A Place to Call Home
Four weeks ago we left our bricks and mortar UK home to live and travel in Europe by motorhome for an indefinite period of time. Motorhome life was new to us, we have never lived in such a small space before for any extended period of time.
Before our departure we both had reservations as to what it would feel like – we expected to love it, but there is always a little niggling doubt that reality would not match our long held (and hoped for) expectations. Would we love it or might we hate it? Would we feel sad for not having a place to call home? Would moving every day feel more like a chore than an adventure? How would our relationship cope with being together 24/7?
There was also to consider the implications of moving regularly, often not knowing where we would be stopping overnight. We set off with a rough itinerary but in reality plans change daily. All a new reality of life on the road for us.
As far as a place to call home is concerned, It did not take long for us to realise that home for us now is wherever we park our motorhome. We feel at home, even if our neighbours don’t speak our language or our surroundings are not familiar. Inside our motorhome it is our space in the world. We close our curtains and we have our private world…our home.
Every day we set off exploring our new surroundings, when we have enough exploring we head home. The feeling of arriving at our motorhome door step is the same as the one we all get when we cross the threshold of our bricks and mortar house door. A sense of…”ok now I can relax”, take shoes off…have a drink, chill. I am home.
Our home on wheels is very comfortable, we have everything we need. I was worried about the van shower, but there was no need. We have a very good shower, but I do need to be fast since the hot water lasts only about 4 minutes.
Inside we have all we need
Kitchen area is small, but we also use the dining table for food preparation. We have a 3 ring gas hob
Curtain separates the bedroom area and gives some privacy, toilet/shower door to the left.
Where we park our home is important to us
Safety – a feeling of safety is our first concern, often we like places that other motorhomes are also using. Safety in numbers.
Facilities – having certain facilities such as fresh water and waste disposal is also desirable. But not essential, since we are very self sufficient. We have enough water to keep us going for quite a few days, enough power etc.
Location – We prefer to be within walking distance of the attractions that we want to see/visit, or at a minimum good public transport or cycle-ways to get there.. A central location can make or break a destination. We prefer a quiet location for good sleep, but a good set of earplugs when necessary can also do the trick.
The main types of places to overnight in a motorhome are as follows:
Free Aires ( Aires de Service, France or Solsta ,Italy or Stellplatz sites in Germany)- Some towns provide motorhomes with a place to park for free, where the stay is often limited to 24 or 48 hours. There are usually waste disposal and fresh water facilities. They tend to be at very convenient locations, near the town centre or within easy access. You are not allowed to display “camping behaviour” such as to have your table and picnic chairs out etc. It is just like a parking space to overnight, free of charge.
Free Aire in Olite, Spain just few metres from old town
Paid Aires – Prices vary, but usually it works out cheaper than campsites. They provide the usual waste disposal facilities, fresh water and they will also have electricity hook up (although some don’t have EHU). Some will charge a little bit more if you require electricity. Here also “camping behaviour” is not allowed (usually, but some folks ignore the rules). Prices vary, the cheapest we paid was San Sebastian just short of 4 Euros per night.
Paid Aire within walking distance of Mont St. Michel in France
Campsites- Here you get what you paid for, usually a good size pitch for your motorhome and outdoor furniture. You can spread yourself and enjoy the whole set of facilities. Some of the facilities can include swimming pools, sauna etc. Prices vary, during the low season we have been paying an average of Euro 15, it will be a lot more in the high season. In some campsites it is possible to get a good discount with the ACSI card ( not accepted in the high season), and we have stayed in some lovely sites.
Camping “Los Pinos” in Denia, Spain. “Camping behaviour” is allowed by snoozing husbands
French Passion – sounds racy but I am afraid it is not that kind of passion. If you are a member (we are) it is possible to stay overnight at a farm or other out of the beaten track places and enjoy local produce. In France there are thousands of these places, free to use. The idea is for you to buy their product, but purchase is not obligatory. We have not yet used these sites.
Going off grid – Freedom to park anywhere, within reason, being respectful of people around you and the environment. Not all countries allow it though. We have not yet tried that.
Pretty spot for lunch could have also been an overnight stay…free
How do we choose a place to overnight?
Our decision is usually based on location, the best place to stay to access what we want to see. In large cities we also think about safety and therefore we prefer a campsite with easy transport links into town or an Aire with a barrier.
We make good use of books and or apps such as : park4night, camper contact, France Passion (France), Camper Stop Europe, All the Aires books from Vicarious Media, Camper Stop, Search for Sites, Camper Online (good for Italy). The one we use the most is park4night.
When to move on
There have been places where we originally thought of spending 2 nights and ended up staying 4 nights. Moving on depends on how we feel about a place, if we like it we stay longer. That is the beauty of motorhome life, at least in the low season – you can make it up as you go along, no need to book ahead. We have been very lucky to get great weather everywhere we have visited so far. Good weather is another reason to stay or to move on.
Staying healthy on the road.
Motorhome life is not necessarily healthier, but we are trying to do the best we can by making sure to eat as healthy as possible, keep alcohol consumption within reasonable levels (or at least Brian is, since I rarely drink alcohol) and exercise regularly.
Cycling, running and walking to keep us in good shape
We started running again (slowly), we enjoy cycling and we do a lot of walking everywhere.
Our relationship
We both like having our own space from time to time. But life on the road means staying in each others company pretty much 24/7. It helps if you get own well…we do. There have been no arguments so far, any disagreements are discussed and quickly sorted. Patience is required in stressful situations, such as when we get lost, we are hungry or tired.
Budget
We don’t have a set budget as such, but we are keeping tabs of our spending so we can report here on the blog and also for our own peace of mind. So far for this first month we have spent on average of £60 per day on food, diesel, Aire/campsites, eating out, admissions and entertainment. It does not include insurance, van depreciation or the costs involved with keeping our UK home. I think we are doing pretty well. We could have spent a lot less but we love eating out and visiting the attractions along the way. We could also have spent a lot more…those Michelin Star restaurants in San Sebastian were very tempting.
One month of van life and we love it. We appreciate that it is not for everyone, but it certainly is great for us. It is a excellent way of travelling in comfort, with maximum flexibility and within whatever budget you set for yourself. There are lots of free places to overnight, and it can be very cost effective for eating if you do most of the cooking in the van. For entertainment there are lots of free things to do, the natural environment, enjoying the beach, the mountains, the forests and there are also lots of historical and cultural sites that don’t cost money, or are very cheap when they do..
Let’s wait and see what our next month on the road will be like.
I had no idea that living on the road was a plan for you !
How thrilling !
Stephanie, travelling Europe by motorhome has been a dream we had and discussed together for many years. Finally it has became reality. We are loving the freedom and flexibility it gives us. Spain has been a fantastic country to tour with a motorhome, thanks for commenting 🙂
Well-done, you’re on your way and working out the kinks. Your motor home looks to be just the right size and quite comfortable. How long do you think you could be off the grid before needing to reconnect?
Patti, it has been great to cut our motorhome teeth in countries like France and Spain that are so geared up for motorhomes. We also been incredibly lucky to get warm, sunny weather in the winter. We are pleased with the motorhome size, since it gives us good living space. We can stay off grid for ages with our solar panels and gas. But every week or so we would need to find waste disposal facilities and fresh water. I will be looking forward to follow you on the “Portuguese Camino” 🙂
Your camper-van-home is beautiful and sounds like it will provide for all of your needs in very comfortable style. I remember when we set off in 2012 that we were also plagued by the very same questions and doubts you talk about but my favorite thing was finding out that the definition of home was fluid. In that I mean that home was more a feeling of familiarity and security rather than a place and that it could encompass many locations. Our other big question was the 24/7 togetherness, especially in small spaces, but we found that the alone time we both needed was easily solved by taking a walk or “going off” in our heads when we used our computers. I think my favorite thing was rediscovering and seeing each other in a new way as we experienced different adventures and challenges. I predict a lot of fun ahead for you both! Anita
Anita, very wise words and I am so glad you and Richard have had this wonderful time together to connect in a way that perhaps so many couples never do or don’t get a chance to do it. We are experiencing more quality time together now. At home we would often be busy with all sorts of tasks and everyday jobs that we lacked time for our relationship. We are closer than we have ever been now. I like your definition of home being a feeling of familiarity and security…rather than a physical place. Thank you for your wise words 🙂
Hi Gilda & Brian, Your new motorhome is gorgeous. I am so impressed with how much ground you have covered in just your first month. It is obviously a reflection of your thorough research and preparation. I can’t believe how beautiful the weather has been in Spain this winter. You were wise to head south for your first trip. Are you planning to travel in the summer high season, or will you wait until the fall for your next trip?
Joe, thank you. We have covered a lot of ground and in many ways it feels like we have been away longer than just one month. We have been so lucky to get fantastic weather. Sunny, warm, but not too hot…just perfect. In the summer we are planning to go North towards Norway and get cooler weather there. I hope you and Esther continue to have a great time in Valencia 🙂
Thanks, Gilda. Today is the first day of Fallas, and it sounds like a war zone here. Great summer plan! Norway and the northern countries will be spectacular.
I can’t tell you how many hours Federico spends in front of Youtube looking up RV living since he heard about it a year or so ago..haha! I am like..nope! nope! NOPE! I wouldn’t even consider it. :-). I am so glad you guys are having fun roaming about on the home one wheels.
Kemkem, it would actually be a good way of travelling and being able to take the dogs with you 🙂 It is not for everyone. There are compromises for sure, but so worth it for the freedom and flexibility. So far we love it 🙂
HI Guys,
Pleased to see you have taken the plunge and enjoying a life less stressful. It’s extremely addictive. We are currently back in Brisbane and are looking forward to returning to Europe and our motorhome mid year for another 6 or 8 months.
Happy travels
Allen and Amanda
Hi Allen and Amanda, after years of planning and dreaming we are finally on the road. You are so right, it gets quite addictive. We have been so lucky to get fantastic weather since we left home in February. Maybe we will be meeting you somewhere in Europe? We will be keeping an eye out for you 🙂
Great post, enjoyed reading it. Wondering how you’ll feel in 1 year, or 2…Just like full-time travel everything changes, you have to get used to new things, but you always have to evolve. We’ve been travelling full time now for 5 years and it’s gone too quick.
Congratulations on your way of travelling, very exciting and I love the level of flexibility you have.
Frank, we are loving motorhome travelling at the moment. I suspect we will still love it in 1 or 2 years, since there is a lot to explore in Europe by motorhome. We also want to do other types of travelling, so I think we will do few months with the motorhome and few months of something else. We also still have our home in England, so will be going home at some point. The motorhome is very comfortable, we unpack just once and we always carry everything we need with us. Our travel plans can be changed easily, there is no need to book ahead. I can’t believe you have already done 5 years of full time travelling? I think the way you do, by renting and slow travelling is also a great way of seeing a lot of different places and get a really good feel of a country 🙂
Good to tag along with you, Gilda 🙂 🙂
Jo, thank you for tagging along 🙂 We love having good company 🙂
Hi Gilda, I’ve just been catching up on all your posts! I’m really impressed by your productivity when it comes to blogging on the road! Getting a glimpse into van life is fascinating, sounds like a great way to travel in Europe and I think you’re doing pretty well with costs too. Looking forward to catching up in Portugal!
Hi Amy, thank you. It is hard to keep up to date with the blog posts…trying my best, but failing miserably 🙁 Van life has been amazing, we truly love it. It has been great to cut our motorhome teeth touring easy countries such as France, Spain and Portugal. We could have kept our costs a lot lower by staying off grid more often, but we do also like staying in good campsites and getting good facilities. We are looking forward to meeting you again soon 🙂
Just found this site after your comments in the Motorhome group in FB. Well done you guys! I have been full-time motor homing for 3 years now, and write sometimes at http://www.rvnomading.com but not as well as you! I am about to buy a demo Burstner Ixeo (the 728) and I see you the the (I guess 690) – it looks awesome! Would love to hear how your experience in the Ixeo has been. Certainly seems high quality. Keep it up, beautiful blog.
Riaan, I think you will enjoy the Ixeo 728 a lot. It is about half meter longer than ours, with the separate shower? We are really happy with ours (just a shade under 7m), but having the separate shower would have been good. We particularly love the large garage, the comfortable bed, the large fridge. In general the lay out suits us very well indeed. Looks like you have done a lot of motorhome living already, full timing for 3 years, that is fantastic. I have enjoyed reading your blog and have signed up to get your posts. Very best wishes to you and will keep an eye out for you and your lovely dog somewhere in Europe.