were covered in fog. 

Unfortunately, we didn’t notice too much of the sunset since the fog blocked all the sunbeams. By the time we left the church, it was already pitch dark.

Alpe di Siusi & Earth Pyramids Renon

We decided to drive up to Compatsch to experience the sunrise at Alpe di Siusi to save some time. Last time, we missed this view since it’s located in a nature resort and has a curfew for cars: no-one can drive by between 9 am and 5 pm.

This time, we could access the road to Compatsch, but while we were driving up the mountain, it started to snow, almost to the level of a snowstorm. When we arrived in Compatsch, our van got stuck, and a local farmer had to pull us out of the snow. 

According to the local weather forecast, it would snow for the entire night, and we would miss the sunrise anyway since it would be covered in fog. In fear of getting stuck, we decided to go back down the mountain and skip our visits to both Alpe di Siusi and the Earth Pyramids of Renon. 

We ended up spending the night at a truck stop next to the road.

Day 4 – The road to Venice

We knew it wouldn’t be the shortest route to Venice, but we decided to drive via Santuario Madonna Della Corona and Lake Garda since it captured our imagination.

Santuario Madonna Della Corona 

What’s more astonishing than an ancient place of worship, located 800 meters into the side of a cliff? We wanted to experience it, so we drove towards Santuario Madonna Della Corona, only a 15 minutes drive from Lake Garda (the Italian part)!

We parked at Localita Santuario 1 in Spiazzi, on a parking lot that usually wouldn’t allow campervans and mobile homes, but we decided to risk it since it was empty. The reason for this might be the thick fog that stood over the mountain, on the fact that it’s not the most touristic period to visit Santuario Madonna Della Corona.

Although we could not fully admire the Santuario Madonna Della Corona due to the thick fog, the location continued to impress us. We also had the opportunity to check our fitness by climbing the steep stairs to access the sanctuary.

After arriving, we learned that this sanctuary is a place of pilgrimage that already existed before the year 1000! We’ve listed our findings in this specific destination article about Santuario Madonna Della Corona .

Lagi di Garda

In less than 24 hours, we went from a small snowstorm in the Dolomites to a 20-degree summer breeze at Lake Garda. 

The small town was quite dead, considering the tourist season was already over here, so we just briefly wandered through the city. Our goal was to catch the sunset in Venice before 5 pm anyway, so we quickly left the lake.

Venice City

Where we spent the past few days in quiet or remote regions, with endless possibilities to park and wild camping … Venice would be a bit more crowded and strict. That’s why we decided to spend the night at the campsite of Venezia village, which had some fantastic facilities: decent showers, an elegant restaurant, and a clean swimming pool. 

An additional advantage was that there is a bus stop in front of the campsite, with busses that go directly to Venice. The ride to the city takes no longer than fifteen minutes and drops you off at Piazzale Roma.  

By 4 pm we arrived at the tourist center, where we were overwhelmed by history and architecture! Strolling with our camera in hand, we followed the small corridors of the city, arriving at a (relatively empty) San Marco square just after sunset.

Unfortunately, The darkness brought in some shady types, from aggressive salespeople who punched us on the shoulder to get our attention to pickpockets popping up from sketchy streets and following us until we noticed them. As a result, we decided to skip the rest of the city and return the following day.

Pro-tip; Gelateria il Doge’s ice creams are known as the best in the old town.

Day 5 – From Venice to Milan

By now, our road trip was already halfway through, so after enjoying Venice’s charms in the morning, we had to start on our way back. This time we chose to spend the night in the city of Milan since we wanted to discover some of their ancient buildings as well.

Be aware: Something we didn’t realize before going on this trip is how many toll stops you can find in Italy, especially between Venice and Milan.

Venice, the city of canals

Since we ended our wanderings around Venice early the night before, we decided to sleep in first… and then head back into the city!

This time we parked our campervan in Venezia Tronchetto Parking because we were only planning to stay in the city for a few hours. Ultimately, we stayed for 4 hours and realized that we had paid more for this parking spot (without any facilities except) than staying an extra night in the camping Venezia Village. Yikes!

Unlike the previous evening, where we walked to San Marco square via Basilica S.Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, we now had the time to take a different route: via Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute.

Milan and its impressive Duomo di Milano

Since we took our time to wander around Venice, we arrived in Milan during rush hour and had to endure several traffic jams before arriving in “Camping Village city of Milan.”

The campsite’s reception was already closed, but luckily google maps had a function that allowed us to know perfectly see what public transport connections would lead us to the Duomo di Milano. Our trip was a bit more delicate since we needed to transfer from the bus to the metro, in a place we had never visited before. Luckily we had google maps to fall back on.

Since this route to the center of Milan took almost an hour commute, we only found the time to discover the illuminated cathedral and the neighboring streets. To make it easy for us, we also made a quick McDonalds stop here.

Day 6 – From Milan to Strasbourg

We had less than two days to cover 1000 kilometers and go from Milan to Brussels. This gave us enough time to visit the center of Milan and then leave for Strasbourg in the afternoon.

Milan, Italy

Since Milan is such a beautiful city accompanied by ancient architecture, a sense of fashion, and art … we made a small “bucket list” of locations that we had to see during our visit to the city center. 

Castello Sforzesco

Castello Sforzesco – also known as Sforza Castle – is a fortress that was built during the 14th century. 

Over the centuries, the fortification was destroyed in various wars, by the troops of Napoleon and during World War II. It was extensively rebuilt in 2005 and currently houses several of the city’s museums and art collections. That’s why it’s currently one of the most famous landmarks in Milan.

Arco della Pace

Arco della Pace is a huge triumphal arc located where the ancient Romans built their city gate. The gate is called “The Porta Sempione” and refers to the district it was located in.

While the origin of the arc can be found in 1807 when Napoleon was in command of the city, the construction of the “Arch of Peace” was paused when the city of Milan fell under the control of the Austrian Empire. The construction of the Arch was resumed in 1826 and was finally completed in 1838.

Bosco Verticale

The Bosco Verticale – or Vertical Forest – are two residential towers built in 2014 and are already known as the most iconic and most recognizable buildings of the last decade in Milan.

Pictures of the building often surface on Instagram and Pinterest, as it is iconic for its pioneering incorporation of a vertical forest.

Duomo di Milano

The Milan Cathedral, known as Duomo di Milano, is without any doubt the most known building in Milan.

It is logical too since they started the constructions in 1386 and only finished working on it more than six centuries later: in 1965! What’s even more impressive is the fact that the cathedral contains over 3400 different statues.

Strasbourg, France

As mentioned: Milan is still a 1000km drive from Brussels, so we had to keep going if we wanted to back on time! We decided to pass via Switzerland, which meant buying a new vignette when crossing the border and disabling our roaming data.

Once we arrived at Strasbourg, we parked at Parkplatz Friedhof since it was close to the city center, and parking on a Sunday would be free of any charge.

Day 7 – Back to Belgium

Every fairy tale comes to an end, and unfortunately, ours too. It was the last day where we were actually on the road; we wanted to enjoy it until the end. That is why we chose to discover Strasbourg in the morning and pass quickly via Veves Castle in the afternoon.

Being a university city on the border of France and Germany, Strassbourg is a very characteristic and cultural city, with enormous history. Proof of this is the street art that can be found all around the city or the ancient buildings scattered around the city (such as their cathedral).

We had some help from some locals; we were advised to discover the part of the city known as “Le Petit Paris.”

Vives Castle

What’s a better way to end our trip than to visit a 12th-century castle? We arrived rather last-minute: 10 minutes before the castle closed, so we didn’t have the chance get to explore it from the inside … but the sunset made up for it!

If you don’t know about Veves Castle yet, make sure to read the extensive guide we wrote, it contains the history of the castle, the legends around the castle and how to reach it. 

A fascinating part about the castle is that the same family has owned it for the last 800 years, and that is classified as an exceptional heritage by the region of Wallonia. As a result, the castle is referred to as Sleeping Beauty’s castle.

Day 8 – returning the campervan

Our last day was mainly focused on bringing back the campervan, where we had to pack our bags, clean the campervan in a self carwash, and ultimately fill in the paperwork again ( check for damages, note the number of kilometers we’ve driven,…).

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Hey there! I'm Elliot Clennam, a passionate photographer based in Brussels, Belgium. My love for capturing the essence of my surroundings has led me on countless adventures, from exciting road trips to bustling city escapes.

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10 European Campervan Routes – Inspiration for your next Road Trip

No doubt traveling around in a campervan emits a feeling of freedom and awakes everyone’s adventurous soul. And Europe has numerous options for campervan routes to take! It is the perfect continent to explore different countries, cultures, and sights within one single trip and have a once-in-a-lifetime road trip experience. As for me, living in Germany and therefore quite in the middle of Europe, I love to explore all the neighboring countries and cities. Therefore, I have compiled 10 different European campervan routes , from which you can pull inspiration for your next road trip adventure. All suggested routes are usually recommended for around 2-3 weeks , but of course, you can easily adapt them to your travel plans.

Have fun planning one of these European campervan routes and see you on the road!

Need a CamperVan for your trip? Then I recommend you to choose PaulCamper , the largest camper-sharing marketplace in Europe. It lists over 10,000 camping vehicles throughout Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom for you to enjoy!

Disclaimer: This article may contain affiliate links. Without costing you anything extra, the small commission will help me produce more free content for you. For more information, please refer to my  privacy policy .

Table of Contents

1. Slovenia and Croatia

Route: Lake Bled – Ljubljana – Piran – Pula – Zadar – Split

Suggested duration : 2 weeks

Overall length: 826 km (9 hours of driving)

Going on a Balkan road trip through Slovenia and Croatia is the ideal way to see many amazing places in a short time without breaking the bank. The suggested route offers the perfect combination of adventurous nature activities, relaxing beach days, and city sightseeing. Starting at Lake Bled , a magical place in the middle of Slovenia, you will have the chance to experience the country’s beauty in many ways. For more inspiration regarding this place, make sure to check out my list of the best things to do at Lake Bled . After some fun activities at the lake, you will continue your route to Ljubljana , the charming capital of Slovenia.

The small and colorful town of Piran will be the next stop on your Slovenia road trip itinerary . This place will amaze you with its picturesque old town, narrow alleys, and sunset views from the town wall. Even though the town is very small, there are quite a few interesting things to do in Piran .

The campervan route leads you over the Croatian border and into the historic city of Pula . Must-see activities in Pula include visits to the Roman Amphitheater, the Augustus Temple as well as the vibrant markets. After doing some sightseeing, it is time to move on along the Croatian coast to Zadar . The city is well-known for its historic ruins, churches, and a photogenic old town. The last stop on this road trip is Split . You definitely cannot miss the Diocletian’s Palace as well as the Peristil Square in the middle of the city when spending one day in Split . I recommend spending some relaxing last days on Split’s beautiful beaches.   

2. North Germany, Denmark & Norway

Route: Hamburg – Hirtshals – Kristiansand – Stavanger – Bergen – Oslo

Suggested duration: 3 weeks

Overall length: 1,500 km (23 hours of driving)

Budget : €€€€€

This is one of the European campervan routes that are perfectly suited for adventure-seeking couples or friends, who want to see and experience a lot and have a sufficient budget available for the trip. Starting in Hamburg , one of the most beautiful cities in Germany, you will head north to the very top of Denmark . Of course, if you have enough time, other stops in Denmark, like Copenhagen or Aarhus, are possible.

In Hirtshals , you will take the ferry to Kristiansand in south Norway . From here, you are open to experiencing the variety of fjords, mountains, national parks, and other beautiful places that southern Norway has to offer, at your own pace and within your itinerary. Make sure to visit the charming towns of Stavanger and Bergen during your trip. After many days of hiking and other nature-based activities, you will arrive in Oslo , the capital of Norway. Must-see activities in this city are visiting the Viking Ship Museum , strolling around Frogner Park, and taking a tour of the Akershus Fortress. For more inspiration, make sure to read my ultimate Southern Norway road trip itinerary .

3. Switzerland and North Italy

Route: Zürich – Lucerne – Bern – Turin – Milan – Bologna – Venice

Suggested duration: 2 weeks

Overall length: 1,000 km (12 hours of driving)

Budget: €€€€

From the mountains to the sea – this could be the motto of this beautiful European campervan route. Starting in Zürich , the biggest city in Switzerland, you will admire the old buildings in the city center, eat the most delicious cheese fondue, and stroll around the lake. Besides its picturesque mountains and lakes, Switzerland offers beautiful cities as well. On this road trip, you will also explore Lucerne and Bern , the country’s capital.

From Bern, you will head south and enjoy some Italian travel experiences . Turin , which lies in the region of Piemont, is well known for its outstanding architecture and cuisine. Besides many other things to do in Turin , the city is the ideal place to slow down in an Italian café and take photos of the aesthetic baroque buildings. Milan , the international center of fashion and design, as well as Bologna , the vivid and historic town, are other stops on your way through Italy. After spending several days strolling through pretty alleys and eating pizza, you will end your road trip to Venice , one of the most popular places to visit in Northern Italy . Even though the city is considered to be rather expensive, there are quite a few tips for visiting Venice on a budget and enjoying your trip to the fullest!

4. Austria and Budapest

Route: Innsbruck – Zell am See – Hallstatt – Graz – Vienna – Budapest

Suggested duration: 2-3 weeks

Overall length: 900 km (11 hours of driving)

Budget: €€€

This Europe campervan route takes you across Austria to the Hungarian capital Budapest. On your way through the mountains, you will experience a city break in Innsbruck , explore the ski region Zell am See, and visit the picturesque town of Hallstatt. On your way to Hallstatt, you can also make a stop in Salzburg, the city which is famous for the great musician Mozart. In both Graz and Vienna, you will find numerous beautiful Renaissance and Baroque-style buildings. Vienna, the vivid capital of Austria, will welcome you with many bars and restaurants as well as a beautiful castle (Schönbrunn Palace). From Vienna, it is only a 2.5-hour drive to the next capital – Budapest. Must-do experiences in Budapest include bathing in the famous thermal pools (Széchenyi Baths), going on a typical Danube river cruise, and walking across the Chain Bridge.

5. French Rivera and Catalonia

Route: Nice – Saint-Tropez – Marseille – Montpellier – Lloret de Mar – Barcelona – Tarragona

During this trip, you will travel alongside the sea the whole time and get plenty of vitamin D. Starting in Nice or Saint-Tropez at the Côte d’Azur, you will begin your trip in one of the sunniest and wealthiest corners of France. I recommend you continue your trip alongside the French Rivera by exploring the cities of Marseille and Montpellier. Once arrive in Spain, you can enjoy the party life in Lloret de Mar before heading to Barcelona, where you have the chance to visit the world-famous Sagrada Familia, try all the Spanish food, relax at the beach, or go shopping in the city center. You will see, there are countless things to do in Barcelona! From here, a trip to Tarragona is worthwhile as well. The city in southern Catalonia offers the perfect combination of ancient culture, lovely beaches, and adventurous amusement parks.

6. Andalusia and Portugal

Route: Málaga – Marbella – Gibraltar – Seville – Faro – Lagos – Lisbon – Porto

Overall length: 1,200 km (13 hours of driving)

This campervan route is perfect for all sun-seeking travelers and city-hoppers out there. The more time you can allow for this itinerary, the better! There are numerous cute places along the route which are all worth a stop. Malaga , the starting point of this itinerary, is one of my favorite European cities and the perfect vacation spot in Andalusia. The next stops are the picturesque city of Marbella as well as the British overseas territory Gibraltar . Make sure to plan enough time to visit all the beautiful historic buildings in Seville.

From Seville in Spain , you will drive across the Portuguese border and straight to the beautiful Algarve , the most southern region of Portugal. Both Faro and Lagos are THE destinations for having an incredible time at the Algarve and there are numerous beautiful beaches in Lagos and Faros. If you are eager to see more of the country, you should continue your trip to Lisbon , the charming capital of Portugal. For good reasons, the city on the Atlantic coast is regularly rated as one of the most beautiful cities worldwide. The last stop of this beautiful route is Porto .

7. Switzerland and France

Route: Bern – Lausanne – Geneva – Lyon – Clemon-Ferrand – Bordeaux – La Rochelle – Nantes – Paris

Overall length: 1,500 km (17 hours of driving)

This route is perfect for travelers who want to explore the different regions of France and seek a good mixture of cities and nature. Starting in Bern , the capital of Switzerland, you will explore the Western region of the country with its glittering lakes, mountain peaks, and picturesque cities of Lausanne and Geneva. From Lyon, you will drive through France’s breathtaking landscape to the Atlantic coast. In Bordeaux, the center of the famous wine-growing region, you will be immersed in French cuisine and culture. Heading further north, the beautiful cities of La Rochelle and Nantes are already waiting for you. Paris , the city of love, marks the end of this stunning route. The metropolis is one of the most visited cities around the world for good reason. As for me, I simply cannot get enough of all the Paris bucket list activities .  

8. Germany and The Netherlands

Route: Munich – Nuremberg – Rothenburg ob der Tauber – Frankfurt – Mainz – Cologne – Rotterdam – The Hague – Amsterdam

Overall length: 1000 km (12 hours of driving)

Located in the middle of Europe, Germany, and the Netherlands are perfect starting points for European campervan routes in any direction. However, they also offer great routes themselves. Especially southern Germany with its beautiful cities Munich, Nuremberg, and Rothenburg ob der Tauber is very attractive to international travelers. The vibrant cities of Frankfurt and Mainz should also be on your Germany Bucket List .

Continuing your trip along the Rhine River, you will not only drive through the country’s main wine regions but also discover historic castles. After you have discovered all the things to do in Cologne, the city with the iconic cathedral, you will cross the border to the harbor city Rotterdam in the Netherlands. In The Hague, you will finally reach the sea. Ending your trip to Amsterdam , the country’s lively capital, you will be amazed by the variety of colorful markets, lovely canals, narrow houses, and art museums.

9. Paris and South England

Route: Paris – Rouen – Brussels – Antwerp – London – Brighton – Bournemouth – Stonehenge – Bristol

Overall length: 1300 km (17 hours of driving, including ferry)

The last one of all European campervan routes promises lively metropolises, sightseeing tours, and the spectacular coast of southern England. Not only will you cover three amazing capitals (Paris, Brussels , and London) and three countries (France, Belgium , and England) during one single vacation, but also have a ferry trip included. If you are willing to explore lively cities such as London on a budget , discover beautiful coastal towns, eat the best English food, and visit a world heritage site ( Stonehenge ) all at once, this campervan route in Europe is perfect for you!

10. Italy Roundtrip

Route: Milan – Genoa – Cinque Terre – Pisa – Florence – Siena – Rome – Naples – Amalfi

Overall length: 1000 km (14 hours of driving)

Italy is one of the best destinations to enjoy the European summer and one of my favorite European campervan routes. During this marvelous Italy road trip , you will get to know the different regions of Italy, explore the picturesque place Cinque Terre , and enjoy all the things to do in Naples . You will learn about history in Rome , go shopping in Milan , drink wine in the Toscana , and take photos at the Leaning Tower of Pisa . On top, you will swim in the sea in Amalfi , marvel at ancient art masterpieces in Florence , and stroll around the harbor front in Genoa . I promise, this road trip, no matter if it’s with your friends or a solo trip to Italy , will not only be a lot of fun but also recharge your batteries completely!

You have finally decided on a route but you don’t know what to pack for the trip? Maybe my ultimate campervan packing list can help you out! Need more road trip inspiration? What about an epic Eastern Canada road trip ?

Which of the European campervan routes do you like most? What are your suggestions for the best campervan routes around Europe? Let me know in the comments down below!

Useful Travel Resources

• 🏨 Find and book accommodation on Booking.com
• 🎡 Fill your journey with unforgettable experiences with tours on GetYourGuide
• 🚘 Need a car for your trip? Hire it with Rentalcars
• ✈️ Buy cheap flight tickets with WayAway
• 🔰 Insure your trip with Insubuy

Don’t forget to save these European campervan routes for your next trip!

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We have often thought that a camper van trip around Europe would be a lot of fun. So great to see such a great variety of routes to choose from. We have travelled a few of these routes by car and train. But was really interested in the routes that included Germany or Croatia. Saved this post for when we start real planning!

You’ve done a lot of driving through Europe; I’m so impressed! This is super legit. I’ve heard that road trips through Europe were the way to go but I have been skeptical. This post makes me reconsider driving through Europe. These guides are really helpful; otherwise, I wouldn’t even think about it… but since you’ve done the work for me, maybe we can give it a go after all! 🙂

Slovenia looks like such a wonderful place to visit! You’ve captured the vibe of the place very well – and the maps are perfect!!

Thank you Amy! You should definitely add Slovenia to your Bucket List! 🙂

I really loved this post. I’ve been thinking about doing a campervan trip somewhere, so this came in at the perfect time. I liked that you noted how pricey the trip could be it always helps to plan your budget accordingly.

Thanks a lot. I feel like right now is the best time for a campervan trip! 🙂

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The Ultimate Guide to Travelling Europe in a Campervan

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning that if you click through & make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Has it been a dream of yours to travel Europe in a Campervan? Then look no further – this comprehensive blog post is FILLED with tips and advice on how to have the best van adventure ever.

We spent 8 months living in our beautiful Ford Transit campervan conversion exploring Europe, and now you can too with the help of this guide. We get asked a lot about how we did it and what it costs so we are sharing our experiences, the good and bad with you!

So if you are curious about what it takes, already have a camper van or want to add a road trip through Europe to your bucket list – dive right in. We are not leaving any details out- it’s stuff like this we wish we had known before we left on our trip.

Why Travel Europe in a Campervan?

How much does it cost.

• What to Consider Before Buying a Campervan?

Converting Your Van

Our route through europe, where to camp in europe, the best campervan resources, our van essentials – must have items, departure checklist.

• Petrol, Tolls and How to Avoid Them

Mobile Data

• Our Favourite Free Camping spots with GPS Co-ordinates

Location Highlights

Our whole route in detail.

• Freedom! Whether you buy a used motorhome or decide to build your own, we think the freedom that this gives you when travelling is the best feeling in the world!
• Being able to sleep wherever you want- next to amazing beaches, mountain views and lakes. You name it – having a van allows you to park and sleep in places that you never could do on a normal trip.
• Choose how long you want to stay and where, while having your own home to sleep and cook in also saves money.
• You can take everything you need with you for your favourite activities – we took surfboards, bikes, skateboards and snorkelling kits. Always be prepared for an adventure!
• Outdoor living and camping life with all the home comforts! We loved how homey and comfortable our van was.
• Travel for longer , spending less money.

Our daily budget was approximately £25 per day. This meant for 8 months we had a budget of £6000 for food, gas, petrol, tolls, parking/camping and sightseeing between the two of us. This budget for us, was super easy to stick to. We were in it for the long haul and once you are on the road you realise how little you actually need to spend in order to have an incredible time. 

Our camper van cost us about £6500 to purchase and convert. This might seem like a big investment including the daily budget, but once you sell your van you get that money back. Think how much money you would be spending on transport and hotels, the hours wasted on public transport and not being able to stay in some of the most insanely beautiful locations in Europe.

What to Consider Before Buying a Campervan

• Can you stand up in it? 

Phil is 6ft 6 so this was a tricky one but most High Top/Roof vans have exactly that amount of head room. This will make your time in your van much more comfortable. Medium Roof vans also work for some people. If you plan on spending a long time travelling in your van you will 100% want to be able to stand up.

• Reliability ! 

We spent hours researching the pros and cons of various types of vans and which models might suit our needs. Try and get something with a good service history and ask a garage to give it a once over. Is it easy to get replacement parts abroad, how many miles on the clock etc.

• A good nights rest

A comfy nights sleep was high on our list as we were planning to be in the van everyday for 8 months. Luckily building our own van allowed us to plan our bed layout and what mattress we wanted. We loved our double memory foam bed so it was worth the effort researching!

• How self sufficient do you need to be? 

We wanted to be able to go fully off grid for a few days at a time without having to fill up on water, empty our toilet and get supplies. So we had a fridge, large water storage, solar energy and running tap to keep us sustained.

• Do you want to live off grid?

How much electricity will you use or need – will you go solar and be a true off grid explorer? Getting a leisure battery that runs separately to your vans battery will give you so much extra power, you get even more time to be off grid by having solar panels.

It took us about 2 months working 6 days a week to do our Ford Transit campervan conversion! There are so many resources out there about how to plan and do the conversion. We loved using Pinterest for inspiration on designs, watching YouTube videos for how to guides and reading blog posts. Anyone who can use a few tools can get started from home once you have your van or motorhome. I had never used many of the tools before and built an entire kitchen from scratch.

We started off catching a ferry from Poole in the UK to Cherbourg in France and decided on a clock wise route of Western Europe. Our plan was to drive a maximum of 1-3 hours a day between locations. This worked out pretty perfectly for the length of our trip. We stayed in some places for just one night and the ones we liked we stayed more. For example we stayed in Paris for 3 nights and Rome for 5 nights but stops in between may only be for one night. To determine our route we would get out our resources ( Camperstop book, Park4Night app and Google) and see where looked good, had good camping spots and was within driving distance.

When you travel Europe you can park in places called Aires, also known as Motorhome stops. These are dedicated campervan parking spaces with varying facilities. Run by the town municipalities or privately owned they are often free or cost a couple of Euros per night. Some of the privately owned ones can have more facilities and will charge more (Up to £20 depending on where they are located.)

If you are looking at camping somewhere that has a lot of facilities then a Campsite will suit you. Things like showers, toilets, washing machines, swimming pools, scenic camping spots etc.

• Free Camping

Europe is very well suited to free camping. This is where you park somewhere that is not a designated Aire or campsite. You are parking your van in a space that allows overnight parking and have to be self sufficient. These could be side roads, beach car parks etc. You will have no facilities and can generally park for free for a night or two. The rules change from country to country and you must respect the local authorities. Most importantly, in order for free camping to remain allowed in Europe you must always leave no trace, never leave rubbish behind and be respectful of noise.

• Camperstop Europe Motorhome Guide

This was such a great resource for us for when we were on the road. Camperstop is a book you can purchase that has over 9000 of the Aires in Europe listed with GPS coordinates. You will find that certain countries have more aires than others so you may have to mix up the types of places that you stop.

If you are going to buy one resource- let it be this one .

• Campercontact

Campercontact is a website and app that is run by volunteers. You can search for Aires all over Europe just by searching by location. There are photos, reviews and GPS co-ordinates.

When we were in Germany, about 3-4 weeks into our trip we met someone at an Aire who happened to mention the app Park4Night. From this moment on it became one of the best resources we had for our trip in finding free camping. The information on the app is user generated, with people stating GPS coordinates of where they managed to stay for free! People can then rate these locations for future users. These locations range from side roads with free parking to cliff sides overlooking incredible beaches. It saved us an incredible amount of money and allowed us to stay in some of the most insanely beautiful locations that you would not normally be able to stay.

Ensure that you get a good GPS device with up to date maps for all of the countries that you are going to visit. As most of the information for where to stay is given in GPS coordinates this makes it a lot easier navigating. You will also be able to see where there are toll roads (and there are a lot) and how to avoid them. It will also inform you of the local speed limits for each country.

• Big Road Atlas – Europe

We also found it incredibly useful having a paper map. As our route was not set in stone, we would only plan where we wanted to visit a few days to a week in advance. You can plot your route on the paper map, which is also a lot of fun. It also becomes handy if for some reason your GPS device stops working and you need to go old school.

Get your Big Road Atlas here .

• Pinterest  

A great place to start to get your design ideas is Pinterest – there are thousand upon thousands of boards where you can get ideas. We had a particular style in mind as we needed space for our bikes and surfboards inside the van. It served as a great resource for us and helped in the planning process greatly. Every van design is so unique to each owner and it’s incredibly inspiring to see everyones camper van hacks.

• Fellow Travellers

Ask other people who have done this before for their advice. If you don’t know anyone personally there are plenty of blogs, forums, instagram pages all dedicated to #vanlife. Like this one for example. Don’t forget to pin this to Pinterest for reading later.

• Where to shop for food

Without a doubt the best place to shop for food in Europe is Lidl. This supermarket is in practically every country, has large carparks and cheap and delicious food.

Portable Toilet for Campervan

We debated this essential a fair bit before we decided to get one. Phil didn’t think we needed one and I did. In the end we realised it was a must have and enabled us to have a lot of off grid camping experiences. It is easy to build in to the framework of the van so it stays hidden. It is super easy to empty and clean. We would never do this trip again without one.

Get the Portable Toilet we used here .

Portable Electric Camping Shower

There are many different ways that you can have a shower in a van these days, no matter the size. Our shower was an outdoor one we plugged into to the back of our van using the power generated from our leisure battery. When the back doors to our van opened we simply placed a curtain rod with a shower curtain between the doors for privacy.

Get the Portable Electric Camping Shower we used here .

Campervan Fridge

Something we also debated whether to get because they cost quite a bit of money, was a fridge. Deciding whether to get one depends on how long you are going to be travelling for. As we were going for 8 months we deemed it necessary, we especially appreciated it in the summer heat wave enjoying our cold beers. There are several things that you have to take into account when getting a fridge. Does it need a flat surface, will its temperature remain low enough for the country you are visiting, so we recommend doing a lot of research.

We absolutely loved ours – this is the model that we got here .

Solar Panels for Campervan

We fitted 2 of these to the roof of our van and it kept our leisure battery charged long enough for us to be able to camp off grid for quite a few days. If you want to reach some off the beaten locations and not rely on plugging your van into electricity at campsites then we highly recommend fitting these. We did not need to plug in our van to external electricity sources our entire trip.

Your Vans Security

Van theft in Europe is quite common in certain areas and something you should definitely be aware of. Especially if you are keeping all your worldly belongings inside.

We fitted a sliding bolt lock to the inside of our back doors as an extra precaution. You will also want to consider where you park your van and always carry your important belongings with you (passport etc).

We unfortunately had our van broken in to when we were in Portugal. They broke open our side door window and climbed in taking the closest belongings they could find. This unfortunately happened to be my empty leather bag I treasured which had my wedding ring inside, my backpack with our DSLR camera, our hard drive with 6+ years of travel photos and our wash bags. These just happened to be left inside on this day when we visited the beach for just 1 hour. When we visited the local police station they were not surprised this had happened as it was very common in that area.

All we could have done was park somewhere more populated and not have left our belongings inside. We parked in a beach car park but right at the back because we wanted to camp there in the evening. Luckily for us there was a campervan shop close by so we could fix our window easily. But always be sensible, park in busy places when leaving your van and look after anything important.

A Good Mattress

One of the best purchases we made was getting a proper memory foam mattress. As Phil is quite tall we wanted to sleep lengthways and you can purchase shortened memory foam mattresses designed for boats which fit perfectly in a camper. When you don’t have a huge amount of living room this makes your time in the van so much more comfortable.

Mosquito Net

Having a mosquito net is definitely worth investing in. If you plan to travel when it is warm outside then you will more than likely want to have your windows open or even your doors. We had a mosquito net built into our window but would have loved one for our doors.

At dusk the mosquitos love to invade your van if you have the doors open – imagine your van being 40-50 degrees inside and you want to cool it down. Once you settle down to sleep, that is when you will spend all night irritated by buzzing noises flying past your ears every few minutes. Take heed of this advice, many nights were ruined by mosquitos invading our van.

Ventilation

Temperatures during summer in your van can get particularly high. The hottest our van reached was over 50 degrees inside during the peak of summer. We had a roof window installed which helped but what made a huge difference was having a fan that we attached to the wall. We didn’t manage to get the fan until half way through the trip, a huge mistake not having it before we started.

Get a fan like the one we used here .

Collapsible Table and Chairs

Grab a couple of collapsible camping chairs and a table to complete your alfresco dining situation. The chairs can be used for multiple purposes and just extend your living space. A collapsible table also means you don’t need a permanent fixture inside and creates more space.

Get the table and chairs like we used here. For the table click here and for the chairs click here .

Power Source

So you can go down two routes when designing your van. The simple DIY route where you just use battery powered lights and will charge your devices when you are driving using the cigarette lighter socket. The more advanced route is to have a leisure battery that supplies electricity to your lights, fridge, shower and electrical sockets so that you can charge devices when the engine isn’t on. Combine this with solar panels and you won’t need to charge the battery by driving much.

Gas for Cooking

We debated about what type of gas supply to get for our cooker for quite some time. For you it will depend on how long you are travelling for.

If you are planning on going on a short road trip, anywhere up to 1-2 months then i would say that you can buy a normal camping gas cooker and canisters.

If however you are planning on a longer journey as we did then you might want to consider purchasing a refillable LPG canister. Many of the European petrol stations have LPG pumps designed for filling up cars and you can buy the appropriate canister heads for each country. It is a lot cheaper and lasts a long time, we only had to fill up twice in 8 months. Be warned though, if you convert a camper van, filling these LPG canisters can be tricky if they are located inside your van. This is because some petrol stations deem it dangerous to do so.

Van Insurance

Ensure that you have comprehensive campervan insurance before you depart. If you plan to travel for an extended period of time outside of your home country then you will most likely need to purchase a specialised insurance policy.

It gets quite tricky determining if you need a campervan insurance policy or a normal van insurance policy if you have converted your camper. The way that this is determined is dependant on what permanent fixtures that your van has in place and then the DVLA classify your vehicle. If you have an accident and your van is not insured correctly this can cause problems when it comes to claiming. So you have to ensure that your policy covers you.

We used Adrian Flux as they were the only company that would cover us for the length of time that we needed in Europe. They were also the only company that offered us a policy for a campervan IN conversion (I.e not completed).

This may be different if you are from the UK now due to Brexit so it is worth shopping around and getting quotes on who will cover you. People often will get a camper van insurance policy over a normal one because it is a little cheaper. Obviously if you have a standard RV then it will be a much simpler process than insuring a self built camper.

You can find details for classifying your vehicle type with the DVLA here :- 

Breakdown Cover

We cannot rate this product highly enough. For a couple of hundred pounds for an 8 month journey this cover paid for itself. Let me tell you why…

Unfortunately for us, just 3 weeks before we were due to return to the UK our van broke down in Northern Spain. Yes, we managed to travel for over 7 months across the whole of Western Europe without a problem and then on the home stretch it goes kaput!

Luckily we had European Breakdown Cover and it honestly saved the rest of our trip. They provided a weeks worth of accommodation for free, a hire car for the entire duration that our van was at the mechanics, which was several weeks! They also provided flights home AND picked our van up from the mechanics and shipped it back to our home address.

Unfortunately the van could not be fixed in Spain, not only were they quoting an insanely overpriced bill, they didn’t get around to inspecting the van for 2 weeks. It was on the advice of our breakdown cover rep that we get it fixed in the UK to save money. Needless to say we think this is worth investing in. You just never know what is going to happen and it can cost thousands to either fix your van and/or ship it home.

Travel Insurance

As with any trip it’s super important to get a travel insurance policy for the duration of your trip. As someone who has had to claim on travel insurance policies in the past I can attest their worth and importance.

European Driving Kit

Most countries in Europe will require that you have a driving kit in your car at all times. These will include things like First Aid Kits, Visibility Vests, Warning Triangles. You may also need to apply headlamp stickers when driving in certain countries. Check what you need for each country you are planning on visiting and then buy the kit that has everything you need.

Get your kit here .

Petrol and Tolls

Petrol in europe.

This will be one of your biggest out goings on your budget. Since you will most likely be travelling long distances, the cost of petrol does add up and takes a huge chunk out of your daily spends. Prices vary from country to country with the cheapest we found to be in the tiny country of Andorra (it is tax free there).

These are temporary tax discs that you need to purchase before you enter certain countries. You can purchase them from lots of petrol stations before you cross the border and they are valid for varying amounts of time dependant on how long you plan on being in each country. We had to purchase Vignettes for Slovenia and Austria on our route (see below for full list of countries we visited)

Toll Roads and How to Avoid Them

Lots of the roads in Europe have tolls to pay and it is worth doing a bit of research before you embark on your route to see if you can avoid them. They can often make a journey far quicker but it is worth weighing up the prices versus time spent saved. Prices can be anywhere up to 50 euros depending on how long the route is.

For example if you plan on using the Mont Blanc tunnel to Chamonix it costs almost 50 euros, just to travel through the tunnel! The alternative route over the mountains is not even worth considering.

However if you take these tolls into account on your route it can help with your budget before you depart. Your GPS device will be able to tell which routes have toll roads and you can find out the costs online. You can then use your map to check if the alternative non toll roads are much slower. Often they can be much more scenic and only a little slower.

Currently you can use a UK sim card in Europe for up to 90 days as if you were at home. If you plan on travelling for longer than 90 days then you will need to think about alternative options.

We purchased local sim cards in some countries as they are pretty cheap. If you encounter problems with your SIM cards it can be difficult to rectify if you cannot speak the local language. Local sim cards are the simplest and cheapest route to take.

There are portable wifi devices that you can purchase that allow multiple devices to access the wifi. You pay a monthly fee but these are very expensive. It ultimately depends on how much time will be spent on the internet – will it be light use researching your destination or heavy use working on the road.

Our Favourite Free Camping Spots

Iconic locations.

Italy: Bellagio, Lake Como lat.45.976601 long.9.25433, 51 Via Alessandro Volta

A car park located on a hill overlooking Lake Como in Bellagio. A short walk to town where you can catch the passenger ferry to Menaggio and Varenna. Free fresh water available with little passing traffic. We stayed 2 nights.

Italy: Rome – Villa Borghese, Viale dl Giardino Zoologico

Imagine staying in the centre of Rome for 5 days for free! We found this spot on a blog post and it was perfect. Down a quiet street, next to the Zoo. Walking distance to Villa Borghese Park and central Rome. A diamond find for free camping.

The Mountains

France: Chamonix, Mont Blanc lat. 45.93312 long.6.884868

Great shaded wooded area, suited to smaller and larger vans than motorhomes. Nice picnic area and close to main road into Chamonix with biking trails accessible.

France: Les Gets, lat.46.149799 long.6.6582, 310-328 Route des Pesses

We stayed here for 4 nights for free. It’s a car park at the base of the town with access to toilets and water. Easy walk to town and quiet at night.

Northeast Spain: Montserrat GPS Unknown

On our way to Barcelona we stopped for a night here. There are plenty of places to stop along the way with the most incredible views of the mountains. I recommend using the Park4Night app to find a space to park.

The Most Scenic Viewpoints

Southern France: Views of Monaco, lat. 43.734501 long. 7.40159, 1094 – 1158 Route de la Tete de Chien

If you want insane views of Monaco/ Monte Carlo park here for the night. Hike up the Tete de Chien at night and morning for incredible city views. Picnic benches available.

Southern France: Valensole lat. 43.822179 long. 6.017428

Quite rural spot not far from the road, shaded under trees with great views of the lavender fields. Waking up to the smell of lavender and possible farmer. Accessed via private road, very private and beautiful.

Northern Spain: Llastres lat 43.51675 long. -5.269843

Great spot with ocean views. Good BBQ area and easy walk down hill into beautiful fishing village of Llastres.

The Best Beach Camping Spots

Northern Spain: Ferrol lat 43.556571 long. -8.298003

Absolutely stunning beach car park location. Literally overlooking the ocean with direct beach access. Bins and toilets available in season.

Belgium – Belgian Beers in Rochefort and Waffles in Brugge .

Netherlands – Lisse for Tulip Season and Amsterdam during Kings Day.

Germany – Heidelberg for history and castles. Triberg for the original Black Forest Gateaux and home of the Cuckoo Clock. Lindau in Lake Constance – just wow!

Austria – Salzburg – pretend you are in the Sound of Music!

Slovenia – Lake Bled , such a beautiful town and stunning lake. We would love to come back to Slovenia and explore more.

Croatia – Rovinj , a cute and colourful fishing village with incredible sunsets and seafood. Kamenjak National Park for endless nature and ocean vistas. Plitvice Lakes – the most insane set of lakes and waterfalls we have ever seen.

Italy – Alberobello , home of the unique Trulli houses. Matera – a cave town situated on a gorge, Wonder Woman was filmed here! Positano , an iconic place to visit in Italy. Pompei – visit this ancient towns ruins for free on the first Sunday of every month. Rome and Florence for the history and architecture, Tuscany for the rolling hills and Venice for the winding lanes and Burano. A dream come true visiting Lake Como and Lake Garda. Basically we loved all of Italy!

Southern France – Valensole for the lavender, Verdon Gorge for the most insane turquoise blue water and Tete de Chien for views overlooking Monaco. Cascade du Sautadet and Vallon Pont D’arc for water sports heaven in the Ardeche.

Southern Spain – Barcelona for Gaudi art and Tapas, Valencia for the Art Science Park and Nerja for dreamy town beach vibes. Puerto Banus for high fashion and luxury, Tarifa for kite surfing heaven and Seville for flamenco!

Portugal – Benagil caves , a huge cave with a hole in the roof and a beach inside and Ponta da Piedade for incredible coastal views. Lisbon for city chic and Pastel de Natas (Portuguese egg custard tarts) and Sintra to visit Pena Palace. Porto is a coastal city, you must see the Livraria Lello, marvel at the stunning tiles and cross the Dom Luis bridge.

Northern Spain – We adored Northern Spain for the Pico de Europas , San Juan Gaztelugatxe and San Sebastian . Incredible hiking and Pintxo’s – like tapas.

France: Cherbourg – Cambremer – Paris – Epernay (Known for Champagne)

Belgium: Rochefort – Dinant – Namur – Brugge

Netherlands: Lisse – Amsterdam

Germany: Heidelberg – Baden Baden – Schiltach – Triberg – Freiburg im Breisgau – Lindau – Garmisch Partenkirchen

Austria: Salzburg – Hallstatt – Gmund

Slovenia: Bled 

Croatia: Rovinj – Premantura – Plitvice Lakes – Zadar – Split – Dubrovnik – Split (Ferry to Ancona in Italy)

Italy: Ancona – Assisi – San Benedetto Del Tronto – Amatrice – Lake Compotosto – Mattinata – Alberobello – Locorotondo – Matera – Sorrento, Day trip to Positano – Pompei – Rome – Siena – Tuscany Hills – Florence – Verona – train to Venice – Lake Garda (Sirmione – Moderno – Torbole) – Molveno – Andalo (Dolomites) -Lake Como (Menaggio, Varenna, Bellagio) – Aosta 

France: Chamonix – Les Get – Tigne

Italy: La Thuile – Finala Ligure

France: Menton – Monaco – Nice – Canne – St Tropez – Verdon Gorge – Moustiers St Marie – Valensole (lavender) – Cascade Du Sautadet – Vallon Pont D’arc- Villefranche de conflet

Spain: – Montserrat – Barcelona (Gaudi) – Cambril – Valencia – Nerja – Puerto Banus/ Marbella (fancy rich place) – Tarifa – Seville (flamenco)

Portugal: -Albufeira – Benagil (caves) – Lagos (Ponta da Piedade) – Sagres – Lisbon – Cascais – Sintra (pena palace) – Ericeira -Peniche – Porto

Spain: Oia – Santiago De Compostela – Ferrol – Cudillero – Llastres – Covadonga – Picos De Europa – Llanes – San Juan De Gaztelugatxe – Bermeo/Bakio – Mundaka – San Sebastian

France: Saint Jean De Luz – Biarritz – Hossegor/Seignosse

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Rachel Hughes

Hey there! I'm Rachel Hughes aka Ever The Wanderer. I am a Digital Media Creator and long term travel expert. I help people realise their worth and what they can achieve.

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24 comments.

So interesting! My husband and I rented a campervan in Iceland and loved it. We never thought about traveling main land Europe in a campervan. Thanks for sharing!

Oh I’d love to visit Iceland by campervan! That must have been amazing! I highly recommend mainland Europe it’s honestly one of the best things we have ever done

Loved reading about your trip! I have so many dreams about doing a trip like this. Well, I guess I’ll start by doing something in California and the Western US. I didn’t know about portable toilets and showers. Good to know about those. Question, how do you factored for seasonality? Seems like you avoid traveling during winter (is that true?). Also, reading about the incident in Portugal made me wonder if a portable safe or another security mechanism exists. I have never thought about it but going to do some research.

Ah thank you! It was such an incredible journey for us! We can’t wait to do it again! We have done a few road trips in the US but never by campervan so that’s definitely on our list too. We planned to travel in the summer but a lot of people to go in winter as there are places with very mild temperatures like Portugal. A lot of vanlifers head there in winter, or pop in a wood burning stove and head to the mountains in the snow. Although I’m not sure we would do that, might be too cold haha. A portable safe is a great idea, unfortunately campervan windows are all built the same and have tiny plastic latches which can easily be broken. You just have to not leaves valuables inside I think or have a very secure safe. Some people had glass windows broken, if a thief wants something bad enough they don’t care. Next time we will definitely be more prepared.

Oh wow what an adventure it could have been! I would love to do something similar next year and reading your post just made me wanna do it even more. Can’t wait to hit the road again! 🙂

Wow this is an epic guide! And kudos to you for buying and converting your van for such little money. I’m struggling to buy one at the moment; the van market in the UK is not normal – dammit COVID.

Ah thank you! Yeah there weren’t too many vans around at the price point we wanted but we got lucky. I’ve not looked lately to see what it’s like but I think it’s a great investment because we got it all back plus extra when we sold it!

This is the kind of trip that I’d dream about forever (it’s literally my dream trip) but never actually do because I’d think it was unachievable. This post has changed that completely, and where you’ve included things to consider when planning a campervan trip has given me the confidence that I could do this! Really great post, thanks so much for sharing.

Ah I’m so glad I could motivate you to do it! That’s always my goal to show people how achievable dreams can be!

This is exactly the kind of guide that I need now! I’m in the process of swapping my car for a van to travel full time, so it was the perfect timing to come over your post. You really aswered a lot of the doubts I’ve had, especially considering extra battery/solar panel, toilet/shower etc. Saving this for when I get my van:)

Oh awesomeness best decision ever! Yeah we really thought about what to include in the post given the experience we had to make it easier for others! Solar panels were an awesome idea, so much off grid camping. And 100% a toilet and shower 😊

A great trip with so much information shared! Would love to tour around Europe.

Kariss Ainsworth

Doing this is a total dream of mine, van live looks amazing

It must be so cool to discover Europe with a camper van! I appreciate all the tips and info you gave, I am sure this will be super useful for the day I want to try this kind of adventure!

What an incredible adventure this must have been! Love all these tips and it’s interesting to see which places you chose to stop off at.

Michelle du Toit

Thank you for compiling this insanely useful guide to campervanning! Hubby and I are only at the stage where it’s a dream for us and your blog has covered a whole lot of tips that haven’t even crossed my mind yet.

It is a dream worth investing in for sure. Honestly the most free we have ever felt

What a beautiful itinerary. How long did it all take you? Living in Europe, it is hard to find time to do a full-blown road trip, I always end up just going to one place and back. Pinning it for when I finally find the time for this 🙂

Thank you! The Itinerary took us 8 months. The van build took two. Yeah you definitely need to make the time and it is so worth it!!

I have been thinking about doing a campervan road trip, but doing it in Europe seems pretty amazing!

Love this article! I am absolutely impressed by how many places you managed to visit on your road trip around Europe. Your photos are so beautiful as well.

Vanessa Shields

This sounds like the most amazing 8 months getting to see so many places by campervan! I would love to do this one day as long as the mattress was comfy. Lol. That would make or break it for me. I’d probably buy a van already updated like yours to make it easier. So cool how you can visit so many locations at your leisure this way!

This is incredible and super helpful. It’s honestly always been a dream of mine to backpack through Europe – though a camper van sounds even better! Especially since I’m not as young as I once was 😉

Ankita Sharma

well-written post! A friend of mine likes to travel and I was going on a trip with him. There was home setup in his car. Apart from this, I also watch vlogs of some couples, their setup is also similar. I liked the whole setup.

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Traveling Europe by Campervan: Our Tips for “Van Life Europe”

by Drifter Planet | Dec 6, 2019 | Road Trips , Most Popular Blog Posts

It has been a few years that we bought a campervan. In the time, we have driven around Europe in our van from east to west and covered many countries.

We drove to 11 different countries on our campervan, that includes three national parks, mountains, beaches as well as two music festivals . 

With very little knowledge at the start of our first trip, we made a few rookie mistakes. Nothing serious but we laughed a lot at our stupidity and eventually learned how to explore Europe in our campervan like pros.

A lot of information that we needed about traveling Europe in a campervan wasn’t really available online because most of the website focused on living in a van, versus traveling in one. 

Anyway, before we share our essential tips for exploring Europe by camper van, we’d like to discuss a few things to help you decide if van-life is really for you, and if it is – then what kind of van you really need.

Why Should You Consider Traveling Europe by Campervan?

Us with our van in Bosnia and Herzegovina

I’m sure you know how a typical first timer’s Euro Trip looks like. A little bit of Paris, Amsterdam , Rome, Venice, London, Berlin , Vienna, Zurich, Porto , Lisbon , Budapest and Prague – usually all on trains and buses.

Guess what, these are really the most expensive European destinations. Moreover, the train transportation is expensive in Europe, especially in Western Europe. 

If you’re on this page already, then I’m sure you’re looking for something different. Maybe you’re looking to explore the lesser visited and under the radar places in Europe that you can’t easily reach by trains or buses.

The best part about travelling around Europe by campervan is that you can go literally anywhere you want.

You don’t have to worry about high internal transportation costs, schedules, and connections. It makes your itinerary super flexible and as a result, an entire layer of possibility opens up for you.

Scenic camping spot in Geirangerfjord, Norway – Traveling Europe by Campervan

Europe is one of the best continents for road trips because of super easy border crossing.

For instance, if you start driving in Belgium, you can be in Germany or France or Luxembourg or even the Netherlands in just a matter of 2-3 hours, and you won’t even realize that you’ve crossed the border because there aren’t any check points. 

Just to recap, the below points summarize why exploring Europe by campervan is awesome. 

• Public transport cost, 
• Super easy border crossing, 
• Flexible itinerary
• Access to smaller towns, natural sites and offbeat areas

Camper van vs Normal Van vs Caravan

Wild Poppy field on Rugen Island and a car with a caravan in the background

Many people interchange these terms but they aren’t the same. We all know what a van is, but let me define a camper van for you.

A campervan is a van that’s specifically made for camping with a sleeping space inside. Or, a normal van converted into a campervan.

Apart from a place for sleeping, ideally a campervan also has a place for cooking. Some camper vans also have toilets inside. 

A caravan parked next to a lake in Slovenia

A caravan also has all of this inside or even more, but it isn’t a camper van. Just for clarification – a caravan is a wagon what you attach onto your car and drive. You can’t drive a caravan without a car that tows it.

What Kind of Van do You Need?

If you’re a couple on a budget that loves adventure, then get yourself a small campervan. A smaller vehicle will give you an advantage of letting you enter smaller lanes. Moreover, the cost of camping, toll and parking is much lower for smaller vans. 

On the other hand if you’re a family with more than one kid, then it makes more sense to get a bigger campervan so that you have the space and comfort you need. These are the typical RVs (Recreational Vehicles) that you see in American movies.

These are further divided into Class A Motorhome (looks like a big bus), Class B Motorhome (looks like a cargo van, bigger than a truck) and Class C Motorhome (looks like a moving truck house). Normally the Class C Motorhomes are the most common campers that you see on European roads. 

If you’re enjoying your retired life with your partner and driving around Europe, then get yourself all the comforts you need. Get a spacious campervan that has a nice bed, kitchen and sitting area.

Van vs camper van vs Motorhome vs Caravans – Tips for Van Life Europe – Infographic

Renting a Van in Europe vs Buying

Should you buy a camper van for the purpose of exploring Europe on it, or should you just rent one? The answer depends on many factors.

If you’re visiting Europe for a few weeks or a few months, then obviously you will rent a camper van and not buy one.

However, if you’re going to travel on the van for a longer period of time (say a 6 months or a year), then renting can end up being expensive. In that case, buying makes more sense. You can find vans to rent on this car rental search engine . 

Buying a campervan isn’t as easy as renting one. Below are the points you need to consider before deciding whether you should rent a camper van or buy one. 

• First, you need to have enough money. Campervans aren’t cheap and even if you look for a used one that’s very old, be prepared to spend at least ten to fifteen thousand euros.
• Second, buying a van comes with the hassle of paperwork.
• Third, buying makes sense as long as you’re sure you will actually end up using it enough and as long as you can sell it back when you’re done.
• Four, buying comes with an expense of insurance and repair costs – keep all of that in your mind.

If you’re a total van newbie and would like to just get a glimpse of VanLife to determine if it is really your thing, then just rent one. This will also give you an idea about what kind of van you actually need.

VAN LIFE TIPS SECTION 1: Sleeping in the Van

Our camping set up – campervan tips

The best part of “VanLife” is actually sleeping in your own little home on the road and waking up to an amazing view. In reality, you won’t have an amazing view everyday, but you can at least try.

Van Life Sleeping Essentials

There are many van life aspects where you can be cheap, but your mattress shouldn’t be one of them. Invest in a comfortable mattress otherwise you will hate your van.

If you’re not able to find a compact mattress that is easy to travel with for the size of your van bed, then just look for just a mattress topper.

Tips for Sleeping in the Van

Carry your pillow as per your sleeping habits. Make sure you’re carrying thin as well as thick blankets so that you are good to go for different weather conditions. European summers can be strangely hot and suddenly very cold in a matter of hours or days. 

You will also need to get insulated covers to stop the condensation on the windows when it is cold, and also to keep the insides of the van cool during summer.

A silver thermal insulated window screen will also act as a black out curtain so that you can peacefully sleep after the the sunrise. [Btw, the sunrise occurs around 4:30 am in most of Europe during summer.]

Don’t have an air conditioner in your van? Neither do we. We do however have a battery operated Makita fan that works for 10 hours after a full charge.

I highly recommend this fan to you if you want to sleep comfortably during Europe’s summer heat. Summer means mosquitos, and Citronella mosquito repellant stickers will keep you safe. Plus they’re natural!

• Mattress or Mattress topper
• Pillows, blankets, bedsheet.
• Insulated window covers / Silver thermal window screen
• Citronella mosquito repellant stickers

VAN LIFE TIPS SECTION 2: Cooking in a Campervan 

Outdoor camping cooking set up – Van Life Europe

Apart from sleeping in it, another amazing aspect of traveling on a camper van is cooking your own meals on the road.

No, you won’t cook while you’re driving but at parking places or camping spots. We have a lot of information to share about cooking on a road trip outside and inside the camper van, so we decided to create an entire section about it. 

Do You Really Need a Kitchen Inside the Van?

Not Really. If you have a travel stove and a small cylinder, you can cook outside. We have both – a stove inside the van and a smaller portable stove but we cook most of our meals outside. 

Why? Well, because baby K was usually sleeping inside when we cooked our dinner and it made more sense to cook outside. It was generally more convenient to cook outside after spending most of our day inside the van.

Van Life Kitchen Essentials

If you’re building your van and converting it yourself into a campervan, then here are a few things we have in ours that are essential for any motorhome kitchen. 

Van Life Kitchen Essentials – Traveling Europe by Campervan

You will need a small countertop stove, a slot for the cylinder that’s preferably built into one of the kitchen cabinets, a sink, a small refrigerator, and multiple kitchen cabinets to store things.

It will make your life simple if you have one drawer that’s just for the cutlery, a hanging bag for plates, cutting board, cooking oil, a kitchen tissue roll fitting and small hooks where you can hang things.

Don’t carry a lot of kitchen dishes but only the basic stuff. Carry at the most two pots – one small and one medium-ish.

A small hand sized non stick pan is also a good to carry cookware. A cutting board, a big spatula (or two) for the non stick pan and pots, soup bowls, plates and cutlery and you’re good to go.

I haven’t seen a campervan that doesn’t have a refrigerator inside. In case yours is a van converted into a campervan, then it maybe doesn’t have a place for a fridge.

You can buy a small cooling box to store your food and use it as a makeshift refrigerator. 

Your van also needs to have a small exhaust window on the top if you’re planning on cooking inside. If you don’t have a sink, then you can carry a bucket where you can keep your dirty dishes and wash them outside when you’re done. 

Campervan Cooking Equipment

The stove inside your van can be a propane cooktop or even an electric cooktop. If your van doesn’t have one, then get yourself a portable stove and gas.  A camping stove with 2 burners doesn’t cost double but is is surely useful so that you can boil rice or pasta on one and make sauce or curry on the other one.  

If you have electricity in your van then get an electric kettle, it will make your life much simpler.  An outside camping grill won’t cost much and it is surely a good to have item.

Campervan Food Essentials + Camping Meals

Simple rule – keep it short, fast and efficient. 

We ended up buying a lot of useless cooking stuff before our first trip but we realised much later that we don’t need it all. We just need enough of the basic stuff when we’re on the road. Some of the easiest meals to make on the road are pasta and rice with daal. 

Our of our camping meals – Pasta

Buy premade pesto, sauces and a lot of pasta to shorten your cooking time. Visit local markets and grocery stores to buy fresh vegetables to put in your pasta.

You can make a really good pasta sauce using avocados and you don’t need to cook it. Just mash avocado pulp with olive oil, garlic, lime juice, salt and chili. Add this to your hot pot of newly boiled pasta and your epic camping meal is ready.

Cook daal and rice together with salt and a few spices – it is called khichari in India. It is a “one-pot-meal” that’s perfect for camping and it always tastes good. Instead of daal, you can also add vegetables to make fried rice. In that case, you will just have to roast garlic, ginger and veggies for a few minutes in the pot and then add water and rice. 

Just a recap, here are some awesome camping meals that you can cook in a jiffy. Most of them are vegetarian options but you can un-veganize them by adding smoked salmon or eggs or chicken. 

• Pasta (raw avocado pesto, pre made sauces, or just with veggies)
• Daal and Rice cooked together ( Khichari )
• Stuffed wraps or Burritos (Get tortilla wraps and stuff them with kidney beans, garlic, peppers, corn, jalapeños, avocado, salmon – try everything)
• Toast with bananas / eggs / avocados / cheese
• Bratkartoffeln (as called in Germany) or Aloo ki sabzi (as called in India) – potatoes sautéed in oil, garlic, chili, onions and herbs. You can add spring onion greens on top for the extra oomph. Or, meat eaters can add bacon.
• Sautéed veggies. Buy or pick fresh veggies and sauté them in a pan with oil and herbs. 

VAN LIFE TIPS SECTION 3: How to Make Your Life Simpler on the Road

Tips for Van Life Europe

Alright, so you have your van, your kitchen is all set and you’re ready to go. What’s next? Most likely you have your destination picked out already. But hey, road trips are more about the journey and not much about the destination.

You will end up spending most of your time driving your van, so it makes total sense to consider the apps and tools to make your life simpler on the road.

Invest in a decent GPS Navigation system

Get one that covers all the countries in Europe – at least most of them. You will be surprised to know how some of them don’t. With a decent navigation system like TomTom , you won’t need to depend on your smart phone all the time.

Apps for Planning the Road Trip Itinerary and Route

You may have a rough idea of the route already, but you can modify it while you’re on the road using Google Maps , we discuss this in detail in the next point.

We also use an app called CamperContact , it has a database of almost every camping spot in Europe and they’re geotagged so it is easy to open the app and find a spot near you. If you upgrade the app to buy a full version, you will be able to view more details about the camping spots.

The biggest headache of driving a van in Europe is parking it. There’s an app called ParkMe , it will sort your life out by helping you find parking spots near you and how much they cost. 

View of the beach from our van in Spain

Getting the Most Out of Google Maps on your Road Trip

It is the most obvious app to use for road trips but not many people use all the awesome features to maximize their experience. If you know how to use Google Maps really well, you don’t need any other app. Really!

Google Maps will help you find anything around you, not just restaurants or gas stations but also camping spots.

Although there are many dedicated apps for finding campgrounds in Europe, we end up using Google Maps more than anything. Just type “camp” or “camping” in the search box and you will get a list of suggestions. You will also be able to usually see pictures, read reviews and see the prices  of the camping spots.

Do you know you can search for waterfalls on your way to your destination so that you can make an epic stop? Try it. Just put “waterfall” in the search box and you will be amazed to see the result. Similarly, you can just find anything anywhere.

Want to save money and avoid toll? Set your Google Map’s navigation setting to avoid tolls and highways. It is as simple as that. As a result, your route may end up being a bit longer but will be cheaper and more scenic. 

ADAC Membership will Save Your Life

ADAC is the largest automative club in Europe and it was founded in Germany. They have a massive fleet of mechanics on the move that help motorists. They also provide air ambulances in urgent needs.

I do not know of any single camper van or a caravan owner here in Europe that doesn’t have an ADAC membership. Not just for vans, but is for any kind of automobile as the organization helps the members in case of needs and emergencies on the road. If you sign up for a “plus membership” (ADAC Plus-Mitgliedschaft), you get services all over the world. 

I am not affiliated with ADAC in anyway, but I’d just like to share their details with my readers because I truly see a value in this membership. You can check more details here on their website .

2021 Update : Our ADAC membership saved us. In 2021, we did a road trip to Italy and towards the end of the trip, my husband had a cliff jumping accident in Puglia . It was a very difficult time but thankfully ADAC coordinated everything for us.

They arranged for my husband’s surgery in Italy, they flew our family of 3 back to Germany for free, sent a car for us to reach the airport, and also got our car back from Puglia and delivered it right at our doorstep with all the luggage inside.

VAN LIFE TIPS SECTION 4: Finding Camping Spots

Our camping spot in the Netherlands – A typical campground

While traveling in Europe on a campervan, there are three kinds of camping spots that you will find:

Paid Camping Spots

An awesome thing about traveling in Europe on a campervan is that there is no shortage of decent camping areas.

Almost every town or village has a paid camping area that’s specifically designed for motorhomes and tents, and includes shared toilets, kitchen, bar, restaurants, a small supermarket, toilet disposal unit for vans.

Free Camping Spots 

Yes, it is possible to find free camping spots too. Keep in mind that these “free” camping spots aren’t exactly beautiful. These are usually in gas stations parking spots or in rare cases, even supermarkets. 

As you drive along the highway in most of the countries in Europe, you will see many resting spots along the way. Usually there is a sign that says what all you can expect in that resting spot. Some of them have a fast food restaurant, a paid toilet, an overpriced gas station shop, or even a children’s play area. 

Finding these resting spot that you can use for parking are very easy because they’re well marked on the road. In any case, you can use Google Maps and park4night a pp to find them.

On all our road trips in Europe, we did not do find much of free camping spots that were picturesque. We mostly spent a little money to park in a scenic spot and enjoy our evening in a proper camping area with all the amenities. Only the times when we had to drive till the night was when we slept in our van in the fuel station parking.

Wild Camping in Nature in Europe – Is it Possible?

Our Camper van parked near a yellow flower field in Germany

Wild camping isn’t allowed in most of the countries in Europe and most likely you won’t end up doing this. You can get arrested for this in most of the instances.

So, as opposed to what it appears in a typical “VanLife Europe” instagram post, you can’t just stop at any random scenic spot and camp in a majority of countries.

Out of all the European countries, there are just a few countries where wild camping is allowed on land that’s owned by the state. These are Spain, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Estonia and Latvia. Even so, it is not easy to find land that’s not privately owned. We don’t encourage this because you can get into trouble for this. 

How to Find the Best Camping Spots

Our camping spot in Croatia

The best part about traveling on a campervan is being outdoors. It is about finding a scenic spot, setting up the camp and enjoy being outside instead of the comfort of a hotel room. This is why I make an effort to find the best spots in the area while traveling on our campervan. 

I use a combination of Google Maps, CamperContact and Booking.com apps. Yes, booking.com also has camping spots. 

I prefer Google Maps because I can zero down on an area, search for something that’s next to the river or lake (based on the satellite image), read reviews and see pictures. 

Many Campgrounds in Europe are Closed During the Low Season

How to save money while travelling Europe? Travel off season. Ironically it doesn’t quite work out like this because most of the places are closed during the low season. 

Many campgrounds close operations towards the end of September and at the beginning of October. We got a big shock while we were driving in Spain, Portugal and France in October.

We knew some places would be closed during the low season but we didn’t know everything would be. There were days where every campground that we drove to was closed for the season. That’s when we decided to just park our van in the parking area of a fast food place on the highway. 

If you’re traveling in Europe with your campervan during the low season, then be sure to call your camping spot in advance to see if they’re open.

VAN LIFE TIPS SECTION 5: Avoiding Costs – How to Make Your Van Life Affordable

How to avoid toll in europe.

I had no idea how expensive the toll fee can end up being while road tripping in Europe. There are some countries where the toll is super high (like France), and the others where it is non existent (like Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands). 

There was one particular day as we drove from Normandy (France) to Bordeaux (France), we paid total toll of close to 100 Euros.

It is easy to avoid the toll most of the times – just change the setting of your in your car’s navigation system. You can set up your navigation settings on Google Maps app to avoid tolls and highways.

When in Austria, Switzerland and Slovenia , make sure you buy vignettes as soon as you enter. Vignettes are road tax stickers that are prepaid. They are mandatory in these countries. 

Just go to any gas station and ask for a vignette. You can find one based on the number of days you’re going to spend in that particular country. If you ever get caught without a vignette, it is going to be super expensive for you. I know a friend who paid EUR 200 in Austria for this.  

Lower Fuel Costs 

Somewhere in Portugal – Van Life Europe tips

A little effort and a few good driving habits can help you save a lot of money on a road trip. Not just with campervans but in general you should pay attention to how you drive and make an effort to lower your fuel costs. 

Too much accelerating and pushing breaks is not good for the fuel efficiency. Drive at 60 as often as you can and on the right gear. Keep checking the air in your tyres frequently. A little drop in the air pressure can significantly increase your fuel costs. 

Whenever possible, hunt for a cheaper gas station along your way and fill up the tank to 90% before it gets close to empty. GasBuddy app is great for finding current fuel costs as per your location and can help you find cheaper gas stations. 

Avoid Gas Stations Along the Highways

Gas stations along the highways are way costlier than the others. A few cents make a difference and can add up to 8 – 10 Euros when you’re filling up your tank. 

Most of the Western Europe is Expensive

Road tripping in France, Switzerland, and Austria is expensive because of the toll, fuel prices and camping costs. If you’re on a budget, then you may want to spend less time here or skip these countries entirely. 

The Balkans are Beautiful and Affordable

Amazing camping spot in Bosnia’s Una National Park – Free of Cost

I have said this before and I will say this over and over again. The Balkan countries are beautiful and affordable. The difference in costs is significant and should be enough for you to pick where to go.

I did write a very detailed Balkan road trip itinerary , and our favorite country for a road trip in that area is Bosnia-Herzegovina . If you are lucky, you may just find a beautiful camping area here like we did, and it was for free.

I also like the ease of road tripping in Croatia , as well as Montenegro . For me, the most interesting was Serbia because it is so offbeat, pretty and mysterious. 

Big Cities = Parking Problem

Skip the likes of Paris, Amsterdam , Rome, Belgrade, and all the big cities.

First, parking will be difficult to find and expensive. Second, most likely there will be traffic and it will kill your mood. Third, everything is usually expensive in the big cities. 

Save Money on Camping when You Can

Save Money on Camping – Traveling Europe by Campervan

Camping costs can be very high if you’re traveling with a big van during the peak travel period – the summer. San and I paid normally 20 Euros per night at most of the places with a small van.

The cost goes up if you have a bigger van and if you need an electricity recharging point. 

Some of the most beautiful parking locations in Europe are on land that’s owned by farmers or the government. Not many of them will let you park there – unless you’re very lucky.

While I agree that camping at a scenic spot and waking up to an amazing view is the best part of van life, it can turn out to be expensive.

If you want to be smart with your money, you shouldn’t aim to find a beautiful camping spot every night. Parking your van near such scenic spots is never cheap!

From time to time, try to find free camping spots such as gas station parking areas along the highway in countries that allow like Germany and Belgium, or supermarket parking in other countries. Of course, you can only do this if none of the travelers need to put up a tent to sleep. 

Save Money on Eating

If you have read this article thoroughly, then you probably know what I’m about to say, but I reiterate here: Cook your own meals to save money.

Buy fresh local produce and cook some epic camping meals to make your road trip memorable. Scroll up to the cooking sections to read about easy camping meal recipes. 

Quick Country Specific Tips for Road Trips

Tips for exploring Europe with a Camper van

Germany’s highways are free but most of the toilets along the road are not. If you stop at Sanifair or Serways, the toilets will be extremely clean and will cost from 50 to 70 cents.

The parking and resting stops along the highway are really big. You can normally park your van in these spots for the night to sleep.

While driving in Germany, be very careful about the traffic rules and road signs. You can stopped at many random spots for an alcohol or drug test. Even if you have not consumed drugs on the same day but consumed a week before, you can be in trouble.

Apart from Liefkenshoektunnel in Antwerp, Belgium’s roads are all toll-free. The signs are mostly in local language. Did you know 60% of Belgium is Dutch and 40% French? So expect to see the road signs in either French or Dutch but not both of them together often. 

The Netherlands

The roads are very good in the Netherlands but expect congestion in summer near beach destinations such as Zandvoort. When driving in towns and cities on smaller roads, always give priority to the cyclists.

For affordable parking near cities in the Netherlands, look for “P + R” (Park and Ride) signs. You can park your van here and use the public transport to enter the city.

Of course, if you’re including a busy city like Amsterdam in your itinerary then this is where you can park and get inside Amsterdam using public transport. 

Out of all the countries that we have road tripped in, France has the most expensive toll. There are really good resting stops along the highway with free toilets.

France is one of the few countries where the toilets also featured a super tiny WC for the toddlers. It was adorable and thoughtful. The only other one I saw was in Belgrade, Sebia.

When entering the highway, you will get an entry ticket at the toll station which you will have to present later at the exit toll station and make a payment. If you lose your entrance ticket, then you will be charged for the longest length – so keep it safe.

The expressway class S roads, national roads and motorway class A roads are very well maintained in Poland. However, the same can’t be said about the smaller provincial level roads. Certain A level roads are tolled. 

Poland is infamous for reckless and aggressive driving behavior, so watch out when you’re there. 

Our van in Spain – Europe by Campervan Tips

Many travel guides mentioned that driving in Spain can be nerve wrecking and many roads are “one-way”, but we did not face any challenge ever.

With the help of our GPS and Google Maps, we thoroughly enjoyed driving in Spain. Not just along the coast but the landscape was spectacular even in the middle of the country. 

Spain completely lifted our spirits up when we arrived here form dull France. The weather was petter, people had massive smiles on their faces, the food was more flavorful, and things were affordable.

While in Spain, we loved stopping in small Spanish towns and visiting the coffeeshops / bars for a quick snack and drink. Eating and drinking in Spain was generally affordable for us as compared to France and Germany.

We were warned by many about watching out for erratic driving behavior in Portugal but we did not encounter any. The experience of driving through small Portuguese towns, from the mountains to the coast was beautiful.

Pastel de Nata on Dona Ana Beach, Lagos, Portugal

When in Portugal, make sure you stop at smaller road side bakeries and try the famous custard tarts / egg tarts (pastel de nata). I talk about the egg tarts in almost all of my blog posts from Portugal.

Driving in Slovenia was a good experience for us because of the road condition and landscape. Be sure to get a vignette as soon as you enter Slovenia. You can get is from a gas station and it comes out to around 15 euros per week (2019).

Croatia has highways that connect the major cities and they are not free. Upon entering the roll road, you will get a ticket. You will need to present this ticket at the time of exiting the toll road. The toll fee isn’t expensive in Croatia. The Croatian highways have frequent rest stops and some of them also have play areas for children.

When in Austria, you need to get a vignette – failing which, it can get very expensive. The vignettes can be bought in gas stations in Austria as “Vignetten” for 10 days €8.90. If you’re just driving through Austria and not staying, then get a Korridor-Vignette instead. It is valid for a single trip for €2 or a round trip for €4.

If you’re caught driving in Austria without a vignette, it will end up being very expensive for you. It starts with a little over €100 and can go up to €300 on the second day if the fine is unpaid. Post that, valuables can be seized from your car.

The vignette needs to be stuck on the windshield to be valid, preferably in the top centre or the driver side corner. Do not share the vignette with anyone otherwise you will have to pay a very high fine.

Switzerland

Switzerland has some of the most beautiful roads for driving in Europe. Just like Austria, you need to buy a vignette to drive on them, failing which can end up being very expensive for you. 

Watch your speed while driving in Switzerland because there are many areas that have speed cameras after every 2 kilometers. Believe it or not, you can be literally thrown into the jail for speeding. Your driver’s permit can be revoked if you’re caught driving 20 KMs per hour more than the allowed speed limit. 

Bosnia & Herzegovina

We have driven twice in Bosnia & Herzegovina (B&H) and it was a memorable experience. While driving in B&H, we have been warned not to leave the paved road for even a toilet break because of the threats of landmines.

The country is beautiful and affordable but don’t expect the very good roads. Our best driving experience in B&H was along the river Drina.

Europe by Campervan itinerary ideas – Some of Our Favorite Routes

Tips for traveling by Camper Van in Europe

Nature trail in the Balkans

This is our favorite road trip itinerary for road tripping in Europe and is mostly around the Balkans. This itinerary starts in Croatia where you can start in Zagreb or Pula or Plitvice Lakes . From there, this itinerary goes from one natural paradise to another in Bosnia & Herzegovina , Serbia , Montenegro , Albania, Bulgaria, Romania and the Balkan countries. This trip also includes many national parks. You can find more details here in my post about this epic Balkans road trip itinerary . 

Germany’s themed routes

Germany has many themed routs that road trippers will love. There’s the famous “romantic road” that most of us have heard of but do you know there’s also the fairy tale route, a castle road and a wine route? We have a post about Germany’s themed road trips on our website, check it out.

Portugal and Spain

Our second visit to Portugal and Spain was in 2019 with our new camper van. We actually started from Germany and crossed Belgium and France but the best part of our road trip was in Spain and Portugal. We suggest you start in Zumaia (Spain), and from there drive along the coast the Galicia area. Make sure you include Valdovino and Playa del Silenco in your itinerary.

From A Guarda in Spain, you can drive to Portugal’s coast starting from Afife, Porto, Vagos and Figueira da Foz. From there, you have an option to continue along the Portuguese coast to Lisbon, or you can drive to the middle of the country to see the mountains in Serra da Estrela Natural Park. From here, you can enter Spain and spend some time in the Salamanca area.

Check my blog over the next few weeks because I aim to publish an epic Spain – Portugal road trip post.

The Best of the Netherlands

The Netherlands is an amazing country to cover on a road trip, especially if you don’t have a lot of time in your hands. The Netherlands is small as compared to many other European countries. We have a post about amazing places to visit in the Netherlands with an itinerary suggestion that starts from Belgium or France. We have another post with a suggested road trip itinerary for Netherlands that includes a few offbeat places. 

Northern France Coast – Normandy to Bordeaux

The route from Normandy to Bordeaux in France is lovely and you will get to see some amazing natural and architectural attractions. You don’t necessarily need to stop at the starting and ending big cities. Instead, make a stop at Etretat, Honfleur, Mont Saint-Michel, and a few other small towns of your choice along the way.

Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way

Driving along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way is surely the best route in the country for a road trip. The best part is that it can be modified in many different ways. We did a road trip that started in Kerry, then went on to Westport , Achill Island and Ballina in Mayo County.

East Bohemia in the Czech Republic

Prague isn’t the only destination in the Czech Republic but there are many other picturesque smaller towns, castles, and natural attractions that are worth a visit. Start at Pardubice , then head to Sec to relax in the nature and enjoy the viewpoints, next – head to Litomysl and explore the art scene and end your trip in the magical Svojanov where you can get a break from camping and sleep in a castle.

Tuscany to Selento (Italy)

Drive from Central Italy to South Italy’s beaches. Start in the Tuscany region, which is known for picturesque landscapes and historical art scene. It is where the Italian Renaissance art scene began and spread all over. From here, you have an option to drive to Rome or head to Monti Sibillini National Park and move towards the coast. We recommend the latter because the more you drive, the more you would want to avoid entering big cities. 

From the Sibillini mountains, you can make your way to Selento by making stops at small fishing villages on the way such as Termoli, Trani – or find your own new destination.

The Dolomites in Northern Italy

Drive around Northern Italy’s little villages up in the Dolomites. You can start this trip in Verona and make your way up to Trento, Alpe Cimbra , Val di Non . This area looks really beautiful in spring because of apple flowers. You can also stop at the lovely Lago di Tovel – a stunning clear lake that’s surrounded by the mountains.

Many Italians say that North of Italy isn’t the “real Italy”, but this trip is about nature. To enjoy the best of Italy’s culture, make a trip to South of Italy.

Austria & Slovenia

Explore the Alps and spectacular alpine lakes. Start in Austria’s Salzburg from where you can go to Mondsee or Ebensee lakes. Next, visit Hallstatt, then Slovenia’s Lake Jasna, Lake Bled and finally Lake Bohinj. Lake Bohinj is spectacular and you can camp right next to it in Camp Zlatorog Bohinj.

Final Thoughts about Travelling Europe in a Van

Living in Europe, we have tried multiple ways of exploring this continent. We have used buses, trains, hopped on to budget flights and also backpacked across Europe, but nothing compares to road tripping.

The experience of t ravelling around Europe by campervan opens up a lot of possibilities in terms of accessing destinations that are not served by public transport.

Greg Anderson said that one should focus on the journey and not the destination. This quote applies really well to the Van Life experience. It is truly about the journey.

So, are you interested in driving around Europe in a van too?

Did follow our campervan travel tips or are you living the Van Life?

Tag  @drifterplanet  on Instagram and hashtag it  #drifterplanet . We will be happy to share your journey with our audience.

PS: Drifter Planet contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, we will earn a little commission at no extra cost to you.  We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

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13 Comments

I found your website very helpful as I plan my family’s summer camper van getaway. I do have a question about stickers that I may need for the vehicle as I enter different countries. We are planning on Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Any info for where to find that out would be great! Thanks, S

Great ! I have a future plan of visiting Europe by campervan. I’m Eduard from Romania, I saw that you haven’t been here and I tell you it’s a pity ! You should visit sometime also Romania, you won’t regret it !

I have been to Romania in 2018 and I have quite a lot of blog posts about it on my website. 🙂 You can find them under “destinations”

Hi there! I am in love with this article! I do have a question. I want to live on the road. So literally ten years or so be vanlife 100%. How do I as an American, buy a vehicle that I can KEEP.? Everyone does the buyback in 2 years thing but we don’t want to return it we want to keep it and keep traveling. Every country with requirements says you must have residency.

hi there! we will be traveling to germany, austria, swiss , france and netherlands via a RV.

any suggested route u think we should be going ?

Excellent stuff, I am also planning to retire in Europe and will need a Campervan

Great post for europe traveling. Thank you so much for sharing.

Glad you liked it. Yes, the best way to travel within Europe is by van or a camper van.

Really appreciate your elaborate details, which I found to be very useful.

We are relatively new to camping and traveling in campervans. My family includes myself, wife and toddler son of 2 years. Our only camper van experience have been in last July when we made a 12 days ring road trip in Iceland in a motorhome. Now we are planning a 15 days trip in Europe starting end of April. Vienna-Prague-Salzburg-Munich-Luxembourg-Paris. My question is, in your opinion, is this route safe for family travelers? Can I find camping spots (paid ones) easily in this route? or is it far away from each other? What’s your advice when we approach cities? Shall we opt for a parking spot on the outskirts of the city and travel by rent a car in the city? Any other things that we needs to take care of? please advice.

Hi Jithu, wow a road trip with a camper van in Iceland sounds really good. I do like your 15-day itinerary but in my experience driving in those big cities that you just mentioned, isn’t so easy with a van. You will have to find paid camping spots that are a little outside. We did drive through some big cities like Paris but the experience was horrible because of the traffic and lack of parking spots to even get out to eat in a restaurant. Of course, things are different if you have a small car but not with a camper van. So, with that experience, I’d suggest you park outside the bigger cities and use public transport or a bicycle with a child carrier to explore the cities. Or, just avoid the cities and pick smaller towns or national parks.

Thanks a lot for your valuable comments dear 🙂

Hello Drifter Planet,

This article is very useful. We are a couple planning their first 2-weeks rented camper van trip starting in Munich, to Berlin, Prague, Budapest and Vienna, returning to Munich towards the end of October. Would it be worth getting the insurance you mentioned?

Also, you say that many camping sites may be closed, so the alternative could be Gas stations in Germany or supermakets elsewhere. The question is if it is safe to spend the night in those parking lots, and also what to do about the electricity and also the waste disposal… Please let us know your thoughts. Thanks for your advice (we may have other questions as we get closer to the date).

There should be an pate to this excellent information. These days there are many Low Emission Zones, Congestion Charging & Urban Traffic Restrictions in Place within Europe. For example in France every vehicle has to have a Crit’Air. Both Spain and France cities/towns with relatively small populations will be implementing low emission zones. Rules are confusing and there is no single standard. In Europe vans that are registered as commercial vehicles often have lower speed limits imposed on them over vehicles registered as Camper Vans.

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Last Updated on September 19, 2023 by Drifter Planet

How to travel Europe in a campervan, motorhome or caravan

Travelling Europe in a campervan, motorhome, RV or caravan is really one of the best ways to see and experience the continent, but the idea can be daunting at first! If you’re feeling overwhelmed and unsure where to start, don’t panic. This article contains everything you need to know to set you in the right direction. We cover everything from organizing your campervan or caravan and finding places to stay, to the practical things like wifi and finding LPG gas. Keep reading and you’ll set out on your trip of Europe in a campervan or caravan with confidence.!

This article contains affiliate links. For more information, please see our affiliate disclaimer here .

Our story of travelling Europe in a campervan AND caravan

I remember flying to Europe in 2019 to begin our campervanning journey through Europe. We had just had an incredible 5 weeks campervanning around New Zealand and had fallen in love with the freedom and practicality of having our own little home on wheels! I loved the fact that we could pick up and drive off to where ever we wanted, whenever we wanted. We could visit cities, and head to tourist attractions without tours or public transport. We could cook our own meals when we wanted and we didn’t have to lug all our belongings around every where. It was liberating for a long term traveller.

We spent some time with Bens family in the Netherlands while we organised a campervan. He was an old Italian model and we named him Luigi. Luigi was fabulous as we crossed Europe and explored Croatia, Romania and Southern Hungary for the summer with our dog, Whiskey. He felt like home. For us however, there were a couple of key things that Luigi couldn’t offer us, and after a lot of investigation, we decided to try a caravan. This decision was purely based on our circumstances at the time. I’ll explain more in the section on campervans below because don’t worry, your circumstances I’m sure, are quite different.

With our new caravan we headed back to Croatia for the winter, and saw some of Bosnia Herzegovina and Montenegro before Covid hit and we had to return to the Netherlands. The end of 2020 and 2021 has sure put a damper on our plans but we’ve managed to (safely) take the caravan around the Netherland. You can’t keep a good couple, their dog and a caravan tied down!

Well, lets begin at the beginning, with the campervan or caravan. This is an exciting stage that requires a little forethought. You’ll need to decide

• Campervan, motorhome or caravan? Which should you choose?
• Buy or rent: Do you want to buy or hire your campervan, motorhome or caravan?

Motorhome, campervan or caravan – What’s the differences?

What is the difference between a motorhome or a camper van in Europe , I hear you ask? Truth be told, they are different, but you’ll often hear the words used interchangeably. I wouldn’t get too caught up in the wording, except that you’ll need to be quite clear about whether you want a motorhome or camper van when you begin looking to buy or rent yours.

General features of motorhomes, campervans and caravans

• Sleeping area – this will either be a permanent bed, or it will be a seating area that converts to a bed at night. Sometimes your vehicle will have both depending on the size.
• Kitchen facilities – The kitchen can be anything from a small sink and single burner cook top to a larger area with an oven, bench space and a decent sized fridge
• A dining area – A table and some seating
• Toilet – Unless you have a particularly small campervan, it will usually have a portable toilet as a minimum. Larger campervans, motorhomes and caravans will have a properly fitted toilet
• Shower – Large models will have space for a shower
• Storage areas – Excess space will be used to house storage areas in which to store your belongings.

Let’s quickly break down the differences between motorhomes campers and caravans and how they relate to the features you’ll have.

By definition, a motorhome is a larger vehicle that contains a sleeping area and storage space, built into larger van style bodies, trucks or buses. They look quite a bit bigger than say, the easily recognizable VW camper. There are positives and negatives to having such a larger vehicle.

Advantages to a motorhome are related to the size and comfort level of having so much space. The bed is a permanent fixture so you don’t have to put it together every night like you would a convertible seating area. Kitchens in motorhomes are often larger, containing an oven and fridge and adequate bench space for cooking.

There will be a larger, and probably more comfortable lounge and dining area with a fixed table and most likely a bathroom with a fixed toilet and shower facilities. It is also more common for motorhomes to have heating and air conditioning. Newer models may also have floor heating, which is useful if you’re travelling in winter. Nothing is worse than cold feet!

Disadvantages to campervanning Europe in a motorhome funnily enough are also related to the size. The larger your motorhome the more difficult it can be to maneuver through small streets. This can be avoided by sticking to main roads. You may still, however have some issues with parking at camping spots as some do not have spaces large enough for very big motorhomes. Standard sized motorhomes shouldn’t have a problem though.

The other issue with motorhomes comes if you want to visit cities. Especially some of the old cities of Europe. You’ll have a hard time parking anywhere. This can be negated by taking bicycles with you, or towing motorbikes on a trailer behind you. Of course, if you’re staying out of the cities then that solves that problem all together.

If you’re thinking a motorhome sounds like something you’re interested in, don’t be discouraged by the issues, there are thousands of people who get by just fine. Just know that you’ll need to do a little extra planning.

As mentioned, many people these days use the terms motorhome and campervan interchangeably, however by definition, a campervan, also known as a camper van, or camper, is essentially a van that has been fitted out in a more conventional van size.

Advantages of travelling Europe in a campervan include the fact that it is smaller, so it is easier to drive. They handle and move more like a big car. Of course there are variations in the size of campers. The smaller they are, the more true the above is. Parking is also much easier in a smaller campervan, both in cities, at tourist sites and at camping places in most countries.

Disadvantages depend on the overall size, they may have a permanent bed, or seating that needs to be converted. The kitchen is often smaller, with a smaller fridge and limited bench space. Seating and table space will also shrink as the size of the campervan gets smaller.

These are not necessarily all bad things, just make sure you choose an option that suits your needs. If you cook for example, a kitchen with a larger kitchen but smaller seating area may be preferred to a larger seating area with a smaller kitchen. The campervan layout is the most important thing.

I don’t think it needs to be explained that a caravan doesn’t have an engine. It needs to be pulled by another vehicle. The advantages and disadvantages of a caravan are the same as those for motorhomes and camper vans in relation to size. The bigger the caravan the more space and the larger the facilities and storage. The smaller the caravan, the easier it is to tow and the less space you’ll find inside.

The main advantage to a caravan over a campervan or motorhome is that you now also have a separate vehicle. You don’t have to pack everything up every time you want to go somewhere, you just lock up the caravan and drive away. You’ll also never have a problem with parking, unless of course you’re dealing with normal city traffic.

If you’re trying to decide between buying a motorhome or a caravan, we’ve had both and have written a complete comparison article to help you choose what’s right for you.

Which is better – campervan, motorhome or caravan for travelling Europe?

This is quite a personal question and I would encourage you to think about the following things

• How long do you intend to travel?
• How confident are you driving a large vehicle or towing?
• What is your daily/weekly/monthly budget?
• Do you want to stay at caravan parks or in the middle of the forest?
• How much space do you need?
• Are you able to buy a caravan and a car in Europe?
• What kind of places do you plan on spending most of your time? For example old European cities, or out in nature?

The reason we swapped our campervan for a caravan

Our campervan to caravan journey was actually a three step process. In New Zealand we had a small camper. We then upgraded to a larger campervan for Europe. Then we decided on a caravan. Our reasons were the answers to the above questions.

We intend to travel long term. For us that means that we want to be comfortable as it is an ongoing situation. We personally had two problems with Luigi, our large campervan. The first, was that we love old cities, and we sometimes had a hard time driving around and parking him. Others get around this issue by taking bicycles or motorcycles. They leave the campervan somewhere and they bicycle to the attraction, or to the supermarket even. This wasn’t an option for us as our dog Whiskey was old at the time when we switched to the caravan. He has since passed.

Based on our needs we felt a car would be useful for us.

We also needed more space and obviously getting an even larger motorhome wasn’t on the cards for the reasons above. If however, you’re travelling for a month or two, or without a dog, then less space is perfectly manageable. We had no issue in New Zealand with our smaller camper for 5 weeks.

Many, many people travel Europe in a campervan with no issues at all and we were very sad to see Luigi go. Just know, however, that a caravan is a genuine option.

Campervan layouts – some things to consider

Before you begin looking at campers or motorhomes to hire or purchase, it helps to have a bit of an idea about the layouts and what is best for you.

The sleeping situation

Campervan beds can either be fixed beds, or seating that can be made into beds in the evening. Not only that, they can also be high with a ladder, like a bunk bed. For example the bed may be on top of the drivers compartment, as in the photo below. That window is where the bed is.

If you’re young and agile then climbing the ladder into bed is not so difficult. However if you’re not…

The size of the beds is also important. Ben is a big guy. Not only that, he overheats at night. Our beds in Luigi were too narrow for us both to comfortably sleep. Our campervan had a second ‘bunk style’ bed at the back and I slept in that one. When we decided to sell Luigi, we knew that we wanted a bigger bed that we could share.

Cooking in a campervan

So, I cook. I like cooking, we eat pretty healthily, it’s important to me. When we campervanned around New Zealand, our campervan fridge was so small we had to shop every second day. Luigi had a bigger fridge but it still wasn’t ideal. When we upgraded to the caravan, a big fridge was a must.

Cooking in a big campervan or motorhome is much easier than cooking in a small one. That doesn’t mean though, that cooking in a small campervan is impossible. You find your own tips and tricks and ways of making it work. You will however have to get used to going back to basics, as in a smaller campervan there is not a lot of room for a variety of pots and pans and certainly none for different kitchen equipment and things like blenders or slow cookers. Even if you had the bench space, you won’t have anywhere to store them.

Privacy.. what’s privacy?

The smaller your campervan the less privacy you’ll have. Conversely, the larger your campervan or motorhome, the more privacy you’ll be able to niche out. If you’re travelling with friends, go bigger.

In a very small campervan you won’t have any room division. If you have a toilet, it will most likely be a cassette toilet, which is like a small box that has a hole with a seat around it. With no division of the room, peeing becomes a pretty public act.

The larger you go in size, the more likely it is that you’ll have a separate ‘toilet’ room. So that’s something. You may also have a door or divider that breaks the camper into smaller sections. Our caravan now, for example, has the main living space, then a sliding door that closes off the bedroom and bathroom together.

Heating and air conditioning – yes!

If you’re travelling Europe in the shoulder seasons than maybe you can get away without heating or air conditioning, but in the height of either winter or summer, you’re going to want them, trust me.

We were in Croatia in the height of summer with our air conditioning free campervan. There was literally a night that all 3 of us (including our dog Whiskey) slept outside because it was so, so hot. 2 days later we left Croatia for Romania which is a few degree’s cooler during the day, but much cooler overnight.

Our caravan now has both good heading and good electricity. Having done two winters in the caravan I’m confident saying that you won’t survive a European winter without heating.

After campervanning around New Zealand we wrote an article on things to consider when choosing a campervan , have a read and it’ll help you to think about layouts and facilities that are important to you

Buying or renting a campervan, motorhome or caravan in Europe

Hiring a campervan in europe.

Advantages of hiring or renting a campervan to travel Europe

• Quick and efficient, faster and easier than buying
• Everything is taken care of for you
• Easily available to non EU citizens
• Comes (almost) fully stocked
• A great way to try different models ‘before you buy’
• If you breakdown or have an accident the company will help you
• More convenient for a short trip
• Renting a more luxury model for a shorter time is cheaper than buying a brand new luxury motorhome

Disadvantages of hiring or renting a camper or motorhome

• The primary disadvantage is the price as it will be more expensive in the long term.

Expert tip : We always use Motorhome Republic to hire our campervans. It’s a great platform listing all the companies and their available vehicles so you can compare and find the perfect motorhome for you.

Buying a campervan in Europe

If you’re a European citizen you should have no problem buying a campervan or caravan in Europe. We’d recommend doing your research and possibly hiring a campervan for a smaller trip before you commit to purchasing one, just so you can really test it out. You may find something is important to you, when you hadn’t thought about it previously.

If you’re not an EU or UK citizen, it can be more difficult to buy a camper van as you’ll need a fixed address somewhere in the EU or UK in order to have the vehicle registered and insured. The good news is that there are ways to do it and we’ve met people on the road who successfully managed it.

I have to confess we’ve never had a problem buying our campervan or caravan in Europe as Ben is from the Netherlands. Obviously then, I haven’t had to use any of these services. I’ve done my best to research this section for you and point you in the right direction but I can’t make any personal recommendations as we haven’t done it or dealt with any companies relating to this.

For a complete guide to buying a motorhome in Europe as a non resident , you can check out our complete guide.

3 ways to buy a campervan in Europe for non-EU or UK residents

• Purchase your campervan in the UK using a relative or friends address.

Apparently the UK is the most relaxed country in Europe when it comes to registering vehicles for non-UK residents. You will need a UK address, however this can be a friend or family member. If you buy a camper direct from a dealer, you may be able to use their address for the registration of the vehicle.

Be aware that if you buy a vehicle in the UK it will be a right hand drive. This is different to the rest of Europe who drive on the left hand side. It’s not only the steering wheel that is different. The door to the campervan or motorhome will also be ‘on the wrong side’. If you stop your right-hand drive car on the side of the road in mainland Europe, you’ll likely be stepping straight out into traffic.

2. Buy your camper in the Netherlands or Germany

Campervanning and motorhoming are HUGE in the Netherlands and Germany, as it is in most of Europe. Both countries have businesses that will act as ‘middle people’ in the sale process. Some of the businesses will sell their own campers. Other businesses operate a sort of ‘fixer’ type situation. If you find a campervan online that you like, for a fee, they’ll go and inspect it for you. They’ll help to handle the sale transaction, the registration and insurance. Of course you pay for all of their services.

3. Buying a campervan in France.

Euro Camping Cars in France have established a unique and perfectly legal system for helping non-Europe residents buy a campervan or motorhome in France. Again, I haven’t done it, but it is legal, and many people have had great success. Their website explains everything you need to know about their services.

Consider looking for companies with buy back schemes

You’ve found a way to legally buy your campervan or motorhome in Europe as a non-resident. You’ve travelled around and loved every minute of your road trip. Now what? What do you do with your camper when it’s time to go home?

Firstly, you will need to sell your camper in the same country from which you purchased it. This will save you a lot of hassle. Secondly, how do you sell it quickly and easily so that you’re not sitting for another few months waiting to get your money back?

A buy back scheme is a great option. It simply guarantees that the place where you purchased your campervan, will buy it back from you at the end. They will obviously pay a reduced price. The longer you drove it, the more kilometers you did, the less money you will likely get back.

In which country should you hire or buy your campervan?

If you intend on buying, then obviously you’ll be restricted to the options and countries in the section above.

When you hire a campervan you’ll have plenty of options and can essentially hire a campervan to be picked up in any country. Consider your road trip itinerary before you make any decisions. You’ll want to know where you intent to start your trip. Also be aware that in most instances, you’ll need to return your camper van to the place where you picked it up. This means your trip will need to be a loop, or a general shape with a last minute dash for the starting place.

Insurance is necessary to travel Europe in a campervan

Insurance is mandatory in all European countries, and it’s the best thing you can pay for and not need. When you hire you campervan you can be assured that the company will offer you proper insurance for the vehicle.

One thing to take note of are the countries that are covered under your insurance. If you get your insurance in a Schengen country, the Schengen area is covered. However not all non-Schengen countries are covered under every policy. You’re best to confirm this when you get insurance otherwise your insurance card will tell you. Most western European countries use insurance cards that look like a credit card with your details on it and these will be valid in all countries except the ones that have a little x through them on the card.

If you try to enter a country outside of the Schengen area that is not covered by your insurance, you’ll simply need to ‘buy’ insurance at the border.

Be mindful that a little dent in a campervan, however unlikely, can quickly result in a very high repair bill. Be sure that you either buy the insurance excess, pay the excess upfront or you have coverage through your travel insurance to avoid huge issues in case of an accident.

Road side assistance

If you’re hiring your campervan, your hire company will usually assist you with any issues such as breakdown or accidents. If however, you have purchased your campervan and it’s insurance, you’ll usually deal with the insurer for damage and road side assistance if you break down. And trust me, road side assistance is helpful.

When we hit an enormous pothole in Romania and Luigi (our campervan) totally shut down on the side of the road, we were grateful for the road side assistance who found the nearest garage for us and organised someone to come and help. When they couldn’t fix him, they loaded Luigi onto the back of a flat bed truck, with us and our dog Whiskey still sitting inside! It was a slightly nerve wracking drive as we swayed and bounced our way into the nearest city on the back of the flatbed truck. An hour after that we were on our way again. Everything was handled by road side assistance.

Make sure you have refillable gas bottles, and enough of them, to get you through a decent period of time. Gas can be difficult to find, especially in some countries, so don’t let your bottles get completely empty before refilling them. If you have a lot of your items running on gas it’ll obviously go faster.

In the summer months, we only use gas for cooking and for our fridge while driving. A bottle can easily last us a few months. However our heating in the caravan runs on gas. Last winter, we sat for a week in -14 degrees. We obviously had the heating on the whole time and a gas bottle would last us 3-4 days! We would change it every 3 and run a full one overnight so we knew that it wouldn’t run out while we were sleeping. In the morning we’d reconnect the almost empty one to use the last of the gas when we were awake and could notice the heating was off.

Gadgets and helpful items for Campervanning in Europe

Having a good navigation system is really helpful in getting around. It’ll save you a lot of time and effort in doubling back and getting lost. Not only that, the larger your campervan or motorhome, the more helpful a sat-nav can be. Get one where you can enter the dimensions of your campervan and it will (for the most part) avoid sending you down narrow one way streets.

Of course you’ll still need to use your own judgement and common sense. Look out for sign posts and information and change your direction early if you think you’re heading somewhere where you’re not going to fit!

12V USB Port Adapter

You’ll need to be able to charge your phone and/or sat-nav while driving. This adapter goes in the old cigarette lighter hole and will keep everything charged while you’re navigating. There’s nothing worse than running out of battery half an hour before you’re supposed to arrive at a new destination.

An inverter

If you have electronic devices such as laptops and camera’s you’re going to want an inverter. An inverter takes the energy from the campervans engine and converts it to electricity you can use to power your devices. You’ll especially need this if you want to stay off the grid and wild camp.

Motorhome, campervan or caravan awning

An awning is really useful on a nice day to protect you from the hot sun. Many campervans will come with a built in awning that you roll out. If you hire a campervan it may come as an add on that you’ll need to rent separately. When we bought our caravan there was no awning, so we simply purchased one that slides onto the caravan and can stay there permanently.

A water filter

We had travelled for quite a while without a water filter and it didn’t seem to bother us until we spent a few weeks in Istria, Croatia, and the water tasted horrendous. We have refillable water bottles we take everywhere, rather than buying plastic, and we were really having a hard time drinking the water there. At the time, as a quick solution we bought a cheap small filter which helped… enough.

Bicycles come in handy when you’re campervanning in Europe. It’s much easier to jump on a bicycle and cycle to the shops than it is to pack up the whole camper or motorhome and go. Bicycles are also a great way to get into a city or a green zone. You can park the campervan somewhere safe and easy and ride the bike in. It’s really common to see motorhomes with bicycles on the back for this reason.

The Gross Vehicle Weight of your motorhome or campervan

Aside from the dimensions of your camper, you’ll want to take note of the gross weight of the campervan or motorhome. It will have a maximum weight that you’re allowed to carry. The more ‘stuff’ you load in, the heavier you’ll be. When you’re working out what to pack, try to remember that just because you have some space doesn’t mean you should fill it. Leave some space so you can collect things as you go.

Essential Apps to download to your phone

Apps to find camping places.

Park4Night ( park4night.com ) an app that is fantastic for helping you find free overnight parking near you.

Apps to make life more enjoyable on a road trip

• The Kindle App will allow you to download books so that you’re not having to try and buy them as you travel
• Borrowbox is an app that is used by some libraries, it allows you to borrow E-books for free
• Audible – You pay for books you download on audible but you own them
• Spotify – It’s worth the small monthly investment to have some good road trip music

Connectivity and WIFI throughout Europe

Let’s face it, life is a lot easier if you have internet. Especially when you’re heading into new countries and unknown territory. It’s also helpful if you want to keep in touch with loved ones. I remember solo backpacking in Cambodia and my dad freaking out because I wasn’t replying to his text messages. I was at Angkor Wat at the time and 1000 year old temples don’t often have WIFI. Needless to say, I bought a sim card the next day.

If you stay at camp grounds they will often have internet although how good it is will vary considerably. If you need good internet, I’d recommend getting a dongle and using pay as you go rechargeable data like this. Three is a fantastic company with good reception throughout a lot of Europe.

Campervan and motorhome security – How to keep your belongings safe

Generally speaking, I would say that when you’re travelling in Europe, your at no greater risk for theft or a break in than you are in your home country. That being said, we’ve never had any problems and maybe someone who has experienced a break in might disagree. As everything you presumably want and need is inside the campervan, it’s understandable to be worried.

I was never really worried in camping places, but I was more concerned when we had to park the campervan in an isolated place. This happens say, when you’re going hiking and you drive to a remote car park, or, it happens when you want to see an old city and you can’t get parking so you end up parking down some random backstreet. It’s the only place you’ll fit.

There’s different strategies and tips, and everyone’s opinion differs. Some say leave all your blinds open so everyone can see if someone is in there. Others say leave them closed so the potential robber can’t see whether YOU’RE in there or not.

At the end of the day, I always carry our most valuable items on me. Passports, laptop, camera, phones etc, all go in my day bag if we leave the campervan in a remote place.

The other option is to purchase additional door and window locks.

Driving in Europe

Driving is different in Europe in that you’ll be driving on the right hand side of the road. Other than that, it’s not that dissimilar to driving in countries like America and Australia.

In western Europe in particular, the roads are pretty good and you shouldn’t have any issues, however the further east you move, the worse the roads become, I think I mentioned the pothole in Romania that stopped our camper in it’s tracks.

Do you need an international driving permit?

Anyone who’s drivers license has been issues outside of Europe should get an international driving permit . Although it’s not mandatory in all European countries, some countries do require it, alongside your normal drivers license.

Green Zones

Green zones are environmental zones, usually in cities, that restrict entrance to cars that do not meet emission requirements. Some places ban diesel vehicles all together, others may allow you to drive there provided you have received a green sticker indicating you’ve past an inspection. The reality is that if you’re in a large diesel motorhome, you’re probably not allowed in the green zone, and even if you were, you’d never be able to park in there.

As a general rule, avoid green zones, or park the camper somewhere safe and ride a bicycle or take public transport into the city if you want to go.

Petrol/Gas stations

By far the most expensive place to buy fuel is along the highways. If you need to fill up, go a little further in to a town, away from the motorway and you’ll find it to be a lot cheaper.

I’ve said it a few times already, but trying to park a large motorhome can be stressful. Some tourist sites will have large carparks, catering to the community campervanning Europe, but not all of them will. It is difficult for anyone to park in a city, let along a vehicle that’s twice as long as a normal car.

Reverse parking, or even just reversing a large campervan or motorhome can be difficult and many people find a reversing camera to be of great use.

Other factors to consider when travelling Europe by campervan

Road and safety equipment.

Most European countries have mandatory safety equipment that you’ll need to carry on you at all times. If you hire a vehicle, make sure that they supply you with everything you need such as fleurescent orange vest and safety triangles. Winter tires are a legal requirement in most countries during the cold season. You may also need snow chains if you plan on going into the mountainous areas in winter.

If you buy a campervan you may need to source the safety equipment for yourself if you didn’t receive it.

Vignettes and road taxes

Vignettes are stickers that you add to your windscreen in certain countries to show that you have paid for the privilege of using their roads, mainly highways. The countries that use vignettes are

• Czech Republic
• Switzerland

You can usually buy a vignette at border crossings or at petrol stations close to the borders. You must have one or you can be fined.

Road tolls and a toll pass

Many countries have tolls their motorways. If you’re spending a decent amount of time in a country that has tolls, and offers a toll pass, it can be an easy way to avoid the long lines that sometimes occur at the toll way.

Security, Safety and emergencies

To be perfectly honest, we’ve never felt anything other than safe and secure in Europe. The only concern we ever really had was when we couldn’t find anywhere decent to park the campervan. It was sometimes necessary to park in places that we were unsure about. Other than that, most countries in Europe are safe and other people at the campervan sites are just doing what you’re doing and trying to enjoy life.

If however you have an emergency, the emergency number in Europe is 112.

Winter in mountainous regions of Europe

If you plan on driving in the mountains in winter, you’ll probably require snow chains. Make sure you know how to fit them properly. If you’re hiring a campervan, the hire company should show you how to do this.

Blood Alcohol Concentration

It’s important that you know the legal Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) for each country that you go through as it varies between them. While some countries have 0.05, others have a legal BAC of 0, meaning you can’t drink at all before driving.

These are really the main things that you’ll need to consider when planning to travel Europe in a campervan but don’t let it stress you out. Make sure you cover the basics and the rest you can deal with as you go. You’ll love the freedom, I promise.

Where to stay with your caravan or campervan in Europe?

Campervan parks.

There are quite a few options for places to stay overnight with your campervan. We stay at campervan parks, also known is holiday or vacation parks. Here you have access to facilities such as showers and toilets, and washing up and laundry rooms. It is possible to find some incredible campervan parks throughout Europe.

Overnight parking places

Many countries have over night parking places where you can stop if you’re just driving through. While some are nicer and designed for tourists, others are essentially truck stops, but will do the job. They’re free if you don’t want to pay. You can find these on the park4night app that I mentioned above.

In France you’ll find Aires de Service, or aire de camping car, which are places that you can stop for the night. They cost anywhere from free to €15. For an extra fee you may be able to dump your grey water and fill up your fresh.

Wild camping

Wild camping, known as freedom camping or free camping in other places, is not so common, but fairly easy to do in Europe. This is where you stop somewhere that is not a designated camp site, for example, in the forest. To do this you’ll need your campervan to be fairly self sufficient. You’ll also need to check the laws of the country you’re in as it is illegal to wild camp in certain countries.

ACSI card for discounted camp grounds

If you’re travelling in Europe in the off season, this card gives motorhomers, campervanners and caravaners great discounts on campsites and is well worth getting. As mentioned, only if you’re travelling in the off season.

Where can I travel with a campervan in Europe?

Everywhere! In reality, you can travel across most of the continent in a campervan, motorhome or caravan. Europe has open borders so you can freely move throughout the region. Once you’ve crossed the border into one country, you’ll need to abide that it’s rules and regulations. I’ll cover that more below.

Europe by campervan: Travel Routes and Itineraries

Where to begin your road trip, or hire your campervan or motorhome.

Where you begin your trip and collect your camper is up to you. It makes sense to fly in to Europe and collect your camper from the same place. The exciting thing is that the best place to begin depends on your itinerary. Where do YOU want to begin your European adventure?

How to plan a European Campervan Route or Itinerary

Planning a route or itinerary for Europe, or for any road trip is quite a personal experience. You can either plan everything out, from where you plan to stop, what you plan to see and how many days you intend to stay. Or, you can leave it fairly open. I prefer to leave it open and really just plan the main stops. With plenty of space to move in between.

Before you leave home you’ll probably want to have at least a general route or itinerary planned.

European seasons

Europe is huge and the climate varies greatly across the continent, but also across the seasons. You’ll definitely want to factor this in during the preparation phase.

Cooler seasons

November to April are the winter months. These can be difficult for campervanning due to snow and ice on the roads. Not to mention that the temperature can get well into the minuses. It is possible, however you’ll need to be prepared.

If you want to travel in the winter, there are a few countries more suitable. For example, the south of Spain and parts of Croatia, Montenegro and Albania have a milder winter. Whereas central Europe, the Scandenavian Countries and those to the far west have bitterly cold winters. Not ideal for a campervan.

When campervanning in Europe in the winter, you won’t have as many accommodation options as many camp grounds close for the season. Those that remain open will usually have less facilities available.

Warmer seasons

Generally speaking, most people will campervan Europe during the warmer months. May to October are great months, with June, July and August being peak season.

From mid spring to mid autumn, the weather vary’s from balmy to hot, making the summer peak seasons for travellers. The coastline along the bottom of the European continent is buzzing as thousands flock to coastal towns.

Although it’s a great time of year to travel, summer in Europe poses it’s own challenges. The coastal areas of all countries are incredibly busy with both overseas and European travellers alike. Prices are also their highest at this time.

For motorhome or campervan travellers, you’ll need to consider whether you get air conditioning. Our first campervan in Europe did not have air conditioning. At the height of summer, on the Croatian coast, Ben, Whiskey and I all slept outside on the ground. It was just too hot to bare. Two days later we left Croatia for Romania which is a few degree’s cooler over night.

Peak periods

Europe is home to some of the worlds largest events, think Tour De France, the Dutch Keukenhof, or Germany’s Oktoberfest. Thousands of travellers flock to these area’s in the lead up to these events. You’ll need to be prepared if you want to join them. Otherwise you’re probably best to stay away from those areas at those times.

Another issue can be the ‘school holiday’ period, during summer in Europe. Popular campervan parks can book out months in advance.

Using ferries on your European road trip

A great way to get from A to B without driving the long way, or simply to get on and off an island, like England, Ferries are part of most peoples campervanning experience in Europe. Connecting countries like the UK with France, Spain and the Netherlands, and Italy with Greece, Turkey or Croatia, it’s a fast and efficient way to travel.

Depending on the size of your motorhome or campervan and the distance you need to travel, you can pay anywhere from a €200 to €1000 euro per trip.

Using google maps to plan your European Campervan adventure

Get comfortable using google maps route planner when you’re planning your trip. I really like it because it gives me distances and times for travel. For example, I might decide to leave one place and drive to the next, The distance always looks so small on the map but google maps says it’s a 9 hour drive! Then I can try to find a place to stop in between for the night or find something that we might want to see or do for the day.

You can also download offline maps which helps if you think you might be going somewhere with no internet access.

It’s a really useful tool.

Costs and budget for travelling Europe in a campervan

Ultimately your budget will reflect your personal travelling style. It is heavily influenced by how many attractions you visit or how often you eat out compared to cooking in the campervan. Accommodation costs will vary from person to person, for example staying in high end campsites every night will be more expensive than wild camping, which is free. Your campervan hire or purchase price will be your most expensive initial outlay.

Some necessary and regular expenses are

• petrol or diesel for the campervan
• campervan site fee’s
• Admission fee’s to tourist attractions
• Gas for gas operated cook top or heating in the campervan
• Laundry facilities (sometimes you have to pay at the camp sites)
• European road tolls
• European Vignettes (see below)
• Public transport if you leave the campervan at the campsite

Apps for tracking your spending

It’s really helpful to keep track of how much money your spending. It disappears so quickly when you’re paying little bits out here and there. Petrol, gas, the camp ground for the night. Keeping track as you go means you’ll make it comfortably to the end of your trip rather than running out half way through.

Two great apps you can download to your iPhone are Trabee Pocket and Trail Wallet. They are both pretty similar and will help you keep track of your spending in each country. You can also track in that countries currency AND your home currency. This is really useful if your mental conversion is not so good, like mine!

Transferring Money

If you’re needing to transfer money around, make sure that you either have your own wifi device, like a dongle, or you use a VPN to protect your banking data.

What do you mean some countries don’t take Euro’s?

Yep, just to confuse things, some countries in Europe don’t take Euro’s. This is easy enough to deal with as simply going to an ATM or taking a small amount of the other currency with you, will solve the problem.

Countries that don’t accept euros are

You’ll need to organise these things before you leave for Europe

Your passport and any necessary visa’s.

Your passport itself is fairly easy. You just need to have one, and it needs to have more than 6 months validity, and enough pages to be stamped.

Visa’s can be a little bit more tricky depending on what citizenship you have, and how long you intend to travel. Make sure you check your visa requirements and organise your visa in advance.

Read : Passports and Visa requirements for campervan travel in Europe

Drivers licence

It seems only logical that you’d take your drivers to Europe if you intend to drive a campervan, doesn’t it? Make sure to check that your license is sufficient though. You may find that you need to obtain an International Drivers License before you go. And if so, you’ll need to have that on you too.

Travel Insurance for travelling Europe in a campervan

Travel insurance is one of the things that we never, ever leave home without. It’s really easy to have the ‘It won’t happen to me’ attitude, but the reality is that ‘it’ can happen to anyone.

Make sure that you book good travel insurance before you leave. We always use World Nomads. We’ve dealt with them personally, when I fell sick in Vietnam and needed treatment in Cambodia and then also in Thailand (very long story there!).

World Nomads were fabulous and we were really impressed with their service and speed. They called a couple of times just to check up on me and make sure we were ok. They also paid out almost all of my medical expenses, despite the fact that we were really delayed in sending them all the information. I mean, we literally sent the bills months after the event. I was convinced at that point that they wouldn’t pay, but voila. We’re very happy with them.

Paperwork that you’ll need to carry with you

Before you set out, you’ll want to make sure you have copies of all necessary paperwork. This includes

• Campervan or caravan and car insurance paperwork. Make sure you have the original, some countries won’t accept copies or photos from your phone.
• A rental contract or purchase contract proving your right to the vehicle
• Your travel or health insurance information
• your original birth certificates and marriage certificate. These are not so easy to get on the fly if you need them
• your drivers licence
• Your pets health check certificates and proof of rabies vaccination. You’ll need this even if you’re from a country that doesn’t have rabies. If you enter a rabies risk zone your pet won’t be allowed back into the rabies free area without one.
• Details of anything you’ve booked in advance including campervan parks, tours, tourist sites or public transport.

Van life – What’s it really like?

We absolutely love the freedom and sense of adventure that comes from living life in a camper. The idea that you can pick up and go anywhere. That you can see something new and different. We’ve been able to see some incredible places and have wonderful experiences. Not to mention adopting our dogs from Croatia. We wouldn’t have been able to do that if we didn’t have our own home on wheels.

The challenges of van life

That being said it’s not always sunshine and rainbows. There are challenges to van life as much as there are to any other lifestyle. Adjustments need to be made to how you life. The smaller the camper, the more adjustments are required to make van life enjoyable.

It involves some downsizing

You need to get used to public toilets, the occasional cold shower and cooking with minimal equipment. Packing everything away every time you move can be a bit annoying but you do get in a good rhythm with it. Forgetting to lock a cupboard door is fun when stuff flies out while you’re driving. Generally, if you’re a minimalist or can get buy without ‘all the stuff’ then you’ll have no problem.

I love our life in our little home and I have absolutely no problem what so every with living in a smaller space. I have everything that I need and the space doesn’t bother me at all.

It can be tiring constantly moving

We sometimes struggle between moving and staying still. If you find a really good camping place it’s really easy to settle down for a while as opposed to keeping moving.

When things go wrong there’s no escape, your camper is your home AND vehicle

There are times when things go wrong with the camper. Like the time our wheel bent, yes, our wheel bent. We were about to leave Romania and head back to the Netherlands. We decided to make a push for it but the vibration got worse and worse. The first night we stopped in Hungary for the first night, then in Germany, and then made it home, but oh wow did we have headaches.

You may have the odd sleepless night

And, as much as we like to think they are, motorhomes and campervans are not sound proof boxes. There’ll be the occasional night you don’t sleep because the people next to you have music playing, or are sitting at their table outside your window talking. We were at a campground just outside Bucharest. Which, unbeknownst to us, was right beside a large venue which was holding a wedding reception. Hardcore dance music blared inside the campervan, it was so loud we couldn’t have heard our own music if we’d put it on and turned it right up. Everyone was in the same boat because we were packing up our campervan at 6 am, and so were all the others. No one had had a wink of sleep.

The other side to this is thunderstorms. Heavy rain or wind on a campervan or caravan roof can sound thunderous. Sleeping during really big storms can be difficult. And if a huge storm hits during the night and your awning is out, watch out!

How do relationships survive van life?

To be honest I think that depends on what the relationship is like to begin with. Ben and I have travelled together for years so we’re used to always being together. We don’t really have any issues with being together all the time. That being said, sometimes it’s nice to have some privacy, or a moment to yourself.

Our main arguments these days are about the toilet. After all this time he still argues every time I tell him that the toilet needs to be emptied. E-V-E-R-Y time. You know in relationships you have your roles. There are certain things one person always does and certain things the other always does. He always does the toilet, its just the way it is. The thing is, I always have to tell him it’s full. He never just notices and empties it. I notice it and I tell him. This is what we argue about!

Other ways van life can affect relationships

As a little side note, it’s important that you factor your relationship in when you choose a campervan. With our first campervan we had to sleep in separate beds because the beds were too narrow for us. We also had a fairly small table that had two bench style seats opposite each other. The seats were not wide enough for us to sit comfortably side by side. I mean, we could, but we were bumping elbows a lot.

Not only were we sleeping separately, we were always sitting opposite each other. It didn’t really do a lot for the romance.

When we bought our caravan we knew we wanted one with a big bed, as well as a larger seating area where we could sit side by side.

In conclusion

So, that’s a lot, right? While there’s a lot to know and certainly to do before you leave on you camper van or motorhome road trip around Europe, once you set off, it gets a lot easier. After a week or so the day to day basics become routine and you’ll find your rhythm.

I want to hear from you

Don’t be shy. If you’ve made it to the end of this guide on campervanning Europe then you’re ready to go. Drop a comment and tell me your plans. Also feel free to ask any questions you might have. You never know, maybe they’ll help someone else too.

About Christine

Christine and her partner Ben have spent the last few years traveling through New Zealand and then Europe by campervan. They travel with their dog Alisa, who they adopted in Croatia. You'll find them exploring old cities, hiking through National Parks, and taking unforgettable road trips.

2 thoughts on “How to travel Europe in a campervan, motorhome or caravan”

Hi! Can you park for free-boondock with caravan? Im from Croatia and i see motorhomes park in city centar regulary im in Istria,but never see caravan park like that.I see them only in supermarkets parking or shoping centar parking. But can leave caravan somewhere in Forest and leave with you car is this possible? Sorrry abou my English! Thank you!

Hi Daniela, I’ve never tried it in a caravan so I can’t be sure, but I think there would be some problems with boondocking in a caravan. Some of the issues I can think of are – Safety and security – You’d need to make sure that the caravan can’t be stolen – you could use a Hitch lock, which prevents someone else from connecting their car to your caravan and towing it, there are also wheel locks, and then things like extra door locks and alarm systems – Leveling a caravan is more difficult, so if you want to camp in the forest you’d need to find a place that has flatter ground from the start – It will be more difficult to move a caravan if you need to make a quick exit – either for safety reasons or because you’ve been asked to move. – You probably don’t have a waste water tank so you’d need to find a way to collect your waste water so that it doesn’t flow out into the environment.

Those are just a few reasons I can think of. Maybe some of our readers have more experience with boondocking in a caravan?

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Touring Europe in a Motorhome: Everything You Need to Know

By: Author Lisa Hunchenko

Posted on Last updated: June 23, 2021

It is not easy to see the whole of Europe. It may not be as big as other continents, but it indeed has many places worth visiting.

So what is the best way to do it? A campervan! Buying used campers from Oaktree Motorhomes or dealers alike may be the perfect way to see the beauty of this continent.

It gives you the freedom to explore places wherever and whenever you want to without the need to worry about things like hotels or restaurants. 

In this article, you can find helpful information on how to travel in a motorhome in Europe.

You can read about standard rules at campsites, in which countries you are allowed to wild-camp, where to park your RV when sightseeing, and much more.

Read on and have the best camping experience possible!

Table of Contents

Camping in Europe

Rules for driving, parking your campervan, wild camping, motorhome travel tips.

Touring Europe in a campervan is the best way to see the many sights in a short time.

After all, you have a vehicle that can carry almost anything you'll need to live on your own. But there are still some things you need to do and know if you want to enjoy your trip.

First of all, if you want to camp at the campsites , you will need to book in advance as some of them get full early.

You can also camp on private land with the owner’s permission, but it’s best to check where you can do that in the country you are visiting.

It is possible to wild-camp in some areas, but always make sure that you don’t disturb the locals or damage nature.

If you see a sign saying that camping is forbidden, don’t go there.

When parking on the roadside, make sure that your vehicle doesn’t block the road.

Avoid parking near landmarks and historical buildings, and in front of shops and restaurants. Also, check if it is allowed to park in the area.

Parking areas need to be free of obstacles, so make sure that you choose an unobstructed space that isn't close to any dangerous objects that may cause damage to your motorhome.

Most of Europe’s roads are quite good, except for those that run through forests and some mountain areas.

Due to the nature of these roads, they are often not up to standard and always have unpaved parts that may require special skills when driving a motorhome.

The other problem with them is that they are narrow, making it hard to pass by larger vehicles.

You should always anticipate slower traffic ahead of you and make sure that you have enough room to pass by everyone safely.

When driving on highways, always stick to the speed limit so as not to endanger other drivers .

When using the right-hand side of the road, make sure you do it only when it is safe and legal.

Don’t cross into oncoming traffic just because you are used to driving on the left side of the road at home. 

When passing by slower vehicles or crossing intersections, make sure that they see you first and give them enough time for maneuvering.

And remember that pedestrians always have priority over cars and motorhomes at pedestrian crossings.

Another thing you should keep in mind is that every country has different rules when it comes to driving on single-track roads and gravel paths.

In some countries, access is prohibited, while in others, it is only allowed if you have a 4×4 vehicle . Always check with local authorities before hitting the road.

When driving around Europe, it is crucial to know where you can park your RV easily.

There are certain places where parking is forbidden or restricted and where you need special permission.

The best approach is to stay overnight at a campsite or a secure parking lot near tourist attractions or cities.

You can find spots on websites like Parkopedia, which lists thousands of parking lots all over the world.

This website is handy if you travel outside the big cities – it may not be easy to find a safe place to leave your motorhome overnight.

If you decide to go wild-camping, make sure that you don’t disturb people who live nearby and don’t damage nature in any way.

Before going off-road, visit local authorities and ask how far away from houses and tourist attractions you can park your campervan legally.

You may even ask locals about good places for overnight parking. After all, there is nothing better than friendly advice!

There are some European countries where you can stay overnight in a wild camping area.

By doing that, you can avoid paying for the campsite or the parking lot and see beautiful nature at night.

Although wild camping in the UK will differ from Poland, one thing remains essential in every country – you have to make sure that you don’t disturb nature and the wildlife and don’t leave any traces of your stay behind.

When choosing a place for wild camping, make sure that you don’t select an area used by locals to live.

It is best to avoid populated areas and locations near schools and kindergartens.

Unfortunately, many wild-camping sites are filled with the garbage left behind by irresponsible campers, so make sure not to add to that.

Pack all your trash into plastic bags and dispose of it properly.

Keep in mind that most of the wild-camping sites have no toilets or washing facilities.

If that’s the case, make sure that you have a portable toilet and a camping shower with you. When you are done, make sure that your space is spotless and leave no trace.

When it comes to cooking, you should always use a portable stove. It is best to avoid open fire, as it can be unsafe for you and cause damage to nature.

If necessary, always light a campfire away from trees and bushes, and make sure that you have a fire extinguisher with you.

You can find many of them on Amazon at an affordable price. This will help you protect your camping site and nature. Also, remember to never cut any plants in the wild.

If you camp with your motorhome for the first time, think of it as a great adventure! It may be scary at first, but it will get easier every time you do it.

Before hitting the road and traveling Europe in a campervan, make sure no significant events or festivals are going on in the area.

That way, you can enjoy your trip without worrying about crowded places and traffic jams. Make sure that you are safe and enjoy every moment of your trip!

This story is brought to you in partnership with Oaktree Motorhomes.

Planning a trip? Go Backpacking recommends:

• G Adventures for small group tours.
• Hostelworld for booking hostels.

How To Plan Your First Campervan Holiday In Europe

Whether you’ve dreamed of waking up to beach views, or fancy an off the beaten track adventure through the mountains, find out how to plan your first campervan holiday in Europe.

You’d have to have been living under a rock to have missed the #VanLife craze over the last five or so years. Lots of people have been trading bricks and mortar for life on wheels! While this might sound like quite a big step, there are plenty of ways to get a taste of life on the road on a short break.  

If, like me, you’re thinking about a European adventure this year, how about swapping your regular hotel or apartment stay for a campervan or motorhome? You could tour Portugal’s Algarve, stopping off at beautiful sandy beaches along the way. What about venturing off the beaten track in Albania, exploring a new country with the ultimate of freedoms. Or, how about waking up in Italy’s stunning Dolomites, with snow-capped mountains right outside your windows? The options are endless.

And don’t worry if you’ve never been keen on camping. This is a big step up. It’s a liberating style of travel, but with all the comforts and luxuries you need for a relaxing holiday!

One of the best ways to organise a bucket list adventure like this is using Yescapa . This is a specialist booking platform which connects owners of campervans and motorhomes with travellers. Just as you’d rent an apartment from an owner, now you can rent a vehicle! It’s a really simple process and many of the vehicles are really well kitted out too. We’re even talking plush motorhomes with full kitchens, warm showers and proper mattresses!

So, if you’re considering a campervan or motorhome holiday this year, it’s time to share more about how to hire a vehicle, where you could visit and how to make the most of this exciting style of travel!

Plus, as a special treat I’ve managed to organise a very special discount for you guys with Yescapa . Just use the code WANDERLUSTCHLOE30 when you checkout and you’ll get £30 off!

How to plan a European motorhome holiday

Why travel by motorhome.

There are so many great benefits to this unique style of travel!

You have total freedom and flexibility. Not only do you plan your own route and schedule, but you can change it at a second’s notice! Spot somewhere beautiful along your route? Stop off there. Really enjoy one place you get to? Stay an extra night or two.

Everything you need is always with you. You’ll have all your belongings in the vehicle so you never have to think about checking in and out of hotels, leaving bags, or what to take out for the day.

It’s great if you’re on a budget . You’re guaranteed to have a cheaper trip than if you booked hotels for your holiday. Plus, you can save a few pennies by swapping restaurants and cafes, for eating on the road too. Sitting down to breakfast with a view of the ocean definitely beats a hotel buffet!

It gets you closer to the action and allows you to visit more remote places. With your own set of wheels, you’ll be free to explore secluded beaches, rugged mountains, lakes and characterful villages.  

It’s a rewarding and memorable way to see the world. While any holiday will offer special memories, you’ll feel even more connected to the destination you visit if you travel around by motorhome.

We did our first motorhome holiday a few years ago and I was amazed by how comfortable the vehicle was. We had a huge double bed, en-suite bathroom, kitchen area and dining space. Driving it took a little bit of adjusting to, as we usually drive a small car. But we loved the freedom of being able to travel anywhere in it, as well as the variety of locations we could stay overnight!  

What kind of travellers would enjoy a campervan holiday?

I was debating this with a friend the other day. She’s travelled in a classic VW Camper several times, including to some UK festivals and for a surf holiday in Portugal. She’s definitely the classic campervan type: a free-spirit with a strong sense of adventure.

However, times have changed! Forget the 70s hippy vibes! Motorhome and campervan travel is open to all, and it doesn’t exclude! I’d say the types of travellers who would enjoy this style of travel most are:

• Travellers who love being outdoors and immersed in nature. If your favourite days out involve hiking, wildlife and picnics, you’ll love travelling by camper.
• Anyone on a budget, in particular young people and students, looking to have big experiences without a hefty price tag.
• Adventurous couples looking for a romantic way to explore the world.
• Families who want to create some memories together, while also keeping costs down.
• Anyone trying to travel in a more sustainable and eco-conscious manner.

To be honest though, with the high level of luxury available in a well kitted out motorhome, it really is a style of travel that can suit anyone! After all, Yescapa have over 15,000 motorhome and campervans to choose from in the UK and in Europe, so you’re bound to find one you love.

Is a campervan trip a more sustainable way to travel?

A lot of us have been looking at the impact our travels have on the environment. While years ago, we didn’t think twice about getting on flight after flight, many of us have cut down on the bigger trips in favour of smaller, more sustainably-minded adventures. Whether that’s travelling by train, staying in a destination for longer, or contributing to environmental charities, there are plenty of things we can do to improve the global situation.

If you compare a campervan trip side by side with a hotel stay, it can offer a more sustainable type of holiday for a number of reasons.

For starters, you may be reducing your campervan emissions if you decide to plan a trip closer to home, rather than flying abroad. Yescapa have plenty of vehicles for hire in the UK, so you could swap a far-flung holiday for a trip exploring the natural beauty of the Lake District or the coastlines of Devon and Cornwall. If there are several of you travelling, you’ll be sharing the emissions more too.

Once you’re on board, you’ll be using a lot less energy in a campervan than you would in a hotel or holiday apartment. Just think of a hotel’s energy costs in terms of lighting, heating etc! You’ll also be using a lot less water.

How to hire a campervan or motorhome with Yescapa

Keen to plan a trip? Definitely check out Yescapa , Europe’s largest motorhome rental marketplace. It connects vehicle owners with passionate travellers like you and me. It’s also very easy to use.

All vehicle owners are verified, you’ll have comprehensive insurance and breakdown assistance included, plus a customer service team if you need anything. If this is your first campervan holiday, you’ll definitely want this peace of mind.  

Here’s how to look at available options on Yescapa

Ready to hire a motorhome ? It’s as easy as this!

• Step 1: Pick a location
• Step 2: Put in your dates
• Step 3: Hit search

Then you’ll see a list of all available motorhomes and a map of where they’re located. You can filter by number of travellers, price and type of vehicle. There’s even an option to search for vehicles with specific equipment such as bike racks, baby seats, barbecues, or pick one that’s suitable for winter travel or is an automatic.

When you find one you like the look of you can look at photos, read reviews and read any extra terms and conditions. Then you can send a booking request to the owner and wait for them to reply to confirm the booking. It’s as simple as that!

With platforms like this one, there’s a really nice feeling of sharing too! Everyone wins; the vehicle owners get their costs covered and we as travellers get to book a fun and unique experience!

What do you need to know to drive a campervan in Europe?

While it may vary a little depending on the vehicle you’re hiring, usually you just need a standard driving license (often known as category B) which permits you to drive vehicles under 3.5 tonnes. You’ll also need to be over 18 years old. It’s worth noting that the majority of campervans and motorhomes have a manual gearbox, so your license will need to cover that, unless you’re specifically hiring an automatic.

Depending on where your license was issued, some countries may require you to have an international driving licence.  

It’ll be a more comfortable ride if you have experience of driving larger vehicles, but you’ll quickly get the hang of it!

Where are the best places in Europe for a campervan trip?

Now you know how easy it is to book a trip by campervan or motorhome, it’s time for the really exciting part: deciding where to travel to! There are so many picturesque spots, but for a first trip, here are five of my top picks.

Devon and Cornwall, England

For a beautiful UK road trip, I’d recommend driving down to the southwest to enjoy great surf beaches in Croyde and Newquay, the food scene in Padstow and the wild scenery and stargazing of Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks.

The Scottish Highlands, Scotland

Craving some mountain time? Head to the highlands and enjoy rugged landscapes, serene lakes, beautiful hiking routes and nature at its best.

Andalucia, Spain

The south of Spain offers the ultimate mix of beaches, historic cities, classic white towns, tasty food and culture. With over 300 days of sunshine each year and some of the warmest temperatures in Europe in winter, it’s a great option all year round.

The Dolomites, Italy

You might think of Italian adventures involving the coastal towns or historic cities, but these mountains in the north offer some of the country’s most beautiful landscapes. In the summer it’s a paradise for hikers and mountain bikers. Meanwhile, in the winter it’s a great region for skiing and snowboarding.

The Algarve, Portugal

This stunning region of Portuguese is famed for its amazing cliffs and beaches, pretty seaside towns and great seafood. It’s also home to some of the best surf beaches in the country.

I hope this guide helps inspire you to book your first motorhome or campervan holiday! To claim your £30 Yescapa discount, just use the code WANDERLUSTCHLOE30.

It’s a unique and special type of holiday, and one you’ll never forget.

If you’re looking for more inspiring destinations to visit in Europe, check out my guide to the best hidden gems in Europe .

This post was sponsored by Yescapa but all opinions are my own.

Chloe Gunning

With a passion for food, fun and adventure, Chloe is the content creator behind one of the UK's top travel blogs Wanderlust Chloe. From volcano boarding in Nicaragua, to sailing around Sicily and eating her way around Japan, her travels have taken her to some of the coolest spots on the planet. Named Travel Influencer of the Year in 2022, Chloe regularly works with a number of tourism boards, producing inspirational travel content across multiple platforms. Find out more about Chloe here.

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16 Best Campervan Journeys In Europe

Renting a campervan and hitting the road is one of the best ways to explore Europe on a budget. These routes leave lasting memories.

Read update

Best Routes For A European Campervan Journey

• Campervan journeys in Europe offer a low-cost way to explore scenic destinations and beautiful landscapes, away from the city streets.
• Routes like Slovenia & Croatia, Transfăgărășan Highway in Romania, and the Wild Atlantic Way in Ireland are worth adding to your European itinerary.
• From the French Riviera to the North Coast 500 in Scotland, there are plenty of options for campervan road trips that provide flexibility, affordability, and unforgettable experiences.

While the “Vanlife” craze is taking off in North America, campervan journeys around Europe have been a popular way to see the continent at a low cost for years. Spend 1-2 weeks or a couple of months roaming Europe in a cozy campervan while taking in the beautiful landscapes travelers often miss when sticking to the city streets.

UPDATE: 2023/08/22 12:29 EST BY NICHOLAS MAYAMBA

Europe is home to numerous scenic destinations worth checking out, and campervan journeys present an exciting option to explore them without breaking the bank. In this updated list, find out more road trips worth adding to an adventurer's to-do list during a European itinerary.

Related: Road Trip Enthusiasts: Here Are The 10 Countries With The Best Road Trips In The World

16 Slovenia & Croatia

Slovenia is overlooked by many travelers in Europe in favor of nearby Croatia or Austria. However, Slovenia and Croatia together are the perfect route for a European road trip with beautiful historic cities and beaches on the Adriatic Sea. For a 10-14 campervan journey, pick up a vehicle in Dubrovnik and spend three days on the coast , appreciating the scenery and exploring filming locations for Game of Thrones . Then, drive north to Split and Zadar before continuing to the scenic Plitvice Lakes National Park.

Cross the border into Slovenia and explore the Julian Alps and scenic Lake Bled. Rent a canoe in the early morning and paddle out to the center of the lake for the best views. Finally, explore the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana.

15 Transfăgărășan Highway, Romania

Romania doesn’t get much attention from international travelers, but it should. This vast Eastern European country has a beautiful capital city but also expansive, lush green landscapes and highways that are easy to travel to. Rent a campervan for pickup at the Bucharest airport before embarking on the epic Transfăgărășan highway drive. This road takes travelers through the Carpathian Mountains. The road is nearly 100 km long and is one of the most iconic in Europe, twisting and turning through the rolling terrain of Romania. Plan to make stops at Balea Lake, Capra Tunnel, Vidraru Dam, and Poenari Citadel along the way.

14 Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland

The Wild Atlantic Way is Ireland’s most famous driving route and can easily be driven in 5 days to 1 week, starting from Dublin. However, for travelers who want to take their time and spend more than one night at a destination along the way, turning this into a 2-week adventure is a more relaxing choice. The route is 2500 km from County Donegal to County Cork and takes travelers along the best sights of Ireland’s West Coast, including the Cliffs of Moher, Kylemore Abbey, and Slea Head.

Related: 10 Places You Should See In Ireland During A 7-Day Trip

13 The Fairy Tale Road, Germany

Germany is one of the largest countries by area in Western Europe, so exploring it in a campervan is a great way to see the natural beauty usually missed when sticking to cities like Berlin or Munich. Rent a campervan and drive the Fairy Tale Road in Germany, which starts in Frankfurt. The quiet road runs through the countryside and charming German towns like Steinau, Marburg, Kassel, Gottingen, Hamelin, and Bremen. From Bremen, travelers can easily continue onto Hamburg and venture north to Denmark.

12 The Ring Road, Iceland

Iceland’s Ring Road is the best drive in the country, taking travelers around the island’s perimeter in just 7-10 days. While it’s possible to do this trip in a rental car and book Airbnbs or hotels, choosing to do the journey in a campervan offers the flexibility to stop at any campsite and stay immersed in the otherworldly landscapes of the Land of Fire and Ice. Top sights to see along the way include Skogafoss, Jökulsárlón Lagoon , and Diamond Beach.

Related: The 10 Most Beautiful Stops Along Iceland's Ring Road

11 The French Riviera, France

Get away from the busyness of Paris and embark on a romantic campervan journey through the South of France on the French Riviera. In just one week, travelers can easily stop at beautiful cities like Nice, Eze, Cannes, Cote d'Azur, Monaco, and Antibes while spending the night in their campervans to save money on accommodation. This is a fantastic way to see the South of France on a budget and with the freedom to wake up in a new spot every morning.

10 The North Coast 500, Scotland

The North Coast 500 is named for the 516-mile route around the Northern coast of Scotland. It’s possible to drive this route in just five days but lengthening the trip permits travelers to make more stops and appreciate the scenery in various parts of the country. Some top spots to pause along the way are Falls of Shin, Coldbackie Sands, Smoo Cave, and Handa Island. The route is so popular it has attracted more than 29,000 visitors since its inception, but there’s still plenty of room for everyone on the road.

9 Algarve Coast, Portugal

Travelers looking for a budget-friendly campervan trip in Western Europe can skip Italy’s coast and head to the South of Portugal instead. Most international travelers will arrive in Lisbon, where it’s easy to pick up a rental van from the airport. Then, drive south on the E1 to Lagos, which takes between 2.5 and 3 hours . From Lagos, travelers can choose to spend time camping and swimming along the Algarve Coast for a few days before continuing the drive to Faro. If time permits, cross into Spain and spend a few days in Seville before returning to the campervan and heading home.

8 La Route Des Grande Alpes, Switzerland

This route takes travelers through the French Alps between the French Riviera and Lake Geneva. Visitors will drive their campervan through the Alps from North to South or South to North, depending on which side they start the route from. The road has 16 passes, some of the highest in the Alps and spans 684 km from Thonon-Les-Bains to Menton. The journey takes at least 2-3 days by car, but travelers can spend much longer exploring the historical monuments and Alpine villages along the way.

7 Whitehaven To Silloth, The Lake District, United Kingdom

There are plenty of scenic road trip routes through The Lake District in the UK, but travelers who want to drive their campervan along the coast will love the journey from Whitehaven to Silloth. The drive is 26.7 miles long and follows the A595 and A596 along the Solway Coast from Whitehaven. Travelers will pass through the quaint town of Maryport and can stop off at the picturesque Allonby's Beach before arriving in Silloth.

6 Finland Up To Nordkapp

One of Europe's most scenic caravan journeys is arguably traveling up through Finland to Norway. This route takes one through the boreal forests of Northern Europe and even through Santa's North Pole Village in Lapland . Along the way, visitors see sprawling forests where the roadsides are populated by reindeer as one penetrates north into Lapland. Mountains don't appear until one approaches the northern border with Norway, and from there, one can keep on going to Nordkapp - the northernmost point of Europe .

5 Travel Down The Coast Of Norway

Norway is arguably the most stunning road trip possible in Europe. Travel down Norway's pristine and stunning coastline and explore many of the world's most picturesque and dramatic fjords. Keep in mind that Norway is expensive, but it is also legal to camp almost wherever one likes (if one would like to save on camping fees). Be sure to detour to see Troll's Tongue while traveling in Norway .

4 Andorra & The Pyrenees

The Pyrenees are one of the great mountain ranges of Europe, and they form the border between Spain and France. One of the fun things to discover while exploring the Pyrenees is the tiny alpine country of Andorra (it is basically a country that is a collection of ski resorts). The Pyrenees are not as dramatic as the Alps of Switzerland, France, Italy, and Austria, but they are stunning and should be on anyone's bucket list.

Turkey is sometimes counted in Europe, and it is a top destination to go for a campervan journey. The country is just bursting with attractions to see and explore (think about endless Roman ruins, ancient Greek ruins, Pamukkale, crusader castles, some of the Mediterranean's best beaches, and some of the oldest manmade settlements known. Turkey has a great highway network and is a very rewarding place to explore.

2 Switzerland & Northern Italy

Starting in the mountains and ending at sea, this lovely European campervan journey takes travelers through exciting destinations. From Switzerland's biggest city, Zurich, drive through the country to the towns of Lucerne and later Bern before crossing to the Italian city of Turin. Admire the impressive architecture in the city and sample its eclectic cuisine, then continue with the journey to the fashion capital of Milan . Find something cute to buy and drive off to Bologna's historic town before wrapping up the trip in Venice, where so many attractions await .

Related: 10 London To Rome Road Trip Stops That Reveal Ancient History And Breathtaking Scenery

1 Italy Roundtrip

Italy's is among Europe's top destinations, and going around the country explores campers to beautiful cities with a rich history, unique culture, and exotic destinations. Starting in Milan, this exciting road trip will last 2 to 3 weeks, depending on how much there is to see and do along the way. Drive the van to Genoa, check out the beautiful harbors, then head to Pisa through Cinque Terre. Continue towards Florence to admire its majestic art pieces, continuing to Siena and Rome. Afterward, he's to Naples and cap off the Italian itinerary on the Almafi Coast.

What are you looking for?

10 best campervan & motorhome/rv rentals in europe [2024].

Fun fact: we've spent over 6 months exploring Europe by campervan, and it's truly the BEST way to a large number of countries, in a very coinvent way.

Plus, Europe is set up for campervans and RVs in a very positive way! 

There really is no better way to explore Europe than by driving a campervan.

Rolling countryside, historical cities, and other natural attractions all await you, meaning you're in for an incredible adventure.

It’s super easy to travel between countries too, with most of them connected by land or just a short ferry ride away.

If you're not planning to convert your own campervan then you don't need to worry! 

Luckily, there are lots of large companies offering van rentals for camping, with depots in most or all of Europe.

Below we’ve highlighted the best campervan and motorhome hire options on the continent.

There are also many local independent companies that operate in a specific country. To secure these deals, we recommend using GoSee and narrowing down your search to your chosen city.

Let’s get started!

Travellerspoint

How to book a campervan rental in Europe

One of the simplest ways to hire a campervan in Europe is through GoSee Travel rentals .

With more than 300 thousand motorhome road trips and 3 million car rentals booked, they’re one of the largest motorhome rental agencies in the world.

Europe is a vast continent and campervans often sell out quickly.

GoSee can make it convenient to search the best campers for your dates and location all around Europe, and then you can book it all in the one platform.

Here's why I love recommending GoSee for finding campervan rentals in Europe:

• Price Beat Guarantee - If you manage to secure the same vehicle from the same supplier for the same dates at a lower price, GoSee will match the price.
• 24/7 award-winning customer support - The team is made up of experts on motorhomes who are ready to assist you anytime of the day.
• Excellent vehicles - GoSee offers thousands of vehicles to hire all over Europe and even beyond

For more info, read our in-depth review of GoSee Travel (Motorhome Republic) .

1. McRent - Best overall campervan & motorhome rental in Europe

• Pick up/drop off location/s - Almost all of Europe
• Price range - $-$$$
• Best suited for - Any traveler
• Availability - Check here

McRent is the largest motorhome rental in Europe and our top pick!

It’s a useful platform that combines many reputable rental companies across Europe, making it simple for customers to browse.

They offer long distance driver discounts, have exceptional customer service, insured vehicles, expert maintenance, and much more.

McRent also focuses on sustainability, which includes testing and certifying advertising materials, promoting local clubs, and being environmentally aware.

Additionally, the company cleans every vehicle professionally after each rental. Their high cleaning standards and hygiene ensure that all their vehicles are well-maintained and nice to live in!

If you're looking for to hire a motorhome in Europe then make sure you check this company out.

Vehicles on offer:

One of the best things about McRent is that they have such a huge variety of campers available.

From smaller vans, campervans with a pop-up roof, to fully-integrated vehicles and overcabs, it’s easy to find the right one for you.

There are options for smaller vehicles suitable for a city trip as well as larger motorhomes that include amenities to make a long trip feel more comfortable.

McRent’s motorhomes are all manufactured in Europe and adhere to Erwin Hymer Group brands standards, specifically Dethleffs and Sunlight.

All of their vehicles are also under 2 years old!

2. Outdoorsy - Most comprehensive rental marketplace in Europe

• Price range - $-$$
• Best suited for - Everyone

One of the most comprehensive platforms for renting RVs and motorhomes is Outdoorsy .

It’s a safe marketplace offering full insurance and an excellent selection.

Across Europe and worldwide, the company has more than 5,000 reviews with a 4.87 average rating and 240 thousand trips taken in total.

One unique thing about Outdoorsy is that they offer vehicle delivery. This includes dropping of the vehicle at your house, airport, or other locations, as well as setting it up directly at a campsite or RV park.

Whether you're looking for motorhome rentals in France or Germany , Outdoorsy is a fantastic choice! 

They offer a huge variety of vehicles so are often the top pick when it comes to Europe camper hire.

For more information about this platform, check out our in-depth Outdoorsy review !

Outdoorsy’s selection includes everything from Class A, B, and C RVs to vintage Airstreams and garden variety trailers.

From affordable campers to newer, luxury models, there are options for all budgets.

For example, the Korus 720 can sleep up to 5 passengers and has a 100-liter fresh water tank.

You can also see the customer reviews for each vehicle, allowing you to filter the ratings and choose only the best possible one.

Just make sure you check the amenities included for each campervan as they will all be different. Some might feature air conditioning and a generator, while others won't! 

3. Apollo - Best motorhome rental company in Germany and the UK

• Pick up/drop off location/s - Paris, Dublin, Hamburg, and several cities in the UK
• Price range - $$
• Best suited for - Families and couples

Apollo has been around since 1985 and is one of the best campervan hire companies in both the UK and Germany.

Their fleet of high-quality campervans and motorhomes are designed to cater for travelers across Europe and beyond.

This brand delivers great service that begins from booking all through to 24-hour roadside assistance and liability reduction.

Their rates are pretty competitive too with special discounts throughout the year.

Moreover, Apollo also strives to minimize their environmental impact by upholding sustainable practices.

All of Apollo’s motorhomes are built by Weinsberg, a leading manufacturer in Germany.

Vehicles range from 2 to 6 berths, making them ideal for couples and families or friend groups.

There’s the flagship Apollo brand, value option Cheapa Campa, and youthful Hippie Camper.

Most of the campers come with heating, shower, and kitchen facilities.

The Voyager , for example, is a 6-berth home away from home that offers fantastic value for road trips on a budget.

It has built-in GPS and reversing camera, a media player, and all the comforts of a mobile home.

4. Spaceships Rentals - Best for campervan hire in Europe and the UK

• Pick up/drop off location/s - London & Edinburgh
• Best suited for - Everyone from couples to groups

Although Spaceships Rentals only has offices in London and Edinburgh, it’s perfect if you want to start off your road trip in the UK and travel elsewhere in Europe.

The 24/7 contactless pick-up process makes it easy to plan your trip for anytime of the day.

All Spaceship vehicles come with unlimited mileage, and you can also have up to 4 drivers per booking without any additional fees.

Not to mention the standardized safety guidelines that cover everything from vehicle cleaning and booking to handover, collection and drop-off.

This company has a lot to offer, making them one of the best rental companies in the United Kingdom .

At Spaceships Rentals, you have camper and RV options from 1 to 7 berths.

Their custom-designed vehicles include features suitable for weekend breaks to long road trips.

There’s also the award-winning high-spec Adria SunLiving S70 SC , perfect for a luxury home on wheels.

It features a separate double bedroom with toilet and shower, full kitchen, and even underfloor heating.

And for those of you traveling with a furry friend, you can add a dog-friendly fee for just £10 per day.

5. Touring Cars - High-quality motorhome services provider in Europe

• Pick up/drop off location/s - Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Norway, Spain, Sweden, UK
• Best suited for -  Couples and groups

With 10 stations in 8 countries, Touring Cars is one of the oldest motorhome service providers in Europe.

Since 1982, they’ve adhered to extremely high standards of Finnish quality and reliability.

With Touring Cars, you only have to pay one down payment and the rest later (45 days before pick-up). Booking online has never been easier!

The best thing about renting from Touring Cars is that their fees include taxes and other official charges.

They offer convenient airport transfers and 24/7 road service too, as well as unlimited mileage.

There are also various long-term rental discounts with up to 15% off if you hire a vehicle for 45+ days.

Their fleet consists of leading German vehicles that are well-maintained and sanitized.

The have six motorhome categories when it comes to rentals, including options for 2-5 people.

There are both vans and motorhomes available, so there's something for everyone!

Finally, you’re welcome to travel with your pets if you pay the additional pet cleaning fee.

6. Yescapa - Best peer-to-peer RV rental in Europe

• Pick up/drop off location/s - Almost anywhere in Europe
• Best suited for - All travelers

Yescapa is an excellent alternative to Outdoorsy in that it’s also a peer-to-peer RV marketplace.

It basically connects travelers with local RV owners all over Europe, meaning the options are pretty much endless.

They’ve got an awesome blog filled with guests' campervan photos that might serve as extra travel inspiration.

In addition to 24/7 assistance, you get to enjoy cancellation insurance and the option to reduce excess insurance.

There are lots of discounts for things like longer rentals and early bird bookings too, so make sure to look out for those!

Yescapa has more than 15,000 RVs to choose from, including RVs, campers, and conversion vans.

The pricing starts at €50 for a 3-berth and 5-seater camper, like Jean-Baptiste's Campervan in Switzerland. 

But of course, you can find the perfect vehicle at pretty much any budget. That’s the beauty of a marketplace like Yescapa!

Plus, it’s easy to check out the reviews and ratings from previous renters.

7. Bunk Campers - Leading campervan rental in the UK and Ireland

• Pick up/drop off location/s - London, Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh
• Best suited for - Couples and small groups 

If you’re starting your road trip in the UK, or specifically Heathrow airport in London, then Bunk Campers is the perfect campervan hire.

It’s located only 6 minutes from Terminal 5, so it’s very easy to just hop into the camper after arriving by plane.

You’ll get insurance, unlimited mileage, and 24/7 road assistance with each rental.

One of the best things about Bunk Campers is their booking flexibility, which means you can easily change the dates, duration, and even pick-up point of your trip.

With pick-up locations in Edinburgh , Belfast and Dublin too, Bunk Campers is one of the best options for campervan rentals in Scotland and Ireland !

Bunk Campers offers a selection of budget campers and luxury motorhomes from leading European manufacturers.

They’re also fitted with the latest EURO 6 ENGINES.

The Nomad Camper is a compact and functional VW campervan that features a classic and stylish design.

It comes with a pop-top roof, kitchenette, and heating, as well as BlueMotion technology for efficient fueling that allows you to road trip on a budget.

8. JustGo - Best rental in Europe for large motorhomes

• Pick up/drop off location/s - London & Scotland
• Best suited for - Families and groups

Although Just Go has depots only in Greater London and Scotland, you’re allowed to drive the vehicle outside of the country to explore other places in Europe.

They have one of the largest dedicated fleets of motorhomes in the UK , offering competitive prices and excellent road support.

Just Go also has a special 23 nights, 5 countries itinerary, which might be useful when planning your trip.

One thing to note is that they charge £5 per night for each hire as a way to support the British government’s low emission tax. A plus for the environment, but something to keep in mind!

This company has a lot to offer making them one of the best options for motorhome rentals in London !

As a dedicated motorhome hire company, they offer seven types of motorhome, as well as some mystery options.

One of their largest ones is the Adventurer, a 6-berth motorhome popular with families and friends for both camping and festival-going.

It’s got tons of storage, a hot shower and toilet, as well as cooking facilities such as an oven and fridge.

9. Auto Europe - Best affordable motorhome rental in Europe

• Pick up/drop off location/s - Paris, Malaga, London, Dublin, Barcelona, Lisbon, Berlin, Prague, and more

You’ll find some of Europe’s best budget-friendly campers with Auto Europe .

They’re an old name in the car hire industry with history dating back to 1954.

Auto Europe has fantastic deals that are region-specific and will give you the best value for your money!

From one-way journeys to unlimited mileage and no vehicle preparation fees, it’s a great option to help you cut down costs.

And not to mention their award-winning customer service!

Auto Europe’s fleet ranges from compact campers for 2 people to large motorhomes that can sleep up to 7.

The C30 is a great option for large families and groups who want to hit the countryside road together.

With plenty of storage and slideouts, the Class C motorhome is a great example of the RVs they offer!

10. Anywhere Campers - Most convenient campervan hire in Europe without a specific pick up/ drop off location

• Pick up/drop off location/s - Anywhere in Europe
• Best suited for - Cross-country travelers

True to its name, Anywhere Campers lets you pick up and drop off its rental campervan nearly anywhere in Europe.

It’s a great choice for anyone who wants to start and end their road trip in different countries.

The delivery service means that someone from the company will deliver your vehicle wherever you are. And the return is just as easy!

They offer roadside assistance, all-inclusive rates, and unlimited mileage.

Campers' vehicles are typically a year old, so there’s no need to doubt the quality.

You can choose between manual or auto transmission, and most of the options are bigger to accommodate longer road trips and larger groups.

Most of the campers also include accessories to make your trip more comfortable.

From BBQ grills and camping equipment to a shower, mountain bikes, and even a basic toolbox. Not to mention the detachable awning!

FAQs about Campervan & Motorhome Hire in Europe

Can you park a motorhome anywhere in europe.

It’s generally easy to find overnight parking on this continent as people are pretty tolerant of motorhomes and campers. But specific countries will have their own laws and regulations, so be sure to do some research beforehand when renting a motorhome in Europe.

Can you sleep in a van in Europe?

Yes, it’s legal to sleep in your car or van in Europe as long as you park in an area that allows overnight parking.  

Are campsites free in Europe?

Some European countries like France, Lithuania, Turkey, and Finland allow wild camping , which means you can park almost anywhere without paying anything. However, other countries have laws that forbid that.

This means that you should only park in designated spots and campsites where you often have to pay some kind of parking fee.

How old do you have to be to rent a campervan in Europe?

Most campervan rental companies in Europe will accept drivers who are at least 25 years old. But if you’re between 21 and 24 years old, you can also opt for a young driver surcharge to rent and drive the camper.

Which campervan rental will you choose?

Europe is honestly one of the best places to go on a campervan adventure.

After picking and booking your vehicle, it’s time to plan your trip ! 

Although this continent is generally known for its high prices, you'll find plenty of affordable countries in Europe to visit too.

If you’re traveling on a budget, then be sure to check out the Baltic countries , as well as Albania , North Macedonia , Romania , and Montenegro . Of course, there are plenty of ways to keep your costs low wherever you travel, and having a campervan is just one of them.

Wherever you decide to visit, you're in for the experience of a lifetime! 

All we can say, is don’t forget to explore the quintessential spots in Europe, experiencing the rich cultures, histories, cuisines, and architecture of the continent.

Feel free to drop a comment below with any questions!

If you've enjoyed this rental guide then here are some others that you may find helpful:

• The Best Campervan & Motorhome Rentals in Portugal
• The Best Campervan & Motorhome Rentals in Norway
• The Best Campervan & Motorhome Rentals in Italy

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Let us know what you think.

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Vanlife Europe- Essential tips to travel Europe by campervan

Planning to travel Europe in a Campervan? Feeling a bit overwhelmed and daunted by vanlife in Europe? Want to make sure you don’t forget anything for your trip?

*We work hard to make this the best motorhome travel blog and road trip website possible, full of helpful content for you. The website is supported by our readers, so if you buy through links on this site we may earn a commission- at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain our own .

If you find this post useful, you can also treat us to a coffee – we promise to enjoy it while creating more useful content like this- we might even indulge in a biscuit (or two!)

Don’t worry- we know exactly how you feel. Before we set off for Europe for the first time, we felt slightly terrified (in an over-excited kinda way) . And it all worked out fine. (Except for forgetting to bring any gas . And losing all our fresh water. And burning out our brakes coming down a mountain . You know, little things like that…!)

But we’re still travelling Europe by van two years later- so it can’t be that hard!! 🙂

I promise you, a little bit of preparation will make all the difference. That’s what this guide will help you with- preparing for Vanlife in Europe!

JUMP AHEAD TO...

How to travel Europe in a campervan

So, you’ve bought your camper van. You’ve packed, adjusted and repacked your campervan. You’ve made list after list after list. You might have even spent a few nights away in your van. You feel ready to set out and take on the world. (Or, you know, Europe.)

If you’d like some more guidance on road trips and van travel, we have some fantastic guides and checklists to help you get started in our FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY- click here to check them out!

And don’t worry if you’re renting a camper and haven’t even seen it yet- you’ll be just fine if you follow the advice below. It’s perfectly possible to pick up a van and take it straight on an epic road trip adventure . 

Vanlife Europe – the boring, but oh so essential paperwork

Sorry, but this paperwork stuff really is essential. I promise it gets more exciting later on!

We’ve been stopped twice, both times near the ferry at Caen, France. I love travelling in France in our van , but the French police near the UK border do seem to love to pounce on campervanners who may have forgotten some essential paperwork.  Or who break the speed limit. Don’t let that be you!

Fines must be paid in cash there and then; no- they don’t provide any evidence if you’ve been caught speeding. It’s their word against yours. If you don’t have cash, you’ll be escorted to the nearest cash point and asked to withdraw the correct amount.

Also, don’t expect them to have change. Our fine was for 90€, and we only had 20€ notes… luckily another person who was stopped happened to have 2 x €10 notes, otherwise we’d have been going to the cashpoint 15 miles away in the back of a police car!

To the police’s credit, we offered to give them the extra 10€ just so we could be on our way, but they wouldn’t take it.

On-the-spot fines are common in all countries, except Ireland where the Police are not authorised to collect fines. Some places, like Croatia , give you 8 days to pay. Other places, like if you go campervanning in Portugal , give their police officers an ATM to make sure fines are paid immediately!!

Click here for a complete (printable) list of all paperwork you need to carry in your camper

The most important bits of paperwork are:

• V5 Logbook (yep, the original)
• If it’s a hire vehicle, proof that you are allowed to drive and cross borders
• Driver licence (pink part only)
• International Driver Permit (if required- read the post if you’re not sure)

Other items you need to carry for Vanlife Europe

• UK sticker attached to the back of vehicle or reg plates (and trailer if you have one)
• First aid kit – did you know it is illegal to NOT stop at an accident in France and many other places in Europe?
• Warning Triangle
• Hi-vis jacket which must be easily reached without leaving the vehicle (or getting off a motorbike!) We recommend carrying at least 2, ideally one per person.
• Motorhome speed stickers for some vans
• Spare light bulbs- tricky if you have LEDS but we carry a couple of random old bulbs just for show
• Headlight deflectors as our UK headlamps are pointing the ‘wrong way’ for European roads-
• Radar detectors are forbidden EVERYWHERE in Europe.
• You might also need a red/ white striped reflective board if you have bicycles or a motorhome storage box.

FOR ALL FULL LIST OF ESSENTIAL KIT, CLICK HERE

Campervan route planner- Planning a route around Europe

Europe is awesome to explore by camper, but it can also be daunting. We suggest planning a loose route, so you know where you’re headed but leave time to explore places you find along the way.

We like to keep a note of places we find or hear about on Google maps and use those points to plan our next adventure . But you can keep a simple list on your phone which you refer back to whenever you need inspiration!

Want some awesome Europe Itinerary ideas for your Campervan Travel?

>> click here <<, touring europe in a campervan – finding places to stay.

Most people travelling Europe in a camper are doing so on a budget. Therefore, you need to find cheap, or preferably FREE places to stay. That’s called wild or free camping.

You’ll be pleased to know that Europe is MUCH better at providing places for vans to stop for the night, at least compared to the UK (although Brit Stops is helping.)

Here are our favourite ways to find places to stay for the night:

This free app is what we mainly use when touring in Europe in our van. There are LOADS of places marked suitable for campers, vans or motorhomes to park for the night. Some are paid (and marked as such), some have facilities and others are totally wild camping spots in the middle of nowhere.

Most places have reviews and photos so you can see where you’re staying- we avoid anywhere that doesn’t.

Word of warning- some sites/ aires have rules against unmarked/ unconverted vans. If this is you, read the reviews carefully so that you’re not asked to move on when you arrive. Or use the places marked ‘Nature’ on the app- there shouldn’t be anyone there who cares.

>> Learn more about French Aires for campervans <<

France passion.

France Passion is a collection of local businesses across France, which offer free overnight parking for vans, in return for a meal/ purchase some wine at their shop. It’s supposed to be completely without obligation, but we’ve heard stories of a hard sell. It works great if you’re planning to eat out anyway, but if you’re trying to save money, Park4night might be a better option for you.

If you want more information on how we pick our places, here’s a video we did explaining our process:

How to find cheap or free campsites in Europe - Plan a Motorhome Road Trip Pt 2 - Wild camping

Is wild camping legal for campervans in europe.

Sometimes. There are different rules in different countries. For example, wild camping is illegal in Italy. Yet you’ll still find places on Park4night where it’s tolerated. Also, the approved places (Sostas in Italy) cost from as little as 2€/night.

Wild camping is also illegal in Switzerland- until you reach the Alps and people are merrily parking for free in any layby they can find. My favourite night ever traveling in the van was spent in the Swiss Alps, looking up at the Milky Way, with nothing but the wolves for company. And it cost us absolutely NOTHING!! You can also enjoy wild camping with a campervan in France.

My advice is to check out the legalities in the country you are heading for. If you’re not sure and not happy, move on to an approved stop point. You can find more advice on wild camping in Europe here.

Aires- Approved Places for Campervans, perfect for vanlife in Europe

Europe is NOT like the UK and Motorhomers/ campervanners are not treated like a nuisance- most towns make excellent provision for them and you can stay in clean, pretty locations within easy walking distance of town centres or attractions.

These places are called Aires (France and Belgium) / Sostas (Italy)/ Stellplatz (Germany) For the sake of ease, let’s call them all aires for now.

You cannot pre-book Aires- they operate on a first come basis. A campervan will fit well into all of them unless you have a trailer- some of the spaces can be pretty tight. Some aires have rules against unconverted vans/ vans with signage staying- be sure to read the reviews carefully (you can find reviews on Park4night.

Campervan Travel tips- some essential kit to help make life easier.

Is Wifi an essential? For me it is.

I have a wifi dongle in the van and it’s BRILLIANT. I regularly have multiple devices connected to it at once without problem. Yes, occasionally it’s a slow connection, but for convenience and power-saving I haven’t found anything to beat it. I charge it using a 12v charger while driving and it easily lasts a couple of days when wild camping.

We use an old, second-hand iPad with Co-Pilot navigation app installed onto it. It’s been great and we love the offline map feature.

If you don’t want an app, these campervan sat navs are awesome and very useful- particularly if you have a bigger, taller van.

Also, be careful where you mount your sat nav. Many countries now say it’s illegal to have the satnav mounted on the windscreen or blocking the driver’s view. We use a mount on our dashboard, where it’s low enough to not cause any problems. Here are some options you may like:

Check out the other ESSENTIAL road trip apps we use

Travel europe in a campervan- power requirements.

One of the joys of touring Europe in a campervan is the freedom. We love being able to park in remote locations for days on end. Having to find a campsite every night so we had electricity would really ruin that! (Not to mention blow our vanlife budget!)

The solution is an inverter (and possibly a power pack depending on how power hungry you are.

We charge whilst we’re driving by running the inverter as we drive, which charges the laptops. We charge phones/ iPads using USB sockets in the cab.

Solar Panel

We do have a solar panel onboard, which really helps when we’re wild/ free camping with a camper. It helps top up our batteries and allows us to stay off-grid in the van longer.

We use Gaslow refillable bottles , which are so useful and make getting gas as we travel so much easier. There are plenty of places across Europe to buy refillable gas and you use it just like a petrol station; some petrol stations even sell LPG gas.

If that isn’t an option for your campervan, make sure you get a kit with various nozzles, so you can easily switch between the different types of bottles available.

For a full rundown on the different options for gas available, read this

Europe in a campervan- tips on safety, emergencies.

112 can be dialled anywhere in Europe in an emergency, accident or distress situation.

Thieves & Security

Vanlife security is mainly about common sense (and always leaving an area if you are uncertain.) We’ve stayed put twice, even when we had doubts and both times we’ve ended up regretting our decision.

We don’t travel in our van with any jewellery, very little money and very few items of value. We try to minimise the risk as much as possible, but at the same time you have to get out and enjoy the places you visit; otherwise, what’s the point. Install a really good lock on your camper, both for outside and for inside. We also like to use a steering lock as a visible deterrent.

Essential Tips for Traveling in a van in Europe

Where to get water and waste while travelling europe by campervan.

If you’re not planning to use campsites (and you don’t need to!) there are several options for getting fresh water and getting rid of waste. PLEASE don’t just dump your black waste if you have a toilet onboard- there are plenty of places to dispose of it hygienically.

Many service stations (also called aires, confusingly!), provide a motorhome service point. Often this costs 1-2€ to get everything you need. We find these using the Park4Night app- there are loads throughout Europe. Some aires also have disposal points- again, you normally need to pay for them.

Sidelights whilst driving your camper

Sidelights must be switched on in the following countries at ALL times:

• Switzerland

Low Emission Zones in Europe

Be careful of low-emission zones and areas which require a congestion charge or similar, like Paris and London. These places are often clearly signed but it can be easy to be caught out. We try to Google each city before we visit, or park well outside and catch a train in.

Vignettes in Europe

Also,  you need a Vignette for Motorways/ toll roads in Switzerland and Austria.

Driving on the wrong side of the road!

Driving on the right-hand side is not as scary as it seems! Promise.

Don’t forget some (VERY few) roundabouts in France still give priority to people coming ON to the roundabout- so if you’re already going around you have to stop and let them on! (Don’t ask- it’s a French thing!!)

In all our years of driving in France with a car and a camper, we have NEVER found one of these roundabouts, but we have been caught out on occasion by a member of the… older… generation driving onto a roundabout without right of way, forgetting he has to stop! (I hate to say it- but it does seem to be the men who do this!!)

Just be careful and pay attention if you’re not sure- always expect the unexpected!!

Traveling in a van in Europe- essential tips for camper van life

Try and buy your Euros in advance as you’ll get a better rate. You can use cash machines in Europe but there are often high charges for that.

Also, don’t forget that not every country in Europe uses Euros . Here are some popular ones which don’t!

• Bulgaria – Lev
• Czech Republic – Kurona
• Denmark – Krone
• Hungary – Forint
• Norway- Krone
• Poland – Zloty
• Romania – Leu
• Switzerland – Swiss Franc

There are others in East European as well- make sure you check in advance.

This pass is awesome for being able to skip the queues if you are traveling Europe during Summer. We love not needing to find change as we travel- it just sends us a bill at the end of the month. We use Emovis-tag.

Make sure you’re have enough medication for you and any pets. Be prepared to explain your medication and prove what it is with a doctor’s note or something similar- just in case customs search the van and ask you.

Actually, on that note, EXPECT to be searched at customs/ borders. They do search campers and vans a lot!

Tyres & Snow chains

If you’re travelling Europe by campervan during the winter, you might need snow chains and all-weather tyres. You can get these fitted in Europe without problem.

How to travel Europe in a camper van- Final thoughts

I know the idea of travelling in a foreign country in a van can be daunting- especially if they don’t speak the same language! However, none of this is difficult; you just need to be organised, which can take some time. Here are some final tips and inspiration for your campervan travels:

• Learn a little of the local language. English is widely spoken around much of Europe, but they love it if you make an effort. After all, you are in their country and a little respect to them means a much friendlier welcome!
• Accept you are a tourist- you will make mistakes and probably look like an idiot. Don’t let it put your off your camper van adventure!
• Try to ‘slow travel’- travelling by van is about the journey as much as the destination . This can be hard when you’re on a schedule, but try not to cram so much in you can’t have a day by the beach or at a vineyard if you fancy it.
• Having said that, do a little research as you travel so you don’t miss some amazing places. We like to pick an area and then Google it to see what great adventures are waiting for us! Then we plot a rough itinerary on Google Maps.
• You don’t want to spend your time with a broken down camper. Make sure you do these essential vehicle checks before you go!

How else can I help you today??

– how much does travelling europe by camper cost, – what are the best road trip planner apps i need before i go, – what’s the best van for vanlife, – how do i increase clothes storage in my campervan.

I know you will LOVE being able to travel Europe by campervan. Let me know where you end up- I’d love to see your pictures. Safe travels.

Want to download this post as a FREE PDF guide? Click HERE

Kat never planned to buy a motorhome. She also never planned to quit her job as an air traffic controller, go touring around Europe in said motorhome, start one of the UK’s largest motorhome travel websites… or get a cocker spaniel.

Find out how she went from stuck in the rat race to being a digital nomad and inspiring thousands of people to have their own epic adventures here.

If you’d like to connect with Kat, send her an email or follow her adventures on social media.

Last update on 2024-05-03 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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Oh wow! Thank you so much for sharing with us such a great tips. I remember your tips at the time of my trip.

Amazing tips. We are planning on doing this in a few years. However we have 4 kids. Wondering if we would be able to put 2 of the kids/us in a small tent outside so we don’t have to get a massive motor home!

Great article- thank you See you on the road,

Very informative and some great tips ⭐️⭐️⭐️????

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17 Reasons to Consider RVing Full-time in Europe

Hey guys! Today we have a Q&A with Jade from Digital Nomad Design about what RVing in Europe is like. Jade has lived out of an RV for two years, traveling all around Europe. I hope you enjoy!

Table of Contents

Jade’s background and why she chose to RV in Europe:

Hi, my name is Jade, and my husband Oli and I are from the UK. After university, we spent a few years living and working in Asia. We loved the expat lifestyle, but we missed being close to friends and family back home. 

We decided to jump on the vanlife bandwagon and buy a campervan (RV). This way, we could satisfy our wanderlust by travelling around Europe and still be a quick flight or a slightly longer drive back to England.  We bought the campervan in January 2018 and we haven’t looked back since!

RV, Campervans, Motorhomes — what’s the difference?

While most people use the terms interchangeably, campervans are usually the smaller variety, motorhomes are larger and more purpose-built and RV is the American term! 

Should you rent or buy your campervan? 

Renting is a great place to start. Living out of a campervan really is a lifestyle choice and it certainly isn’t for everyone. Renting means you can try it out for a while to see how you like it. You can also try different kinds of campers: Big, small, off-grid — there are so many different types of RVs. If you rent and decide you love travelling by campervan, then buying your own is worth every penny.

We bought our campervan despite having never rented or travelled together in one before. My dad has had caravans and motorhomes since I was a child though, so I was already well-versed in campervan life.

What’s driving in Europe with an RV like? Is the RV ever too big for the narrow street?

I definitely think that if you are coming to Europe to rent or buy a camper, then go smaller!

That being said, that are all manner of roads and motorways in Europe so it really depends where you are going and what kind of vehicle you have. As we were going to be living full time in our camper, we specifically bought something larger to have more room. We love the space, but it is just that little bit too large for the kinds of smaller mountain roads that we drive so often. Interestingly, it is the width of our motorhome that is often the most inconvenient, rather than the length. 

What are some of your best tips for someone planning their European RV itinerary?

The one thing that everyone should keep in mind, though, is to Try and stick to a region. Don’t try to rush to every corner of Europe to ‘see it all’. Europe is so diverse, so your Europe road trip itinerary will be personal to how you like to travel and what you’d like to see. Pick an area – maybe based on weather or geography or culture – then explore that area thoroughly. You don’t want to spend your Europe road trip on the motorway!

What are some of the best things about living and traveling in an RV in Europe?

The choice of travel destinations across Europe is astounding. Despite travelling over 20,000 miles these last 2 years, we feel we’ve barely scratched the surface of what Europe has to offer.

Being able to see all of these beautiful and diverse places is made all the better by having a home to come back to at the end of the day. Not only do you save money on hotels and eating out, but there is something magical about having your home comforts with you while you are exploring. 

For us, though, the very best thing is the access to nature. We spend most of our time in the mountains and travelling in a campervan in the Alps or the Dolomites often means parking right at trailheads and with unhindered views of stunning peaks.

What are some of the worst things?

Interestingly, one of the worst things about travelling in an RV in Europe is what I already stated as one of the best: the choice! It’s amazing how often we feel overwhelmed by the abundance of choice in where to go and what to see. It’s a great problem to have, of course, but it does lead to some silly cases of FOMO.

To be honest, the worst things about travelling this way in Europe are probably the same as travelling in an RV anywhere. The most notable for us has been the expense of the upkeep. For a multitude of reasons, we have had many things go wrong with the campervan that has meant shelling out for repairs and replacements. Things go wrong with vehicles and items break in houses. Put the two together and you can imagine how frustrating it is, especially when you are on the road.

The other difficult travlling by camper in Europe is finding the right place to stay. As we are doing this full time, we cannot afford to stay in campsites every night. While ‘free camping’ is perfectly fine in many places in Europe, it is illegal or frowned upon in others. It takes up a lot of time and energy just finding a place to park overnight that is beautiful and feels safe.

Which companies can you rent RVs from?

A company that we’ve seen frequently around Europe is Indie Campers . They are based in Portugal but have depots in more than 30 locations across the UK and Europe. 

If you are headed to the UK and want a really unique campervan experience, then Quirky Campers is the way to go. These are all self-built and each camper is totally unique. When we finally build our own campervan one day, we’ll be looking at these for inspiration! 

Travelling by camper in Iceland is also really popular and I’ve heard great things about Cozy Campers .

Are there RV buyback programs? 

Not that I know of. However, it is very common to buy and sell used campervans on eBay and Gumtree. One day we’d love to travel around the Americas in an RV and we will probably buy one there and sell it on when we leave.

How much does living and traveling in an RV cost? 

Again, this will totally depend on where you go and what you are doing when you get there. We are terrible budget trackers, but I would say we spend an average of 1,000 euros per month between the two of us. 

To keep costs down, we try not to drive too much, we wild camp rather than stay in campsites, and we enjoy free activities like hiking and swimming. Our biggest expense is food and delicious local beers!

Are there road tolls in every country?

Thankfully, there aren’t tolls in every country in Europe. Even in those places known for their high road tolls, like France, there are also alternative routes without tolls. Other countries, like Austria, have a vignette system for the motorways which is essentially a sticker on your windshield. 

 If you want to go toll-free, you’ll likely drive on smaller roads through more towns. This often means a slower and longer drive, and therefore you should weigh up the costs of gas with the value of the tolls.

How much does maintaining the vehicle cost?

RV maintenance is another thing that varies wildly, van to van and person to person. Your maintenance expenses depend on where you go and when. For example, a bottle of gas, which we use for cooking and heating, will last for months in the summer but only a week in the winter when it’s cold.

To save money on maintenance, you should travel in summer, to warm destinations, and stay on easy, paved roads! 

Always have an emergency fund for when things do go wrong and break. A bit of DIY and mechanical knowledge, plus a few simple tools, is a good idea for travelling in an RV.

How do you cook?

Our campervan has a built-in kitchen with all the amenities, including an oven! We also have a BBQ and a cast-iron pot for cooking outside in the summer.

One of the things we love about having our rolling kitchen on our travels is visiting local markets and finding lots of delicious local and seasonal ingredients to cook with. We don’t eat out very often but we still feel like we get the local foodie experience this way.

What’s the best way to get internet access in an RV?

We have a UK sim-only phone plan that allows us 60 days of free-roaming across Europe. After that ran out, we got a local SIM card with a data plan. We also have a 4G router that we use to tether our laptops to, and this doesn’t have a data cap. 

What’s the best way to navigate? Are there any apps you recommend?

We use Google Maps for navigation as it is where store all our favourite spots and pins of where we’d like to go. If we are travelling long distances in places that we don’t know, we might switch to Waze as it has speed camera notifications. We also use the park4night app to find places to stay, which links with google maps for navigation. 

How do you keep your RV safe?

Our campervan came fitted with a special alarm system and extra locks for the doors. At first, we were very vigilant about leaving these on when we left the camper, but more often than not we now just use the regular locks and make sure we park somewhere that generally feels safe. We do have a safe inside the van where we store our electronics and passports, which gives us great peace of mind. 

Are there any important documents you should carry?

Passing over borders in Europe is incredibly quick and easy, and you often don’t need to stop at all. However, always have your passports, driving licenses and vehicle documents accessible if you do have to stop. 

Any other tips for traveling Europe by RV?

The best piece of advice I can give is to remember there is no right way to travel. The joy of travelling in your own rolling home is that you can do things your way, you can go where you want to go without following the tourist trail and you can follow your passions. Get out there and explore at your own pace!

Thanks so much, Jade!

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About Ashley Fleckenstein

Ashley is a travel and lifestyle blogger who lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Since college she has au paired in Paris, backpacked the world solo, and lived in Uganda. Her work has been featured by Buzzfeed, Forbes, TripAdvisor, and Glamour Magazine.

2 thoughts on “17 Reasons to Consider RVing Full-time in Europe”

Great blog! Europe really is an incredible place to travel by campervan – so much to see. Just wanted to stop by and say thanks for the mention. We do think that the handmade campers we list on Quirky Campers are pretty special :-)

Thanks for stopping by, glad you enjoyed the post :)

Comments are closed.

The Holiday Road Network

The top 20 motorhome routes.

Here you will find the 20 most beautiful and most travelled routes and their best sights. No matter whether you want to be on the road for just a weekend or several weeks.

Would you like some more inspiration? You will find many more routes in the country selection.

Brittany Road Trip by Motorhome

Discover one of the best-organised areas for travelling by campervan or motorhome in France. Let yourself be surprised by a varied landscape and numerous charming seaside villages where you can enjoy the culinary specialities of the region.

Harry Potter Filming Locations Scotland

Explore the iconic filming locations in Scotland on this motorhome tour. From various lochs and locations in the Scottish Highlands to the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct and many places in Edinburgh, you will always feel the Magic of Harry Potter.

Harry Potter Filming Locations England and London

Following the story from one of the most notable and popular series of books and films enjoyed across many generations, this tour will take you through many of the iconic filming locations within England that paved the way to creating the magical world of Harry Potter. 

Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way Route

One of the most striking coastlines to travel, Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way stretches over 2,500 kilometres from the tip of County Donegal down to County Cork. Discover breathtaking landscapes and cultural highlights by motorhome and stay at the most beautiful campsites.

German Alpine Road

The German Alpine Road runs for 484 kilometers from Lindau on Lake Constance to Schönau am Königssee. The oldest holiday route in Germany offers driving pleasure, grandiose views and connects the most famous sights of Bavaria with each other: This makes it one of the most popular travel destinations in Germany.

The Peak District Circular Route

Located at the heart of England the Peak District countryside runs across the borders of 4 counties: Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Staffordshire, and Cheshire.

Romantic Road

A triad of nature, culture and hospitality has been the hallmark of the Romantic Road since 1950. It is the best known and most popular German holiday route and runs from the river Main to the Alps.

Lake District Highlights

A beautiful National Park in the northern region of Cumbria, England. A popular holiday destiniation that draws visitors with its scenic lakes, tarns and dramatic fells. 

Camino del Cid

Exciting battles, medieval knights, epic songs and much more. On this route you will explore the same path travelled by the legendary Cid, mythical character of the Reconquest, only you will probably be comfortable in your motorhome, enjoying the music and not getting lost with the help of a navigation system. Explore the old Islamic kingdoms, the cultural and natural heritage in the ancient no man's land, conquer Valencia and defend the south from a beautiful campsite overlooking the sea.

Cotswolds & Surrounding Area

At almost 800 M 2 the breath-taking Cotswold countryside runs across the borders of 5 counties: Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire.

Route of Rhine Romanticism

The Rhine Valley, one of the most beautiful landscapes in Europe, has over 2,000 years of history and countless legendary stories.

Loire Valley Castles

Embark on an enchanting journey to the castles of the Loire Valley in your motorhome. From shining Orléans to charming Nantes, each stop is a chapter in the history of French monarchy. Discover the majestic cathedral of Orléans, explore the Renaissance in Amboise, be enchanted by the narrow streets of Tours and marvel at the splendour of the castles of Huismes, Saumur and Angers.

Marguerite Route

Whether it's the wild North Sea or the peaceful Baltic Sea, with 7,300 km of coastline and almost 500 certified, dreamy campsites, Denmark offers the best conditions for a successful holiday.

Grand Tour of Switzerland

Switzerland offers an enormous variety of experiences and a breathtaking landscape: Admire the mirroring of the unique Alpine panorama in turquoise lakes.

Moselle Slate Road

The Moselle Slate Road leads through a varied and charming landscape. Through vineyards on the lovely Moselle, across the volcanic landscape with the connected volcano park to the heights of the Eifel.

German Fairy Tale Route

„Take me with you to your bed," says the spooky frog. The fact that it is kissed is probably the greatest mistake in Grimm's fairy tale history.

German Wine Route

Gentle wine country, lush orchards, the Palatinate Forest with quiet valleys and murmuring brooks and a Mediterranean climate - that is the German Wine Route.

Green Road/Route Verte

The Green Route encompasses three regions in two countries and offers travellers thematic offers that are attractive without borders: the winegrowing in Alsace and Baden, the culinary "stars" and "étoiles" of the region on both sides of the Rhine and the scenic beauties and differences.

German Half-Timbered House Road

The German Half-Timbered House Road - one of the most important holiday and cultural routes. This was established in 1990 when the establishment of the first regional route “Von Hann. Münden to Alsfeld ”was launched.

Austrian Romantic Road

14 enchanting towns and villages have joined together to form the Austrian Romantic Road. Away from the motorway between Salzburg and Vienna, castles, palaces, museums, monasteries, mountains and lakes are waiting to be discovered.

German Volcano Route

Mighty volcanoes and magical maars - experience the fascination of geological history in the Vulkaneifel.

UNESCO World Heritage Routes Germany

Only the best among the outstanding testimonies to human and natural history are allowed to bear the title of UNESCO World Heritage. And you will find many of the best in Germany.

Baden Wine Route

There are many ways to cross "Germany's most beautiful corner of pleasure" - but hardly any more enjoyable than by car, motorhome, bicycle or on foot along the Baden Wine Route.

Routes by Countries

United Kingdom

Switzerland

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10 Top Tips for Motorhome Travel in Europe

After a decade’s travelling Europe by campervan and motorhome, we’ve picked up a few top tips which might help make your continental motorhome holiday or tour just that bit easier or more fulfilling. Here are our top 10, feel free to add any you think should have made the list into the comments section at the bottom.

Before we start, please also refer to this post about the impact Brexit may have on European motorhome tours. We’re keeping it up to date as new information emerges, and areas like travelling into the EU with a pet, and being on the road for longer than 90 days in any 180 are particularly affected.

1. Know Your Width

Our motorhome is 2.3m wide, which is about half a metre wider than your average car. Nope, it doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re on a narrow 50mph road, up against a cliff face, and you’ve tour coaches and lorries bearing down on you, that half a metre feels more like you’ve an entire caravan strapped to both sides. We’ve adopted a trick to help us stay in the perfect place on the road, using a couple of inch-long strips of tape on the inside of the windscreen at the bottom (we used to use white tape, but switched to black as it’s weirdly easier to see in the dark).

With the van positioned perfectly on the road, sit in the driver’s seat. When you look at the left hand bit of tape it should line up with the road’s centre line. Looking at the right hand tape, it should align with the line at the edge of the road. Some folks pick two ‘markers’ on the dashboard, but we’ve found using tape means you can still see these ‘markers’ when it’s night time, or you’re in a dimly lit tunnel, plus they’re easier to use in your peripheral vision, so you don’t need to look down at ’em all the time.

2. Find Awesome Places to Stay

When we first headed out to Europe in our motorhome on holiday, we did what we’d always done in the UK, and stayed on campsites. We’ve nothing against campsites, and we still use them from time to time, but there are tons of simply fantastic places to stay which are better positioned (in towns, near beaches, against fjords, in the mountains, beside lakes) and are cheaper or free to stay in.

These spots are safe, have far thinner rules books, and are easy to find using resources like the Camperstop book , All the Aires and France Passion books , or the park4night.com , campercontact.com and searchforsites.co.uk websites/smart phone apps If you click on any of the locations we’ve slept in on our Google Map , you’ll find many of them aren’t campsites. With all the facilities of a motorhome, we could, if we wanted to, never, ever use a campsite as these resources also help us find service points too.

3. Fit Refillable LPG

You might think there’s a standard gas bottle in use across Europe, or at least you can get your bottle refilled in some countries. Nah. If you take a UK Calor bottle and try and get it filled up in France, you’ll receive a stern ‘non!’ in response.

In frustration you might buy a French bottle and pigtail (the hose which connects it to your regulator) and after enjoying La France, head on over to Spain, whereupon when you try to get either the UK or French bottles refilled, and you’ll be told, erm, ‘no!’. The way around all of this? Get a refillable LPG system installed, or fit it yourself like we did , and refill the bottles at thousands of LPG stations across Europe . Cheaper gas, and far more convenient if you’re away for longer than you can last out with your UK bottles. Just note there are no LPG refill stations in Finland or Morocco, not that we had any issues with the 17Kg of gas we can carry.

4. Get a Vodafone Internet SIM

Staying on t’Internet’s become an essential for many of us. Even those off-gridders who never use campsite and never hook their van up to mains electricity often want access to the web. As Spring 2019, probably the best roaming SIM cards you can get in the UK are from Vodafone. The Vodafone 4G data SIMs can be had on 30 day contracts, so you don’t have to commit to a full year. We’ve tested one in France and Spain and almost always got very fast connections ( easily enough to stream TV ). We use our Vodafone SIM in an unlocked MiFi .

For years our go-to SIM card was the 3 Feel at Home SIM . You can get these pre-loaded with a fair few GB of data which lasts over 12 or 24 months. They’re not as cheap per GB as the Vodafone SIMs though, and they only connected to a limited number of 3G networks so are slower than the Vodafone ones. We now carry one or two of these as a back-up in case of issues with our main Vodafone SIM.

5. Park Like an Airplane

Parking a massive white box is a pain in the butt. Especially when you’ve just driven the thing for hours on unfamiliar roads. Our top tip: if you have the luxury of a travelling partner, work out some airplane-like hand signals and get them to jump out the van and guide you in. No shouting – with the engine running no-one can hear anything. No teeny weeny movements of the hands – get your entire arms in action. No ambiguous nodding of the head – a big thumbs up when you’re in place works.

No ‘come, come, stop, STOP, VAN SLAPPING’, heart-attack-inducing-frantic-antics, work out a signal which shows the driver how close she is – like holding up both arms and moving them closer together until they touch at the point the van’s in the perfect spot. No smashing the top, bottom or side of the van into something which a reserving camera can’t see – your friendly reversing eyes can spot the lot.

6. Plan for Thieves

There are baddies out there. Far, far fewer than the media or forum trolls would have you believe, but thieves are a fact of life. Even if you buy a £200,000 Unimog with tiny windows and a mile-high door, thieves can get in. Our approach: we take basic precautions against thieves, but we assume one day the van might not be where we left it.

So we use secure parking in cities, have a deadlock fitted to the door (Zagan only has one door, which helps with security too) and we have an alarm which came with the van. If the van does disappear, we carry our passports, credit cards, some cash, a laptop back-up (which has scanned passports, insurance details and other paperwork) and phone with emergency contact details with us.

7. Google Translate is Your Friend!

If you’re anything like us, you basically speak English and not much else. We have a smattering of French, German and Spanish, a couple of words of Greek, and zero Hungarian. With Internet access though, you can always hold an emergency conversation with Google Translate on your smart phone, translate signs and information boards, or point it at a tin of food in a supermarket and get it to tell you what on Earth it is! We’ve stood in a Spanish garage and worked through a problem like this – it’s slow going but it works.

8. Get an Inverter

Staying connected to mains electricity costs big style in terms of, well, actual wonga, as well as the inconvenience of not being able to stay in some of the awesome places we’ve already mentioned can be found across this incredible continent. So what if you want to use your mains-powered stuff? Get an inverter ( we have this 300W one , which is pure sine so safe with electronics). These boxes of electronic wizardry convert your 12V batteries into a mini mains power station, so you can run most of your kit, including even a hair dryer if you want ( as Europebycamper.com wrote about ). Just make sure you get the right one to suit you – read up a bit on how they work before you buy one.

9. Fit a SOG Unit

You may have spotted one of these little puppies before – a small box attached to the outside of a caravan or motorhome’s cassette toilet door like a limpet. What on Earth are they? They’re dead simple: a small fan which draws air from inside the cassette whenever the cassette blade is opened. Why? Smell, that’s why. Instead of having to find, buy, carry and use chemicals, SOG units just use air to stop your loo smelling. Do they work? Yes they do. We’ve had ours in use for about 10 months, and we’ve sometimes not emptied the loo for over a week (I know, I know), without being knocked out by the fumes. They’re very good – here’s how we fitted ours .

10. Stay Legal

Boring, I know, which is why I left it to last, as I figured no-one would read this far. Staying legal means you have to (a) keep your van legal in the country it’s registered in – so for UK dwellers it needs to stay under its weight limit and needs to be taxed, have an MOT and insurance all the time while you’re abroad and (b) it needs to be legal in the country you’re in. The latter one needs a bit of research for the countries you’re heading to. Speed limits, methods of paying for toll roads, types of tyre, need for warning triangles, spare lights, high vis jackets and so on all vary between countries and even between seasons. Some countries also have unexpected rules – giving way to buses in Switzerland, or to traffic driving uphill for example. The AA has good advice for compulsory equipment , and   driving abroad in general .

Oh, and don’t forget to drive on the right and enjoy!

Here’s comes Zagan!

As a final note: all of the above information and much, much more is in our book: The Motorhome Touring Handbook , available from Amazon as a paperback or Kindle eBook.

Cheers, Jay

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What Is the True Cost of Touring Europe in a Motorhome?

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What is the Cost of Living in a Motorhome in Europe?

Are you planning a tour of Europe in your motorhome or camper van? Find out about the cost of travelling Europe in a motorhome or campervan and whether you need a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow to finance your trip.

Lots of people contact us and ask about the costs of taking a road trip in Europe in a motorhome – it’s one of the top motorhoming questions we get asked. Costs can vary dramatically – when planning a two week motorhome or campervan trip your objectives will be different to those you might have for a three month trip or a year away.

For most of us, money is an important aspect of our lives and when we budget for our motorhome road trips we have many factors to consider. Our motorhome costs and figures come from real life traveling by motorhome – we have now spent over five years living and travelling in Europe in a number of different countries, so can give a balanced and fair breakdown.

Factors That Will Affect the Cost of Travelling Europe in a Campervan

When you are budgeting for living in a campervan in Europe, bear in mind the following;

• The exchange rate may affect you if you are travelling long term and regularly need to change pounds into euros, or other currency.
• The country you are travelling in will have a huge affect on budget. The per day costs of living in Spain for example, are less than half of that for Norway or Ireland .
• Your choice to you use campsites, aires or free overnight wild camping spots will impact your costs significantly. 
• How far you want to travel and what type of roads you use will affect your fuel costs and travel bills.
• Not all motorhomes are created equal. The vehicle age, engine size and the way you drive will affect your fuel consumption. If you are  looking at used motorhomes  for your Europe trip, check the efficiency online first.
• The value, make and model of your motorhome can have a huge impact on insurance costs, especially if you require full-time insurance cover . 
• Sadly, your age will affect the cost of any travel or medical insurance.
• Your  motorhome travel philosophy  will probably have the biggest impact of all. How often you like to eat out, whether you’re a culture vulture and want to visit every museum or prefer a free hike, the wine you like to drink… all will affect your budget. 

The Ultimate Guide to Motorhoming in Europe

If you’re planning a motorhome trip to Europe for the first time, our guide has tips, advice and information to help you plan your European tour.

Don’t struggle trying to plan your Europe trip, find out everything you need to know before you go + loads of motorhoming tips for when you arrive.

Motorhome Europe Budget & Costs

In this example year, from January to December, we spent three months in France, two months in Portugal, five months in Spain and two months in Norway. We updated these costs in 2022 to reflect the increased cost in fuel and living expenses across Europe.

Cost of Travelling Europe in a Motorhome by Length of Tour

Cost of travelling europe in a motorhome by category.

• All groceries but not meals out
• Diesel to cover 10k non-motorway miles at an average cost of 1.80p per litre and assuming 22mpg
• LPG (refillable) for heating, hot water, cooking & fridge

INSURANCES £1680

• 365 European motorhome insurance including breakdown cover
• True Traveller  annual backpackers insurance
• Life insurance

CAMPING £2007

• 50% wild camping
• 30% aires at an average of £5 per night
• 20% campsites at an average of £20 per night
• UK phone contracts + overseas SIM cards – we use around 500gb a month, so our costs here are high.

VAN STUFF £1360

• Annual service and MOT
• Repairs and replacements including two new tyres and new windscreen wipers

ALCOHOL £730

• Alcohol bought in shops but not drunk in bars or restaurants

TRAVEL £1350

• Toll costs and vignettes
• Ferries (to Norway and UK)
• Flights back to UK

EATING OUT £760

• Alcoholic and soft drinks
• Coffees and ice creams

NON FOOD £430

• Toiletries and medication
• Cleaning chemicals, cloths etc

PERSONAL £410

• Clothes and shoes

SIGHTSEEING £420

• Paid attractions

14 Tips & Tricks for Touring Europe on a Budget

There are lots of things you can do to help manage your budget effectively and save money as you travel Europe by motorhome;

• Wild camp or use free campsites and motorhome aires as much as you can. Across Europe, water and disposing of waste is usually free or only a euro or two.  Find out more about how to free camp in your motorhome here .
• Equip your motorhome with the right accessories.  Solar power will mean you can wild camp for longer and not pay for EHU where its an extra cost on a campsite.  Refillable gas  is much cheaper at the pump than continually replacing bottles and buying new  country specific regulators. 
• It makes sense to get an  ACSI camping card  to help with the cost of campsites out of season – it will pay for itself even if you only use sites occasionally.
• Shop daily or every couple of days if your trip itinerary allows. Motorhome fridges are not always that efficient if you’re traveling Europe in a motorhome in summer – we’ve found ourselves throwing food away. 
• Lidl is a popular budget supermarket across Western Europe. Did you know they source much of their fruit and veg locally? This means you’ll always get what’s in season with a low carbon footprint. Also, Lidl don’t have height barriers to their car parks and often provide motorhome parking spaces …the perfect supermarket!
• Slow travel if you can, and really savour getting to know new places. You’ll use less fuel over a longer period of time, especially if you steer clear of driving on motorways and avoid toll roads.
• Make sure that you use a card provider who doesn’t charge for overseas purchases or ATM withdrawals, or try an international transfer service like Wise , which also comes with a card.
• Try and get breakdown cover (and travel insurance) with your bank if possible. Some motorhome insurers include breakdown cover at a much reduced cost.
• Go dry for your trip…ok, just an idea!
• We use a lot of data to manage our touring Europe in a motorhome blog, so our contract is expensive. Try looking at European data only sims for your time abroad and download when you’re in supermarkets, cafes and other places where wifi is provided free of charge.
• Avoid expensive countries like France and Norway . Some of our favourite European motorhome holiday destinations are in countries just as beautiful, but much cheaper – think campervanning in Italy (the southern half!),  Spain , Slovenia and the Czech Republic.
• Shop around for motorhome insurance and motorbike insurance if you carry one, and remember that if you’re full-timing, it will always be more expensive.
• Take public transport when visiting a city. Camp on the outskirts and catch a train or bus into the centre. It’s safer to see cities in this way too.
• Research what you can do for free when you visit new places. Museums often have days of the week when it’s free to visit, and some have a city pass which covers the cost of transport and attractions.
• If you remain unsure about whether the budget is manageable, hire a motorhome for a few weeks to get a feel for costs.

Find out everything you need to know about SIM cards for long-term travel in Europe , including portable WiFi devices, eSIM cards, local SIM cards and monthly contracts which don’t have a data cap!

Motorhome Touring Guides

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Money saving motorhome accessories.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but spending a little upfront before your European trip can save you money in the long run.

An average wash at a laundry on the continent will cost around €5. Add drying for another €5 and you’ve potentially got an annual cost of €520 just for washing! If you have room, buy a portable washing machine and do it yourself. If space is at a premium, foldable washing machines can manage smaller items and at least save some of the cost.

portable twin tub

mini ultrasonic washer

Scrubba wash bag

Get a SOG toilet system fitted. The SOG system uses negative pressure to take away the smells – when the toilet blade is opened a fan starts up and takes the smell away through a vent. This means that the contents of your cassette break down naturally and no expensive chemicals are required. It’s much better for the environment too.

Get the best data only sim cards for use in Europe.  All data is now capped on the continent, but use the sim cards in the right way and you can have continuous data. If you use a Vodafone sim to stream tv, you may not need a VPN, saving at least £79 per year.  Always check T&C’s carefully regarding activation and roaming conditions.

Three internet with legs 24gb

Voxi sim 45gb

Vodafone preloaded sim

Carry a low wattage electric kettle and hotplate to use when you’re in a campsite where EHU is included and save on your gas costs. You could use a normal kettle and hotplate, but often in Europe the amps provided on sites are less than in the UK and you could end up tripping the system if you use too many high wattage items.

Cordless 600w kettle

portable induction hobb

There will always be costs which can’t be avoided but much of what you spend travelling in your home on wheels can be managed – eating out, alcohol and sightseeing costs are areas where we have really trimmed what we spend.  

Safe and happy travels, wherever you decide to go!

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one-way campervan rental company

Visit Prague in our camper

Head out for an adventure

• We cover 35 countries and countless cities, working 24/7, 365 days a year.
• We’ll deliver your motorhome anytime, anywhere . Whether it’s an early morning at an airport in Paris, or a dock in Oslo at midnight, we’ll be there.
• You can choose from manual and automatic cars.
• Our cars are in average just one year old .
• We will tailor the trip directly to your needs , whether you need a motorhome 14 days or half a year.

Explore Europe

If you’ve always dreamt of visiting every country in Europe and going on a road-trip to enjoy all the beauty it has to offer, you’re in the right place. Imagine that you don’t have to book any hotels or tickets whenever you want to experience somewhere new. Rent your hotel on wheels and experience true freedom.

Campervan pick up & drop off anytime and anywhere

With unlimited mileage drive as far as you want

Everything you will need on your trip with all-inclusive pricing

Rentals insurance, including assistance services

On average, our vehicles are only one year old

And how does it work?

You will arrive at your chosen place and our driver will come to you. Pick up process is very simple and easy. Our driver will explain all about the motorhome that you need to know and you can start your journey. It is that simple. The same process applies when you return our motorhome – we will come to you, you don’t need to come to us. Just choose the place and time, we will be there.

Everyone will choose from our offer

Automatic transmission for 4-5 people

Comfort caravan with a Fiat undercarriage Adria Matrix Plus M670SL Model 9-speed automatic transmission Year of production 2020-2021

Automatic transmission for 4 people

Comfort caravan with a Ford undercarriage Carado T447 Model ISOFIX Air Condition Unit Year of production 2024

Manual transmission for 4-5 people

Comfort caravan with a Citroen undercarriage Adria Matrix Plus M670SL Model 6-speed manual transmission Year of production 2019-2020

Manual transmission for 6 people

Caravan with a Fiat undercarriage Sunlight A70 Model 6-speed manual transmission Year of production 2021

Manual transmission for 4 people

Caravan with a FIAT undercarriage Carado T447 Model 6-speed manual transmission Year of production 2024

Campervan for 2 people

Caravan with a FIAT undercarriage Carado CV601 Edition 15 model Manual transmission Year of production 2022

Designed for your maximum comfort

Fully equipped vehicle.

Unlimited kilometres

Fully equipped kitchen

Separate shower and facilities

Explore europe all year round, travel guide.

Enjoy our motorhomes all year round. Visit our travel guide to see suggestions for each season.

The nature is waking up and everything is blooming. It is not too hot and neither it is too cold. Spring is a great season for hiking and cycling.

Do you like swimming in a sea or in a lake? Visit beautiful beaches and hidden lakes. Summer is the best season to do that.

Colours of autumn are spectacular. Are you a hobby photographer or do you just want to experience the beauties of this season first hand? We will tell you which places should be on your “must visit” list.

Are you a skier or a snowboarder? Do you want to know where the best ski resorts and hills are?

What our customers say

You deserve 5 Stars! We picked up the vehicle (Adria Matrix 670 SL axess) in Milan Malpensa, looked brand new in spite of 30.000 km on the odometer. It was exactly as the pictures we saw before booking, and very clean. We travelled 2 adults and two children aged 1 and 4, for four weeks in Italy. Helena was very quick to reply to any emails we sent. We had a little misunderstanding when we returned the vehicle, which made us a bit unsure about whether it would affect our deposit, but we had it all refunded within a few weeks. We would definitely recommend Anywhere Campers.

Thank you once again to Anywhere Campers for providing a fantastic vehicle for our second European driving holiday in June 2017. We took the van through Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic and Austria. A very big thank you to your driver David, who got us out of a very interesting situation while we stayed in Prague! Both times we have received top notch service and current model vans delivered to us. Would highly recommend this company.

We had a fantastic time touring through Europe in our Anywhere Campers Motorhome. Helena was great to deal with and very helpful when it came to booking and picking up the camper and everything in between!! The drivers were great and spoke good English which was helpful when explaining how everything worked. We picked up our campervan in Munich and dropped it off in Barcelona which was awesome and meant we could keep going on with our travels instead of having to go back to our original location. We loved having all the extra accessories included and the bikes were put to good use and very handy to have. If you are planning to hire a campervan for around Europe we would highly recommend using Anywhere Campers!!

Anywhere Campers we’re fantastic. We had our camper dropped off at our accomodation in Paris and then picked up from our accomodation in Amsterdam 4 weeks later. The personnel arrived on time as organised and Helena was very quick to respond with any questions we had via email on our trip. A great way to see Europe and the camper was new, clean and had everything we needed (although a handy inclusion would be a microwave). Would recommend Anywhere Campers to anyone wanting to see Europe this way and are wanting the convenience of different city pick up and drop off. Well done Anywhere Campers!!

IS YOUR MIND DECIDED YET?

Contact us, +420 720 952 706, [email protected].

10 Tips for Touring Europe In A Campervan with Kids

If you are planning your European road trip, wondering if travel in a campervan with kids is a good idea or simply looking for advice on how to travel Europe with kids, we have some great travel tips for you here.

In 2017 we spent five months traveling full time through Europe in a campervan with kids.

At the time our two children were 10 and 8 years old. On our family trip to Europe we traveled through 12 countries, covered thousands of kilometers and loved the unique experience of travel by campervan.

We learned a lot on that trip – not only about motorhome travel in Europe but also about traveling with kids in a campervan and here we share that experience with you.

We think these tips for motorhome travel with kids are just as relevant for families planning a campervan trip to the USA or Australia. So read on and feel free to share your best tips in the comments below.

• 1 1. Why Travel By Campervan With Kids
• 2.1 Family Campervan Bed Configuration Options
• 3.1 Rent or Purchase Bikes
• 3.2 Other Equipment
• 4.1 Basic smartphone
• 4.2 Music and Audio Books
• 4.3 Laptop or IPAD for movies
• 5 5. Be Prepared for Travel Days
• 6.1 Free Camping
• 7.1 Choose destinations that work for everyone
• 7.2 How to make cities fun for kids
• 8 8. Make Time for Free Time
• 9 9. Tips for Living in Close Quarters
• 10.1 What was hard about home schooling
• 10.2 Our minimal school activities
• 10.3 Our Worldschooling Approach
• 11 More Campervan Around Europe Tips

1. Why Travel By Campervan With Kids

In our opinion, traveling in a motorhome is a great to travel around Europe with a family, particularly if you have more time.

What we loved about this mode of travel was we could unpack our backpacks, once, and travel when and where we wanted.

There was no need to carry, pack and unpack bags, no booking and waiting for trains, planes or buses.

There was not even a need to find and book appropriate family accommodation in advance. And the best thing: no need to sit in restaurants every day with tired children at the end of a big day.

Related: For general motorhome travel in Europe tips, see our Guide to Europe by Campervan

When travelling around Europe in a motorhome you have a great deal more flexibility and control over the where, when and how far each day:

• Larger campervans come equipped with toilets (and sometimes showers) to make those urgent toilet stops a breeze.
• They have a kitchen and fridge so you always have food on hand.
• Plus you get to stop wherever and whenever you like.

A road trip around Europe also makes it much easier to explore smaller, off the beaten path places and rural areas that are far less crowded and expensive than cities. Have I convinced you yet?!

If you are wondering what it costs to rent a motorhome in Europe, use this online tool to provide an estimate.

So here are some things to consider when planning to tour in an RV with kids.

2. Choose the Best Bed Configuration

In Europe there are advantages to having a smaller vehicle, as many roads are narrow and it can be difficult to drive a large campervan into many towns and cities.

However, choosing the right bed configuration is important when rving with kids.

It is worth doing some research on the size and configuration options to find the best campervan for your family.

Family Campervan Bed Configuration Options

• Some vans will have two double beds
• Others will have one permanent double bed and you convert a table to another double bed each night
• Larger vans sometimes have bunks and a double bed permanently set up with the option of converting a table into another bed.

Remember young kids will most likely go to bed earlier than you each evening.

So the best family motorhome set up needs to be flexible enough to allow you to put them to bed and remain up without disturbing them.

We didn’t like the idea of converting the dining table into a bed each night long term . 

But if you are traveling for a shorter time, converting your bed each day wouldn’t be such an issue and means you can choose a smaller van.

We chose a 7 metre (23 ft) family motorhome with a double bed at the front over the cabin and a set of bunks at the back. 

This probably seems small to US readers but it was large compared to most in Europe! But it did have one of the best camper configurations for a family of 4 or 5.

While the van was big, it meant we all had plenty of space plus the kids had their own beds.

A curtain separated the bunks from the rest of the cabin. After we put the kids to bed at night we could still be up with lights on and not disturb the kids.

3. Carry Sporting Equipment

One of the other great benefits of exploring Europe by motorhome is you have space to take some extra equipment and activities for the kids.

Rent or Purchase Bikes

We recommend buying or renting bikes for your Europe road trip. The bikes gave us freedom to explore the local area more without the need to drive the campervan everywhere.

In many European cities bike paths connected the outer areas to the centre. We would ride into town from our campground instead of catching a bus or train.

The bikes also gave the kids some much needed independence. One of their favorite things to do on arrival at a new campground was to grab their bikes and set off to explore.

If you don’t have room for bikes, scooters are another great option for the kids – especially for getting around large cities.

My kids will quickly tire of walking, but will last much longer whizzing around on a scooter.

Tips for Motorhome Travel on a Budget:  Buy second hand bikes on eBay once you arrive.

Other Equipment

We also recommend you purchase some sports equipment, toys and craft activities for campervan travel with kids.

They are useful for rainy days, down time and afternoons back at camp. They also make good gifts for traveling kids.

Equipment we liked on our European campervan road trip are:

• Beach lilos
• Soccer ball
• A compact paint set

A fun outdoor game to pack is Finska (also known as Mollky).

It is a great game that the kids could play with others at the campgrounds and we would often play as a family.

>> Click here to see the game and check the price .

It was great to take a good range of toys and sporting equipment to keep the kids entertained and happy.

4. Find The Best Technology for a Campervan Road Trip

Whilst we generally try to limit the use of technology, when it comes to travel days it really helps to use devices to cover long distances with kids.

Basic smartphone

When traveling in a motorhome with kids, we recommend a basic mobile phone for each child.

Why a mobile phone? Because it is the smallest device and cheapest way for them to have easy access to music, audio books and a small number of games.

If you have an old phone at home, re-purpose it for the kids. Otherwise we recommend a basic Nokia phone or a basic iPhone.

Music and Audio Books

A great option for music when traveling is the Spotify app.  Purchase a family membership so you can share music across devices.

Another option is Amazon Music. They also offer a family membership and access to millions of songs. Click here to try an unlimited 30 day free trial.

Our other tip is to find out if your local library is part of an online library to borrow free audio books and e-books.

We were able to use the BorrowBox app for our library.  On driving days the kids would settle in and listen to their favorite book or album.

Download Spotify for free. Click for: Apple Store free download (iOS) Google Store free download (Android)

Download BorrowBox for free. Click for Apple Store free download (iOS) Google Store free download (Android)

Laptop or IPAD for movies

If you plan to drive long distances, another tip for a motorhome road trip is to take a laptop. 

Lightweight, thin and able to be used as a tablet as well as a laptop, we love our Microsoft Surface Pro .

Not only was the Surface Pro perfect for researching our trip and writing blog posts along the way, it was great for watching movies too

Load a few of the kids’ favorite movies and run them when you have a really long travel day or a rainy day. Movies are the perfect way to pass large chunks of time.

Overall we found it much easier to manage long driving days with the kids with the use of devices. 

We occasionally let the kids play games on the phone too. But the audio books and music provide plenty of entertainment and diversion for them when traveling in the van.

Related: We talk in more detail about the technology we travel with in our article on the 10 best road trip activities for kids. .

For more general information on equipment for the campervan around Europe, check out the Electronic Equipment section in our  Definitive Guide to Europe by Campervan. 

5. Be Prepared for Travel Days

One of our best travel tips in a campervan kids is be prepared for travel days .

The reality of travelling Europe in a campervan, or on any road trip with kids, is that there is a lot of time spent driving.

Pre-kids this was never a problem. With kids (ours anyway) it can quickly become a nightmare.

For a start we suggest giving older kids time to mentally prepare for each travel day.

We would always let the kids know in advance how far and how long the next leg of the trip would be.

Before starting the drive make sure:

• the kids have plenty of snacks on hand.
• they have audio books and music downloaded to fully charged devices.
• let them know there is a reward at the end – perhaps a swim or an ice cream.

During the drive we would:

• try to drive a couple of hours at a time before taking a break.
• change the seating around during the drive to mix it up.
• one of us would sit in the back with them to play a game of cards or read a story.
• take turns to play our music playlists. 

For more advice on activities and games the kids can play while on the road check out our 10 best road trip activities for kids.

6. Choose Accommodation With The Kids In Mind

It takes a little time to find your way with campgrounds and free camping in Europe.

There are thousands of campsites in Europe for motorhomes and we talk about how to find them in our Guide to Europe by Campervan .

Our best tip is to experiment and find what type of campground works for your family and style of travel.

Initially we thought the big campgrounds with a kids club would be great for the kids. In reality we often found these campgrounds to be expensive, loud and busy, with small and uninspiring sites.

Most of our favorite sites were in smaller campgrounds in beautiful locations.

Free Camping

It is possible to do a lot of free camping in Europe. We talk about this more in our Definitive Guide to Europe by Campervan .

Initially we planned to free camp a lot to save money. But, we found it wasn’t much fun for the kids if we stopped in a car park or on the street.

Plus often we would arrive late in the day with hungry and tired kids and didn’t have the energy to go searching for a free camp.

Every family will be different, but for us it often wasn’t a great choice and we ended up in camp grounds about 5-6 days a week.

So our tip is to be flexible and see how you go. And adjust your plans for accommodation, if required, once you are on the road.

And if you want to wild camp, this guide is an essential read . It explains everything you need to know about wild camping in Europe, plus has a database of hundreds of great free spots to stop.

7. Tailor Activities and Destinations

This point may seem obvious, but we started out with a very different itinerary planned for our road trip through Europe than we ended up taking.

As we traveled we had to adjust our expectations and plans to account for everyone’s personality, interests and age.

Choose destinations that work for everyone

For travel to Europe with kids to be fun for everyone, you really need to tailor your activities and destinations to the types of places that work for each individual.

Which can be really difficult to achieve depending on the age and interests of your kids!

For example, we found once we started in our campervan around Europe with kids that major cities didn’t work for us. Why?

• They were more expensive.
• We were based in campsites a long way out of the city.
• Our kids just don’t enjoy wandering through museums and galleries (most of the time).
• As adults we weren’t doing the things we would typically do in a city visit either.

So we adjusted our itinerary and focused more on outdoor destinations like Slovenia and Montenegro . 

The kids had more space, we spent less money and we had more time for hiking , swimming and cycling in spectacular surroundings.

That is why travelling in a campervan around Europe is so perfect for families.  You have ultimate flexibility to tailor your trip as you go. You are not locked in to a plan.

How to make cities fun for kids

You can’t motorhome in Europe and not visit cities though! 

Where to stay in cities with a motorhome

There are two options for visiting European cities with kids in a motorhome.

The first is to park and leave your van at a campground out of the city and stay in the city. This is a more expensive option but allows you to fully enjoy the city stop.

The second option is to find a campground on the outskirts of the city. Most European cities have large campgrounds within an hour or so and you train into the city each day.

Family activities with kids

When planning your city stops we suggest you find a good balance of activities and tours that suit everyone.

If you have school aged kids ask them for suggestions.

Want to save money and skip the queue? Pre-purchase tickets to all the major attractions across Europe with Get Your Guide. Click here for details.

Let them take turns choosing the activities for the day.  You might be able to sneak in a few visits to galleries and museums this way too!

Some examples of fun activities we did with the kids in European cities were:

• Seeing a Broadway show in London.
• A fun free walking tour in Lisbon with Chill Out Lisbon.
• Dressing up at the Schonbrunn Children’s Museum in Vienna. If you would like a guided tour of the palace we recommend you purchase these skip the line tickets to avoid long queues.
• Watching a flamenco show in Seville. See the very reasonable prices and rave reviews here.

Tailoring your itinerary and activities as you go is perhaps one of our top tips for travelling to Europe with kids. Don’t lock everything in.

See what works and modify your plans to make it the best trip for everyone.

If you are on a tight campervan budget, activities and experiences are great gift ideas . For activities in Europe we think Get Your Guide is the best online resource.

They have a wide range of skip the line tickets, discounts on attraction entry tickets, highly rated tours and more.

Click here to browse the experiences available on Get Your Guide.

8. Make Time for Free Time

One of our top tips for traveling to Europe with kids is not to fill every day with sightseeing or activities.

The kids need time to relax, play and even be bored. That time is often the precursor to creativity!

For example, our kids saw painted rocks for sale in the tourist stores in Montenegro. They decided to try and earn some pocket money painting their own rocks.

For many weeks they collected rocks, painted them and set up shop in the camp grounds to sell their rocks.

Not only did they enjoy painting, they were able to chat with people about their experience touring Europe in a motorhome.  Plus they were successful in making many sales!

It isn’t possible to see and do everything, especially when you travel with kids.

Plan for time at the playground, time to write a journal , have fun at the swimming pool and downtime watching TV or reading a book.

Encourage them to pick up a camera and document their trip through photos.

The kids will have much more energy for the busy days when they have time to play and be kids.

9. Tips for Living in Close Quarters

We loved touring Europe by campervan. But, living in a motorhome with kids over a long period of time can be VERY challenging and exhausting at times.

It all looks perfect on Instagram! But when the kids are wrestling/bickering/whining/sick of each other, you have a couple of rainy days confined in the van together or you just want some peace and quiet, it can be tough.

We can’t say we have the perfect solution to this issue. It is a daily challenge and requires a lot of patience and flexibility.

Some ideas to help maintain a happy family dynamic while travelling Europe with kids:

• Split up and do things in pairs instead of always together as a family
• Make sure everyone has their own space and time to do their favorite activities
• Try and get the kids to bed at a reasonable hour so they are well rested (although this was tough in Spain!)
• Plan for downtime. Traveling can be exhausting and sometimes a day or two by the beach, in the pool or at the playground can help revive grouchy kids.
• Encourage the kids to introduce themselves to other kids in the campgrounds. This was harder than expected, but when it worked it was a great circuit breaker.

When all else fails, buy noise cancelling headphones. Seriously!

When you can’t get away and you have had enough of listening to the whining, pop on a pair of good headphones and listen to music.

We love  as they do the job and are much cheaper than most.

10. Ideas for Home Schooling

We found home schooling to be one of the most challenging aspects of travelling around Europe with a family. Our kids missed grade 4 and 2 at home in Australia.

The school did not have any mandatory education requirements for our 12 months away. Every country has different requirements so check with your local school.

In some ways the lack of any formal lesson structure made it more challenging to motivate the kids to do any thing resembling school work.

What was hard about home schooling

We found it very difficult to get into a consistent routine when rving in Europe.

Every day was different and it was impossible to set a fixed time for school work each day.

The kids were also very resistant to sitting down and doing a structured lesson together. It often became a battle which was no fun either.

To compound the issue, we only had one laptop and internet connections were often slow.

This meant we couldn’t make regular use of all the great online schooling tools such as Reading Eggs,  StudyLadder , Scratch  and Khan Academy.

Our minimal school activities

We had to adjust our expectations about schooling and settled on some minimum school activities throughout the trip.

• We bought English and Math workbooks for each of the kids. The kids worked through them perhaps once a week. Talk to your teachers to find the most appropriate workbooks for your kids.
• Both kids kept a diary. This meant they were practicing their writing skills each day. This one is great for older kids . Alternatively, this one is great to help prompt ideas for the younger kids.
• The one thing we did insist on is they read every day. Both our kids actually came home much better readers, which was a great outcome.

Some of their favorite books were Harry Potter,  Alice Miranda, Star Wars and anything by Andy Griffiths.

Our Worldschooling Approach

What we did instead of trying to replicate school work was focus on incorporating learning into our every day activities.

In supermarkets, museums, whilst driving. On walking tours and during ranger programs. Documenting the trip with a log book or journal.

It is a style of teaching we found natural and much easier for the kids to engage in.

The kids came home with a huge bank of new knowledge.

It isn’t on topics they would have learned in class. But their understanding of different cultures, geography, budgeting and currency grew immensely.

Top Tip: Don’t stress about the formal stuff too much. Travel is an incredible teacher and they are learning every day.

More Campervan Around Europe Tips

With a little planning, travelling Europe in a van with kids is a rewarding adventure.

For more camper van tips, our Definitive Guide to Europe by Campervan covers all the basics for touring Europe in a motorhome.

We cover whether to buy or rent a campervan, toll roads, free camping and more.

See all our tips on the best campervan accessories here .

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

What is your best tip for traveling by camper with kids?

Want to know more about Europe with Kids? You might like:

• 4 day family cycling trip on the Danube River
• Hiking in Picos de Europa with kids
• Exploring the lakes and rivers in Slovenia
• Taking the ferries from Spain to Montenegro

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Rachel Rodda

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9 thoughts on “10 tips for touring europe in a campervan with kids”.

Thanks for the article and loved reading about Australia. I’ve been to NZ and stayed for 6 months but didn’t get a chance to visit it. I am planning on visiting Australia and this would be a great help. Of course,I’m going with my kids so a little bit insecure but this information contains lots of things to share nice.indeed.

Hi Rachel, thank you for sharing your family experience, I loved all your little tips. We have been ‘debating’ this for some time now and the home schooling is always the biggest negative however after reading your blog I feel ready to reconsider this amazing family experience, still plenty to research yet though.

Great post. Just lovely. Exactly looking for this kinds of articles.I always love to travel with my kids. I love their accompany with me. Great feelings. Thanks for sharing.

Wow! Such a wonderful post. Just awesome. So informative & interesting. Really enjoyed a lot & learnt many things also. Thanks for sharing.

Excellent blog post, and thank you for sharing some very helpful thoughts!!! Best of luck with your travels

This is so helpful! Would any of you have any recommendation on where to rent a larger Motorhome in Europe. We were planning to start/end in Berlin, but are very flexible and can really do anywhere if needed…however have 6 kids, so we need space for 7-8. (We have a few younger kids that can share sleeping space). Having a hard time finding a large enough Motorhome. Planning a 3-4 week trip.

Glad to hear you found the article useful. Motorhomes are such a great way to travel with family. Motorhomes do come in 8 berth configurations so you should be able to find a company with options. The other option would be to carry a small tent if you have older children who would be happy to camp separately next to the camper? When we were in Europe we met a large family in a smaller motorhome and they dealt with the lack of beds by stringing up hammocks inside for two of their kids! A novel solution to the problem.

What a great article, Rachel. Chock full of vital information for travelling in Europe with a camper van… or caravan. We spent 5 months with a little caravan and it was a pain that many cheap overnight stops did not include caravans and were for vans only. We were fully self-contained too. Anyway, we still did tonnes of free camping.

Hi Jane, Thanks so much for your comment! It was interesting in Europe how few caravans there were. The campervan is definitely the vehicle of choice there. Very different to Australia.

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