A Beginner's Guide to Traveling the World in a Camper Van

My First Steps into Van Life

After speaking with my friend, the same thought kept playing on a loop: Why couldn’t I do just that? 

I thought I was crazy to even think that could be possible, especially having two children, Gina 17 and Zach 13, but anything is possible if you really desire it to be.

I hadn’t had a clue where to start and whether I should buy a new van, could I even afford to do that?, or a second hand one, but how would I even know what to buy?

‍I am one of those people that once I have decided to do something, I just get on and do it. After an initial bit of research on the internet, I found ‘Sussex Campervans’, a company that converts new vans and also sells used camper vans. Perfect, right on my doorstep.

So the following weekend I went along to check them out. I knew as soon as I saw them I was going to buy one. For me, buying a converted van was the best deal but for other travelers, converting your own might be the best deal to keep your van costs low.

They were a lot of money, but I was investing in a home and a tangible asset. Fortunately, I was in good financial shape, so I managed to secure a loan pretty easily.

Buying My Camper Van

I had decided to buy a new van, as to be honest the price differential wasn’t that great between the new and used vans with low mileage. I decided on the new Nissan NV300 Tecna, as it came with a 5-year return to base warranty, and EU breakdown cover. 

I have also taken out a good camper van insurance which gives me full breakdown cover as well so I have complete peace of mind when traveling.

The only thing was I had to wait eight months to get the van. It was a new model and coming direct from the factory as a panel van and then Sussex Campervans would do the conversion. This would give me time to save as much money as possible for the journey, organize renting out my house, and hand in my notice at work, as I had a 3-month termination clause.

My Travel Plan

My initial thoughts were that I was going to travel for one year, and after that, I would need to sell the van to pay back the finance. 

However, it became clear very soon after I started the journey back in April, that I would not want to go back to my old conditioned life.

I had always wanted to write a book, something that I never seemed to have the time or inspiration to do, and traveling would give me the perfect opportunity. I have now written a few chapters, and it is evolving as I travel.

In nine months I have traveled to ten countries, Scotland, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Spain and Portugal. While I'm based in Europe, if you plan to try van life in the US, this Western US road trip is a fantastic route.

I have reconnected with my heart and soul and am truly living life happily. I have no idea where this journey will lead me but for now, I just hope to inspire others to step out of life’s conditioning and follow their dreams, whatever they may be.

5 Big Tips to Start Living in a Camper Van

So if someone said to you “Would you like to live a life of freedom, simple and uncomplicated, free of stress, waking up and going to sleep in the most beautiful places, and being able to work wherever you are?,” would you say, "Yes?"

If so, hopefully the below will help you get started. There are also books and plenty of YouTube channels available online on the subject of ‘Living in a Van’ which are very useful.

Here are my 6 biggest tips to get you started living in a van.

1. Buy the Best Van You Can Afford

I am by no means an expert on vans but I would say buy the best van you can afford if you want peace of mind about not breaking down somewhere remote, and maybe a more secure van, to prevent break-ins.

Newer vans will not only be more reliable and economical but equipment inside the van is likely to be safer, like the gas and electrics, and less likely to malfunction. You don’t really want to be in cold temperatures and have your heater stop working (yes, vans have heating). Some even have hot water, although mine doesn’t, which just means you have to boil up some water when needed, although for me, that means a hot shower is a rarity.

However, having said all of the above, you can pick up a used van pretty cheaply, or even convert a van yourself. I would highly recommend you watch some YouTube videos on the subject. There are plenty of models and makes to choose from. 

Some of the nicest vans I’ve seen on the road have been converted by people who knew nothing about how to do it until they did it themselves. You will end up with a lot of life skills, too, if you end up doing the build yourself. Of course, it will take time to do but with the added bonus if anything goes wrong you will know how to fix it.

The other thing I will say is that if you do have any problems with the van and there are other van travelers around, they will only be too happy to help you, especially if you are a solo female.

2. Think About the Size, Not Just the Amenities

The other consideration is the size of the van.  I chose a standard panel van as I had never driven a van before and wanted to be able to park it easily when I was in cities or in a parking lot.  Mine fits perfectly into a space for a car, which was exactly what I was looking for. It is so easy to drive and you soon get used to the extra width and length. 

‍Living in a van usually comes with such a small space inside but for me, the trade-off of a smaller van was worth it to make traveling, parking, and driving easier.

I also chose a pop-up roof, rather than a high top, as this allows you to get under all those height restriction barriers, particularly prevalent in the UK and France. This allowed me to stay in some lovely spots that I would otherwise not have been able to access.

3. Don't Skip on the Battery

A good leisure battery is a must-have, especially if you are going to wild camp rather than pay for sites with electrics. Even with my new van, there are limitations, especially if you are not driving for a few days and there hasn’t been much sun to charge up the leisure battery from the solar panel. 

I have wild camped for most of the entire nine months of traveling, only plugging into electrics twice.

This saves a lot of money not having to pay for sites and for me this is a big part of van life, being able to park up wherever I choose, with the best views.  I have had van views that are not even available in five-star hotels and I can thank a lot of that for having a battery I can trust off the grid.

4. Plan Out a Monthly Budget

I would highly recommend you work out a monthly budget and of course, this will depend on how much savings/income you have and keep track of your spending in a book so you can see how you’re doing.

As I am living on saved money I set myself a pretty tight budget of £300 for petrol and just £120 for food each month but I don’t eat out. I have pretty much achieved this although, in some countries, like Norway, where it is more expensive, I did go over budget. But I made up for it in Spain, where it is so much cheaper.  

You will also need money for incidentals, like tolls, (these can really add up so my advice is if you are not in a hurry don’t use toll roads), ferries, hot showers etc.

5. Take Advantage of Wild Camping

To wild camp means you park your van off the grid, in nature, not in a parking lot, RV park, or a campsite. It's a wonderful way to not only save money but to also experience the true beauty of van life.

If you're new somewhere, it can be tough to find out where you can legally and safely wild camp. Think places that are public lands rather than private ones. Luckily, the van life community is full of cool people who tend to be pretty supportive and help each other out.

Park4Night is the best app and it is free. You can find places in advance of arriving somewhere or just look for places ‘Around Me’ once you decide you have driven enough for the day. 

I also have the Camperstop app but you have to pay for it, unless you purchase the book and you get a year's free subscription.  I purchased this before I knew about Park4Night and in hindsight would just have used Park4Night.

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Van Living Practicalities‍

Now, with those big tips under your belt, let's dive into some day-to-day things you'll want to think about before you move into your van.

Van Safety

The first thing I will say is that I have not had my van broken into and have only had a problem once at night with some locals. There are a number of things you can do to help prevent either of these things from happening.

Here's what I'd suggest to ensure you stay super safe while living in a van, even as a solo female like I am:

• I have authentic stickers on the windows of my van saying “equipped with video recording equipment” (which incidentally I do not have). I think this helps to deter potential threats.
• I have a recording of a barking dog on my phone so that if anyone does try to enter my van whilst I'm in it, I can play the recording to scare them off. I have never had to resort to this.
• When parking in a city, ensure it is a safe location, as this is where you are most likely to have an issue. Parking near other vans is always good as you will find van travelers look out for each other.
• At night ensure you park under some lighting when in a city.
• When I was wild camping in nature I was often in the middle of nowhere on my own, so I always tried to tuck myself away somewhere and also ensured the driver seat was clear so if I needed to drive away quickly for any reason I could. Again this is something I have never had to do.

While most of the tips I use as per-cautions and have never actually had to resort to, I prefer to be on the "better safe than sorry" attitude.

Just in case, I recommend having travel insurance, like SafetyWing to cover any accidents that might happen.

Your Van Toilet

I would recommend a compost toilet. This will save you having to find somewhere to dump the contents of a porta-potty and it is not the most pleasant job. In some countries, like Norway, this is really easy but I found it particularly difficult in Southern Spain unless you go to a camping site. 

As I wild camp I use nature, or a public toilet as much as possible so as not to have to empty the porta-potty quite so frequently.

Make sure you have a trowel with you so you can dig a hole to cover everything up if you go in nature. There is nothing worse than seeing toilet paper/wipes littering the beautiful countryside.

Fresh Water

Have the largest possible water container and a secondary smaller container (I have 10 liters) as a backup. That way you know once you put the last drop from your back up into the main container you need to replenish your supplies. This way you will never run out.

You do however learn quickly how to be economical with water. When you wash dishes, cook, bathe yourself, etc, you'll be more conscious than ever before about how much water you're using on a day-to-day basis.

When I first started traveling I used to hunt for water, worrying that I was going to run out, but I never have and I no longer hunt for it.  A lot of petrol stations in Europe have water taps which makes filling up super easy. 

I found the UK one of the hardest places to find water as a lot of petrol stations no longer have taps it seems. However, pubs often have an outside tap but tend to remove the top part so you can’t use it. My tip for the UK is to buy the top part of a tap. I also always carry 5 liters of drinking water. 

The Park4night app is also very useful for finding places to fill up with water.

Packing

The exact specifics of what you pack will depend on how long you are traveling for and where you are going. But, the biggest tip I can give you is to pack less than you think you'll need. The minimalist lifestyle comes right along with the nomadic one when moving into a van full-time.

As I was going to be in both cold and warm places I had to think about this in terms of shoes and clothes. Also, it depends on how much storage space you have. I have one cupboard and no hanging space, so all my clothes needed to be relatively crease-resistant. I find rolling clothes up helps with preventing creases.

However, I still brought far too many clothes with me and have only worn a fraction of them as you tend to end up wearing the same ones until they need a wash!

Most towns and cities have laundromats so you can always do laundry instead of packing extra. Trust me, a van is a small space so the more space you can give yourself to live, rather than to use as storage, the better. Plus, having less things will make it easier to keep your van tidy.

Wifi vs. Data

I bought myself a mobile router so that I could use wifi but I couldn’t seem to ever get more than 3G on it when it was supposed to be a 4G router. So I ended up just using data and upgraded to an unlimited data sim.

Be aware that there could be limits on the data depending on where you are traveling in the world. It's not uncommon that if you are out of your home country you don’t actually get unlimited data. I only found this out after upgrading to Three’s unlimited data sim.

A lot of van travelers use Motorhome wifi so this would be the best option if you would prefer to use wifi over data or will be constantly traveling to different countries and aren't too sure how your data plan will be affected.  

If you are spending a lot of time in cities then you can always use the free wifi in bars and restaurants. McDonalds is always good for free wifi.

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‍‍Making an Income on the Road

Luckily for us full-time van lifers, making money on the road has never been easier! The internet is a great resource for finding out how. I'd start with a general search like, how to become a digital nomad, and take it from there.

More and more jobs are possible to do online so whether you want to work in digital marketing, become a website designer, or start writing for blogs, there's a lot you can do to work remotely.

If though you'd like to use your van as more of a travel vehicle and not as your office, too, you can save money and stretch your legs out by taking advantage of these platforms:

• TrustedHousesitters: This platform sets you up with petsitting and housesitting jobs around the world. Most don't pay but instead give you a free house to stay in, in exchange for taking care of the space and/or pets.
• Workaway: This is a platform to find volunteer gigs around the world. These also don't pay but give you free room and board.
• Worldpackers: This one is competition with Workaway. Both are reputable platforms.

I am gradually embracing the nomadic lifestyle more and more, but it has been/still is a steep learning curve for me. Understanding how to build a brand to look professional, getting my head around social media and building an audience, having a website to showcase my blogs and getting affiliate links to earn from recommending products I use.

It all takes time and it can be a while before you even have the smallest income stream.

If you want to skip over the guesswork when starting your own website (if that's the route you want to go) I highly recommend the course Scale Your Travel Blog.

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Will You Try Living in a Camper Van?

Van life has been a big push out of my comfort zone but one I've really relished.

Living a mobile lifestyle is an alternative choice. No hostel costs or paying rent. With a van you have your home, your transport, and your place of work right with you. You can live and travel wherever you want and that's really the freedom I was craving all along.

Home is where you park it.