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On this submit, I share our sincere expertise doing a one-way RV rental in Europe. We weren’t requested to write down this submit by the corporate we rented from, nor are we being paid to take action.
When folks consider visiting Europe, RVing in all probability isn’t the very first thing that involves thoughts.
Hopping trains or buses or different public transport? Positively.
Motorhomes? Not a lot.
And whereas RVing is simply as well-liked for Europeans as it’s for Americas—if no more!—you don’t typically hear of Individuals “motorhoming” overseas. Nevertheless, we simply accomplished our second prolonged RV rental in Europe and it was probably the greatest experiences!
On this weblog, I need to share a few of what we’ve discovered about renting an RV in Europe.
Why Hire an RV in Europe?
Why would I need to drive an RV on tiny European roads?
This was one among my first ideas when Alyssa introduced up the thought of RVing in Europe. Additionally, whereas I’ve bought you right here I’ll allow you to in on a not-so-little secret: no one really says RVing in Europe. It’s also known as motorhoming or hiring a campervan, however by no means RVing. Nevertheless, in case you’re from the States then you definately’re in all probability used to the time period RVing. Identical idea, totally different use of phrases.
Transferring on. 🚐
So, why lease an RV in Europe? The norm when visiting main cities in Europe is to remain in an Airbnb or resort. This makes complete sense in case you’re solely visiting for a number of days. Nevertheless, in case you’re planning an prolonged journey overseas (two weeks or extra) and need to spend a while meandering via smaller villages and backroads, renting an RV is a good possibility.
For us, we favor to remain in walkable Airbnbs in main cities after which lease an RV for visiting the countryside. 2019 was the primary time we’d rented an RV in Europe and the expertise hooked us a lot in order that we went again once more and for twice as lengthy.
Why we’ve liked touring by motorhome overseas:
1. How else would we discover hidden gems?
One of many first days of our Italian RV journey, we had been driving over a mountain go and stumbled upon probably the most epic gondola. We had no thought it was there. If left to our personal planning, we’d by no means have seen it. Touring by RV provides us an opportunity to randomly come upon gems like this (you may see our reactions beneath within the video).
2. We favor sleeping in the identical mattress each evening—particularly with children!
Motorhome leases are small, however they’ve all of the conveniences of a house (besides air con) and even with the tiny European roads, we are able to drive virtually wherever and at all times have the whole lot we want. Touring with children who nonetheless take naps day by day, having a mattress with us always is priceless. Plus we at all times have snacks + a toilet + a kitchen + a bathe for when somebody inevitably will get lined in mud and grime.
We stayed in Airbnbs whereas in Europe and used public transport as properly, which is the easiest way to see European cities for positive. However in case you’re seeking to actually discover a rustic exterior of simply the vacationer stops, you’ll need a car. We favor the motorhome as a result of it lets us see extra locations and nonetheless have the consolation of sleeping in the identical mattress each evening.
3. Hi there million greenback views that value $0 😍
The very best a part of renting an RV in Europe is the gorgeous locations it takes you—like tenting on the sting of a mountain within the Pyrenees watching the dawn.
We’ve camped on mountainsides, on seashores, in nationwide parks, and in a few of the most lovely components of southern Europe due to our motorhome rental. In distant locations particularly, you don’t have the choice of motels or Airbnbs, making campsites just like the one above accessible just for RVers.
4. You get to truly go to a rustic.
Hear me out.
After spending two months in Tuscany this yr, we spent two nights at a resort in Florence earlier than flying to London. Strolling round Florence we noticed lovely historic buildings, ate scrumptious pizza, and savored one last gelato. However we additionally a) didn’t discuss to any precise Italian folks, b) didn’t want to talk any Italian as a result of everybody spoke English flawlessly, and c) had been surrounded by vacationers the entire time.
Florence is one among our favourite cities on this planet—however after exploring extra of the nation of Italy, being within the metropolis didn’t actually really feel like Italy anymore. It was extra business and catered to Individuals like us.
To essentially expertise a rustic—see the folks, expertise the tradition, eat the meals—you’ll have to get out of the cities by some means. For us, a motorhome is the easiest way to do this.
What It’s Like Driving an RV in Europe
Nearly all of autos in Europe are handbook transmissions. And my first day of driving ANY handbook car was our RV rental in Europe (circa 2019).
I’d practiced for all of ten minutes earlier than departing to Italy and determined I’d gotten the dangle of it (in all probability not my finest thought). To say I used to be nervous was an understatement. My actual phrases whereas driving within the Italian Dolomites had been “I’m going to crap my pants”.
However, after that extremely aggravating first day, I bought the dangle of driving a stick. Sure, the roads are small — nonetheless, extra stress really got here from my lack of expertise driving a handbook than the roads themselves.
Flash ahead to as we speak, I’ve pushed a motorhome in Switzerland, France, Andorra, Italy, and Spain. Listed here are my two cents.
Are the roads considerably smaller than what I’m used to within the US? Sure.
Do they often appear to be I’m driving on a golf cart path? Sure.
Nevertheless it’s truthfully not been that dangerous. For one, the motorhomes and vans are a lot smaller in Europe. Second, you by some means regulate to the roads. Much like the film Santa Clause the place Tim Allen contorts a chimney to enter a home and ship presents.
Okay, so the RV doesn’t get smaller however you do turn out to be accustomed to smaller roads.
Plus, solely as soon as did we run right into a highway that was actually too slender for us to navigate.
We had been heading to a campground in Italy and the highway instantly bought slender proper in entrance of us. I needed to again up 100 yards and make an 846-point u-turn whereas my spouse strategically moved the world’s largest assortment of garbage bins—all of which had been chained to the fence and solely moved a number of inches in both course.
In opposition to all odds, we escaped unscathed (and promptly walked one block over and dove into the Mediterranean).
A significant cause I don’t stress an excessive amount of over driving in Europe is that we use an app referred to as Park4Night. It not solely lists out free campsites however top and size restrictions. Earlier than longer drive days or visiting a brand new city, I’ll analysis to seek out the most effective locations to park or drive our motorhome. If there’s going to be some form of restriction on parking or roads, we sometimes find out about it upfront. Park4Night is $30 for an annual membership and 100% paid for itself throughout our monthlong journey.
Why We Determined to Do a One-Manner RV Rental
There are fairly a number of choices for corporations who do RV leases in Europe . We’ve opted for a one-way RV rental on each of our journeys to present us the flexibleness to cowl extra floor versus having to loop again to the identical drop-off level.
Our first RV journey in Europe was a bit over two weeks from Venice to Rome.
The second rental was from Paris to Barcelona and we rented for 30 days. With the one-way rental, we had been in a position to discover six totally different nations throughout this journey!
What RV Rental Firm We Used
Each occasions we did an RV rental in Europe we used the identical firm, Anyplace Campers.
They’re one of many few RV rental corporations that do one-way RV leases in Europe and embody sheets. They’ve 4.9 stars on Google opinions and most of their RVs are lower than one yr outdated.
We had a terrific expertise (that I’ll speak about extra beneath) on our first journey, so we opted to lease from them once more on our final RV journey.
A number of highlights for why we’ve loved utilizing Anyplace Campers:
- They do one-way leases.
- Easy reserving course of. The Anyplace Campers workers we spoke to had been skilled and simple to speak with, even with time variations and language obstacles.
- The RVs come totally stocked with what we would have liked, together with linens, espresso maker, towels, bikes, grill, roadside help package, and many others.
- The floorplan of the motorhomes might match our household of 4 simply.
- Automobile seats! I didn’t need to haul a automotive seat via airports and prepare stations as a result of our rental included them.
- They’ve taken care of us when small service points have popped up.
As a bonus, Anyplace Campers has not too long ago added computerized motorhomes to their fleet! Yay for Individuals like me who can perhaps drive a handbook, however really feel 100% extra assured with out having to recollect how the clutch works.
What Does It Price to Hire an RV in Europe?
In 2019 we rented a motorhome in Italy for 16 days and paid roughly $162 USD per day. In 2022 our RV rental was 30 days and we paid $158/day. Anyplace Campers contains the entire add-ons and there are not any additional charges for mileage. We traveled in September and October for each leases, which is shoulder season for RVing. Leases will likely be dearer throughout peak summer season months.
Outdoors of anticipated journey prices, campground charges are very affordable (particularly within the low season) and at the very least in France, Spain, and Italy we discovered loads of free tenting choices. Our most costly campsite value $45/evening in Andorra, however most campgrounds charged $30 max per evening for a household of 4.
One of many largest surprising bills we bumped into in France was the toll roads. We cut up our time between the sooner toll roads and the winding nation roads and nonetheless spent properly over $300 in tolls over the course of a month. Should you aren’t on a good timeframe, avoiding these will prevent a lot of cash. Plus, you’ll see some wonderful French villages you’d probably miss on the freeway. (The largest offender was a $60 toll tunnel connecting France and Italy within the Alps…but it surely was that or a three-hour mountain terrain detour via Switzerland!)
What International locations in Europe Can You Do a One-Manner Rental?
Anyplace Campers particularly covers 35 nations they usually function year-round.
(However you may see a extra complete listing of which nations provide RVing right here.)
What if the RV breaks down?
Whereas there are undoubtedly cheaper options to Anyplace Campers, a significant consideration for us was help for service points. RVs break. We full-time RVed for years and that’s one fixed we’ve at all times skilled. RVs break.
We needed peace of thoughts to know we might have help if we broke down someplace in Europe.
On our first two-week journey via Italy, we had a difficulty with our AdBlue sensor. Although we’d added extra AdBlue within the diesel engine, it wasn’t registering. We had a message on our dashboard that mentioned in 50KM we might not be capable of activate the engine. We went backwards and forwards with Anyplace Campers to assist us discover a service station that might assist however to no avail.
Finally, Anyplace Campers allowed us to depart the RV parked at a campground a number of hours from our drop-off level the place they got here to retrieve it (fortunately, this was on our final day of the journey and we had been in a position to carpool in our pal’s RV rental).
Right here’s a video that exhibits our expertise trying to find a service station whereas speaking with Anyplace Campers.
On our most up-to-date journey, our mates skilled a difficulty with their RV brakes. Anyplace Campers made an appointment for them they usually had been out and in in a few hours.
A significant cause we’ve loved renting with Anyplace Campers is their responsiveness to those issues after they pop up. Along with being out there for help, they supplied us with three emergency numbers in case of a breakdown (fortunately by no means wanted them). Should you’re going to spend the money and time to e book a world highway journey, it’s good to know the corporate you’re renting from will care for you.
Renting an RV In Europe
If we hadn’t began RVing in America, we in all probability by no means would’ve discovered about RVing in Europe. However now it’s our de facto mode of journey after we go overseas. We’ve bought 4 extra nations we’re hoping to RV throughout throughout 2023 (throughout three continents!).
There are a variety of questions in the case of renting a motorhome overseas and hopefully this weblog submit answered a number of of them. For extra data on RVing in Europe, see beneath 🙂
Writer’s Word: Should you’re serious about an RV rental in Europe and attain out to Anyplace Campers, allow them to know we despatched you and we’ll get a number of {dollars} in direction of our subsequent RV journey overseas.
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