🚌 Motorhoming in Europe- Everything You Need to Know

There are two kinds of people in the world. There are the kind of people who confidently say you don't need any planning for your trip. You just need a wallet and a phone and a passport and off you go. And then there are the rest of us. Now I'm going to take a bit of a gamble that not many people who are watching this video are in the you don't need any planning, I don't need to worry about anything in advance category. And that most people who are watching this video are the ones who like a little bit of planning, who want to know what the laws are, who want to know what kit they need to bring, who don't want to get into any trouble, who don't want to miss anything. In fact, let me know in the comments whether you're type one, you just go and see where the road takes you, or whether you're type two like me, and like a little bit of planning and a bit of forethought and not feeling quite so stressed and overwhelmed about the whole thing. So this video is going to walk you through how you motorhome or tour in Europe. In fact, this video and probably a few more because I have a lot to say about the subject. Having done it for so many years, there are a lot of tips and tricks, and just things that I have learned that I did not know. And I remember how daunting and overwhelming it felt to take my motorhome into Europe for the first time. In fact, both for the very first time ever, but also for the first time on my own. So if you're traveling solo, I get your pain, I get how daunting it feels. And we're going to go through all this in an orderly fashion so that it doesn't feel so overwhelming and so stressful. And hopefully you will feel a lot more confident about your upcoming adventure because it's supposed to be fun. But I can fully appreciate that it's also a little bit daunting. So I'm here to help you with that. Right, let's dive in. So the first thing I want to talk about is something that I don't think a lot of people talk about enough actually. And that is the order in which you should plan your trips. Now, most people will either start with what gear they need, or they will start with, well, do I go on the ferry or do I go on the Eurotunnel? Or they start with where they want to go. And to be fair, where they want to go isn't a bad thing to start with. But I want you to think a step before that. And I want you to narrow down the kind of holiday you want to have. So answer me these questions. Do you want to stay in one place for a week and have a relaxing holiday? Do you want to go to two, maximum three places in a week? So you're spending two or three nights at each location, which probably means you're going to need campsites rather than other forms of accommodation, which we are going to dive into in greater depth later on. Or do you want what I would call a touring holiday, where you're moving every night or perhaps every other night, you're going to see a lot more of an area, but you're also going to be on the go pretty much every day. So that is not a relaxing holiday. That's an adventure holiday. There is nothing wrong with either of those options, but you need to decide which one is right for you for this holiday. You can do one, one time and then the next do something else. It's absolutely fine to change your mind, but you need to decide what you want to do for this holiday that you're planning next. Now, you then need to decide, are you happy to drive on the right or the wrong side of the road? The right side of the road? Because if you're not now, there is a difference between being nervous and being absolutely, no, there's no way I can do that. I don't want to go there. And it's better to admit that to yourself now, because if you're at the stage where you're so nervous about it, that it's making you anxious, go somewhere like Ireland or go to a different part of the UK. Build up your confidence with everything else, because when you've done that, going to Europe feels just that little bit more achievable. But if you're like, oh, I'm nervous, but it'll be okay. I've driven my motorhome around enough, will be fine or more likely my partner's driving the van. So I'm just going to sit there and navigate. Again, that's you. Please let me know in the comments, because I used to be like that. And again, with the first time that I took my vehicle over on my own, I realised how absolutely terrifying it was to drive on the other side of the road. But we did it, or I did it and managed it and it was fine. So that's the next thing I'm going to think about is, are you happy to do that? And are you happy to deal with foreign languages? Because again, some people aren't. The thought of that is daunting. And again, there are a few things that I can share with you, which will make it all a bit less daunting. But if it flat out, no, that is just too much for me. Like I say, go somewhere else in the UK or Ireland, build up your confidence levels and then come back to a Europe trip in a few months or whenever. So let's assume that you are happy to go to Europe, drive on the other side, deal with foreign languages. And then the next stage is you're going to think about the paperwork you need and the pets and also how you're going to get out of the UK. So whether that is by ferry or by Eurotunnel, or whatever the heck they want to call it this week. Then you're going to talk, think about booking stuff up if you need to book stuff up. Then you're going to think about the gear that you need. Then you're going to think about your vehicle and prepping it and everything that you have to do. And then there are a few other things that we're going to talk through as well. So that's the order that I want you to go through. So once you've decided on the kind of holiday you want, then I highly recommend you look at how long you've got for the trip and be reasonable about how far you can cover in that period of time. For example, if you've only got a week, you're unlikely to make it all the way down to Croatia and back without feeling like you've done nothing but drive for that entire week, which isn't exactly a holiday. And that might be exactly what you want to do. Just step foot on Croatian soil, spend a night there and drive all the way back again. It's absolutely doable, but it's not a holiday. Again, depends what kind of trip you want. If you want to feel relaxed and like you've had an amazing time somewhere in the sunshine, then somewhere like the South of France or even further South into Spain, you could probably do in a week. Going down to Portugal is possibly a little bit far. So think about realistically how long you've got, how far you want to drive each day and tie that in with the kind of holiday that you want to have. So now what we're going to do is talk about the practicalities. And the first thing, obviously, is how you get out of, I keep saying the UK, but actually what I mean is Great Britain. So how you get out of Great Britain and go into the EU or indeed going over into Ireland. But for this video, we're going to focus on going into the EU, which I'm going to call Europe, because let's face it, we call mainland Europe, Europe, don't we? Even though, yes, I know we're part of the European continent and there's always someone who puts a little comment on there. So hello to you, little commenter. By all means, go ahead. But how do you get out of the UK into Europe? So like I said, you've either got a ferry or you've got tunnel. Now there are pros and cons to both. And to be honest, there's not a huge difference. If you are happy driving without much of a stop, then the tunnel is really good. If you're happy or if you're traveling with dogs or anxious pets and you want to stay in the vehicle with them the whole time, tunnel. If you are traveling with young kids, you don't want the faff of getting them out of the vehicle, going into the ferry, all of that kind of stuff, tunnel. But if you're traveling on your own or you want an overnight break from driving or if you're going to the west coast of France or down to Spain or Portugal, then I would say ferry that route. You also then need to look at the price, which one is cheaper. Don't forget, you can use Tesco vouchers for some of the routes and some types of the crossing. There are also sales. You can also use discount codes from some of the clubs. There's a lot of things that you can do to make them cheaper and it really then comes down to personal preference. I like to use the tunnel if I'm going eastbound and I will use the ferry during the summer quite happily. I try and avoid using the ferry in the winter because I get seasick, says the girl who's going to Antarctica again next year. But never mind, it'll be fine. Last time was fine. Why should this one be fine? So yeah, I tend to pick the tunnel in the winter and then the ferry more in the summer because I like having that break from driving. So I have an overnight crossing. I tried to get one with a pet friendly cabin so my dog can come in the cabin with me so I don't have to leave him alone. And then we sleep all night and then in the morning wake up hopefully refreshed and ready to drive. And that's my preference on getting out of Great Britain into the rest of Europe. So the next thing to think about is the paperwork and also the new rules that apply with how long you can stay in the EU or the Schengen zone. So let's talk about that first actually. So if you want to know about the 90 and 180 rolling day period, I've done an entire video all about that which basically talks you through how the system works, how the rolling period works, how you figure it all out and everything else that you need to know. So if you're not sure if you're going to have enough days for your proposed trip then watch that video. That will really help you. There are two more things that you need to know about that at the time of filming neither are in effect yet and neither have got a date. Now I guarantee as soon as I post this the date for one of them which will probably be the EES system will come out because at the time of filming there is no proposed date but there are two systems that are coming in to the EU Schengen zone imminently. Now the first one is the EES system but the EES system is basically something which happens at the border so you do not have to do anything in advance of your trip but the first time after the system goes live that you cross into the EU Schengen zone you'll be asked for fingerprint and you'll be asked for and I believe that data is then held for three years so like I say you don't have to do anything in advance you don't have to fill out anything you don't have to do anything different but expect that to happen at the border. Now they've been talking about bringing that in for several years it keeps being pushed back it was supposed to come out in May 25 it has been pushed back again and like I say there is no date but when that does come in and I do think it will come in at some point in the next year or two when that does come in and has been running smoothly for six months a second system will come in and that is ETIAS now ETIAS is basically a visa for those of us who don't need visa it's called a visa waiver but the way that you have to apply for it it's just like applying for a visa so it's a bit ridiculous really and what happens anyway is that you have to apply for the ETIAS in advance of your trip just like when you apply for an ESTA before you go into the United States so before your trip after you have booked your ferry and probably your first campsite because they're going to want to know when you arrive when you're leaving and also your campsite or where you're going to be staying for the duration of your stay now like everything else there will be a provision for people who come in with motorhomes and campervans and caravans and you just put down the first place you're going to stay I don't know yet because the system's not live yet what the provision will be for not having your exit booked I don't tend to ever book my return ferry or tunnel or whatever I'm travelling on until a few days before I'm actually going to use it so I go to Europe, tour around do whatever and then come back basically when I feel like it but yeah I don't know how that's going to work we might have to start booking our return journeys and just booking on a flexi ticket so we can change it I don't know and again I don't know what happens if you say you're going to leave on one date and then you change your booking and leave on a second date I don't know how that's going to work with the STS system either but I'm sure it will all become clear and again no date yet on when that's going to come in but just be aware that that is coming in at some point so that is things that you need to think about once you are planning your trip and sort of some legalities and then paperwork that you need firstly you need your passport you need to make sure that it is in date obviously and that it has got at least three months remaining on it if you have got a red passport you need to remember that in the EU's eyes your passport now expires 10 years to the date of issue so the expiry date is basically null and void in the EU's eyes so you have to have at least three months before when they think it expires which like I say is 10 years from the date of issue you then need to carry your V5 logbook your actual one and I highly recommend that you take a couple of colour photocopies as well you also need to carry if the logbook is not in your name so perhaps it's in a business name it's a hire vehicle something like that you will need a letter that proves that you are okay to cross borders with that you will obviously need any paperwork for your pet and we'll talk more about that in a separate video you'll need your driving license you will not need an international driving permit for any of the countries in the west of the EU but for some of the countries right out on the east some of them still do ask for an international driving permit you can check that on the Royal Mail website whether you need an international driving permit or not you also need to make sure that your vehicle's insured and you don't need a copy of your insurance as such but it's worth knowing who the details are and also get one of the European accident forms which you will need to fill out if you have an accident so your insurer should send you one of those so just carry that with you along with any travel insurance any health insurance any letters that you might need from your doctor if you're carrying particularly large quantities of medication you do not need to carry a copy of your MOT but you do need to know the date of it because again if you have an accident they'll ask you for the date of it breakdown cover again make sure you're covered for Europe and then the last thing that you might need you don't need a green card for just your motorhome or for your campervan but if you have a trailer so if you tow a car or I used to travel with motorbikes on the back you might need a green card for your trailer so that's another question for your insurer and if they say you do they'll send you the green card so you need to talk to them about that so that's all the paperwork that you need and if you want a checklist of all of that plus all the gear and stuff that I'm going to go through then you can get that I'll drop the link in the notes and you can get and download that checklist and tick it off make sure you've got everything that you need next thing that we're going to dive into is how you pay for the roads and then we're going to dive into clean air emission zones so firstly let's talk about the road pretty much every single country across the EU has a way of charging for using their major roads and these work one of two ways either a toll system which works exactly like the M6 toll does basically you drive down a road there will be a booth at the end there might also be one at the beginning where you take a ticket at the end you put that ticket in if there isn't one of those you literally just drive to the end and when you get to the toll booth you stop there there will either be a person there to charge you an appropriate amount but more likely it will be automated and then it will just come up with a figure and you pay that using a card or using cash cash isn't always accepted so it's highly worth having a card and I always recommend carrying a physical card as well as something like Apple Pay on your phone or on your watch having all of the two will really help however if you're going to be doing a lot of touring across most countries in Europe it's well worth getting yourself a toll pass now I've used two different companies one is e-mobis the other one is toll tickets both have been absolutely brilliant both work very much the same way they send you a tiny little toll box that goes in your windscreen and then every time you go through a toll booth or a piage as they call them in France it registers the toll box the barrier comes up you don't have to pay anything you have to do anything half the time you don't even need to stop because there's a lane where if you've got a they can have a big T over them if you've got one of those telepiage in France you can just keep going for like 30 kilometers an hour or whatever the speed limit is so that's great and then they just charge your card accordingly so that works really well and I highly recommend like I say if you're going to do a lot of touring around Europe or if you're traveling on your own then that will make your life so much easier so for the countries that don't have a toll system so Switzerland and Austria are the two most common ones they have what's called so when you get to the border you will be charged or you have to stop at the fuel station and be charged for a vignette a sticker which goes on your windscreen it basically says you're entitled to drive on the roads in let's say Switzerland for the sake of argument for a period of time that you have specified and it will have the date on it and you can just literally drive as normal around Switzerland for the duration of that time if you decide to stay longer and then you can just buy another one really straightforward you do not have to do anything in advance before your trip and you just literally get it once you arrive in the border so in Switzerland you'll either go to what I call a hard border so there'll be proper barriers there'll be a guard there with a cash machine or a credit card machine I should say and he will ask you how long you're going to stay in the country you'll tell him he'll look at the length of your vehicle if you've got a trailer with another vehicle he'll ask if you're planning on using that vehicle and he will charge you an appropriate number for the vignette if you do have a trailer you will also have to pay for that as well it can get really expensive taking long vehicles with trailer on the back into Switzerland just be warned about that if you don't go through a hard border then you will pull into a fuel station with one of these enormous flags outside saying something like buy your vignette here they don't make it difficult for you to find it they want you to stop and get one and then you stop and you get one there is also an app called I think it's called Via T I'm sure it's called Via T but I will check it and leave the link and that you can do the app you can pay for it on the app and so that's really useful as well because the whole thing is run off your registration plate so the app is just as good as anything else so that's how it works for tolls and for vignettes now let's talk about Clean Air Zones because they are springing up all over the place and the thing that confuses a lot of people is we've just spoken about vignettes for your windscreen the stickers that enable you to drive on the roads in Switzerland and Austria but the stickers that are issued for the Clean Air Zones are also called vignettes the two are not the same so just because you have a vignette say for Switzerland it does not mean you have a vignette for Clean Air Zones like I said they are not the same thing so the Clean Air Zone vignette has to be bought in advance before your trip so I did an entire video about how you get a Quick Air Sticker walking you through what you need the process literally takes about half an hour but it can be quite complicated so I've done a huge video there for you to go through and watch it and once you've got that I would do that at least a month before you travel but it is then valid for the entirety of the life of that vehicle as long as you don't change the reg plate so just do it as soon as possible and you've got it then and it's fine and so once you've got it you pop that on your windscreen another sticker and then it just lives on there and it entitles you to go into the zones that your vehicle is entitled to go in that doesn't mean you can go into every zone it does mean that there are zones that have got some restrictions so some are only accessible some hours of the day some are only accessible to certain categories of vehicle and some are just fine you can just drive in and out or whatever and it will tell you that on your category sticker now you only need one sticker for France one for Germany and one for the other countries I will leave a link to the website that I use it's called urbanaccessregulations.eu I'm not affiliated with them in any way but it's a brilliant website it's got all the official links on so you know that you're getting the Crit Air or whatever sticker from the appropriate place and it's really straightforward to work your way through and do that so that's what I recommend doing for the Crit Air stickers however if you are never planning on going to any of these zones any of these cities you don't need a Crit Air sticker I drove around York for years and just avoided the zones because let's face it most of the clean air zones around the larger cities I don't want to go anywhere near large cities in my motorhome so I always parked up outside and went in on public transport if I was going to visit the city but if you want a city break and you want to city hop and see all these places and historical things then yeah get your Crit Air sticker and fairness I've got one now because they are popping up so much that I don't want to inadvertently drive through zone and get fined so that was some of the paperwork and practical things that you need to do when you're planning your trip to go to Europe in the next video we're going to talk about where to stay how to plan your route how you look at things like campsites and airs and how you find all of those things and then we'll also talk about gear stuff that you need and other things that will make your trip even more successful if you are not yet subscribed to the channel then I highly recommend you do so so you don't miss when those next videos come out and if you are already subscribed to the channel then a thumbs up is always very much appreciated I hope this was useful to you and I will see you in the next video take care bye