Van Life and Motorhome Life Europe

Welcome to r/VanlifeEurope !

2025-09-25T18:21:54+00:00

Welcome! We are a community for Van Life & Motorhome Life in Europe. Please be patient if it takes a bit of time to approve posts and comments. We have a lot of influencer spam here, settings might send your posts or comments to the queue. Speaking of spam, please take a moment to review our subreddit rules :)

I’m American, but spent several decades living (legally) in the EU as a digital nomad, navigating loads of red tape and overlanding through much of the continent for work. Currently, I split my time between continents but I plan to sell my home and buy a motorhome and spend at least a decade nomading around Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Maybe I will even keep doing it after retirement.

Professionally, I’ve worked remotely as an academic medical editor (journal submissions, not proofreading) and as a teacher of complementary healing modalities for decades. I'm also ordained clergy in the (shamanic) religion I was raised in and this work can be done remotely, as well. I've noticed that a number of my own students live full-time in vans or motorhomes because they love the lifestyle. After careful consideration, and given that I've been a digital nomad since the early 00s, I decided to pursue it myself but, for me, it's more about freedom of movement. Fortunately, it's very easy to teach these complimentary systems in a van or motorhome and my students convinced me that Starlink has made it easy to do now.

[edit: I am getting a lot of messages asking about how I make a living teaching these courses, what I actually do and how much people can expect to earn from this work. I'll try make a post about it when I have time, as a remote work option. It takes one 2-day weekend class to become a practitioner and, to become a master/teacher, you take a 3-day weekend class 6 months later. Ofc, it must be a reputable teacher/school that provides a reputable certificate, as nowadays most are fake certificate mills and students know to avoid them.) Many of my students report that they are earning between 2500-4000 Euros/month within the first 1.5 to 2.5 years. But there are no guarantees in life and this is not a get rich quick kind of work. You have to invest time in building a business. If you have questions about my classes, please visit r/ReikiHealing or contact me via my website. But please do not DM or send modmail to this subreddit about this topic, tysm!]

I’m still in the planning phase. A lot has changed since my overlanding days - technology especially - and I want the most up-to-date opinions and information before making that leap. Most of the vanlife and motorhome communities are dominated by American experiences - which are useful, but not always applicable. Europe has very different rules, regulations, builds, and movement laws. This sub is meant to focus on those European realities. Americans are welcome here, but the conversation will be centered on Europe.

I hope we can keep this a helpful and respectful space for everyone. Whether you’re full-time, part-time, planning, or just curious, I’m glad you’re here.

Also, we have flair!

♥︎ Sibbie

submitted by /u/SibyllaAzarica
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8 days trip from Milan late June

2026-06-09T16:13:05+00:00

Debating on renting a campervan or just a car and staying in hotels.

Pros and cons of each? Are there easy places to wild camp while touring the Dolomites? Ideally in nature? Any recs for van rentals in Milan?

We have RV'd before so are aware of the feeling of being in a van/RV for days and what all is involved with that.

We will be doing a lot of hiking, rock climbing, and via ferrata.

submitted by /u/guncotton
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L2H2 Build

2026-06-08T20:57:43+00:00

Also an introduction. Decided today that I would like to build an L2H2 into a camper. In a perfect world I would go to a website and they would have the designs (no shower and compost toilet, no high shelves, all electric... whatever) and I would choose material etc. Possible?

submitted by /u/Roedsten
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for daily usage, which one of these will be better?

2026-06-08T17:50:19+00:00

In my country, Poland, for electric or hydrogen vehicles whose gross domestic weight exceeds 3500 kg but is lower than or equal to 4250 kg, there are nice tax reliefs if the vehicle is registered to a company, and they can be driven with a standard car driving license. I've been thinking about eSprinter with an 113 kWh battery (high roof and long wheelbase, the only configuration available with such a huge battery), eSprinter with an 81 kWh battery (it can be either high or standard roof and long or standard wheelbase, but I would choose standard roof and standard wheelbase), or Master E-Tech with an 87 kWh battery (L2H2). I've been also thinking of buying a normal diesel-powered bus (I might do the truck+tralier driving license soon).

submitted by /u/Kaka_v420pl
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Show or Tell us what / where you're up to this week !

2026-06-08T03:18:22+00:00

Share a slice of your journey or just ordinary daily van/motorhome life!

Post a photo from wherever you are today or this week - or just tell us something about it!

Could be a campsite, a park up, a border crossing, a random grocery store car park, or the view out your window while you’re making coffee.

Bonus points if you add a note about where you are and what you’re up to so the rest of us can get a glimpse of your travels!

If you don't want to share pics, you can just tell us :)

submitted by /u/SibyllaAzarica
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US citizen looking for advice

2026-06-07T04:03:14+00:00

Hi! I’m a US citizen and for years have planned to spend a spell living in Europe traveling through most if not all of the countries. I’ve planned on shipping my Sprinter van from the east coast to Western Europe, probably Lisbon. What are the pros and cons of approaching it this way vs backpacking for a year or more?

submitted by /u/rollindutchez
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Buying induction stove in EU?

2026-06-03T09:08:12+00:00

Hello, I’d like to buy an induction stove in Spain but the only ones I can find are very expensive. It needs to be countertop fixed for homologation purposes.

Does anyone have experience in finding a reasonable 2hob induction stove in Europe?

I could try to import a sterling brand from the UK but I’m afraid of the import tax being expensive. Thanks!!

submitted by /u/logic_boy
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Anyone here drives a truck between Turkey and Italy/Germany

2026-06-02T16:06:15+00:00

Hi,
I’m looking for someone who regularly drives a truck between Turkey and Italy or Germany.

If you are a driver or know someone who does these routes, please send me a private message.

Thank you!

submitted by /u/sabri_mo
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Show or Tell us what / where you're up to this week !

2026-06-01T03:28:25+00:00

Share a slice of your journey or just ordinary daily van/motorhome life!

Post a photo from wherever you are today or this week - or just tell us something about it!

Could be a campsite, a park up, a border crossing, a random grocery store car park, or the view out your window while you’re making coffee.

Bonus points if you add a note about where you are and what you’re up to so the rest of us can get a glimpse of your travels!

If you don't want to share pics, you can just tell us :)

submitted by /u/SibyllaAzarica
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Toilet recommendations?

2026-05-31T08:43:31+00:00

Help a newbie out!

I recently posted here that I am taking drivers lessons and doubting between a car and a van as a first purchase. I am leaning very much towards purchasing a van.

Due to my budget, I will probably have to do with a simple setup of a bed, fridge and stove, nothing else.

I still need a toilet tho. I don't have a weenie, so can't go in the bushes, haha.

If there is no toilet already in the van, which ones do you recommend?

I have the feeling a chemical toilet is such a hassle to clean and disgusting... Is that a misconception?

I feel most okay with a foldable toilet with bags in them, to immediatly be able to throw it out after use.

Any thoughts?

submitted by /u/nobodyknows6070
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I finally leaped :) Bought a Merc Vario 816d to convert to my home!

2026-05-30T09:00:25+00:00

Heyhey everyone!

Curious how all builds look from you guys. I purchased a truck in Germany, Merc Vario 816d and will start converting it as much off-grid as possible and work my way around europe.
Luckily I'm Belgian, so I had to learn other languages to communicate outside our small country.
I've been doing different jobs these past 20 years or so (I'm just over 40 now sniff, hehe)
so this will help me work on the road!

Looking forward to showing you guys my build the coming months, and probably years.. :))

https://preview.redd.it/gh4mzbp2p84h1.jpg?width=1888&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bcb4879da88666825bb458a664db96ded348239a

submitted by /u/snakevdd
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From Italy to Sweden

2026-05-29T19:18:35+00:00

With summer right around the corner it’s time to start escaping the melting sun.
I’m going to be traveling from Italy to Sweden, going through Switzerland, Germany and Denmark.
I’m planning to leave in a couple of weeks and travel slowly. I’ll be traveling with my Dog Bandido.

It will be my first time in Sweden so any recommendations will be greatly appreciated:
Where can I park (outside campsites found in P4N), places to visit, things to keep in mind.

Thanks in advance and happy travels!

Ps: if you hace a similar plan hmu maybe we can share part of the road.

submitted by /u/BackslashCoffee
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Should we buy this van?

2026-05-28T23:54:05+00:00

Hi again everyone!

My boyfriend and I are still on the hunt for a good van, and are currently looking at one which seems good, but has some fairly serious rust damage (pictured).

As we are overseas we are organising for checkdenwagen to go inspect the van on our behalf. They advised us that this rust damage would likely need to be fixed before the van could get a new Tüv in March next year/be resold, and that it would cost around €1000. Assuming that this is the only rust located on the vehicle, we are ok with this, as the van itself is around 4k under our budget anyway.

The van is a 2010 Citroën Jumper with 147000 kms. Almost everything else about the van is much better than most others we are seeing on the market currently.

I was just wondering if some people living in Germany could give me some advice; how difficult would it be for us to book in the van to have this rust repaired, and roughly how long would this take?

This rust doesn't seem new- is it likely that the van last passed Tüv with the rust present?

My main other concerns are that the van does not have air conditioning or a diesel heater, although it is insulated and does have solar so we could always add one later.

submitted by /u/ConfusedAnt12
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Newbie needs advice on purchasing first van

2026-05-27T09:13:05+00:00

Dear everyone,

TLDR at the bottom of post.

I am currently getting drivers lessons and am doubting if my first car should be a van or a regular car. Of course this subreddit is very biased ;), but I still come here for advice!

Ever since I was 12, I wanted the freedom to explore the world and had the idea of doing this by bike. As I got older, this turned into a much safer and realistic option of doing this with a van. I am now 25.

I live in the Netherlands and work 28h a week, and every uneven weekend I have the weekend off. Which means I have plenty of free time to make wonderful weekend trips with a van.

I am doubting because of the price.
My budget is 3-4k for a van that is ready to drive, or cheaper if the maintenance it needs would result in 4k total, max.
Secondhand of course.

I have seen regular cars for way less, but this will mean if I want to make weekendtrips, it'll be hotels, hostels or just very different activities that don't include a night sleeping somewhere else. Or (don't want to do that) sleeping in my car.

I see plenty of vans that are very basic and small, but cosy. Since I will only use it for weekendtrips, other short trips, festivals or to make stops inbetween on the way to further out holiday destinations once or twice a year, I have decided it will be better to get a fuel/benzine van and not a Diesel one. Also because of environmental zones in cities and the fact it'll get phased out slowly (I heard from a Dutch vanlifer who sold his van because of this)

This narrows it down.

But, actually my questions are:

(TLDR:)

If buying a van on a budget, what things are absolutely necessary to have? (Think: Shower vs fridge, what to choose?)
Is it smart to have my very first car be a van, or would y'all recommend renting one first?
What things do I need to look out for when buying a secondhand van?
Are there any secondhand van-dealerships in the Netherlands or Belgium (or Germany, close to the border of NL) that you recommend?
What vanlife on a budget tips do you guys have? (For purchasing, taxes and insurance etc. in NL, not for actual travel or cheap campsites.)
What files and documents do I need for traveling freely across Europe?
Any other tips and tricks, further questions are welcome!

submitted by /u/nobodyknows6070
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Show or Tell us what / where you're up to this week !

2026-05-25T14:44:56+00:00

Share a slice of your journey or just ordinary daily van/motorhome life!

Post a photo from wherever you are today or this week - or just tell us something about it! Could be a campsite, a park up, a border crossing, a random grocery store car park, or the view out your window while you’re making coffee.

Bonus points if you add a note about where you are and what you’re up to so the rest of us can get a glimpse of your travels!

If you don't want to share pics, you can just tell us :)

submitted by /u/SibyllaAzarica
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Newbie to vanlife wanting safety advice

2026-05-24T21:46:07+00:00

I'm looking to get out on the road soon and have a long term view to roadtrip around southern Europe. I'm interested in advice on keeping your van safe overnight and advice on choosing where you park up. Areas in looking to go to are Southern France, Italy, Croatia and Greece. I'm also interested to know what are your experiences of taking your van to these areas? Thanks in advance!

submitted by /u/b1scu1td3stroy3r
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Need advice re: motorhome/mini van

2026-05-24T06:58:17+00:00

Thankyou for the advice everyone! We are now looking at one country. I appreciate all the advice:)

Newbies need advice please. Very much appreciated

Planning a trip to France Germany and Netherlands. Sleep 5 adults and 1 child (10 year old). We wouldn't plan trip and just be spontaneous

Around 1st August to 8th August

We think the prices will be about the same but torn between

1) Motorhome (need hire) that sleeps 6 but travels 2 adults 1 child. We would then take one of our cars (3 adults in) not enough seats for all

2) Hire a Large People Carrier (Ford Tourneo Custom or similar) seats 9 People with 8 Bags. We think this would be good enough space for the 6 of us with luggage. We would book air BnB/hotel/hostel as we go with only planning first night.

We are taking into account

\- ferries for each (motorhome+car or just van)

\- extra cost for European travel

\- unlimited miles for van but only 150 a day for motorhome with 75p per extra mile

\- Airbnb/hotel/hostels

\- tolls etc

\- petrol/diesel

Thanks for any advice!

submitted by /u/Summertime_666
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Working around willy-nilly as EU/EEA citizen

2026-05-23T05:50:42+00:00

Mostly due to curiosity and a small pipe-dream in the back of my mind, I started to look in to the practical realities of traveling around Europe, taking any job you can find, moving around hap-hazardly. Think, a month in Germany at a seasonal job, 3 months in greece doing remote call-center work, etc.

Then realities like tax, pension and so on hit me. If I move away from my home country (Norway) for 6 months, I forfeit my Norwegian welfare rights (including for example my european health-insurance!)

As I understand so far, I could still live this lifestyle, however, say that I decide to live and work in Germany for a couple months, I would have register myself on a permanent address(!), open a bank account, do necessary paperwork, pay taxes as usual and then be covered by german welfare as a tax payer. Move on to a different country? I would then have to notify german authorities of my move abroad I guess, lose my welfare rights in Germany, and gain them in the country I move to. Plenty of paperwork, but possible in theory.

In additon to this, there are plenty of issues like pension rights (gulp!), insurance, registration of vechicle and so on.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Are there any good resources to read up on the working, travelling vanlifer? Could you just wing it and assume it will work itself out, or would that be complete madness?

submitted by /u/Connect_Economics_62
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Show or Tell us what / where you're up to this week !

2026-05-19T01:26:11+00:00

Share a slice of your journey or just ordinary daily van/motorhome life!

Bonus points if you add a note about where you are and what you’re up to so the rest of us can get a glimpse of your travels!

If you don't want to share pics, you can just tell us :)

submitted by /u/SibyllaAzarica
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(Fossacesia Marina, Italy) My parents’ retirement trip lasted 13 days before their camper was stolen

2026-05-15T19:54:37+00:00

submitted by /u/SibyllaAzarica
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What do you guys think about Giottiline motorhomes? Any real owner experiences?

2026-05-12T11:45:50+00:00

Hey everyone,

I’m currently researching motorhomes and I became really interested in the Giottiline brand, especially the Toscan 69 GC model.

From what I’ve seen online it looks like a really good value-for-money camper with a nice layout and modern interior, but I’d love to hear real experiences from owners or people who have spent time with Giottiline motorhomes.

How is the build quality long term? Any common issues, leaks, bad insulation, furniture problems, electronics issues, etc.? How is the overall reliability and resale value?

I’m also considering Adria as an alternative (probably Matrix or Coral models), so I’d really appreciate if someone who has experience with both brands could compare them.

Would you personally choose Giottiline or spend more for Adria?

Thanks a lot!

submitted by /u/Creepy_Impression_24
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Anybody with experience on a Ford Transit 2.0 EcoBlue TDCI 170hp engine ?

2026-05-12T10:13:21+00:00

Hi !

I'm on the market to buy a Ford Transit to build in, and I was wondering if some people here have experience with the 2L EcoBlue 170hp engine version. I found a second hand 2023 L3H3 with 81 000km for 19 000€ VAT included in a pro reseller, BUT there is no servicing history and they confirmed the engine wet belt has not been replaced yet.

From your experience, what should I be looking for regarding its internals ? What should I plan on replacing straight away if I go with it ?

I plan on talking the price way down with the total sum of what I should replace straight away, given the no service history, and replacing the engine belt straight away (apparently a weak point on this engine).

If it helps on what I have to look for, I saw on CarVertical that the van was bought and used in Italy, then exported.

Thank you !

submitted by /u/Chpouky
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Show or Tell us what / where you're up to this week !

2026-05-10T08:20:39+00:00

Share a slice of your journey or just ordinary daily van/motorhome life!

Bonus points if you add a note about where you are and what you’re up to so the rest of us can get a glimpse of your travels!

If you don't want to share pics, you can just tell us :)

submitted by /u/SibyllaAzarica
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Advice for Australians doing vanlife in Europe

2026-05-09T08:55:55+00:00

Hi there everyone!

I have already made a post about this trip here before, but flights have been purchased now and the plan is much more solidified so I thought I'd see if anyone here has any helpful advice or personal experiences which they might like to share 😄

My boyfriend and I are currently in Australia, but are planning to travel to Amsterdam mid-July to kick off what will hopefully be a massive roadtrip around Europe. The plan is to purchase a converted campervan (such as a Mercedes Sprinter or Ford Transit) and travel to as many places as possible in around ten months. I am currently looking at buying the van in Germany, as it seems like there are quite a few good options in our price range (12000 Euro) on sites such as Kleinanzeigen and mobile.de. Any other site recommendations for countries near The Netherlands would be much appreciated. If it is relevant, my boyfriend speaks some Dutch, I speak some German, and we are both fluent in English.

My boyfriend (24) has Australian, American, and Dutch passports (lucky duck) so I don't think he will be having any visa-related problems. I (22) only have an Australian one, so I am restricted to only spending 90 days out of every 180 in Schengen zone countries. Our current plan involves a strategic itinerary which should hopefully allow us to do what is essentially two Schengen 'cycles' during our trip. From my research, it looks like the new border entry system means that I do not need to apply for Schengen visa before arriving in Europe- I will just need to have my fingerprints etc taken at every border. Does this sound correct? It looks like there is a similar 90-day stay limit in most of the Balkan countries as well.

We are trying to keep things open and flexible, but the current itinerary will hopefully involve travelling to the following countries, in approximately this order: The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Czechia, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, The United Kingdom, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldovo, Hungary, Italy, Switzerland, Andorra, Spain, Morocco, Ireland, Iceland, and then maybe a little bit of Canada and the United States. We are both quitting our jobs for this trip and do not have any return flights booked, so we are open to staying for longer. I believe we could both also gain work relatively easily in the UK as Australia citizens- I am yet to more comprehensively research this, so if anyone knows better please let me know!

The main issues we are facing currently are to do with the van. We really want to do this trip by personal vehicle, as we would like to access some more out of the way locales. We also ran the sums for a couple travelling just via public transport and staying in hostels and it would be far more expensive in the long run.

Ideally we would buy the van as soon as possible once arriving in Europe, as we want to get going on our trip fairly quickly. Luckily we will be able to stay with my boyfriend's family in The Netherlands for a few days to get over the jetlag. We are open to buying a van before we even arrive in Europe, however I haven't really figured out a way to make this logistically feasible yet. Unfortunately friends and family who are already over there cannot help.

The next issue is registering and insuring the vehicle. I believe we would need a European address, which we have access to via my boyfriend's family. However, I'm not clear on whether we need to prove we have been living in Europe for x amount of time in order to get the vehicle in one of our names? That might be tricky. We would also both be using international driving permits, as we both only have Australian C class licences.

I'm also not sure whether there is a specific kind of insurance, or any other extra checks/certifications, which need to be done in order to take a vehicle to all the countries we intend on travelling to (excluding the last four in the list). Would the vehicle need to be checked by a mechanic for every country, or just when we are purchasing it? I have seen that many vehicles on mobile.de are sold with a 'TUEV' valid until late 2027- am I correct in thinking that this means that the vehicle has been certified as mechanically sound etc? Although we are obviously still researching all of this, some of this information is quite unique to our situation, and it has been hard to find straight answers. Hence why I thought I'd give Reddit a crack to see if anyone has done something similar and can share their experience!

More than happy to supply any additional information required 😄

submitted by /u/ConfusedAnt12
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Trip from Poland to Greece

2026-05-08T13:23:56+00:00

Hey! In a week, my girlfriend and I will be taking a minibus trip from Poland to Greece. The route takes us through the Czech Republic, Hungary, Serbia, and North Macedonia. We also want to visit Moldova, Bulgaria, and Romania. Do you know any good places for wild camping? Do you have any tips on what to watch out for? Would anyone like to join us or meet up? 🙈

submitted by /u/N1ld
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