Map of my track and Location (updated 17th January 2019)
Each anchor on the map is where I have stayed and free-camped in my van. The yellow van icon is my current location
FULL VIEW – better for mobile devices
*Please let me know if you have problems with the map loading.
I’ll update this map as often as I can – depending on internet. Usually about once a week…
That’s a fantastic fish!
Thanks. Drew it myself 🙂
Where are you guys now?
Should be able to see it now Phil 🙂
Can see it. good luck. Looks ace.
can you change the colour of the grey line to be a bit clearer on the map. for example slightly transparent black. thank you mike
Sure thing. What about now? The track is multicoloured to show elevation and stuff
Thats loads better, safe travels.
Amazing Mike i ask for stuff and get it the same day. woo. how is your french coming along? are you going to mod the van so it will be part boat to get to morocco? or just take the ferry?
wow. it must feel incredible to be on the road… best of luck on your awesome adventure! may it be magical!
Hey pretty impressive Mike! 1st tracked u Monday and now you’re nearly in Spain! Ta for email- lovely and warm I bet. xxxxxxxxxxxx
Hey hope the Rab jacket is effective at night. Ta for photo Mike – most impressive! x
Checking this pretty much every day lol amazing so far.
Oh Mike Good driving! Cant believe its only taken u a week and a half to get down to S. Spain. Hear you’re having a great time darl. Ross still with you + Matt gone back from Malaga? xx
you still alive?
Yes all is good thanks. Been completely offgrid the past 10 days in the hills… I’m trying to get internet now to update the site
AWESOME! Looks like fun!
Come to Tunisia!
Maybe next year. I’d love to!
Did you get your tyres changed?
Yeah Matt. Took quite a few garages to find the right size. One guy said I wouldn’t even get them in France. Found a little garage 300euro for 4… and the mechanic gave us lunch.
That’s cheap! Was that is Gibraltar?
I know yeah. It was in France, Nimes.
Just in the process of making a Transporter habitable, I found you by searching for ‘treating rust holes in floor of van’ I think you’ll probably know which stages I’m at (low/is it worth it/ it WILL be worth it?). Needed some inspiration and motivation and here you are. Keep going 🙂
Ace… it seems like you’re so far off when your at that stage but it WILL be worth it. Good luck
Hey. Perhaps it is easier to just concentrate on one small job at a time…. It seems to work for me, and there is still soooo ,much to do !!! But it helps thinking in small steps 🙂 Good luck and keep plugging along, you will be out there soon and it will all be totally worth it !!!
Did something similar myself once when I was a kid. Cycled to Rome with my brother, was akin to physical torture at time (especially the Alps) but I look back on it as one of the best experiences of my life. Live the dream!
haha nice one. How long did it take you?
Wow this is pretty constructive.
Thanks. I try
If you going to Hungary please go to Balaton, best you can do in Hungary if you need any help im here 🙂
It’s one I’ll be coming back for. Everyone tells me I definately must go to the lake. Pics look real good. How is it for space around the lake? Like to park the van right near the water and free camp
Wild camping in a van around the lake is easy, plenty of really nice spots. I see from your map you spent some time in BP, let me know if you are looking for musicians to jam with if you decide to return….
This brings back a lot of good memories. In 1969-70, I bought a new 1969 VW Westfalia Campmobile in Canada and picked it up in Germany. Then went through Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Holland, England, Scotland, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Italy, Andorra, Spain, Morocco, Portugal, Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia. All in one year. No major problems anywhere.
Then departing from Emden on a VW car transporter to New York, then Washington, and finally back to Canada. A total of 26,400 miles, or roughly 40,000 km. And 2500 slides.
I look on it now as the best time of my life, and would highly recommend it to anyone so inclined.
Best wishes from Ted S.
Woahhh. That sounds like an amazing adventure… did you do any festivals during the year? Are any of the slides online to see?
Ted – you missed Wales!
Would love to see the adventure. When are you thinking of opening a blog and writing it up with a couple of thousand pics to go with it?? Would be absolutely fascinating to see some of the changes, fashions, places and people….
Your adventure sounds like awesomeness in a W dub jar.
That sounds like a hell of a journey Ted … did you take may pictures ? you should put them up somewhere so we could compare with how the places look now
Thanks for the email update Mike, ive been following you for a bit now and thought I had better subscribe ! I to have been residing in my beloved Iveco van for a year now in and around Surrey, goes quick ! I also have a house in France in the loire valley, your most welcome to visit and share a bottle of Muscadet !
Aurevoir Mark
Bonjour Mark, nice to see you subscribed. Are you free camping or on some private land? I’d imagine it’s a lot more difficult in England to wild or free camp? Id like to do it one summer. Loire valley and some kind of wine? Sounds splendid cheeers for the offer
The site is great! are you planning on going to turkey?
Thanks. I was thinking about it actually… a bit into Turkey anyway but no solid plans. Are you in Turkey?
wow the 3g must be good in romania!
Im not in turkey but im planning some time in the van next year and would love to drive to turkey as its a great place.
The roads may be knackered but they have the fastest internet in Europe. I got a 5Euro sim and get 4G net. Where will you drive from? And where in Turkey? Anywhere in particular you’d recommend? I’d like to check out Istanbul… I hear good things
Wow! that pretty sweet.
Im from leeds, hoping to go do a few months in the french alps as im a mountain biker but then keep driving.
istanbul looks good, ive been to fethiye before and thats a pretty cool city on the coast, a little touristy but good.
How did you find the south of spain and portugal? nice place to wild camp?
Yeah Spain and Portugal is are perfect van countries! Loads of parties, great music, activities and many vanners.
Istanbul is an amazing place, but it is a massive city and can be hard to navigate in spots. Anywhere on the coast is gorgeous, some of the black sea beaches are awesome.
Yeah cool. Black sea is a definate. I’ll see how i get on
The entire south coast of Turkey is outstanding. From Izmir to Bodrum and down to the Datca Peninsula and onwards to Marmaris, Dalyan, Gocek and Fethiye all the way around to Cirali, Camyuva, Kemer, and Antalya.
bahhhh. My insurance doesn’t cover Turkey… To Greece
Do you ever get scared?
Yeah sometimes of course
Hi and well done living the life.
i did this for about 14+ years wether on foot, m-bike or van, some time good some scary.
got a wee girl now (10) and want her to do this too, its magic so last month i got a ldv400 and that will start the ball rolling.
Awesome !!!
Hey Mike,
i cant open the map anymore.I have tried refreshing and waiting 🙂
Greets
Cheers for letting me know. Working now?
nope sorry
Oh. What browser and device are you using? Can you tell me exactly what it does?… or doesn’t. Try deleting your cache- the site did have a problem yesterday
i am using google chrome on my lenovo g580 laptop.
it says the map is loading but i had it open for like two hours.
i did delete the chache but no change 🙁
now i can see it 🙂
Ah cool.
Hi there Hope you well , i only wish i had done something like this myself at your age , i lived in Ibiza and later Benidorm in a motorhome in 2003 i an now thinking of travelling Portugal and Spain next year , good luck .
Why does age matter? You still have your van? Yeah Spain and Portugal are great!
As long as you are breathing, there is time. We did a one-year cycling around the world in our 40’s, and have never stopped travelling since.
Incrível! Você já passou por tantos lugares Mike! ^-^
Hey, where to next? Are you going further than Europe, do you think? Or. back the way you came and into Italy?
Hey, I’d like to one day but it is a bit difficult with visa and insurance stuff. I will probably be going to Italy next
Go through ex Yugoslavia.Highly recommend the Adriatic coast!!
Montenegro & Croatia!The words cannot describe it…
Have you thought about having a butchers at the corinth straight… looks pretty spectacular. Also, as you have probably worked out, boats to Izmir via Mitilini are cheap enough then southern Turkey is your oyster… to hell with the insurance! 🙂
Hi Mike! Your itinerary is amazing! Good luck on your trips! Visit Moldova sometime! 🙂
I didn’t really have an itinerary. This is my track, where I have been – i just made the route up as I went along
And yeah, maybe I will 🙂
I plan on doing this next year in the USA.
Keep it up, Mike! Hopefully you can make it to China!
Mike, Im not sure if i have read enough about you but from what i have i would just like to point to one thing. I feel that the kind of lifestyle your living is not productive to society. I understand your passion for travel and respect that fact but inspiring people to quit their jobs and to travel aimlessly around the world is not gonna help society. Im not saying im any Mahatma Gandhi but the simple fact that your working gives you a sense of the fact that you are contributing to society. I would suggest you please do pursue your passion but do it part time and not in such a manner. Please hold on to a steady job and follow your passion alongside. By putting up such information on such an accessible website it just puts worng ideas into people’s head. I dont wanna rain on your parade but i do hope you take this seriously. Peace (V)
Hey Nishchay, it’s cool. It’s an interesting one and I could write a lot in this reply, but I’d rather do most of it by email or facebook (add me if you want).
I may not be earning much but I’m pretty busy at the moment. All sorts of stuff going on. This blog isn’t really a full reflection of what I do. It’s just a small glimpse of the fun I have and maybe some of the interesting bits during this part of my life. So many opportunities have come my way since doing this whole thing and I’d like to see where it goes. I’m more productive than ever though, and I feel I’m the best human I’ve ever been. I’m also working on things outside of this blog, but I won’t bore you with the details.
I think it would be pretty difficult for a lazy or unproductive person to do this or even copy this. But yeah I realise there could be an element of growing responsibility on my part. Just to make it clear, I am not against working. I’m just into realising ones full potential independently and without making one person really rich. There isn’t just one way to go.
I quit my job because I was lacking aim and progression. I am a lot happier now that I made my own challenges, goals and path. This isn’t forever, it’s an evolving journey, a challenge, a project. If the right job comes at the right time in the future, I may take it, but money will have little leverage on my decision.
The contribution thing. I think happy humans cannot help but have an innate desire to make a contribution to their community or society, and money often has nothing to do with this motivation. I’ve only realised this once I got out of my job. There are many ways of making a contribution. Working a normal full-time job may be one way
I take happiness seriously
Cheers
“Through travel I first became aware of the outside world; it was through travel that I found my own introspective way into becoming a part of it.” I contribute to society by having a job, but this only came about for me personally by travelling and seeing the suffering of others. Nishchay, we all have different paths to take at different times, we all at some time have to ‘serve somebody’ [Bob Dylan], thankfully our world allows us some of our ‘own time’ and as long as this harms no one it can only be a good thing. Happiness is a very serious business and will always lead to fulfilment enabling positive social contribution.
I’m with you, Vandog. Keep on doing what you are doing for as long as you can. I traveled Europe, North Africa, Israel and Greece years ago for two years in a VW Beetle staying in low-cost beds, having passengers pay for gas. It’s wonderful to have time and money at the same time and make it stretch. Not everyone wants to be a wanderlust, but those of us who do can’t imagine otherwise. When I came home I went to graduate school, became an attorney, and I’m happy to pay my taxes every year because I know how great the USA is and how lucky I am that my great-grandparents immigrated to this place, and now that I am older 2-week vacations are sufficient. I have wonderful memories and photo albums. I still hope to transform my many journals into a novel; we had no internet at the time. I’m going to follow you now. I wish you more wonderful adventures.
It’s great what you are doing. The way society developed until now is not as it ought to be. We need free people, free spirits with a broad understanding for the rest of the world, thinking not narrow-minded, so we can get to a better world.
Getting out there, following your heart will contribute more to a better society then just sitting in your chair , doing ‘your’ job and filling the pockets of other people.
Keep going, be somebody. I hope you inspire lots and lots of people to find out that your way of life is do-able.
I honestly mean that if everybody had a few years of travelling, learning from the people they meet, we will have a better place in the future.
It’s saddening that we still have people that feel like Nishchay.
nishchay ailani – respectfully, go find a hole and crawl into it. You way of life (living) is what’s wrong with the planet – society!?!
i know my statement is crass, but your is just as.
Tucker Ford, with respect to your comment i would just like to say that asking someone to crawl into a hole is not respectful at all. If you do wanna go down that path i would suggest you take your opinions and shove them up your ass. Apart from that i would just like to add that my way of living is not the problem with society. If you did not understand the point i was trying to make i think this conversation is mute.
Actually quitting your job opens it up for someone else. So it is beneficial to others!
WOW.. that was a life altering statement Wendy!! Do you mind quitting your job coz i see a less worthy person just waiting to take it up. Dont try to make this sound like a hollistic act.
LOL Actually, I did quit my job. And in this economy, my replacement was happy to get it. No need to be judgemental of the way others live. Be happy that you are benefitting society so much with whatever it is you do! 🙂
The Arts, including writing and stories are absolutely a part of productive society and have been seen thusly by all advanced societies. You are dead wrong in your assumption. In our culture, we traditionally admire people who rise to the top of their profession.However, perhaps the Greeks were closer to the truth when they focused on respecting the cultivation of personal passion. Accomplishment is empty if you reach a goal on technical skills alone. Hollow praise does not provide a sense of vitality. Real fulfillment occurs only where there is passionate commitment to something personally meaningful. You are entitled to your opinion, however each member of society is responsible for their own contribution and you are not qualified to judge his. He is providing inspiration and teaching usable skills. By traveling & exploring he is making contact with other peoples and adding to their life experience. You cannot rain on his parade you aren’t even capable of seeing it behind that mask of judgement.
Hey Gina reflecting back on your response i would just like to re iterate that i already mentioned in my original coment that im no qualified professional to comment on Mike’s way of life. I was simply giving my opinion and i think what i was trying to convey was that this sort of “behaviour” could set a bad example for people who are easily influenced.
Why don’t you show your face?
Ha ha ha. Man I gotta tell you that what you are doing may very well be the greatest existence a person could ask for. From the mid 80s to the mid 90s I used to work for a while, make some extra money, hop in my car and drive from Buffalo, NY to Los Angeles, CA just for the thrill of it. I lost count at a dozen trips or so. Of course this was in anything from a Ford Tempo to a 67 VW Beetle to a VW Jetta and nothing as awe inspiring as your van. I believe if it had been my life wold be a whole lot different now.
i love that
Hello !!!
Be sure to visit Monemvasia. And in northern Greece stunningly beautiful Meteora. The town of Parga and the Vikos Gorge.
Italy!! Everything in Italy!! uBut most specifically Rome, Tuscany, and the Amalfi coast. It would be a great place to be in late spring before it gets too hot (it’s brutal in the summertime)
Yes, and even Scylla and Tropea in Calabria, Otranto, Monopoli, Locorotondo in Puglia …
… and Alberobello!!!!!
Indiana USA looked in at your blog today! In the USA, during the 60’s and 70’s a lot of our nations youth took time out of High School and before College to travel the country and see its amazing sights. Still, others take this journey later in life – after years of dreaming of it – after retirement, taking to the freedom of the road when they are no longer tied to a job. I find you inspiring and I wish you peace and good health in your travels.
Great tour wow!
When I was 18 I traveled from Maine up through Canada to the Yukon Wilderness. Spent about a month traveling to through Canada to enjoy the trip west and then we camped out for almost 3 months in the Wilderness staving off the bears and misquitos the size of humming birds. Our trip back consisted of dropping down into Washington State and keeping a northerly route through the United States to camp at various sites from the Olympic Peninsula to Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, Wall Drug So. Dakota, the Big Horns, Devils Tower Wy., the Wisconsin Peninsula, Sue Saint Marie, Sturgeon Falls Ontario, Niagara Falls, upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and back to Maine. The entire trip out to the Yukon and back took about 6 months. I wish that we had the internet back in my youth to blog the entire trip. Maybe some day, now in my 50’s, I might retrace my journeys and blog day by day the travels. I might not be able to do the hikes and rock climbing I did in my youth but just retracing the adventure would be a hoot. I have many other travels as well. I should write them down sometime and share.
Good luck with your adventure! It’s once in a life time! Be safe.
Went to Pelopennese with no planning on a popup road trip. Order of cool stuff seen in just a few days (ordered by amazingness): Olympia (incredible), Naplion (fort on high), Kalamata (bragging rights olives), Pylos (last sailing ship naval battle in world- museum), Sparta (bragging rights – not a bunch to see). Thanks for your site!
Mike, be sure to buy at the store and cook buckwheat kasha. This is a great and full replacement of meat.
Look in Greece Monemvasia, gorge Lucia, Mani, and certainly in the north of Meteora and the Vikos Gorge.
Believe me, it’s stunningly beautiful !!!
Vladimir, the tourist – a maniac.
your journey is so inspirational. I like to think that one day I’ll do something similar! Love following your blog!
Lefkada looks a pretty special place Mike – looking forward to some nice photos from there….
missing Italy!
Hello !! what you are doing is amazing 🙂 just wondering how long you plan to travel and how much money you need to travel so long without working ? ^^
Any plan for Turkey ?
I wish I took the time to have the amenities that you built yourself. Truly inspiring.
hey come in Italy!!! I’m in love with this life style, I would like to travel around the world as you do. and I really hope to find someone who wants to travel with me someday. you’re such an inspiration..I’m 18, I’ll finish my studies and then I’ll think it up. Have a nice trip, bye :*
if you come to uk look me up on Facebook i can show you round…could move my van if you wanna stop for a bit at mine
excellent mate, you’re an inspiration! I’ve already quit my job and planning my round the world journey. Hopefully I will travel for years although not sure how I’ll make enough to survive. I haven’t got any special skills that would allow me to work from home.. I’m glad you’re enjoying my country. Sorry if some Greeks are a bit rude sometimes. Most are friendly people. Let me know if you need any help while in Greece, I’ll be glad to assist.
Thanks. I think you’ll probably find a way 🙂 have good one
Hi, I’m 17 just wondering what’s your opinion on the safety of a girl traveling on her own round europe. I’m saving up nearly got enough now but everyone’s telling me its not safe? (Going anyway) Am planning of doing Britain for a year first to get into the swing of things and learn some new languages. Have u had any encounters any tips dos and donts?
Amy have you got a van yet? I’m 18 and just finished converting mine so I can go travelling on my own!
Maybe i can give you some advice on getting everything sorted whilst we’re young!
hi can you add me on Facebook as I want my daughter to be linked into a bit of a community or have some contacts and she is your age….van peeps gotta stick together!
I guess it depends what you do. I think it’s probably safer than most people think though. You’ll soon see the world isn’t full of psychopaths and murderers. People are really nice and will help you if you need it.
It might be strange to say but I feel quite a lot safer in these other European countries than my home country of England. I’d say try and go to some other places in that year if you can, because getting the swing of things in England could be a bit different to getting the swing of things in the rest of Europe.
Anyway, you can’t not go because someone tells you it’s unsafe. That might not be responsible advice but it’s what I think.
Good luck
I left home to travel the world at 16 years turned January of that year…I still have itchy feet; at 66 years… the last major travel was to China, bought an apartment.. So, Two years on since asking…are you still with the idea…or have you quit…let us know should you read this??
So true Europe does seems so much safer than uk..I know Spain very well and have cycled there a lot.Portugal to very friendly place and seems quiet safe.I only know France Spain and Portugal really.Although I’ve travelled through most of Europe in various vans over the years. People seem much more polite and friendlier in Spain and Portugal than the part of uk where I live (Bournemouth) ..uk is great but limited for free park ups and lots of people seem ready to moan.lots of disrespectful night time revellers who can torment for no reason.not to mention aggressive behaviour in pubs and bars, there’s really NO comparison to U.K. and Spain as regards safety. But obviously depends where you are.. .I cycled across Colombia last year for two months…I was told so many horror stories before I left. but Without a doubt one of the most friendly places on the planet ..but you had to be a little careful around the big cites. happy travels recap……EUROPE much safer than UK.what I’ve experienced over 25 years of travel..
Get yourself trained in Martial arts or even ECNR..,(Ethical control and restraint)…The Police dont even do this and its much better than their training!..Will get you out of Any dangerous situations!..Always best to be prepared you never know when you (may)
need it!
Hi my daughter is 17 and she wants to do the same soon. She has just turned 18 actually and is saving her pennies and we will convert a van together for her to go in. I say take a dog. It may tie you down a lot but always have a dog with you. You know what growl means theres someone lurking….and at least you will never be caught unawares. It does mean you have to cater for said dogs and make sure your van is temperature controlled….but that is my stipulation to her. So as a mum with a van that is my advice to you! I so want to do this but home responsibilities prevent me just leaving at the moment!
Hi, just wondering.. Did you made a trip?
hey, I am highly interested in travelling around the same way you do! have you got any tips for me to survive on the road? What preparations do I have to make?
Should head to seasplash festival in Pula on the 16th July
Hi Mike. Following your progress and enjoying your photos especially the Croatian national parks – stunning. Pleased to see you found plenty of good free camping spots too – amazing how many people say you’ll have difficulty in Croatia.. Have just been checking out your map – it seems to have changed. Your stops used to be very clear yellow anchors. Now they are black no. 1s, which don’t show up in many map views. Also, didn’t you include the Lat. Long. in the past?
Managed to successfully get your book downloaded last week. Haven’t had much time to read yet, but at a quick glance it looks very impressive and I’m sure I’ll make use of it in the future. Well done!
Cheers. Enjoy the festivals.
Peter and Elaine (from the Hymer -we met at Gythio, Greece)
Hey Peter, where are you now?
Has the map changed? I haven’t done anything (I don’t think). The anchors were always black. I think…?
A couple of things I have just changed this minute is the normal map view from satellite view. Also done some filtering to make it load quicker
Should head to Pula for seasplash fest 16th July!
Ahhh I’m in Germany now (I emailed you). Nice one though. Looks good
why did you skip italy? ahahahah let’s come to my city in italy!
How did you like the Algarve in Portugal?
Are you coming to Ireland? If so your welcome to stop by and free camp on my land.
Great job on the van! Did you miss Italy on purpose?
No! All you Italians, chill. I’ll get there haha
You almost drove through my hometown 😉
Where’s that?
Hoogezand, Netherlands.
Hi there, You almost passed my place in Greece, Zoumberi nr Nea Makri. If I had know you could have parked up on my drive. Great blog and hope to do this myself sometime
Ohh! damn. Next time… how can I not go back to Greece
Quit our jobs; check
Sell our house; check
Buy camper; January
Leave Belgium; January
You’re doing a great job, keep traveling!!
nice oneee. Congrats on the decision..s
fred, ben je al vertrokken en waar ben je?
ik ben ook bezig met een vanlife project en kom ook uit belgie
ik vertrek eind maart
Wij zijn halverwege februari vertrokken, doen nu workaway in Spanje, omgeving Valencia. (20°)
Hey man!
Just found your website, love what you’re doing with ur van. I’m a fellow adventurer, right now i’m working on saving up money for my long 2 year around the world bicycle trip. If you ever swing by Kalmar in Sweden, let me know you can find me on fb @big crazy swede
Keep doing ur thing!
// Big crazy swede
Woah cool. Do you have a blog? put it on here. I will get up there at some point. Would love to. Good luck
Hey I missed replaying, I’m now out on my world bicycle travel and yeah my blog is bigcrazyswede.com or big crazy swede on fb =)
But still let me know if you’re going there probably have some friends that would love to meet you!
why are you skipping italy?!?!? 🙁 you should come!
I’m not! I will make it there to do a full tour at some point. Spring time would be nice maybe?
Stupid decision to go to Africa !!! You had to go to the Great Russia !!!
haha. It’d be cool. One day!
You should visit Porto, Portugal.
It’s really motivating to see someone who left everything he had and he was discovered.
I hope to get too 🙂
What an inspiriatio!! Im stephen from sheffield. What have your total costs been for van build. fuel, food and travel ect. Broken down i want to do this but i need an idea of the cost to save up. thanks this blog is so helpful and detailed.
Say hi to Sheffield from me. I did a post on this a while ago. I averaged all my costs over one year. See this one: http://vandogtraveller.com/one-year-living-in-a-van-costs/ – I found this by just searching ‘costs’ in the blog search bar. Good luck
Hi vandogtraveller just found you blog and signed up. My partner says he knows of you from wildcamping site we are horshamjack on there Marc and Sam are our real names. We are currently in Sidi Wassey beach moving down the coast to Erkounte park,sidi ifni and some other places before making our way to Tafroute in mid Feb. If you haven’t been there its worth a stop. Wild camping in a beautiful valley with great little town within walking distance with every shop you can think of including repair shops . it’s 10dh per night to the guardian and you can fill up with water from the lorry that comes round for 25dh you can also empty your cassette for free. We will be there for 3-4 weeks probably so maybe will see you if you come over that way. Have a great trip.
I have a couple questions. First, why no Italy? Is it dangerous to get ripped off, hijacked there? Secondly, is the migrant crisis affecting campgrounds, and availability of vehicles? This is an old dream of mine, but I’m worried it will be a disaster now, with authorities harassing people in vans, etc.
Hi Mike, I find your blog very inspirational, I can’t imagine anything else I would rather do than travel like that. I see you skipped on Italy and Scandinavia. Are they in your plans? I’ve done a lot of road journeys in Europe, albeit camping and in summer.
Hi. My wife and I are now traveling in Southeast Asia, so far for 6 months, we still have 6 more months so we are planning to start a European road trip in Germany due the cheap prices of cars there. We have some questions though… can we just park the van where ever we want just to sleep a night ? If we want to be 3,4 days in a place, do we need to be in a proper camping place for vans? Usually what are the costs for places to camp (only sleeping) on a van ?
Thank you.
Hi there, this has probably already been answered but I was thinking of a year long EU travel and am going to apply for the long stay holiday work visa for France. Does this mean you can stay in schengen countries for longer than 3 months as the embassy told me only in France for so long. Just wondering what your experiences were and how your travel route went 🙂 thanks
Thinking about bringing my 77 Westfalia to Europe. Concerned about limits on stay. Does your UK citizenship give you indefinite access to Europe?
Yeah we’re still, I think, just about, in the EU so it’s easy to roam about for as long as I want
From the US
When are you comming to Portugal?
Best Luck!
John
Hi there Mike, Im a student in South Africa whos absolutely hooked on travel. Looking to do something similar building a van/truck to travel with. How do you manage to raise money and manage time off work? any tips about starting something like this, ideally after my studies for a few years.
It’s a long story and I’ve done many little things. But recently at the moment my ebook is funding me. Check sites like upwork as well – you can work online remotely from anywhere
When are you coming to Italy?
now!
Hi, I’ve nearly completed converting my Land Rover defender 110 into a camper and will soon be setting off from Leeds on a European driving adventure myself. Thanks for the great work you’ve done on this blog I’m sure that I’ll be staying at a few of your wild camping locations.
I also intent to document my journey on a blog and wondered if you could tell me how you created the map above? Do you have to record tracks on your Garmin and then add waypoints via http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/?
I’ll let you know when my blog goes live!
Hi…Great Blog…any latest updates? I’ve always wanted to do this…damn…
I laso read this guys blog too…people might be interested.
http://stealthvanman.blogspot.co.uk/
Hey, why don’t you make your way to the Edinburgh Festival. I’m going to be there in my van for the next 3 weeks. First time. I think it will be fun with lots of van people around!
This looks amazing! I’m sure you have quite a lot of adventures through your travels. I would love to do something like this – a long road trip around Europe, awesome!
I see you missed Italy completely..Shame as You would love it!..Rome etc are places You must not miss they are amazing!..Been following you on your travels very interesting and wish I could have done the same but alas not enough time..But maybe when we retire in a few years before its to late and we are to old!..Keep on travelling and blogging.:)
Hello, thanks doing this, you have helped me with my van conversion which I hope to complete by the spring. If you are heading to Cornwall, there is a fab place to stop in Dartmouth on the Quay where there are free showers and toilets. However beware there is a busy body women who tries to shoo you off. My parents told me this, they stayed there for a couple of weeks.
Are you planning on traveling to, for example, America or Australia? It’s just because if you are, I’m curious about how you will do it. Will you keep your van, or get a new one…?
No plan yet… but maybe one day. Could be interesting 🙂
The logistics of getting the van to either country would be difficult. I have spent time in Australia and did a lot of camping there in a tent, rather than a van..
If you do take your van Down Under, it would be interesting to know what you had to do and how much it cost. I know you have to have something called a Carnet de Passage to temperarily take a vehicle over there and it is cheaper to do this than to permanently export it. However you have to ship it over by sea and this takes time.
Keep up the good work with the blog, its interesting to see what you are doing with your van
Mike, are you catching rain water when it rains? If not, you need to see the YOUTUBE vid about a chap who fixed up a system that when it rained it filled your water tank automatically…check it out if not done!?
Noticed accordion playing. Super! I also play accordion (bit larger) and researching cargo van conversions. Did you have issues with too much condensation which can cause mold/mildew? If so, what did you do about it?
I’m not far off taking the plunge to travel Europe myself any advice or just enjoy lol
I’ve been dancing about van travelling for like 2 years. I found this blog yesterday and this morning at work found myself parked next to an LDV Convoy. I think the universe is trying to give me a kick up the butt!!
I’ve got the converted van i just need permission to vacate my life!
Hey, interesting! It takes to the memory lane of the times I used to have such trips on my bike. Good to read your blog that gives important information on the road trips by camper van. Keep up the good work.
I think you should travel east, from Italy go up to Slovenia, and then through Croatia into Bosnia to Sarajevo then into Serbia and all the way to Varna in Bulgaria, from there you should take the ferry to Georgia, and drive into Armenia do some hikes on those mountains and then get into Iran, travel around Iran for a while and then drive into Northern Iraq and come back to Europe through Turkey. Thats my plan, i am in Slovenia right now, you should join! , Gonna be hell of a adventure you dont want to miss ! 😀 Follow me on Instagram for the Adventure : https://www.instagram.com/statelesstraveller/
This is really awesome. Really hope Brexit doesn’t mess this up for you.
Have you done an article on how you maintain/ update your travel map?
it’s look llike you are scared to enter Poland..?
Hi there – me and my partner are looking to travel around in a camper for a year (starting with Europe) However we have 2 large dogs as well – do you think we would face any difficulties/challenges or unforeseen expenses travelling around all these countries with two dogs? Hannah
Hello,
will there be new versions of your books in 2018? I think of buying them as presents for a friend who wants to start building his RV and then start living in it next spring. So I wonder if I then should wait for the new version.
Thanks, Anni
Hey, the most recent one (How to Live in a Van) certainly won’t be getting a revision for a while. As for Van to Home, all the content is still relevant and I do plan on releasing a revised version but there’s no date in sight yet
Mike 🙂
Hey Mike! what are you doing at the moment, and where are you?
Hey Mike, i’ve been a follower for a while and your content has been invaluable, really appreciate it, kudos!
Can i ask what you are using to create your location map?
Hopefully meet you in the not-too-distant future 🙂
Hey Rob glad it’s helped you and you’re welcome!
The GPS map is just the tacking data from my Satnav (a Garmin Nuvi). I load this onto the computer using the Garmin software (Basecamp) and then I load this into an online tool called GPSVisualizer (google it). That lets you create all kinds of html maps with your GPS data
Hey If you want to do some more Van Tours I’m happy for you to do one of mine my friend!!!
Hey Mike
Your map needs to be updated with the new API for google maps. Hope you can do this as it’s interesting to follow your tracks 🙂
Cheers
Jonathan
Thanks Jonathan. I’ve done the workaround but it means there’s a popup when the map first loads. Just dismiss this and the map should work fine. If you have any other suggestions to make this map feel free to advise. Looks like Google are no longer going to provide access to their maps for free
hey found this site searching for laundry services in santa fe spain. am at the hot springs. been here for ages. and know it since years. wellj no laundry place in santa fe… gota try granada. so much washing ufff hihi… happy campervaning…
Always enjoy your blogs Mike. A unique consise style. So different from so many! …Been looking at your map recently as Scandinavia is on the cards for us next year. Is there any way I can get a lat/long from your stops (the anchors), so I can transfer some to another platform??
What’s the plan for the future? You mentioned shopping the van further afield? We’re considering N. America in the next couple of years 😀
I will make sure to stop by the yellow icon when I get to London 🙂