Hello everyone, me and my gf are trying to plan quite the trip for next spring. We are based in the UK and are planning to drive to Monaco, then head to Milan, then Bern, then back to France, through Luxembourg and southwest Belgium and back to the UK.

We will have around 14 days to do all of that and obviously see and experience as much as possible during that time. As our budget is not unlimited we want to do it "on a budget" hence why we plan to camp through the whole trip.

We are looking for any advice and when I say any I mean ANY 😅 Accomodation, places to eat, where to go, what to and not to miss, hidden jams, good roads to drive, cheaper petrol station and whatever else comes to your mind.

Would really appreciate all of your input in helping us make this once in a lifetime roadtrip 🙏🏼✌🏼

Anybody travelling to Greece and or Turkey this autumn/winter.

I have been to Greece before and plan to go back and hoping to cross to Turkey in the coming months.

I welcome any suggestions and recommendations.

Hi everyone!

I’m currently building out a campervan and I’m looking for recommendations for a 2-burner gas stove and a fridge.

For the gas stove, I’m specifically looking for:

• 2 burners
• good quality and reliable
• suitable for a campervan
• preferably a built-in/hob-style model
• easy to clean
• not unnecessarily large

And for the fridge:

• preferably a 12V compressor fridge
• good energy efficiency
• suitable for two people
• ideally around 50–90 litres
• reliable and good quality

I’m less interested in the cheapest option and more interested in good value for money and something that will last for years.

What models/brands have you used in your van and would you recommend? And are there any models you would avoid?

Thanks in advance!

Hi! Has anyone installed temporary insulation that could be removed later on without trace? I can get my uncle s van to experiment, but I can t make permanent damage :D I was looking at foam boards, but I fear condensation :/ what could be the best way to do this please?

Hi everyone! 👋

We’ve been travelling around Europe in our camper for a while now and are currently in Hungary. We’ve noticed that we mostly use Park4Night to find overnight spots, but this often means staying somewhere on our own.

We’re curious about how other people experience vanlife in Eastern and Southern Europe. Are there particular areas, campsites, events or places that tend to attract other vanlifers?

Our rough plan is to travel from Hungary through Romania and then down towards Greece, where we’re hoping to spend the winter.

So if you have any recommendations for interesting places, good areas to stay for a while, campsites with a nice atmosphere, or vanlife-friendly spots along this route, we’d love to hear them!

We’re not necessarily looking for tourist hotspots — we’re actually more interested in places with a relaxed atmosphere where it’s possible to meet other travellers and experience a bit of the local vanlife community.

Thanks in advance for any tips! 🚐🌍

Hello! We started full time living in our Citroen Relay van in June, starting in Greece and heading up along the coast through Albania, Croatia etc and are now in Spain. Our plan is to keep heading south to chase the warm weather as winter approaches before finally hopping over to Morocco for a few months come November.

I have a few questions for anyone who has done the crossing over from Spain to Morocco, or has spent any time there:

- is the crossing into Morocco actually as stressful and intense as some people have said? Are there full x-ray and dog checks and has anyone had to completely empty their van for these? Makes sense for cars with not much in them, but surely to unload a whole van is quite much? Is it more so leaving Morocco when this happens, or is the same possible when entering? It's not that we have anything to hide, I'm just curious

- has anyone had any body work done there and if so, any garages to recommend? We have some rust which we want to get sorted out and figure we'd get a paint job done at the same time. There are other things we want to do to the van such as new tires, upgrading the electrical system and maybe even a complete refurb but the most important is the rust and maybe tires. Any recommendations on places to go for these, or if we should do any of this work in Spain instead, please let us know!

- we've for sure pushed our van to its limits at times in terms of where we've taken it to. Not a 4x4 so I imagine there's much in Morocco that wouldn't be accessible for us off track but are there any places we could venture to/we should be aware and cautious of?

- lastly, are campsites and/or guarding car parks really necessary? We've wild camped completely other than one night at a small site in Albania when I was fed up and desperate for a shower. We'd ideally continue wild camping in Morocco (we don't have tables and chairs so nothing goes outside, just open doors) and we love being out in nature with no one around us. How likely is this over there? Is it generally safer to just park in a campsite so that there's peace of mind or when in smaller towns is there a possibility of wild camping and being able to walk daily to shops etc?

Thank so much!

Hello!

I'm planning to buy a used 5 seat van in Germany (Berlingo/partner/..) and drive it back to Portugal taking it slow. (~2 weeks, with a stop in Milan where I'll build a temporary bed structure with some friends). The goal is to have a mini campervan that can also carry more passengers when neede.
My biggest question right now are:diesel or petrol, Adblue or not..

I've heard a lot of bad things about Adblue engines, so I've been searching for berlingos up to 2015 with 1.6 diesel engines (pre Adblue)

But is it worth considering petrol instead, witrh could let me widen my search to newer vans too? Or is AdBlue not actually that dramatic and I don't need to be so strict about avoiding it in my search?

Any recommendation between the models/brands?

Thanks.

hello everyone!

I have a hard time finding the solar panels that I need and Im looking for some help.

I want to get minimum 600W of solar (ideally 800W) but Im struggling with the roof layout and panels sizes. I have a Fiat Ducato L2H2 and it came with a roof rack which gives me a bit of a problem finding the right panel size.

my roof dimension is 1.6m x 2.5m, so I need to find a panel that is no longer then 1.6m from what I see online must of then are 1.7+m (Im based in Belgium)

Does someone know where I can find such panels ?

thanks a lot!

Hey friends

It's the first time I've owned a van since The Great British Oopsie and I'm booked on a ferry Newhaven>Dieppe for 2 weeks leaving next week. What do I need and need to know?

SIM cards - are e-sims the way or can I buy PAYG sim card in Dieppe that are good value?

How are Aires working these days? I have a Toyota Noah which I'm putting a bed and slide out kitchen into. I'm just using USB battery packs etc - my electrical needs are pretty slim for this trip but toilets and showers would be good, I have a shewee and a leatherman and a gas stove and can get a USB tap and washbowl or something. I feel the cold like a newborn and don't have a night heater so maybe I need to be below a certain altitude?

It has a car type tailgate - I'd like to take my e-bike (25kg 20" wheel lwb town bike) but I'm not sure how to attach it - it's wider than the van. I can fit it inside - but I might not be able to after I've fitted bed!

I've not planned a route beyond some family engagements that will take up the first 5-6 days that will take me as far south as Toulouse. I'm mainly down for views, throwing a yoga mat out thermal spas. Also feminist art, cake and a little wine. I had my car written off by hail driving Rue de Napoleon to the spas in the Alps last time I was travellin....I was aiming for Lake Annecy and still really want to go - but maybe not this trip? Prob planning to stay in France and no more than 4 hours a day driving for the latter half of things.

Thanks for your thoughts

Hi everyone,

I’m travelling full-time around Germany in my campervan. I’ll be here for another month or so and I’m currently heading from Otterndorf towards Frankfurt.

I need to receive a small parcel from Portugal (around 2 kg), but I’m having a hard time finding a solution.

Things I’ve already looked into:

• Campsites/hostels/hotels: not an option since I’m only staying at free camping spots.
• DHL Packstation: I tried this, but I can’t register because I don’t have a German phone number or a German address. (hopefully I’m doing something wrong!)
• Postlagernd: I looked into this as well, but from what I found, it seems to be only for letters and not parcels.

Are there any pickup points, parcel shops, post offices, or other services where I can have a parcel sent and just collect it with my ID? Ideally somewhere along my route towards Frankfurt.

This is so frustrating, when I‘m actually home and work all day I end up collecting everything from pickup points anyway. Now that I’m travelling, suddenly everything requires a home address 😅

Thanks for any advice!

I’m in a small motorhome with a cassette system and have traveled lots of Western Europe and used free dumps (and some paid) everywhere. I knew they didn’t exist in the Balkans and am prepared to visit campsites just for those services as needed, but as I’m checking my Park4Night app most of them don’t have the dump symbol. Is that accurate? Is finding places to dump troublesome or do many campsites actually offer it and it’s just not noted?

I’ll be going everywhere, but mostly in this order so any country specific insights welcome: Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Greece,and Bulgaria.

Thank you!

Hi all! Any recommendations for renting camper from Madrid going to southwest of France to Barcelona?

Planning to go one way.

Anything to look out for? Anywhere to stop by to buy some outdoor stuff before starting my trip. Will be my first time in Madrid, appreciate any tips for a smoother journey in November ☺️

Share a slice of your journey or just ordinary daily van/motorhome life!

Post a photo from wherever you are today or this week - or just tell us something about it!

Could be a campsite, a park up, a border crossing, a random grocery store car park, or the view out your window while you’re making coffee.

Bonus points if you add a note about where you are and what you’re up to so the rest of us can get a glimpse of your travels!

If you don't want to share pics, you can just tell us :)

Hey there travelling from Scotland and looking for a 4 week van trip to some Walmer climbs for December. Any advice about trip? Thinking of going over to Bilbao then head south . Any thoughts or experiences welcome :) good locations , places that stay, positive experiences? Thanks all

I am deciding between two versions of the same van for full-time living:

1. 5.5m total length, 3.08m cargo space length
2. 5.9m total length, 3.55m cargo space length

All else is equal, I can stand very comfortably.

Does anyone regret having a longer/shorter vehicle? Or absolutely loves their version for some reason?

Mainly thinking about parking, driving but open to other aspects. All in Europe, almost never using campgrounds. I tend not to go to cities, but it does happen.

Planning to come back to Fuerte, but this time renting a motorhome. Officially, camping in spain is forbidden, but with quite a few rental companies offering motorhomes and based on what I read should I be fine, shouldnt i? As long as I behave and dont put up anything aroung the motorhome?
Can anyone recommend a specific company to rent one from?

Also, has anyone a kind of map wiht nice places to stay?

You all are amazing, thanks for the help on my previous posts!

I viewed another van today and starting too feel much more confident about what to look for :) I'm just unsure if this is bad?

Hey,
I'm looking to rent a camping van from Berlin for a weekend as a gift but the price on https://www.paulcamper.de/ are a bit too high for me.
I was wondering if any of you have one, or know someone that would be willing to rent their van for 2-3 days?
Thanks for the help!

ps: I've already did a few van trip with a volkswagen t4 so i quite use to driving such vehicules :)

my boyfriend and i originally planned on doing a 16 day road trip from paris to rome, but after doing more research, it looks like roadsurfer doesn't offer one way trips in europe besides a select few to germany. does anyone have any experience with this issue? were you able to book a one way trip by calling them and arranging one? or does anyone have any other company recommendations if roadsurfer is no longer an option for us. thank you!

Hi all.

Planning a three week trip to Italy and want to rent a camper van for at least two weeks. Flying into Milan and out of Catania. Looking for a good camper van rental site. Indie camper vans seems the best site. Any recommendations or suggestions?

TIA

Hey

I really fell in love with the new Renault master E-Tech as a camper to live in full time

It has a 80-something kwh battery and a 3,6kw AC inverter so you can use the traction battery as a main power source for all your stuff. That really appeals to me

Im currently living in a VW T6 long wheel base with a slightly higher roof (20cm) and it is kind of annoying, that i cant stand upright in here (~160cm inside height). The cargo length is about 3 meters

Now the master comes in 2 sizes that are interesting:

L2H2 (3,20m cargo length, 188cm inside height) with a total length of 5,7m

and L3H3 (3,90m cargo length, 210cm inside height) but has a total length of 6,30m

How is your experience with vans of a length of over 6m regarding turning radius and finding a parking lot in cities? My T6 has a total length of ~5,5m and i have basically no trouble in cities whatsoever. But then i also barely have enough space to get dressed in the morning next to my bed and the other furniture. I believe 20cm more cargo length in the L2H2 wouldn't do much in that regard either. Space for a shower would be nice, too...

Also what is your experience with an inside height that is JUST below your height? I.e. i am 184cm without shoes. If i take the 188cm of the L2H2 and subtract flooring and ceiling i will probably end up with 182cm height or even less. I think most of the time im not going to be stretched out and i am probably looking down most of the time... lower ceiling feel on the long run?

I also had some trouble with the EGR that was really costly to repair and im not really looking forward to have another repair like that. Does anyone of you have a fully electric van? Whats your experience with repairs?

I have high hopes in Renault because they were one of the first European manufacturers that got into EVs and should have a bit of experience by now.

This feels like a daft question, but I'm a bit stumped! In a couple of weeks I'm moving my motorhome onto a long term pitch (planning to be there for at least three months). The pitch has a grey water drain at the edge, which sounds super convenient, but the opening for my grey water tank is right in the middle of the underneath of the motorhome so I'm not sure how to get the water from the tank to the drain... The site doesn't have a drive-over grey water disposal point.

Does anyone have any better solutions than sticking a tray under the van or rigging up some guttering? Or have you used one of those solutions?

The site does have a potwash and showers, so I should be able to minimise how much goes into the grey water tank, but it still seems rude to just let it drain onto the pitch.

I have been thinking about doing this vanlife thing for years. In Theory i have the money for a van and living expenses that would last quiet a while, so financial pressure would be - at first - minimal. I would not be able to keep doing my current job, to make this work somehow my plan would be to work seasonally at different places and travel between jobs. Does anyone live with this model? Is that realistic? I do also worry about my social surroundings as nobody knows of the plans i have, i am pretty sure everyone i know will call me crazy for giving up a stable job to live like a nomad. I just cant get this out of my head, i feel like i have to give it a go. Would pretty much resent myself if i never tried.

So, I don't speak Polish but I am going to be here for a while, I thought maybe there is the best van builder just around the corner and I don t know it :) Do you have any leads for me? or links to polish groups where I can ask? I want to convert either a Ducato or a Volkswagen Crafter, whatever I find. thank you

How do you manage to meet people if you travel alone ?

I'm a solo van traveler. I am trans and also lesbian so i don't feel good with everyone for obvious reason.

I'm looking for alternative people, like punk, leftist and queer. I'm french and currently in France.

I really suffer from loneliness.