r_ourofino

Hello, everybody! I'm here to ask for some opinion/help on the trip we're planing for three people this summer, 20 days on a campervan through Italy. I know that threads like this can bring not such a positive reaction, but this is a lifetime dream and we're kinda decided on doing this so..
Anyway, we're traveling from the half of August to the end of the first week of Sep. and are planing on starting in Liubliana, Slovenia, and going down till Naples and then back. These are the details we could put together until now:
Day 1: Getting to Liubliana in the morning, renting the campervan, parking and going discover the town a little. Sleep.
Day 2: Wake early, leave Liubliana towards Venice, park close to Venice and go discover the historic center. Come back to the van and sleep.
Day 3: Venice all day, sleep.
Day 4: Waking early and driving from Venice to somewhere in Lake Garda (possibly Malcesine or Riva del Garda). Park and spend the rest of the day at some beach. Sleep.
Day 5: From Lake Garda to Florence. Park and discover Florence. Sleep.
Day 6: Florence all day, sleep.
Day 7: Wake up early and visit Pisa quick. Maybe lunching there. Then from Pisa to San Gimignano. Park, discover San Gimignano not till late and sleep.
Day 8: Wake up and drive from San Gimignano to Civita in Viterbo. Park close to Civita and go discover. Sleep.
Day 9: Wake up early and leave Civita towards Rome. Get to Rome, park and walk around a little. Sleep.
Day 10: Rome all day
Day 11: Rome again
Day 12: Wake up early and drive to some beach on the coast of Lazio or Campania (Anzio? Sperlunga? Gaeta?). Beach day and sleep not late.
Day 13: Wake up and drive the remaining distance to Naples. Park, walk a little around Naples. Sleep.
Day 14: Pompeii on the first half of the day, discover Naples on the second. Sleep.
Day 15: Beach day somewhere on Amalfi coast.
Day 16: Beach day somewhere on Amalfi coast number two. Sleep not late.
Day 17: Drive long hours from Campania all the way back to Veneto and stop in Caorle, not far from Venice. Park and sleep.
Day 18: At the beach in Caorle.
Day 19: Second beach day in Caorle.
Day 20: Drive back to Slovenia, deliver the van back, airport, fly.

I know this doesn't seem relaxing but we are really willing to see as much as we can in 20 days, experiencing the landscapes of the countryside on the first half of the trip and having enough beach days on the second.
I have been looking for public parking lots to stop for free or for not a big amount per day in every town that we'll be, for example Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence and Piazzale dei Partigiani in Rome etc.
Do you think it's possible to drive a big part of it all (or at least a part) avoiding big Autostrade (paying less tolls and also passing through more picturesque landscape)?

What are your guys opinions? Like, is there anything you'd do different or just anything you have to tell me that could help us? I'm sure ready to come back in September and report how everything went.

hetismij2

Have a look at www.campercontact.com for camperstops or buy a copy of Camperstop Europe. Low priced or free, but some are higher priced. You will need to stay at official camper stops or camp sites every three days or so to dump and refill, and maybe to charge the household battery too of you aren't driving much. It is nice to stay somewhere lie that every couple of days to have a decent shower, rinse through some clothes and so on.
If you can get a CCI or ASCI membership card you can get discounts, and won't have to leave your passport as identification.

You can wild camp in Italy, but there are rules - not within 1km of a built up area, only with permission of the landowner, not within 50 meters of national routes, not within 150m of where drinking water is extracted, and not within 100m of historic or artistic buildings. You can find the information online. You can sleep in lay-bys on autostrade, but that could be a security risk.

There are restrictions on where you can park a camper in many places, mainly to prevent you staying overnight where it isn't allowed/desired. If you don't have bikes you will need to be prepared to walk or hope you are near public transport.

Have fun!

r_ourofino

hetismij2, thanks for the reply. Camperstops offer dump and refill services independently from me spending a night there? We don't mind spending some nights on camping sites, eventually we will, but will we be able to just find dumping stations, for example, on roadsides or gas stations?

hetismij2

They do but they will charge you nearly as much as if you stayed the night. Generally they are a safer option than a random car par. Note what I said about the legalities of wild camping. You do not want to be on the wrong side of the law (not least because you will affect how all campers are seen) nor do you want to risk being broken into or targeted by the local yobbos.

We tend to spend a couple of nights at a basic no facilities camper stop, which are usually free or cost only a couple of euros, and then aim for a fully serviced one or a camp site on the third day, to dump, refill, shower, etc.

Campercontact gives details of dump options. You can choose it as one of the search options - the orange square at the top is services only. Some gas stations will allow you to dump the toilet in their toilet, but not many have a grey water dump.

Please don't decide to dump over a normal drain, or to drive with the grey water tap half open. You will give everyone who uses a camper a bad name and make it much harder for the rest of us in the future.

r_ourofino

Oh yes, not willing to make anything stupid! Thanks for the help!

annhig

hets - do you have a view about the possible security problems of wild camping in Italy? The reason I ask is that my hairdresser had her camper van broken into and robbed at night in southern France while they were camped in a lay-by - the thieves managed to get in and take money and valuables not only from the cab of the van but also from the area where the children were sleeping - very scary.

I have another friend who regularly drives her van with husband and children down into Italy and back and they alway use official sites, precisely for this reason.

hetismij2

I know of others who have had their campers broken into, in France and Italy, whilst they were sleeping.
One lost a load of expensive camera gear, which wasn't covered by his insurance.
Others have had their campers broken into during the day while they were off walking or cycling.
That said lots of people do successfully wild camp throughout Europe with no problems.
We don't wild camp, but prefer the relative security of the Aires/stellplatzen/camperstops availbale throughout Europe for free or a small fee, or go to a small campsite if we intend to stay for a couple of days in the same place or just for a couple of days of downtime. We avoid the mega campsites if at all possible.

If we go to France again this year we will join France Passion which offers vineyards, farms and the like to stay at as well. The Italian equivalent is called Fattore Amico, the British one is Britstops. You have to join, then you get a sticker and a book of addresses. Usually you stay for free in return for buying something, or at least showing an interest in the place you are staying as a guest.

Of course we have a big dog with us, who would react to anything untoward, but that doesn't stop us being ultra careful, especially as I take my camera gear with me, and we inevitably have at least one laptop, a tablet and e-readers with us.

I don't know if the thieves really use narcotic gases to be able to get away with their night-time raid or not, some say they do, others say it is impossible to use such gases. We have a tri-gas alarm (CO, propane/butane and narcotic gases) fitted to the camper mainly for the first two gases.

annhig

Usually you stay for free in return for buying something, or at least showing an interest in the place you are staying as a guest.>>

lol Hets - I love the idea of "paying" for a stay by showing an interest in where you are staying!

I had no idea that these people supposedly use gases to carry out their crimes, let alone that people have alarms to detect them.

I'm rather glad that I always stay in hotels.

r_ourofino

Thank you guys for the replies. Will take this all in consideration and be extra careful.

Blueeyedcod

<Day 13: Wake up and drive the remaining distance to Naples. Park, walk a little around Naples. Sleep.
Day 14: Pompeii on the first half of the day, discover Naples on the second. Sleep.
Day 15: Beach day somewhere on Amalfi coast.
Day 16: Beach day somewhere on Amalfi Coast number two. Sleep not late.>

Your plan is insane full stop, however this segment is ludicrous.

(1)You cannot - repeat cannot - park on the beach for free anywhere on the Amalfi Coast.
(2) You cannot 'park and walk a little around Naples'. Have you heard of ZTL's? If not then you clearly need to do some research.
(3) You think you can lock up the van, go for a wander and come back to the van as it is and nothing stolen. Think again.

FYI - I live in Italy for some months of the year and can assure you that wild camping is ILLEGAL. Post # 1 is wrong.

hetismij2

According to the information I have, from several reliable sources, wild camping is not illegal. It may not be tolerated, but that is different to illegal, and I did list when it specifically isn't allowed, which covers a huge amount of Italy when you think about it.

I also recommended OP make use of official camper stops, which are plentiful. There is for instance one in Pisa, only 20 minutes by bus from the centre. There are three in Naples, all pretty close to the centre, on either bus or metro lines.

Thousands of people visit Italy in campers and are not broken into. Plenty of Italians drive campers and are not broken into.
Care has to be taken of course, but to suggest that it is impossible to do sight seeing without your camper being broken into is just plain wrong and scaremongering.

r_ourofino

I know it looks crowded but we sure will give up on things as we go with the flow and that is not a big deal for us.
I know I'll pay for parking and I know what ZTLs are. What I was wondering was if we could avoid staying in 15/20 euros full structured camping every time and just find those public white lined parking lots that would cost around 5 euros, but already not really sure after what I've been told here haha (gas detector alarm?! like wow). Anyway, wherever I wrote "park" doesn't mean crazily hustling for that perfect city center yet calm cheap parking lol it's more like getting to a previously researched camping spot with already reserved places.

Blueeyedcod

hetismij2 - your sources are wrong. It is illegal. I will attempt to find the law but it will be in Italian. It is disingenuous for you to mislead the OP with your 'reliable sources'.

OP - you are travelling at peak times when most of the locals are on vacation. August couldn't be any busier and September is also high season. Free-wheeling around the country may sound like fun but you'll encounter full camp grounds and gridlocked roads. Do not underestimate the danger of parking by the side of the road and sleeping the night, especially in the south. If you can't afford 15-20 euro per night for somewhere safe then perhaps you shouldn't be travelling at all.

r_ourofino

Believe, If I couldn't afford that for camping I wouldn't even cogitate this trip at all. But yes, I also thought I could eventually camp for free somewhere. If no, it's now a problem.

r_ourofino

*not a problem

bvlenci

Blueeyedcod, I believe you're mistaken, as long as the vehicle is self-contained. Here is a article on the subject, which cites laws and court decisions by date and number.

http://www.vivereincamper.com/2011/0...revede-la.html

According to the article, the law specifically <b> forbids </b> the prohibition of camper parking in areas where other vehicles are allowed to park. It also acknowledges that many localities attempt to forbid camper parking, but that these local regulations are illegal.

There is a distinction, though, between "camping", which would mean that you pull out awnings and extensions, and "parking", which means you would stop overnight and sleep in the camper. Camping is subject to local regulation, but where there is no specific law, you can pitch your tent (or pull out your camper awnings) where you will. There is no national law either forbidding or permitting camping, as district from parking a camper overnight and sleeping in it, which is explicitly permitted nationwide.

Here is an article on the subject of the legal status of camping:

http://fringeintravel.com/legge-sul-...ive-e-divieti/

These articles are in Italian, so if you can't read it, you'll have to run it through translate.google.com


Traveling by camper is very popular in Italy, and many towns promote tourism by offering free camper parking areas, with provision for dumping. These are usually free, and not all will be listed on the Campercontact web site.

I just checked my town on that site, which said there was nothing available here. In fact, our town has a camper site, absolutely free, with a water hookup and waste water disposal. It also has a picnic area and toilets. Campers can stay there for 48 consecutive hours. <i>Every </i> town in the immediate vicinity has a similar camper parking area. Around here (in Le Marche) the risk of theft would be minimal.

Here is a website that's specifically Italian, and that is fairly complete. However, it's a sort of Wiki, and is only as up-to-date as its volunteer users. I see that some entries still have prices in Lire!

http://www.camperweb.it/index.htm

You can also just search for "sosta camper [ name of town ]". For the Amalfi Coast, use "sosta camper costiera amalfitana."

In very popular tourist areas, camper parking areas are more likely to be privately owned, and not free.