Vanlife in Europe is awesome, but here’s all the things that you don’t see on Instagram.
As a Dutch vanlifer, I don’t have much choice, but to explore Europe. And let me first tell you, Europe is incredible. I love every country that I’ve visited so far. However, doing vanlife in Europe comes with its perks, but also with lots of challenges. In this post, I will tell you about the things you need to know before going on a vanlife trip to Europe.
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What is vanlife in Europe like
Since 2022, I have been roaming through Europe with my van. Sometimes alone, sometimes together. Sometimes full-time and sometimes just for a short trip. But I can tell you, I know what vanlife in Europe is like. And of course, it’s different per country that you visit, but let me tell you, there are many things that I would’ve liked to know before going; as I’ve had to learn them the hard way.
But beside all the challenges I have had, vanlife in Europe is really magical. And I needed some time to feel like this, as with vanlife, everything takes longer. Some days I have been so busy with chores and work, that I sometimes forget how great it is that I’m able to live this lifestyle. Sometimes, I get swallowed in the negative side of vanlife, that I am not able to see all the positives.
So, I would say that many things depend on your mindset and what it’s like. By now, I have learned to enjoy nearly every bit of vanlife, even the little chores. But it did take me about 2 years to get used to it.
Is it legal to wildcamp in Europe?
It really depends on the country, whether it’s legal to wildcamp or not. In most European countries it’s illegal to wildcamp. However, in some countries, it is legal. These are:
- Norway
- Sweden
- Finland
- Estonia
- Scotland
In these countries, wild camping is pretty straightforward: You just park your van, go to sleep, and leave the next morning without leaving a trace. Do make sure to check the local rules per country before going.
And even though wild camping is pretty much illegal in the rest of Europe, in some countries I’ve had no problems doing it, at all. Most of the time, if you’re not being loud and you’re not leaving any trash or something, locals don’t really mind your being there.
Otherwise, you can always stay on campings throughout Europe. They are really good, but could get a bit pricy, especially in summer.
But before I give away too much, let’s move onto the perks of vanlife in Europe.
The perks of vanlife in Europe
Europe is BEAUTIFUL
Of course, the instagram videos don’t lie: Europe is absolutely stunning. Every country has its own charm. From the Alps to the Mediterranean coastlines, to the natural wonders in the north, Europe has a lot of diversity. And that is if you’re just looking at nature; the cultural side is also wonderful. Different in each country and region, European culture is so warm and interesting.
In my childhood, I never left the Netherlands. I never knew what there was beyond the country borders. Up until some point when I started wanting to see things. To experience things. I booked a trip to Croatia and to the French Alps, and that was the start of my love for Europe.
By now, I have seen about 20 of the 44 countries, so I have seen many places and loved each one of them! But, there is also a lot left to explore, so you won’t see me leaving Europe anytime soon.
You get to travel beyond the cities
With a van, you get to see much more than just the cities. Think about it: The typical Euro trip involves Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin, Venice, and London. And usually, travel between this places is by train. And however great that way of travel is, it is also very limited.
With a campervan, you get to go anywhere. Really explore places. It is truly incredible what kind of places you can find, and you wouldn’t wish for spending your time in a crowded city.
Of course, you can still visit cities with your van, but you can simply see so many more things.
You will find authentic places
To make the point above even stronger, with a van, you will find the most authentic places. I have camped on hidden beaches, flower fields, by dramatic mountain views, and so much more.
I camped by a beach in Croatia once, and while drinking my morning coffee, a goat came around the van to see who was there. And not just one; soon 30 more goats were there. Staring at me briefly, before being herded away.
These are the experiences that make vanlife worth everything. This kind of thing doesn’t happen in a city or in your hotel. This only happens when camping.
So basically, what I’m trying to say is, vanlifing through Europe might be the most wholesome way to explore this continent.
No expensive accommodation
€100 per night for a hotel or apartment, is pretty normal in Europe. It hugely depends on where you go; in the Netherlands you could be looking at €180 per night, whereas in Hungary, you’re good for €50 per night. This largely depends on the country, city, what type of accommodation you’re staying at, and many other things.
That said, wild camping is free.
Of course, it’s not as glamorous as this, because more of your budget will go to gas, but in my opinion, it doesn’t outweigh the cost for accommodation. It builds up fast.
And I’m not saying that vanlife has no accommodation cost at all; sometimes you’ll want a hot shower in a camping or to book an apartment in a city. But I have saved lots of money on accommodation because of vanlife.
Incredible road systems throughout the continent
All roads lead to Rome. They literally do, because this is the heart of Europe’s road system. From Rome you can go anywhere you like and every road, at some point, leads to Rome. But it gets better; every road leads to every destination in Europe.
The road systems are really good. Not only the quality of the roads, but also the ease of driving from place to place, the many open borders and the easy-to-pay tolls. And Google Maps is also on top of all the road updates, so you can actually trust your navigation (with Albania as an exception, that was DRAMA).
But all in all, it’s really good and I’m grateful for being able to get anywhere so easily.
Many open borders
As I said, there are many open borders in Europe. If I drive from the Netherlands, the first country with closed border, that I hit, is probably Bosnia and Herzegovina. All the other countries are open and free to roam.
However, I did get checked at the borders in several countries (like Denmark and Norway), because the Dutch do have a reputation (something with weed…). Luckily, they always let me through. You might run into these random border checks sometimes.
So, in the east and south of Europe, there are some closed borders, where you need to wait in line and the border police will check your license plate and personal documents. This is just routine for them, so if everything’s alright, they will let you through.
Great facilities in some countries
I absolutely love wildcamping in Austria, because you can get water everywhere. In the mountains there are many natural water sources, that you can fill your tank up with. You can also go to churches (cemetery’s), because there is always a tap and the locals don’t really mind if your fill up your water there.
In Germany and Austria, you will also find several camping stops. This is different than a camping; they are a lot cheaper and still have many facilities. In summer, you can pay about €15-20 there, and you get clean toilets, hot showers, and sometimes there are even washing machines. They are usually good for one or 2 nights and perfect for chore stops, in between wild camping nights.
In some countries you will find more facilities than in others, and I absolutely love some specific countries for it!
The challenges of vanlife in Europe
Everything takes longer
Something you should know about vanlife, is that everything takes longer. This is not specific for Europe, but just in general. All chores take longer, like:
- Making your bed in the morning (especially if you don’t have a fixed bed)
- Cooking
- Washing your clothes
- Doing dishes
- Grocery shopping and putting the groceries away
This is a side of vanlife that I needed some time to get used to. And it can still get very annoying at times, when you’d rather explore a place. Or when the weather is hot and you just want to lay on the beach, sometimes you get stuck tidying and reorganizing your entire van.
Yes, you do have some control at this and you don’t have to hate it, but for me it’s definitely one of the less glamorous parts of van life.
Wildcamping is not legal in many places
I have wildcamped in many places throughout Europe. And I never got send away. The last time that I camped in the Netherlands, someone did knock on my van in the middle of the night, but if they don’t see me, they can’t send me away or fine me. So I laid as still as I could, so they would think nobody’s inside.
In most places, I did not run into many problems while wild camping. But the annoying thing is: It’s always on your mind. You’re constantly aware about the fact that it is illegal, and constantly looking for places where it’s least likely to get coaght. At least 90% of the time, you won’t run into any problems, but it’s really just the awareness and being turned on, that is really exhausting.
I used to get really stressed about this in the past, but luckily, I got to let the stress go and be more chill. This is also because of the loads of experience I now have with wildcamping in illegal places, and the knowledge that nobody cares about you sleeping somewhere.
Finding good camping places could take a really long time
But having more experience, does not mean that I’m not still very aware. I sometimes spend hours hunting camping places that will best suit my needs and hide my van, on apps like Park4night or iOverlander. I’m reading reviews, to see what the chances are of the police stopping by, or if the roads to the spot are easy to drive.
Hunting for parking spots is fun, but not if you live full-time in your camper, in the high season, in a touristy destination. It’s exhausting and could take really long. Sometimes you arrive at a spot, just to find out that it’s closed or not what you thought it would be. Then you have to find something else and drive there, but the same could happen again.
And don’t get me wrong, I still love wildcamping and this is just part of it, but this is something you don’t see on the picture perfect Insta reels.
Campings are expensive
Sometimes you really just want to shower, fill up your water tank, wash your clothes and sheets, and just have some more ease with cooking, cleaning, and a stable wifi connection. I know I sometimes need these things.
And that’s where campings come in. I LOVE staying at campings sometimes, not just for the chores and easiness, but also for the community and being surrounded by fellow vanlifers.
But when I was in Austria for a couple of weeks in July 2024, I ran into 2 problems. One was that campings were very full and they did not always have space for me. The second was the price. I have paid up to €48 per night for campings. And it wasn’t even in a touristy area, there was not much nearby, the only reason I was there, was for climbing.
And then I went to the Dolomites, and guess what… No camping spots available. I spent an afternoon calling around campings, and there was literally no camping that had a spot for me.
Of course, it’s easier and cheaper in the low season, but also many campings will be closed then. So do keep in mind that you need to book in advance, or count on last minute camping spots, and a high cost.
Cooking outside gives you away
When you finally found a nice wild camping spot, and you start cooking your dinner, sometimes the locals see this as making a mess and ruining nature. They see all your stuff lying around and feel like you’re ruining the spot and leaving your trash. Plus, they will know that you plan on sleeping there.
And in some cases, they will call the police on you. Believe me, this doesn’t happen a lot, but I have heard about this happening more than I can count.
Cooking outside very simply gives you away. People know exactly what you’re up to and not everyone loves it.
Fortunately this hasn’t happened to me, but I have been asked by locals to leave the place as I found it (which I always do anyway), so there were no problems there.
Laundry
Not only can it be challenging to find a laundry machine, but also your dirty clothes take up much space in your van. My laundry basket was always in the way. I have a better system now, but it was something that I could get so annoyed about.
Then of course, there’s finding a laundry machine that was not too pricy to use (I paid over €7 per wash in Budapest). And once you found it, you find that it doesn’t include detergent and you have to go and buy some. Once you have laundry detergent, it will get a place in your van where it’s either always in the way, or your forget about it and buy a new one next time.
And when you have finally finished doing laundry, you have to hang it. But with one swoop of wind, your socks fall off. And then the night is a bit more moist than you’re used to, and the next morning, when you want to leave, some of your clothes are still wet, and you have to hang them in your van.
Laundry always felt like the heaviest task for me, because it takes so much energy and planning. Once it’s done, you don’t have to think about it for another week or 2, but it is still always annoying to me.
Finding water
As I mentioned, in places like Austria, it’s pretty easy to find water. However, not every country has these public fountains. And sometimes it seems impossible to find drinkable water, except for when you’re going to a camping.
I remember, in Norway, I used to go to gas stations all the time for water. I asked them if I could use their outside tap, got a key for it, filled my tank, and brought back the key. Nobody every turned me away, but it was still annoying to have to ask for it all the time.
Sometimes finding water is the easiest of tasks, and sometimes it’s annoying. Sometimes you’ll have to settle for store-bought water, because there is really no way you will find it in the wild.
Golden tip: I use iOverlander to find water spots, works great!
Scary sounds in the middle of the night…
Want to hear something fun?
Camping in some woods in Slovakia was the best and worst place I have wildcamped on my Eastern Europe trip.
It was a completely remote area in nature. I was not too worried about it, nature should be nice and calm.
I quickly came back from that delusion.
As I started hearing animal roars around my van, I got scared. It was so loud and I was in bear country, so my brain went: ‘’I am surrounded by bears and they are out for blood’’.
Of course, that was nonsense. Bears don’t normally roar, and they wouldn’t ‘’have it out for me’’.
Long story short, there were supposedly several red deer surrounding my van and roaring very loudly, which made my sleep and life decisions very questionable. But hey, I peed in a bottle and survived the night.
This is just one of several experiences that I could tell you about (remember that time when drunk Germans climb up the ladder of my van? That was fun…).
But this is something that could just happen. You are safe within your van, but it can still be scary to hear animal noises or voices outside your van. It can make your sleep terrible and you will lie awake for hours, wondering is the sounds will come back. Fortunately I’m a good sleeper and I can let it go easily, but still, I don’t like it.
Key takaway: Do the negatives outweigh the positives with vanlife in Europe?
So, do the negatives about vanlife outweigh the positives?
Nope.
Vanlife is incredible! Even with these challenges, it’s one of my favorite things to do!
Every kind of travel has its challenges, and I’d rather have these ones, than airport stress, keeping an eye on your backpack all the time, and stuff like that. I love having my home and everything that I need with me. And I’ve even come to love some chores. I love shaking out my blanket in the morning, hunting for wildcamping spots and exploring places that I normally wouldn’t even find.
I love vanlife. With its perks and its challenges, it will always be my favorite way of traveling.
Do you agree?
Final thoughts on vanlife in Europe
I hope that you enjoyed reading about my thoughts surrounding vanlife in Europe. How do you feel about this? Recognize any of these challenges?
Let me know in the comments below!
Happy travels!
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