Hi all! I have a bucket list idea of renting a camper in London and then spending a month (at least) traveling all around Europe. My husband and I are avid campers here in the States. He plans to retire next year and spending time in Europe is a dream of mine. I figure this would be the cheapest way to do it. Any and all suggestions of where to start, where to rent a camper, how to plan, etc. are greatly appreciated! Any book/website/Instagram suggestions would be helpful, too. Thanks!
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
I would have thought it would be better to hire a camper in France, it would be left hand drive, to which you are presumably accustomed. A UK van will be right hand drive.
saxo1
London may not be your best start, we drive on the wrong side, and the steering wheel is in the wrong place; and then you have to negotiate crossing the channel. Might be worth flying into Paris or Toulouse. https://www.aviscaraway.com/en/, among others, rent motorhomes. Typical prices for May seem to be in the region of €1000-1400 per week, so not that cheap; but France is well set up for campsites and overnight stops (camping car aires). Most of the models were manual, stick-shift though there were some automatics.
For a guide, try ACSI Eurocampings, a Dutch camping organisation that looks at sites across Europe. It’s a starting point, and will give you an idea of what it’s like.
Let us know how you get on - as you know, it’s a great way to meet people, and a useful antidote to mass tourism.
Thank you! I will research ACSI. I didn't know steering wheels were on the left in France.
Quote: Originally posted by morepints on 17/3/2023
London may not be your best start, we drive on the wrong side, and the steering wheel is in the wrong place; and then you have to negotiate crossing the channel. Might be worth flying into Paris or Toulouse. https://www.aviscaraway.com/en/, among others, rent motorhomes. Typical prices for May seem to be in the region of €1000-1400 per week, so not that cheap; but France is well set up for campsites and overnight stops (camping car aires). Most of the models were manual, stick-shift though there were some automatics.
For a guide, try ACSI Eurocampings, a Dutch camping organisation that looks at sites across Europe. It’s a starting point, and will give you an idea of what it’s like.
Let us know how you get on - as you know, it’s a great way to meet people, and a useful antidote to mass tourism.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
That's interesting, we have been thinking about the possibility of renting an RV to see around Pennsylvania / Ohio / West Virginia.
What type of thing do you want to see in Europe ? There's a huge difference between Greece, France, England and Sweden, for example, in weather, customs, people, food and nature. You can't see all of Europe in a month, like I couldn't see the US in a month, so narrow down your wish list first would be my advice.
We haven't narrowed it down just yet of where we want to go.
I am just researching the possibilities. My daughter and I are spending 10 days in London next month, so I am looking forward to that. I'd love to see Greece and Italy. A food tour sounds wonderful! We'd love to try different cuisines. I see you are from N. Ireland. That is definitely on my list!
As to your trip, the Pennsylvania countryside is beautiful. You should venture further north into Maine and go to Acadia National Park. It is amazing! The leaves in the fall are breathtaking.
Quote: Originally posted by arthurdent on 17/3/2023
That's interesting, we have been thinking about the possibility of renting an RV to see around Pennsylvania / Ohio / West Virginia.
What type of thing do you want to see in Europe ? There's a huge difference between Greece, France, England and Sweden, for example, in weather, customs, people, food and nature. You can't see all of Europe in a month, like I couldn't see the US in a month, so narrow down your wish list first would be my advice.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Come to London for x days. Then take a good package holiday to Greece (ah, but which island??? Crete has Knossos) for a week. Come back to London & hire a MH for a “taster” week - you won’t get far (Stratford on Avon for Shakespeare, Cotswolds because it’s gorgeous, for example: Wales & Scotland & Lake District will have to wait for another trip.) Then take another package holiday which flies you out to Italy (Tuscany, I’d suggest, for food & art at Florence). Fly home via London.
In short, you’re trying to do way too much in that amount of time. Unlike the States, you can’t say driving 100 miles will take 100 minutes. You’d spend most of your time on the road if you’re going to drive a MH to Greece & Italy & back to the hire company in France or the Netherlands.
Totally agree with Fiona!
We've been taking 2/3 months breaks in France/Spain for ten years ... still not covered all we want to see/explore.
If you try to do too much in a month you'll spend 80% of your waking hours driving ... you'll get home needing a holiday to recover!
If you want to do major European cities, then book a series of 'city breaks' ... you could 'chain them' hopping from stopping point to point, 'do' the relevant city for (say) three days, then move on ... London/Paris/Madrid/Barcelona/Rome/Florence/Venice/Munich/Berlin/Stockholm ... that's ten: at 3 days each that's a month and a wide range of cultures/foods and interesting cities ... bet Venice will be your favourite!
Bon chance!
I did come across this scheme for motorhome hire in the UK, and thought of your post. The Camping and Caravanning Club (CC&C in these pages) accepts temporary members - more designed for visitors from mainland Europe, but I’m sure they would welcome someone from the US.
At least it’s more information to help your decisions.
If you plan on touring mostly mainland Europe then definitely hire a LHD one over there rather than a RHD from the UK. I know some UK hire companies do allow their vehicles to be taken abroad, but I can't imagine its a cheap option.
McRent are one of the more well-known European hire companies https://www.mcrent.eu/ though I've no experience of them myself. I've also heard of this place: https://www.happy-camper.eu/ which seem to specialise in longer-term rentals and/or sell & buy back. It looks like for the sell & buy back option they can also handle the registration and insurance - which can be complicated, or nigh on impossible for non-residents.
Quote: Originally posted by oxter on 05/4/2023
This is an alternative.
https://www.ukmotorhomes.net/motorhome-exchange
We did a successful exchange with a New Zealand couple years ago.
He put me on his insurance, and I put him on mine.
Interesting.
I could not put my sister on my own car insurance here when she visited from NZ because she didn’t have a UK driving licence. Specialist insurance firms quoted me several hundred £ for one week.
Does the exchange website covers the insurance?
Quote: Originally posted by oxter on 05/4/2023
This is an alternative.
https://www.ukmotorhomes.net/motorhome-exchange
We did a successful exchange with a New Zealand couple years ago.
He put me on his insurance, and I put him on mine.
Interesting.
I could not put my sister on my own car insurance here when she visited from NZ because she didn’t have a UK driving licence. Specialist insurance firms quoted me several hundred £ for one week.
Does the exchange website covers the insurance?
No, but I had no problem adding a third driver to my insurance. Even if you had to pay a bit for an additional driver, it’s still a lot cheaper than MH hire which costs an arm and two legs.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: An American renting a camper in Europe
via mobile 17/3/2023 at 7:39pm
