We just bought a campervan and are planning to drive through Europe. Wondering if anyone has any tips for free camping?
Hi all, we just bought a 1988 Renault campervan and are planning to do a trip around Europe: UK, France, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, Germany and maybe Netherlands, Belgium.
We're relatively new to free camping but are giving it a good go at the moment in Scotland. The van is kitted out with water pump, gas bottle (heating and cooker) and porta potti. We have it pretty easy at the moment as we know people along the way and can get showers, power, internet etc. every second day, but I'm thinking we'll need to get a bit more clever about it once we hit mainland Europe.
I was wondering if anyone has any tips for us, or any advice, particularly if you have done this yourself. From what we hear France is quite good for free camping but we have no idea about any other countries. Issues I can see arising in particular are water supply, power and internet (can't live without it!).
Thanks for taking the time to read this and thanks in advance for any contributions 😊
Reply to this You could have a look at this website for France ...
http://www.campervanlife.com/camping/free-camping
Reply to this here is the norsk camping guide
http://www.camping.no/campnor_eng.html
Reply to this Thanks all for your suggestions, we have bought a neat little charger which plugs into the 12V source and can charge phone, camera and laptop!
Any other suggestions anyone has would be great. I'd love to hear from anyone who has free-camped in Europe, or even just be directed to a blog sharing those experiences if anyone knows of any. Reading blogs has generally been my best preparation! Alex
Reply to this Hello Alex. We found a book called 'Guida Camper 2010'. It has list of free or minimal charge places for campers all over Europe. There is a web site www.camperstop.com. The Italian book, in Italian, has been very handy for us although we have a tent. It would be much better for camper vans.
A lot of the places that campers can pull up free don't have power but normally they seem to have access to toilets and water.
Through most of Scandinavia a lot of people free camp. You do need to get to some of the best sites pretty early though if it is at a popular time.
Reply to this France is the best when it comes to free camping. There's a lot of area for stopping mostly every village has it's Area with water and sometimes electric. We travelled many times in france and never stop in camping always free camping as we like to have our freedom. In Spain during winter there is no problem for stopping especially in the South but there is no service like in France just a normal parking.Have a look at this site www.motorhomefacts.com ..it's a community about living in a campervan they can give you a lot of suggestions and informations regarding this matter.
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