Travelling around EU for 1 yr with wife+ 4yr old, campervan or other means?

I will be taking a year off work and travelling the EU for the first time with my wife and 4 yr old. What is the most economical means of accommodation and travel? I plan to spend a fair bit of the time in France and hope to have completed my DELF A1 diploma in French before I arrive. My wife and I on previous travels to Asia have enjoyed going out and seeing the sights then splurging on a good evening meal with the best the region offers, then going super cheap for accommodation.

The two options that I think are most likely are;
1. Buy a cheap camper and live at campsites with a night a week in a motel for a break
2. Stay at Formula 1 type accommodation and backpack it using budget airfares or rail as a method of movement.

Is there a better way, we are in our late 30’s?

Apart from the UK it's extremely difficult to buy any vehicle in Europe as you are generally required to be a legal resident.

Have you also considered that many of the things you'll want to see are in the middle of towns and cities where parking for small cars is hard let alone camper vans

Finally how are you going to deal with "Schengen". By the end of the year most of Western Europe will be part of it so you'll have to make several trips outside Western Europe to remain legal - and of course the longer you stay in Europe the more likely you'll be refused entry when you cross a border

Yes, the Schengen thing will be an issue. Search this forum for tons of information about it. Basically, you're allowed only 90 days of travel within the Schengen countries for every 180 days of travel.

I came across this website you might want to check out:
http://www.tour-europe.de/

Dave

Oh, and I just remembered a website from someone who posted here sometime back. This might be, at minimum, entertaining for you. Might even be worth contacting this guy for advice. You'll note that he has his camper shipped from the States.

http://home.mindspring.com/~salmonjt/2007home.htm

Well hangy as has already been said above, you have 2 problems. The first is how you are going to deal with the Schengen rule. The second is how you will insure a campervan.

Schengen allows you to spend 90 days in any 180 calendar days in all the Schengen countries combined. That's pretty much all of Europe except for the UK. Most of the E. European countries will become members by next month. So you have to plan a route that takes you in and out with that time constraint in mind.

Insurance is difficult to get. Buying a vehicle is easy, you can use an 'address of convenience'. But insurance a vehicle using an address that is in fact not your residence can backfire. In the event of a serious accident, the insurance company is likely to end up discovering the address you gave is not your legal residence. In that case, the insurance is VOID. People often confuse being able to buy insurance with being covered by insurance. You can buy it using a false address, but you won't be covered. There are a few insurance companies who will insure you for international travel (that's what you are really doing) but it will be far from cheap.

Edited by: Wayworn1

Dave, thanks for the plug on our travel blog.

Hangy, see the blog at www.papillontravels.net

My e-mail is on the first page or 2. Drop me a line. Be happy to give you some insights.

Schengen IS A BIG issue. Last year we went east for 92 days. This year we will apply for a Visa for long stay. (We got friends).

However will be away from home until 9 December.

Tom in Vero Beach

Thanks for all the info. I was totally unaware of the Schengen Agreement and 90 day limit. That will change my travel plans completely. Looks like an around the World ticket or a work visa. I have been told as a CPEng a work visa may be a possibility.

Rather than staying hotels like Formule1, consider renting a gite for a week or two in each of the places you will be staying.