[Closed] Campervan Summer Holiday. £2.5/3k for a fortnight?

Of course a £60-100k, depreciating, accidental damage likely, insurance, tax and trendy vehicle will cost that.

B&B or self catering will be cheaper.

Can't really see the point in doing it around France. Easy to tour round and find somewhere to stay. We hired one in Australia. It was about £40 a day which was great for accommodation and hire car and let us stay in some properly remote places. For France you can take your own car and there are plenty of b&bs, Gites, hotels, etc.

France is a very good place to motorhome around.

Motorhome rentals are expensive. We were going to rent one to try out but ended up going straight to buying one as a two week rental wasn't far off 10% of the cost of buying the van we eventually went with.

I bit the bullet last year and bought a campervan. It’s my daily drive so not an expensive dedicated campervan. We hammer it in the uk too at weekends - it gives us the option of short term weekends away, something you cannot do if relying on b&b’s and cottages. I also use it for MTB weekends and as a day can when out and about. I havn’t st down and worked out if it is a ‘financially optimal’ way of doing things, but I don’t care and hat wasn’t the main reason for buying it. It’s all about the convenience and the fun factor and sense of adventure. We use it for our fortnight summer holiday in France too which now come in at sub £2k for a family of 4 at top notch French campsites with all the decent facilities on site such as decent pool complexes and water slides and other things too, so the kids are happy as well as us parents. So far not regretted the decision and driving a van around everyday is not the chore I feared it might be. But having the van as a daily drive instead of a car was the only way I could afford to make it work.

my brother has rented campervan a a couple of times and it is basically the most expensive way to do things known to man. Chartering a private jet and staying in a posh hotels is just about the only more expensive way of holidaying.

Have you tried Facebook ? There are a couple of groups of individuals that have campers and hire them out privately...

But yeah, bloody expensive if you go through a dealer..

A mate ended up buying one as he figured it was cheaper to buy and sell later than to hire for a couple of weeks in peak season. He liked it enough that he never got around to selling it though!

An off-peak hire for a weekend or short week is a great value way to figure out if you'll like it and see what size/layout works for you. Peak hire rates are nuts though, assuming they stay busy at those prices they must be entirely covering the cost of the van in a couple of years.

Great feedback thanks all. We came close to the idea of buying one last night, but £20k (our nominal budget) felt like a huge amount on money for something not that sexy.

The other thing is the age of our kids. My oldest will be 14 this year. I think if we'd done it 5 years ago he would have happily spent 5 years camping with us at weekends. Now we're edging into the territory where he is spending time with us, but less willingly, and would far rather be out with his mates.

"my brother has rented campervan a a couple of times and it is basically the most expensive way to do things known to man. Chartering a private jet and staying in a posh hotels is just about the only more expensive way of holidaying." This 🙂

Great feedback and sense checking. Thanks all.

My kids were something like 13 and 9 when we got our first motorhome. They enjoyed the holidays until they got to about 18 or so and at that point we changed from a van with bunkbeds to our current one which, will still a 6-berth, was a better option for being used by just my wife and I most of the time.

My kids are now 26 and 22 and the older one, my daughter, still joins us in the motorhome sometimes but usually it'll be that she arranges to meet us somewhere (Paris & EuroDisney being a favourite) for a few days rather than coming with us for the full 2 or 3 weeks we're away.

Also note that while £20K might seem like a lot of cash motorhomes don't depreciate a lot so you shouldn't lose much cash even if you decide it's not for you. Our first motorhome was £26K new in 2004 and when we traded it in our current one in 2010 we got £22K for it.

Unless you actually want to move around when you're in France, I'd just hire a big static tent/caravan on one of the many great French campsites that do such things.

Every time I've looked at this, staying at top end B&Bs has worked out cheaper...

I get the lifestyle aspect,but it's a very expensive hobby!

3 grand, and you still have to empty yer own shite at the end of it? Madness.

"Unless you actually want to move around when you’re in France" This is part of it. The last 3 years we've done holidays where we Air B&B for 3/4/5 nights then move on to a different location. Makes the holiday feel really long as each new place you end up in you find new and interesting things.

All good though. Thanks. I get why its so expensive. I think we'll camp and spend the money on waterparks/surf lessons instead.

What we do when we motorhome in France is book into a site we use just outside Paris for the first few nights, then figure out where we'll go next. We don't usually have a set plan so if the weather is rough we just keep heading south until it gets better. France is so good for campsites (and aires) that there isn't any need to book ahead.

Last year for example we started off in Paris, then moved to an aire we like near the medieval town of Provins, then onto Auxerre before heading south to the Dordogne near Sarlat (using one of the Aires quite close to the town centre). After that we spent some time on the coast in Brittany (using an aire in Concarneau and a campsite in the grounds of a Chateau in Quimper) before going back to Paris for the last few days (the site we use there is in the forest to the east of Paris and is very nice).

The year before (we had nothing booked other than the ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam) we headed to Germany first - Koblenz, then onto Munich before heading west to the Roman town of Trier. After that we crossed into France, staying at Belfort first (great town just over the border where you can get French food and German beer). After that we went to Paris to meet up with my daughter for a few days, including a visit to EuroDisney (we overnight in the car-park there) then a couple of nights in the Aire in Provins then home.

If you like wandering about as much as we do then a motorhome really makes sense, but if you're doing longer stints in a single location and/or need your holiday planned in advance then a motorhome probably isn't the best choice.

We sold our camper last year as we needed the capital and last summer was the first time we went on holiday without a camper or caravan. What suprised me was renting a static style caravan on a campsite ended up being not that more expensive than renting a pitch with our expensive camper. You have to plan your trips much more doing it that way as before we would just set off with a general direction in mind but our two older sons preferred the static caravan to our camper as it had full plumbing (so shower and toilet)and their own bedroom.

Really depends on what kind of holiday you want. Staying only for one or two days in each place which suits a camper or having a base with day trips to surrounding areas which would suit a static caravan style holiday.

Really depends on what kind of holiday you want. Staying only for one or two days in each place which suits a camper or having a base with day trips to surrounding areas which would suit a static caravan style holiday.

Might also depend on the type of camper/motorhome as well. If you're in a motorhome that has big water tanks and a shower and toilet it's a bit easier to wander round France as you don't need campsites with facilities. We will often go several days in aire's before going to a campsite, and there are plenty of people I've met who don't use campsites at all. The majority of aire's we stay in are free and the rest are very cheap, so that can reduce cost a lot.

It's horses for courses. Campervan/motorhomes are a luxury but if they suit you and you can afford one, they're worth it. We use ours for our main 3 week holiday in Europe each year but also as many weekends as possible during the year (it also serves as extra beds at home for family gatherings).  The main thing with one is the option to just go somewhere else when the weather is crap, or you get somewhere and it's too busy/noisy, or you don't like it as much as you thought.

Re: Aires. The irony is that you often see huge motorhomes (>£100k when new) staying at an aire just 2m from a neighbouring van. Why scrimp on site fees when you've splashed so much cash on the vehicle? Weird.

Re: Aires. The irony is that you often see huge motorhomes (>£100k when new) staying at an aire just 2m from a neighbouring van. Why scrimp on site fees when you’ve splashed so much cash on the vehicle? Weird.

There's that weird thing with huge motorhomes where people seem to be focussed on making their time as much like being at home as possible to the point where you wonder why they've bothered to go away at all.

In a way, a camper van is just a more convenient and versatile way of going car camping. Sure it's super convenient and quicker than wrestling with a tent and associated paraphernalia repeatedly if you shift location often and depending on location, occasional wild stops and aires have a certain life-styling charm, but most of what you can do with a van, you could equally well do with an appropriately-sized car. Apart from the posing of course 😉

In a way, a camper van is just a more convenient and versatile way of going car camping. Sure it’s super convenient and quicker than wrestling with a tent and associated paraphernalia repeatedly if you shift location

This is true. We have a campervan, have used it a lot, but it is essentially a metal tent, and in fact smaller (i.e. less roomy) than most 'car-camping' tents. However, like you say, we can be packed up and gone to places new in about 15 minutes.

There’s that weird thing with huge motorhomes where people seem to be focussed on making their time as much like being at home as possible to the point where you wonder why they’ve bothered to go away at all.

We were camping at New Year in Wales once. On the walk to the loo block one evening (I must have needed a number-two, otherwise I'd have just gone behind the van 😉 ) I passed a big caravan with an awning that was the same size again. In the awning were two, large, camping armchairs, facing a large halogen heater, above which was mounted, on the outside wall of the van, a flat-screen telly...

Sometimes with aires it's about the location more than the cost (certainly that's why we use them), but there are certainly a lot of people that wouldn't ever pay for a campsite. On most of our European holidays we'll spend most nights in campsites - last years was probably the most we'd used aire's but even then I think we'd still have spent maybe 70% of the nights in campsites.

This is true. We have a campervan, have used it a lot, but it is essentially a metal tent, and in fact smaller (i.e. less roomy) than most ‘car-camping’ tents.

I admit I do struggle slightly with the reasons for one of the smaller vans without facilities although I suppose they might get a lot of use at weekends and the likes being a "day-van".

Ours would be useless for day-to-day use as a vehicle but is good for holidays as it's big enough to be comfortable (two big double beds, decent size shower and toilet room, good cooking facilities, loads of storage internally for bikes etc.) while still being small enough that I don't shy away from mountain roads etc.:

We didn't bother getting an awning fitted as we're never in one place long enough for it to be useful and don't need any more room.

Have you looked at this site?  https://www.premiummotorhomes.com/motorhomes-for-rent/weinsberg-carahome-600dkg

I admit I do struggle slightly with the reasons for one of the smaller vans without facilities although I suppose they might get a lot of use at weekends and the likes being a “day-van”

A small camper is better if you're doing a lot of moving around, uses less fuel, cheaper to buy - I know a family of 5 who get loads of use out of a T4 with poptop, weekends, evenings, epic trips all over europe and beyond, but it's also their only vehicle and it squeezes into their garage in the middle of Toulouse.

Facilities on some french campsites are better than my bathroom at home to be honest, but if I was looking for on-board facilities, space and comfort, and something that struggles to get into a carpark, I hate to say it out loud but i'd consider getting a caravan to tow behind my T4 🙂

I have hired campervans a few times.  It works for me

I don't own a car - so for a car based holiday I would hire anyway

If you hire abroad it means you get the steering wheel on the correct side

Yo always get a lovely new van with nothing broken and you don't need to worry about insurance and repairs and so on.

best holiday we had in one we Cycled from Edinburgh to Rosyth and got the overnight ferry to
Zeebrugge where we picked up an brand new £85000+ camper at £1000 a week fully insured. Big enough to have a permanent double bed and a garage big enough to put the tandem in.

We then toured around France for a fortnight.  Not having to book ahead nor think about where you wanted to stay each night made it very flexible.  Proper fridge meant cold beer and G&T as you got back from the days bike ride.  Proper cooking facilities meant decent meals.  Much better than car and tent from that point of view and more convenient and nicer than staying in B&Bs.  Overall cost of the holiday was not high due to not having to eat out or pay for hotels
It works if you only want one every couple of years.  Its much more convenient than living out of a car ( I have done that as well) and for bad weather its so much comfier.  The main advantage of hiring is that the van you get is really nice - its not comparable to a £20 000 secondhand one at all.

Done many trips through Europe, even into Africa, in the last few years and just booked places to stay as I go. Seriously, with things like booking.com it’s impossible not to find somewhere pretty nice to stay, even booking the afternoon of arrival day.

I’d have to have a pretty damn good reason to want to lug around a canpervan rather than a nice car or motorbike.

You even get a nicely made made bed to sleep in every night!!

rachel

Aye - just explaining how / why hiring a camper works for us.  We didn't drive it every day and it was so nice to get back to it and crack open a cold beer fro the fridge before getting out of the sweaty riding kit.

Know a guy who has a few to hire. The reason they so expensive to hire in peak season .Is they are back to back hires in peak season.

Invariably his seem to always get damage requiring a week or 2 off the road in the peak season. It's always peak season more than his off season hires.

Someone tore the rear end off his brand new van on its first hire last season by reversing it into a post then driving forward. Lost most of the season while the coachbuilder repaired it.

We hired in off-season for a weekend.

Told us two things. Don't buy a vw shoebox If you want to use it as a campervan rather than a tin tent.  Don't buy a vehicle your going to be precious about if your using it as an events base at races

I’d have to have a pretty damn good reason to want to lug around a canpervan rather than a nice car or motorbike.

They're not really comparable holidays. I've done a lot of motorbike touring and car touring (in a sports car with limited luggage space and with bigger cars) which I've enjoyed, but for touring Europe I much prefer the motorhome (plus we could take one of the motorbikes if we wanted - although so we never have).

"I’d have to have a pretty damn good reason to want to lug around a canpervan rather than a nice car or motorbike."

Bicycles /kayaks/other bulky outdoor gear.

Primarily we travel to do those sorts of things. But we do intersperse camper holidays with bicycle touring holidays . Why one would want to go on holiday with the expressed purpose of driving a vehicle without purpose I don't get - might as well fly.

@trail_rat - I agree. We load ours with bikes, rucsacs, walking boots, climbing & via ferrata kit.

I've got a 5dr Mondeo but there's no way we could fit it all in with camping kit and still be able to bring home lots of cheese and booze!!

The way to look at it is that a camper van is a tool. You have to want to do the type of holiday's that suit a camper van rather than a motorhome or other way of touring a continent. For us the camper van was definitely something to replace a tent, something we can park up either at a camp site or overnight spot and camp in. The mobility of its especially as it is my daily drive, is a big plus point. We don't spend alot of time in the van or around it, we park up somewhere in order to access the area we are visiting and spend our time away from the van cycling or walking, only returning to the van for a bit of lunch/dinner and to sleep in, at most only spending a couple of hours a day in the van just before we bed down for the night. If you want some comfort and space inside to spend time with the family then you're definitely into large motorhome/caravan terriroty.

"I’d have to have a pretty damn good reason to want to lug around a canpervan rather than a nice car or motorbike."

depends what you define as a nice car. For me most cars that others define as nice get me as hot under the collar as a wet mop. I fail to see how a sooped up family car or hatch back is a nice car...just a more expensive version of the car its based on. I can't afford the cars I consider 'nice', certainly nice enough to want to tour a continent in. If it were an option I'm sure I'd have taken it....but then if it were an option I'd be able to afford the nice car and a nice camper van/motorhome too...and a nice house with enough spare land to park it all on.

Seekers motor homes near Scotch Corner.....6 berth motorhomes about £150 per night iirc. Friends of ours, excellent service.