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Traveling by motorhome in europe

Traveling by motorhome in Europe. 5 tips for Sergio and Ana

Today we want to share the story of Sergio (photographer, 41 years old), Ana (psychologist, 42 years old) and Ferran (almost 2 years old). They have become a nomadic family for a year. Europe is your destination. His is traveling by motorhome in Europe. The most curious! Make paellas along the way. 

His route so far has been through southern Spain and Portugal (Algarve, Costa Vicentina, Lisbon and Alentejo). Then they crossed the peninsula to San Sebastián and toured France (Bayonne, Dordogne, Brittany, Normandy, Alsace, Burgundy, Provence, and Occitania).

There, they spent a few days at home to visit relatives and continued on the Costa Brava, Costa Bermeja, Costa Azul, Italy to San Remo. Next, they set course for Mont Blanc, Switzerland, Germany, the Black Forest, Luxembourg, Belgium (Ghent and Bruges and the coast).

You are already in England. Where have you been before?

Indeed, we are now in England looking for work to recover financially. Then a family awaits us to do a “Workaway” (work in exchange for room and board). It is our way of traveling by motorhome in Europe.

When and why do you hit the road?

We had both talked many times about the nonsense of living in a consumer wheel, work and bills with very little time for what matters.

Added to this was exhaustion in my profession, turning 40 and just being a parent. A whole cocktail that prompted us to seek a fuller life.

You have left your work ...

Both we were autonomous. I closed my photography studio with a large number of clients and a prestige acquired over 12 years. Ana left her practice as a psychologist in a health center to dedicate herself to raising Ferran, feeling that it was incompatible to raise and reconcile with work.

Ana wants to find that balance, see how they do it in other countries ... she believes that it is normalizing to leave children many hours in nurseries or with grandparents And what children need, especially the first years, is their mother and father. A society that forces us to miss the childhood of our children cannot be a good place to live happily.

What did you do with the house you lived in?

It was a rental house. We emptied it, sold what we could in a second-hand market and, the rest, we have stored in the photography studio.

This step made us reflect on the number of objects that we accumulate and that we don't really need. Today we work with what fits in the caravan, 10% of what we had in our house, And we even have plenty of things!

 

What is the most difficult part of your route?

In our experience of traveling by motorhome in Europe, the most difficult thing is economic uncertainty. Europe it's an expensive continent and it has blown up our budget. Not knowing what will happen when the money runs out is always there. We cannot practically enjoy the local gastronomy.

Restaurants are out of our budget. We eat almost always in the caravan. We resort very rarely to the tourist offer, concerts, boat trips, adventure sports, everything that is paying, go ...

How do you manage the family finances during the trip?

At the moment we continue pulling savings. Our main expenses are food and fuel, to which we allocate 85% of the budget. We have two projects to finance us. The first thing we thought was "Paella Mundi".

The idea was to cook and teach how to make paellas along the route and we trained for it. We have not been able to start it yet because each country works with a different gas cooking system and we do not stay long enough to pay off the investment. In England we would like to try.

Moreover we also handcrafted notepads and postcards with Sergio's photographs. We sell them online, in a stationery store in the city where we are from and in the areas where we stay.

We set up our stand with the material. It must be said that, at the moment, we are not having much success despite how wonderful the product is. Handmade and 100% recycled.

5 great low cost tips for traveling in Europe

Very useful for traveling families!

1

Refuel in supermarkets.

2

Use free filling and emptying areas when possible.

3

Overnight in free places.

4

Stock up on food before entering expensive countries like Switzerland or France. Italy and Germany have prices similar to ours.

5

Always cook in the motorhome.

What was your first experience like before traveling by motorhome in Europe?

This is our first trip. We started on March 1, 2019. The first 15 days were tremendous.

A special town for you ...

Le Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy. It is shocking, it is magical, it is different.

If you went to X Factor, what song would you sing?

 "City of Stars" from the movie La La Land. Both at the piano as in the movie.

Your best traveling anecdote ...

It happened in a lake. Ferran was a year and a half old and was throwing rocks on the shore. The boy did not yet have much stability and in one of the sets, he went behind the stone. It ended up in the water! Ana immediately launched herself. Everything was in a fun scare!

What van / motorhome do you have now? Its two best features?

We have a Fiat Ducato 3100 Viva del 92. The best, its interior luminosity and its resistant motor.

If you could invent the van 10 of the future, what would it be like?

Our motorhome 10 must have a rooftop pool, glass so you can see the water from inside. Essential!.

More things: fixed bed that does not have to be assembled and disassembled every day, space for the living room, internet connection, large kitchen, separate shower, infinite water tank, self-cleaning potti and a play area for Ferran. With this we settle!

What do you think of the experience of this family?

Follow them on instagram @sergiosanchezpuerto

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This entry has 10 comments

  1. Elvira

    What this family does is impressive, the truth is that I have balanced the positive and the negative in life and have gained the positive if we think and analyze. We don't enjoy what we have because we don't have time with work and then home and children…. When you realize your time has passed… .. I see him great and the little one .. He grows as a person and learns other customs from other countries. It is amazing…. An unbeatable way of living. Congratulations… Family ..
    Live, enjoy and be happy .. It is the most important thing in this life… Continue enjoying life… Travelers around the world love you very much …… A hug

    1. Joseph Coy

      Unbelievable is little. They are bold, adventurous and brave. People like this give us wings, inspires us. Who knows if someday we cast off fears and venture into something like that. Thanks to Sergio and Ana, we rethought a thousand things. Traveling families that are definitely worth it.

    2. Kari

      Dear, I am from Uruguay and I am interested in a motorhome trip in Europe. I would like to contact you to ask for some travel tips.

      Thank you

      1. Pilar Avila

        Good morning Kari, what good news this trip through Europe! We love contacting us to help you. First of all, everything you need to know to travel by motorhome in Europe at a legal level, of apps that will help you find places to sleep, among other things you will need, you will find in the manual for traveling in motorhomes that we have written for free: https://www.kucavana.es/viajar-en-autocaravana/
        On the other hand, on the route we would love to advise you, we have already traveled almost all of Europe in a motorhome and before in a van so it will be a pleasure. You will have to tell us where you rent the motorhome and how many days you have, in addition to your tastes or if you travel with children, so we could help you better. I leave you our email [email protected] with whom to contact us better. A hug from Spain!

  2. The best thing is that you made the trip in the key of travelers instead of tourists. It seems the same but it is a matter of nuance

    instead of tourists. Matter of nuance

    1. Pilar Avila

      Totally agree! total travelers, no tourists

  3. Gonzalo

    Good morning and continue enjoying to the fullest

    1. Kucavanera family

      Thanks Gonzalo from them 🙂

  4. Mary Oliveira

    I have a motorhome whose weight is 3650 kg
    In Portugal, light charters are allowed to drive up to 4500kg motorhomes. I'm not a stranger, it's the same, or not? Will he be able to clarify me?

    1. Kucavanera family

      In Spain, with a driving license B for a car, you can only drive up to 3.500 kg, whether it is a car or a motorhome. In France or in Germany it is up to 4200 kg for motorhomes. Now, or what is going to determine the sanctions is or what is written in your technical papers from your country of origin, then you do not have to worry.

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