Planning an RV trip
 

Hi fellow travelers 😁.

It's not my first RV trip, but it's the first time I have to organize everything by myself....
I want to travel next August from Brussels to Italy, but I don't want to plan the whole trip in advance.
I want to be spontaneous and stay more in places I will really like.
The question is, is it easy to book a camping place to stay "last minute" in August, or is everything fully booked?

Thanks for any feedback.

RV?

Just to be clear you want to travel to Europe in August and be spontaneous....? August is super high season in Europe and hotels, BnB, gite and camp sites will be full and booked up for a year. If you must go in August then book stuff now

Not what I wanted to hear😕, but I was afraid of it.
That's why I started preparing the trip already....
How do you suggest I book places?
Which website do you suggest?

Hi, I would definitely rough out where you are going to stay as your first step. They can be bases and you can build your flexibility in, in that you can choose where to visit from your base.

I am not sure where you would park an RV in Brussels but I can do some digging for you. The big problem will be the Brussels LEZ, which is an environmental zone for which it is obligatory to register your vehicle. Antwerp and Ghent have this too. I would think most hotel car parks would be out of the question and you might stay somewhere on the outskirts like Delta. Brussels is pretty small and there is a good metro system so it will be fine to do this.

I assume you will also want to visit the Belgian Ardennes (forests, rolling hills, campsites). Start with this website: https://campspace.com/en/discover/ca...lgium/ardennes . The language there is French. The Ardennes also extends into France (French Ardennes) and Germany (the Eifel).

I will come back to you on where you might park or stay in Brussels, back soon.

Lavandula

I found this place in Molenbeek - it's the only place in the city that you can park and overnight: https://lesaubergesdejeunesse.be/en/...e-youth-hostel . I believe they have 5 parking spots. You are not supposed to park anywhere in the City of Brussels with an RV.

You can also park near the Atomium, at the exhibition and conference parking centre, but you can't overnight there. This would actually be quite a good spot to park, partly because of the attractions in this area and also because there is a metro station there, Heyzel.

There is apparently a book, Camperstop, that might be helpful for you.

You may still have to look into registering for the LEZ, which you can do with the vehicle's papers and providing you meet the environmental criteria. It's free, just a hoop you have to step through.

Lavandula

Thank you so much for the information 👍👍👍👍Sorry I was not being very specific. I don't plan to enter big citiey centers with the RV. Brussels is our starting point as reference. We want to visit the Walibi park and then head south. My biggest question is if I will be able to find a parking spot for the RV during our trip without booking days in advance...

I have no idea where you're from, but hopefully you're aware how narrow some streets in the old parts of many European cities are.
Some are too narrow for a truck to go through, so an RV could be just as wide, and hence forbidden.
If you DO carry out your plan, learn some traffic sign words in each local language.
If you see one that says "PESI ZONA", don't just ignore it as I did. It means "pedestrian zone" in Czech, and one is forbidden to drive in there, even if one is ignorant.
And learn what the German word for "one way only" is, lest you drive the wrong way on a one-lane, one-way bridge.

Ah, I see RV is some type of "camper". We have a few fodorites who use and rent campers and they may come along.

Search the web for sites like these:

https://www.campingfrance.com/uk

Are you resident in Europe or the UK and using your own CamperVan?? Or are you flying in from overseas and hiring the RV? If the latter, a road trip it might be easier and probably cheaper to rent a car and stay in cheap/moderately priced B&B's/inns/Hostels/chain hotels.

It doesn't say you can't park your camper in the car park at Walibi, but it does say you can't camp there:

https://www.walibi.be/en/info/park-regulations

What happens if you can't find a place to park your vehicle on the days you are winging it? I would not be leaving it to chance, free camping is banned in so many places!

Lavandula

We will fly from Cyprus and we will rent the camper van.
I know that it is probably cheaper and easier with a rented car, but we want to experience the camper van adventure.

I have a rough plan for the trip, so I will go ahead and make some bookings.
Thanks again for the help 👍