Travel without borders: mobile home

Caravanning (traveling in a motorhome) has long been popular in Europe and America,It has its own romance - you can spontaneously change your route, stop whenever and wherever you want and not worry about an overnight stay, because your home is always with you. And nothing beats the feeling of freedom and adventure that comes with a camper trip. In this article, we will talk about how to plan your RV trip.

Pros of caravanning

A mobile home is a great option for travel, because it has everything you need for a comfortable stay: a portable shower, toilet, kitchen and sleeping places. Here you can relax and work. Unlike clearly scheduled flights or train journeys, a motorhome gives you the ability to move around as and when you want. I liked the place on the road - we stopped and spent a couple of days there. If you want to rest - turned to the side of the road and settled down for the night under the starry sky.

How to Prepare?

You need to build a route in detail. Services like http://www.viamichelin.com/ and http://fr.mappy.com/ will help you with this. Set your path on the map and get information about nearby food points, parking lots, gas stations, campgrounds and attractions. Travel guides for caravaners will come in handy for travelers to Europe. Popular ones are ADAC and ECC, from which you will learn about the best European campsites. On the way, do not forget about toll sections of the route, parking lots and possible fines.

Trailer or house

There are two types of campers: motorhomes and trailers. A mobile home is a residential minibus fully equipped with the necessary equipment. The trailer is no worse equipped, but requires a towing vehicle to move. By the way, don't be afraid to splurge on camper fuel. Contrary to popular belief, its diesel engine consumes only 12-15 liters per 100 km.

We rent a camper

If buying a caravan or a trailer is not part of your plans, but you want to try caravanning, you can rent a camper. In Russia, you will pay approximately 200 euros per day. In Europe, prices are lower by about 30%. But it should be borne in mind that in summer rent is more expensive than in other seasons. You can save on it by taking a motorhome older than 3 years - new ones are more expensive. And the longer your trip, the lower the check for using the camper.

What is camping?

Camping is an integral part of caravanning. Basically it is a RV park. For a fee, you get a place for your car, the ability to fill up with water, access to electricity and a designated waste disposal area. In simple campsites, you will also have access to a place for a tent, shower and toilet. The more expensive ones have cafes, shops, playgrounds and even swimming pools. If you want to spend the whole summer camping, book a place in advance - the demand for such a service in Europe is very high.

How to choose?

There are useful resources to search for campgrounds abroad: http://www.europe-camping-guide.com/, http://www.campings.com/, http://camping-plus.ru/ and others. If you are interested in a specific country, type “camping + country name”. It is useful to get a CCI card - this is like a passport for caravaners, which is used when checking into a campsite. Such a document will allow you to receive discounts on the territory of 2,000 campsites throughout Europe. To get a card, you need to become a member of one of the clubs of the FIA, FICC or AIT associations.