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Hello all,

My other half, myself and our 2 children ( who will be 5 and 2 when we go)are planning a 6 month trip around Europe ! (we must be mad...lol) I was wondering if anyone had done anything similar and had any advice ?

Weve decided to use a caravan so we have the car for day trips etc (although the motorhomes did look fantastic)

So if anyone has any advice I'd be most grateful.

Lorraine :o)

I spent nearly 2 years travelling through europe in a motorhome,at the beginning we had one 14 month old boy that was latter supplemented by the arrival of a little girl,we returned to normality once we found out we had twins to follow,travelling with 4 younge children would of been to difficult.

Firstly I would say a caravan is a much more child friendly way of travelling than motorhomes,the amount of mess and child debrise there is to clear away each time you want to move a motorhome becomes really tiresome so yes stay with the caravan idea.

On an extended trip go for a seperate child sleeping area and make sure the beds are easy and quick to erect,my first motorhome was an eldis autostratus E.B se with a bed that was fragile,weak and like rubics cube to put together,after even a couple of months of that you will start to dred the evening ritual of making the beds.

As for route thats down to indivigual taste but I tried to maximise my time in areas that I couldn,t easily visit on my usual annual leave.Thus I spent time in Portugal,s.Spain,Italy,Greece,Croatia,Scandinavia rather than N.France.

It will be a great experience for you and the children and its best to do it while the kids are younge.Have fun.

                                   Ninja

Most we have done is 3 months, something for you to remember for a long time. Go for it. There will be a few practical things to sort out but most are surmountable. Talk to your doctor if you are keen to stay on his books as the NHS has recently introduced rules which say that you must reapply to your doctor if you are out of the country for more than a few months. You doctor may be relaxed enought not to apply these rules!!!

David

and .. with my sensible hat on you may want to check out any legal requirements there may be of educating your 5yo ? ... nothing to say you couldn't do it yourself and they'll be getting lots of education anyway touring around different places ... it'll also be easier for them on return if they can fit back in with what the rest of the class are doing.  Liz :)    

Hi lorraine,

What a fantastic opportunity for you all. We've procrastinated (and then some) about it but never considered using a caravan rather than motorhome, but now you and Ninja have mentioned it, it does sound more logical.

Just adding to Liz9 mentioning schooling: you've probably already checked it out but it's relatively easy to opt-out (I have a couple of friends who are doing this) and there are loads of resouces on the web for home schooling and of course, a half hour of the 3 'r' s 1:1 will easily equate a whole morning/day in a busy classroom.... and your children will get loads of socialising on your travels. I know you already know this! you've just fired me up again, my minds racing .... here comes another bout of procrastinating.

Hiya,

Thanks everyone for your advice  We definatly want to go for it next year but now my other half is having doubts, hes a big worrier when it comes to money but saying that now he knows we can rent our house and get more than we have to pay the mortgage hes feeling a bit happier.

Im definatly one for just going for it, weve had quite a few deaths in the family recently and its made me relise that waiting for things is not a good idea, even my 88 year old nan has said we should just do it !

Im changing my mind about the caravan though, there are alot of pros and cons but as Ive been researching online alot of travellers mentioned that in Europe there are alot of free stay parking and facilities for motorhomes, which would obivously save a fortune on camping site fee's.

Theres so much to think about ! Im not too worried about the schooling part as a few people have pointed out its easy to 'home school' these days especially as I will be taking the laptop with us.

Anyway thanks again and if anyone else has any advice its always gratefully recieved.

Lorraine.

I would stick to the caravan - yes there are loads of places to stay for nothing - but some of them are just parking-type areas - often in the middle of a town or village - and not really suitable or set up for young children.   You can get campsites in France which needn't cost a great deal - some of the municipals charge as little as 6 or 8 euros.  Outside peak season you could use either an ACSI card or Camping Cheques, bringing the costs of larger full facility sites down to 10/12/14 euros depending on the site (see campingcard.co.uk, or www.campingcheque.co.uk for details.   You children will also have the chance to meet other children - many (though not all, obviously) 'motorhomers' are older couples without children.  You'll also get better economy if you're only doing 'between' sites towing, and all your day trips just in the car.  This is an important consideration as petrol prices have gone up quite a bit in France recently.

In some areas in peak season (mid-July to mid-August) you may find yourselves paying more for a pitch on larger sites, however, as prices can go up then, so stick to municipals which tend to have a flat rate all season. 

There are also some sites which may offer you a pitch in exchange for helping out a bit on site with either gardening, cleaning, or cooking which may be worth investigating.

Hiya,

Thanks for that Val, great advice....back to the caravan  Good job were not going for at least a year, theres so much to sort out.

Thats great about some site that may offer work for a pitch, that would help out alot money wise.

Lorraine.

Keep a look out for ads in the back of the Caravan Club magazine - there are often sites advertising for people to help out in return for a pitch.  This one  in the Lot is one of them - Sheila is the lady you need to contact.  If you're canny you may be able to find enough to keep you going for a few weeks without spending any money!