Europe by Motorhome: See the Sights with an RV Tour
By Shelby Miller – April 15, 2011
While the RV road trip is a popular option for vacationing American families, train travel has long been the preferred method of touring Europe and the Mediterranean. In recent years, however, RV rentals and touring companies have been popping up from Amsterdam to Athens. Motorhome travel certainly has its benefits: there’s no hopping from hotel to hotel, as you’ll sleep right in your vehicle, and you’ll save considerable money on dining out as you can stock your camper’s kitchen with groceries. Additionally, RV travel offers freedom and spontaneity---the opportunity to take unplanned day trips or stop to sleep (almost) anywhere you please.
Whether you decide to rent or take a tour, you’ll first want to consider what type of vehicle will best suit your needs. European RVs are often smaller than American models, with rental options typically ranging from 18 feet (sleeps 4) to 21.5 feet (sleeps up to 6). Most feature a kitchen with refrigerator, stove, and sink, a separate bathroom with toilet and shower, and several sleeping berths. Check with the rental company to find out exactly what’s provided in terms of dishes and utensils, pots and pans, toilet paper, pillows and blankets, etc., as you may need to supply some of these things.
Once you’ve arrived at the RV pickup location, it’s best to stop at a grocery store to stock up on things like food, beverages, paper towels, dish soap, and first aid kit items. (Check with the rental company to make a list of items provided.) You may also want to pack an MP3 player and portable speakers, cards, board games, or other entertainment to pass the time on the road.
Costs will vary depending on whether you travel solo or join a tour. In either case, you’ll have to shell out for airfare, transportation to and from the airport, gas, travel insurance, and road and bridge tolls. If you go with a rental company, you’ll also have to pay a minor fee to park at a campground overnight. A major factor that will determine if you join a tour is length of your trip---many RV tours last about a month and cost upward of $6000 per person (see www.rvtoureurope.com or www.europeanrvtours.com for details). The tradeoff is that they’ll take care of all the details: securing your rental and insurance, planning the itinerary, and booking the campsites. And while you’ll have the security of travelling in a group, you’ll also have the freedom to go off on your own many days (just be sure to pack a GPS device!). Also, tours travel to a number of locales such as Scandinavia, Italy, Spain, and Greece, so you’ll have plenty of options to choose from.
If you do decide to rent a motorhome on your own, expect to pay anywhere from 80 to 130 Euros per night, plus a vendor’s fee of 100 to 125 Euros, for a standard 4-person camper, depending on whether you travel in the high or off-season (prices are based on travel from Germany, where rentals are by far the cheapest according to www.ideamerge.com/motorhomes). Travel in winter is most affordable, but it may not be ideal if you’ll be touring mountainous regions, where road conditions can be treacherous and unpredictable. Fall may be the best time for an RV trip, as prices will be lower than in summer, but roads won’t yet be impassable.
Let’s say you’re planning a three-week trip that will begin in Germany and journey down to Greece, passing through Austria and Italy in between. You might decide to travel in late September in order to save a little money, and---more importantly---take advantage of Oktoberfest. You fly into Frankfurt, pick up your motorhome (DRM and McRent have several locations here), and head for Munich, where you’ll pass a couple of days partaking in the festivities. You’ll then make your way toward Salzburg, where you can enjoy the baroque architecture of the palace of Leopoldskron and the intricate gardens of the Palace of Mirabell. Next, you’ll take in magnificent Alpine scenery en route to Venice, where you might spend a few days touring the sinking city. From Venice, you can ferry your RV to the Greek mainland, where you might visit the ruins in Delphi and Athens or even take a day trip to the island of Mykonos, home of sun-washed white houses and pristine sandy beaches.
On the return leg of your journey, you’ll drive through northern Italy, where you can sample the cuisine in Bologna and view the famed Lake Como in Lombardy. Finally, on your way back through Austria, you can tour the beautiful Old City of Innsbruck and even ski at the nearby Nordkette before passing back through southern Germany on your return to Frankfurt. It’ll take three weeks, and you’ll have spent $2000 on the vehicle without even accounting for gas, but divided among four people, it’s a manageable cost. And with what you won’t spend on hotels and restaurants, you’ll get a vacation packed with activities, gorgeous scenery, and memories to last a lifetime---and you can’t put a value on that.
By Shelby Miller – April 15, 2011
While the RV road trip is a popular option for vacationing American families, train travel has long been the preferred method of touring Europe and the Mediterranean. In recent years, however, RV rentals and touring companies have been popping up from Amsterdam to Athens. Motorhome travel certainly has its benefits: there’s no hopping from hotel to hotel, as you’ll sleep right in your vehicle, and you’ll save considerable money on dining out as you can stock your camper’s kitchen with groceries. Additionally, RV travel offers freedom and spontaneity---the opportunity to take unplanned day trips or stop to sleep (almost) anywhere you please.
Whether you decide to rent or take a tour, you’ll first want to consider what type of vehicle will best suit your needs. European RVs are often smaller than American models, with rental options typically ranging from 18 feet (sleeps 4) to 21.5 feet (sleeps up to 6). Most feature a kitchen with refrigerator, stove, and sink, a separate bathroom with toilet and shower, and several sleeping berths. Check with the rental company to find out exactly what’s provided in terms of dishes and utensils, pots and pans, toilet paper, pillows and blankets, etc., as you may need to supply some of these things.
Once you’ve arrived at the RV pickup location, it’s best to stop at a grocery store to stock up on things like food, beverages, paper towels, dish soap, and first aid kit items. (Check with the rental company to make a list of items provided.) You may also want to pack an MP3 player and portable speakers, cards, board games, or other entertainment to pass the time on the road.
Costs will vary depending on whether you travel solo or join a tour. In either case, you’ll have to shell out for airfare, transportation to and from the airport, gas, travel insurance, and road and bridge tolls. If you go with a rental company, you’ll also have to pay a minor fee to park at a campground overnight. A major factor that will determine if you join a tour is length of your trip---many RV tours last about a month and cost upward of $6000 per person (see www.rvtoureurope.com or www.europeanrvtours.com for details). The tradeoff is that they’ll take care of all the details: securing your rental and insurance, planning the itinerary, and booking the campsites. And while you’ll have the security of travelling in a group, you’ll also have the freedom to go off on your own many days (just be sure to pack a GPS device!). Also, tours travel to a number of locales such as Scandinavia, Italy, Spain, and Greece, so you’ll have plenty of options to choose from.
If you do decide to rent a motorhome on your own, expect to pay anywhere from 80 to 130 Euros per night, plus a vendor’s fee of 100 to 125 Euros, for a standard 4-person camper, depending on whether you travel in the high or off-season (prices are based on travel from Germany, where rentals are by far the cheapest according to www.ideamerge.com/motorhomes). Travel in winter is most affordable, but it may not be ideal if you’ll be touring mountainous regions, where road conditions can be treacherous and unpredictable. Fall may be the best time for an RV trip, as prices will be lower than in summer, but roads won’t yet be impassable.
Let’s say you’re planning a three-week trip that will begin in Germany and journey down to Greece, passing through Austria and Italy in between. You might decide to travel in late September in order to save a little money, and---more importantly---take advantage of Oktoberfest. You fly into Frankfurt, pick up your motorhome (DRM and McRent have several locations here), and head for Munich, where you’ll pass a couple of days partaking in the festivities. You’ll then make your way toward Salzburg, where you can enjoy the baroque architecture of the palace of Leopoldskron and the intricate gardens of the Palace of Mirabell. Next, you’ll take in magnificent Alpine scenery en route to Venice, where you might spend a few days touring the sinking city. From Venice, you can ferry your RV to the Greek mainland, where you might visit the ruins in Delphi and Athens or even take a day trip to the island of Mykonos, home of sun-washed white houses and pristine sandy beaches.
On the return leg of your journey, you’ll drive through northern Italy, where you can sample the cuisine in Bologna and view the famed Lake Como in Lombardy. Finally, on your way back through Austria, you can tour the beautiful Old City of Innsbruck and even ski at the nearby Nordkette before passing back through southern Germany on your return to Frankfurt. It’ll take three weeks, and you’ll have spent $2000 on the vehicle without even accounting for gas, but divided among four people, it’s a manageable cost. And with what you won’t spend on hotels and restaurants, you’ll get a vacation packed with activities, gorgeous scenery, and memories to last a lifetime---and you can’t put a value on that.