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Planning a summer long road trip through Europe and looking for a good place to get campsite recommendations.
Have always had great recommendations from Cool Camping in the past but they are very Spain & France focused, we are keen to find more in Germany, Slovenia and Italy. Would be good to find somewhere with a well reviewed range, rather than just resorting to random googling and questionable user reviews on Google Maps & Trip Advisor.
Look on the ACSI card website for review across Europe.
Which regions of Germany, Italy and Slovenia are you going to? You'll get lots of tips on here
No firm plan yet, other than those countries somewhere! That's why I'm keen to have a good book or site I can reference on the road rather than having to research and plan on advance. Thanks for ASCI recommendation.
Not sure this is what you want but...
I've done a few years of camping now in Europe (mainly Italy and Germany) and have relied exclusively on Google Maps to select sites.
As yet, I've not regrettrd a single choice, nor been surprised. As long as there are more than a couple of reviews for a camp site, I find the general themes very accurate.
I've tried ACSI, but these sre generally a bit neutral, and don't give you a verdict on the staff friendliness or campers. It's a very analytical view rather than a more 'human' one. Again, I think that campsites pay for an ACSI listing, so read into that what you will.
Pitch Up is ok, but as you'll surely have seen, pretty limited for Europe.
Of it helps, happy to share experiences in Italy - we've done sites from Rome, through Tuscany, Piedmont, the Lakes and the Alps.
Germany, we've done Fussen / Zugspitze, up to Black Forest and then towards the borders with Luxembourg, Belgium and France.
Lots of sites all told.
But maybe check out Google Maps again.
Way less ranty and unreliable than TripAdvisor.
Good luck with what sounds like a great trip.
Are you planning on taking a tent, caravan, camper or staying in those campsite chalet type things? Do you have kids? What kind of things do you like doing on your travels? Do you like campsites with Full of action or peaceful out of the way campsites? I’ve camped a lot in Germany, Austria and Italy but need a bit more info on what you are looking for.
Edit: if you can read German, the ADAC (German AA) campsite guide is an absolute treasure.
+1 google maps
The Caravan and Motorhome club do books that list campsites throughout Europe.The list really is made up from members visits including their views of the site and its facilities.You didn't need to be member in order to purchase the books.
UKCampSite has an overseas section: Clicky
https://www.searchforsites.co.uk/ is Europe wide
I suppose it depends on what you are going to do on your road trip. Chilling out, sightseeing and eating gelato means you can go anywhere. If you want to MTB, road bike, walk, swim or paddle in lakes, climb or do via ferrata you need to be much nearer to the action.
@tenacious_doug - also how much time have you got away? You could easily spend 2 weeks in Germany alone
@tenacious_doug – also how much time have you got away? You could easily spend 2 weeks in Germany alone
6 weeks, so sure we'll be fine seeing plenty of Germany!
Thanks for suggestions, will take a trawl through some of the sites and guides recommended.
@Roger. Campervan, 2 young kids. As we've got so much time away planning to get a good mix in of active, chill, beach, mountains, our only real criteria is we tend to stick to small to medium sized sites, and are really not looking for anywhere with loads of organised entertainments, discos etc. Will all have bikes with us though sadly plans for anything too extreme on the mountain bike are taking a back seat as I'll still not be fully recovered from a broken femur. But if anyone has any good suggestions for MTB locations with a huge variety of flowy blue trails to suit a 5 year old and injured 37 year old, let me know!
One great thing about Germany & Austria is that if you stay in a site for 3 or more days then you usually get a card that gives you discounts in local shops, cable car etc. More importantly you often get free bus travel along the valley.
I've been to quite a few places in the Black Forest and Bavarian Alps (+ lots of places in Austria), email in profile if you'd like some recommendations for campsites.
Lake Iseo will see you right for MTB with the family.
Camping Punta D'Oro. On the waters edge.
Good local MTB set up. This link is one of many that provides routes.
MTB routes for families, Lake Iseo
In Germany, Fussen will fit the bill. Loads of MTB, but loads of flat for the kids too.
Further North...
Black Forest Camping Mullerweise
Got loads more like this, and found them all through Google Maps, including the MTB trails.
Spend a few hours online and you'll have no problem filling your six weeks with the sort of places you are after.
For Bavaria we’ve stayed at these campsites and they have all been nice with access to lakes for swimming. https://www.chiemsee-camping.de/. https://www.camping-stein.de/ This area is Great for small kids as it’s quite flat but with loads of bike ways ( you can ride around the lakes) and it’s only a short ride (20-30 min) till you hit the mountains. Lake Constance also has some nice campsites around the lake but our favorite is a little further away but really nice
https://www.gitzenweiler-hof.de/en/
For Austria the best campsites we have stayed in have been in Zillertal. The very unfavourably titled Camping Hell is wonderfully set up. Indoor and outdoor pool, a space age wash block and direct on the foot of the mountains. https://www.hells-ferienresort.at/en/ And possibly a bit big for your needs but
https://www.camping-zillertal.at/en/camping-zillertal this campsite has absolutely everything imaginable. Massive water centre indoor climbing Centre, kids cinema, daycare, Underoof skatepark and loads of onsite restaurants even a Wild West town! We have been winter camping and they even have a ski piste on site.
I’ll post some more when I have more time 🙂