Planning a European motorhome trip for the first time is one of those things that feels massively complicated until you actually do it, at which point you realise it is mostly just driving and parking in nicer places than you are used to. I have taken our motorhome across to France, Spain, Portugal, Germany and the Netherlands over the past few years, usually while still working. And I can tell you that the hardest part is not the logistics. The hardest part is convincing yourself to actually book the ferry.
So here is everything I wish someone had told me before our first trip across the Channel. No fluff, no Instagram fantasy. Just the practical stuff that actually matters.
Getting across the Channel
You have two options: the Eurotunnel or a ferry. Both work fine for motorhomes but they are quite different experiences.
The Eurotunnel is fast. You drive on at Folkestone, sit in your motorhome for about thirty five minutes and drive off in Calais. It is efficient and predictable. But it is also more expensive, especially for larger motorhomes, and the booking slots can fill up quickly during school holidays. Check your vehicle height before booking because anything over a certain height gets bumped to a different fare category.
Ferries are slower but more relaxed. Dover to Calais takes about ninety minutes and you can stretch your legs, grab food and let the kids run around. Portsmouth to Caen or St Malo takes longer but drops you further into France which saves driving time on the other end. We tend to use the ferry because the journey itself becomes part of the trip rather than just a thing to endure.
Book early. Seriously. Ferry prices for motorhomes can triple if you leave it until the last minute, especially in summer. I usually book three to four months ahead and have saved hundreds of pounds by doing so.
Where to stay: campsites, aires and wild camping
This is where Europe absolutely blows the UK out of the water. The infrastructure for motorhome travel on the continent is in a completely different league.
Campsites
European campsites tend to be better equipped and better value than UK ones. In France especially, even a basic municipal campsite will usually have decent showers, electric hookup and a pleasant setting. Expect to pay anywhere from fifteen to forty euros a night depending on the country and the facilities. Spain and Portugal are generally cheaper than France and Germany.
You do not need to book every campsite in advance. Outside of peak August, most places will have space if you turn up by mid afternoon. We usually book the first night and the last night and figure out the rest as we go. That flexibility is half the point of motorhome travel.
Aires and stellplatz
If you have not heard of aires, prepare to have your mind changed about motorhome travel. Aires are designated motorhome parking areas, usually run by the local council, with basic services like water, waste disposal and sometimes electric hookup. France has thousands of them. Germany has a similar system called stellplatz.
Most aires cost between five and fifteen euros a night. Some are free. They are not campsites. You do not get a pitch with a picnic table. You get a safe, legal place to park overnight with the services you need. And many of them are in absolutely stunning locations. We have parked up overlooking the Atlantic in Brittany, next to medieval villages in the Dordogne and beside lakes in Bavaria. All for less than the price of a pub lunch.
The apps Park4Night and France Passion are essential. Park4Night is a community driven database of aires, wild camping spots and small campsites across Europe. France Passion is a scheme where farms, vineyards and chateaux let you park overnight for free in exchange for buying their produce. We have had some of our best evenings parked up at a vineyard with a bottle of the local wine and absolutely no agenda. You can read more about our motorhome adventures for a taste of what that looks like.
Wild camping
The legality of wild camping in a motorhome varies hugely by country. In France, it is technically illegal but widely tolerated outside of tourist hotspots and coastal areas. In Spain, enforcement is stricter in popular regions. In Scandinavia, the right to roam makes it much more straightforward. In Germany, you can overnight in a motorhome for one night to restore driving fitness, which is the most German solution to anything I have ever heard.
My rule is simple: if there are no signs saying you cannot park there and you are not blocking anything or causing a nuisance, you are probably fine for one night. Arrive late, leave early, take your rubbish with you. Common sense goes a long way.
Routes and driving tips
Driving a motorhome in Europe is genuinely easier than driving one in the UK. The roads are wider. The drivers are more used to large vehicles. And outside of cities, traffic is generally lighter.
That said, there are a few things to know.
Tolls
French motorways are tolled and they are not cheap for motorhomes. A run from Calais to the south of France can easily cost over a hundred euros in tolls. You can avoid them by taking the national roads, the routes nationales, which are free and often more scenic. They are slower but if you are in a motorhome you are not in a hurry anyway.
Spain has a mix of toll and free motorways. Portugal has electronic tolling that you need to register for when you enter the country. Do not skip this step or you will end up with fines. Germany has no tolls for motorhomes under 3.5 tonnes which is another reason it is such a popular destination.
Speed limits and regulations
Speed limits vary by country but as a general rule, motorhomes have lower speed limits than cars. In France, the standard motorway limit for vehicles over 3.5 tonnes is 90 km/h rather than 130 km/h. Make sure you know the limits for your vehicle class in each country you are visiting.
You will also need a few bits of kit that are legally required in different countries. A high vis vest, a warning triangle, spare bulbs, a breathalyser kit for France. Most of this stuff costs a few quid from Halfords and it is worth having in the van permanently rather than trying to remember what each country requires.
Route planning
Do not try to cover too much ground. This is the single biggest mistake first timers make. You are not on a coach tour. The beauty of a motorhome is that you can stop when you find somewhere brilliant and stay as long as you want. Our best trips have been the ones where we had a rough direction and no fixed itinerary.
For a first trip, I would suggest France. It is close, the motorhome infrastructure is the best in Europe and the variety of landscape is incredible. Normandy and Brittany for a shorter trip. Down to the Dordogne or the Atlantic coast if you have two weeks or more. Save Spain and Portugal for the second trip when you have your confidence up.
Practical stuff nobody tells you
Gas and fuel
If your motorhome uses LPG for cooking and heating, research the gas fitting system before you go. Different countries use different connectors and you will need an adapter set. Alternatively, switch to refillable LPG bottles before the trip and you can fill up at most petrol stations across Europe.
Diesel is generally cheaper on the continent than in the UK. Spain and Luxembourg are particularly good value. Fill up before you hit France if you are coming from the UK because French diesel prices are typically higher.
Insurance and breakdown cover
Check your motorhome insurance covers European travel. Most policies include it but some charge extra or have a maximum number of days. Breakdown cover is essential. The RAC and AA both offer European cover for motorhomes. I would not cross the Channel without it. Getting a motorhome recovered in a foreign country without breakdown cover is eye wateringly expensive and I speak from the experience of watching someone else go through it.
Working remotely from a motorhome in Europe
This is something I know a fair bit about. I have run multiple businesses from a motorhome parked in various European countries and it is absolutely doable. Your UK mobile data will work across Europe thanks to roaming regulations, though some providers throttle speeds or cap data after a certain amount. I carry a dedicated data SIM from a provider that offers proper European coverage without the throttling.
The bigger challenge is finding reliable enough connectivity for video calls. Campsites with wifi are hit and miss. I have found that a mobile signal booster on the roof of the motorhome makes a massive difference. And planning your meeting schedule around your travel schedule is just part of the deal. If you are interested in the remote working setup in more detail, I wrote about working remotely from a motorhome previously.
What to budget
People always want to know what a European motorhome trip actually costs. Here is a rough breakdown based on our trips.
Ferry return for a motorhome: anywhere from one hundred and fifty to four hundred pounds depending on the route and how far ahead you book. Fuel: budget for roughly the same as you would spend on a UK road trip, maybe slightly less with cheaper continental diesel. Accommodation: if you mix aires and campsites, budget fifteen to twenty five euros a night on average. Food: eating out in France and Spain is excellent value compared to the UK, especially set menus at lunchtime.
A two week trip to France for a family of four, mixing aires and campsites, eating out a few times a week and doing some paid activities, will cost you somewhere between one thousand five hundred and two thousand five hundred pounds all in. That includes the ferry, fuel, accommodation, food and entertainment. Compare that to a fortnight in a holiday cottage in Cornwall and you will see why motorhome travel in Europe is such good value.
Just go
The best advice I can give anyone planning their first European motorhome trip is to stop planning and start doing. You do not need the perfect route. You do not need every night booked. You do not need to speak the language fluently. You need a ferry ticket, a rough idea of where you are heading and the willingness to figure it out as you go.
The first time you park up at an aire overlooking a French valley with a glass of local wine in your hand and absolutely nowhere you need to be, you will wonder why you did not do this years ago. That is exactly what happened to us, and we have been going back ever since.
