Hi to you all. My partner and I are due to pickup our first motorhome in 2 weeks, a 2004 Carioca 5. Were 31 and 26yrs old with a 3 month baby.
Were in Fife with some lovely campsites nearby, a personal favourite is Nydie where I'e been many times as my friend has an RV up there.
Anyway, I have 3 months of next year between March and May, we have saved what I hope is a reasonable amount of money for us to head to Europe for most of those 3 months, saying on mainly campsites but using Aires if we feel comfortable with them.
Some friends think we are mad travelling to Europe in a motorhome with a child, I say otherwise. Were both very laid back and patient which i guess helps a fair bit.
So here's my little 'Hello' and hope to provide some interesting journey's along the way.
Good for you Lewis - go for it. Our first motorhone was a Bedford CF based 'Buccaneer' and I modified it to take a cot mattress over the cab. Our infant daughter who slept there subsequently qualified as a solicitor, so camping gave her a good start in life!! Never too young to give them a bit of adventure.
We're just getting back into continental camping and hope to go Newcastle - Amsterdam next year to save us the drive to Dover. Favourite destinations have been Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany - especially the Rhine, Moselle & Saar regions.
Good luck with your travels - come up to my neck of the woods in Aberdeenshire some time.
------------- Two drifters off to see the world.
I'm tired of reality, so I'm off to look for a good fantasy.
Thank you Shaz, We're really looking forward to getting out there and finding our way with new motorhome:)
Thank you Captain - I absolutely agree, Being outdoors and running around in the wild must help give kids a sense of adventure they won't forget as they get older.
We are also looking at either the Newcastle - Amsterdam route, Or the Portsmouth - Santander for when we go to the continent. It looks like we will take in some of France, Switzerland, Italy perhaps, Germany, Denmark and then hopefully finish up in Norway, specifically the Lofoten Islands... We wanted to go to Norway first, However due to the weather there in March, We have decided to effectively flip our route so we would arrive in Norway during May.
Yes I'll be sure to head up to Aberdeen and the surrounding area at some point, I like it up there.
Hi goob, just wanted to say I'm also v new to the milarkey in which we are entering because of the baby! Our little one is now 8 months, we want to go to Spain and the thought of occupying her for hours at the airport and on the plane, not to mention having to pack light , sold us on doing what we had talked about for years, buying a campervan! Picking it up next week and and looking forward to loading it up with lots of home comforts, all the baby gear and kit to be able to cook for my little darling as and when we wish . .. Trundling along and doing everything at a pace that suits her. I don't think you're mad. Unless I am too?! :)
Oh and I went to Norway in May a few years ago, fabulous place! ( and ability to self cater definitely a must as you will not believe the price of food, let alone booze there...
Hi Campernewby. It's great to hear others are also venturing the same way as us We used to do quite a lot of festivals and have also talked about buying one for years, often taking trips to Oban and the west coast but sleeping in the work van( Its really clean inside which helped). So this should be quite an upgrade on that.
We wanted to finish in Spain until we changed our route, although i think we should still visit Spain especially if we're at south of France anyway.
I also love the thought of having everything already packed, being able to hop in and drive off straight after work on a Friday! I've never been a huge fan of flying so all the waiting about at airports is a nightmare for me anyway, never mind having a baby in tow!haha
Yeah really excited about Norway, it looks amazing, and i'll defo be packing pleeeenty of beers to take with me
I've never done Norway and I wasn't impressed by Denmark (also expensive). I did work in N Finland for a while and I loved that. It's actually quite warm in the summer, even at the Arctic circle. I'd recommend that you visit Santa's official post office at Rovaniemi. You can see the real Santa all year round and post your Xmas cards at any time. They're stored till December and then posted with a special stamp.
We were thinking about Spain sometime, but everyone who knows Spain tells me to go to the Basque area round Bilbao.
------------- Two drifters off to see the world.
I'm tired of reality, so I'm off to look for a good fantasy.
Invest (less than £10 )in an ACSI Camping Card, and you will get their campsite directories and great off-season discounts on camping fees. Enjoy yourself -- you will love it.
Hi - we did a big tour of Norway this year. If you 'click on' My Homepage it will take you to our blog(s).
Norway is expensive but this can be offset by wildcamping for free.
If you plan well and have good stores, you will have a great time. The Lofotens are beautiful.
We made good use of some very good ACSI campsites too.
As others have said, even inside the Arctic cirle in May/June it is not as cold as you would expect.
You really need a re-fillable gas system and know where the LPG stations are!
Hey Goob. Great that you are venturing out for three months. No need to take any notice of those that say a baby would be difficult! If you really want difficult, my wife says try taking an older kid! (I think she means me, cos there is only the two of us. )
Our first trip in our first motorhome (last December) was to France for 4 days. It was cold weather, but we had a fantastic time. Adding the little one may mean a little extra work for you, but you would be doing that at home anyway.
As you go around Europe, look out for the motorhome stops, but steer clear of motorway aires. Get the books from Vicarious Books. Lots of info on aires that have been visited before they are given a rating.
Get the App for your phone. "Motorhome Parkings" from Campercontact. It is in the App store or Google Play. Has places all over Europe and wherever you are, it will find the aires around you. It also has details like any facilities on the aire, any costs and local stuff.
If you have Sat Nav, you can download POI's (points of interest) that have stopovers and camp sites for wherever you are. Last but not least. Of course you are taking a phone or two (I guess little one is too young? lol) Take a look at all the packages, but for overall value, you need a "3" contract. Get a good package and you can make free calls and texts + use of the tinterweb up to your package limits in France and Spain, Norway and lots more. Saves us a fortune on buying roaming packages!
A quick note on photos. If you are I-phoning it, you have the cloud as do most mobiles these days. But if you are taking a camera, you will need to download, so make sure you take the lead... We download onto a tablet via usb, we have a micro usb to usb socket lead. We can then plug the normal phone lead into that and download to the tablet.
Lastly, sorry for the weighty tome. But me and 'er indoors wish you a great trip. Ignore the naysayers, get out there and experience the freedom and liberation that motorhoming can bring. Don't forget, pictures, plenty of pictures...
------------- Quiet night with friends, wine and good food. What could be better?
(answers on a postcard please ;-) )
I think that the easier it is to stay in touch, the nicer it is not to. I don't have a smart phone, I've never sent a text and I've got no idea what one of these 'app' thingys is.
Take a basic phone in case you get into bother, otherwise keep it switched off. Buy a set of maps and a decent site guide (I use the CC ones) and go with ideas but no fixed plans and make it up as you go.
Take pictures for yourself, but don't bore the pants off others. Nothing worse than 'death by holiday snaps'.
Lastly, it's nearly a year away and you've got loads of time to change your mind as often as you want. I rarely book anything more than a couple of weeks in advance, never book continental sites in advance and I have no idea what we're doing for the rest of this year! That's the nice thing about it, remember as Paul Theroux put it "Tourists don't know where they've been, travellers don't know where they're going".
------------- Two drifters off to see the world.
I'm tired of reality, so I'm off to look for a good fantasy.
We are offf to Spain with our little ones again this year. Trouble is for us our little ones are 18 and 21 say the word Spain and they are both packing there bags, so go for it we say.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: First Motorhome..Europe Trip
We used to do quite a lot of festivals and have also talked about buying one for years, often taking trips to Oban and the west coast but sleeping in the work van( Its really clean inside which helped). So this should be quite an upgrade on that.
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