Complete beginner. Advice please. Travelling around Europe for 3 months May, June, July 2025 with 2 toddlers ( 3 and 4).

[Riverbankannie]

As others have said, don’t worry about the planning of the route, the important bit is costings buy v hire and layout of MH given that you will need to be able to fit car seats for the children and then store them somewhere when not driving. Taking into consideration also that your licence restrictions will mean quite a small MH.
Go to a big dealership and sit around in as many as you can, picturing yourselves in driving mode, sitting around eating, what about a wet day with wetclothes and shoes, what about a very hot day, have you got shade and chairs for outside.
My gut feeling is that you should look around for a suitable secondhand MH, if lucky, one where the owners are stopping travelling and have all the extras and equipment for sale with it. A well appointed one with refillable gas bottles for that length of trip.
You will presumably need space to carry pushchairs and all the clobber that little ones need.

Once sorted with a suitable vehicle then just go….. using a weather app to determine where you go and the ACSI camping card to find good sites at a discount price. The ACSI app details opening times, when discounts apply and the facilities like pools.

In between sites use an app such as Search4Sites or Camper Contact to find cheaper overnight stops otherwise you could find yourselves stretching your budget.

France would be my choice for young children, just so many places with beaches and playgrounds set up whether on a campsite or just by a lake or river as well of course the coastal areas.

 

[Brains]

I think my route would be
Harwich/Hook of Holland ferry
Dusseldorf and pick up van
or Holland and go to Texel for a couple of days getting the kids to ride bikes. (I'm sure Dutch 3 & 4 year olds ride bikes)
The I'd head west for northern France
Along the top of France
Down the Atlantic coast
zig zag along the Pyrenees, dipping in and out of northern Spain
Along the south coast of France, arriving and leaving before the heat and the holiday season
Across northern Italy and the lakes, maybe a day visit to Venice. (Not a place for small kids though)
Croatia
Slovenia
Austria
and then pootle back via the German rivers (best place in Europe for cycling) and the lakes once the summer heat and the holiday hordes all descend south

 

[RM_Marine]

Have you thought about a caravan?

 

[Brains]

Have you thought about a caravan?

Wash your mouth out with soap!

(actually, not a bad idea ........,
but it's a different sort of touring, more drive to a place, and stay for at least a few days, even a week at a time, which given the age range may be a better idea)

 

[RM_Marine]

Wash your mouth out with soap!

(actually, not a bad idea ........,
but it's a different sort of touring, more drive to a place, and stay for at least a few days, even a week at a time, which given the age range may be a better idea)

Only reason why is due to the B license, the van they are looking at will need habitation air-conditioning or a BAF and they won't be able to have it long due to the kids growing and the weight

Unless the kids sleep in the van and they sleep in a tent or awning outside

(I know my van isn't a B license van)

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[Brains]

Only reason why is due to the B license, the van they are looking at will need habitation air-conditioning or a BAF and they won't be able to have it long due to the kids growing and the weight

Unless the kids sleep in the van and they sleep in a tent or awning outside

(I know my van isn't a B license van) View attachment 971282

Yes, I think a caravan may be more suitable for this sort of family trip.
You would certainly get more 'bang for the buck' in terms of accomodation
It also gets around the weight problem.

A decent tow vehicle, something with a lot of space and engine power, a small van type of thing.
And a 6-7m caravan.

 

[Bobby-gg]

Amazing. Where did you do ?

We did North Shields to IJmuiden, across Holland, down Germany, over Austria, into Italy, across to Slovenia and down to Croatia and more than or less back again but went south as far as Assisi and West as far as Pisa. Did 5500miles and saw ACDC, Alice Cooper and ZZtop gigs on the way around.

Came back Hook of Holland to Harwich as much cheaper in peak season

 

[suavecarve]

I would be in the purchase and sell on camp.
I wouldnt use campsites as you can get places free and spend the extra money on wine Ice cream for the kids
These free places generally have shed loads of facilities nearby including river and lake swimming at many of them.

If you check this link out, you will see some of the ones we have been to. Some of them you may have to pay for, but the high majority you dont . https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/journals/categories/continental-tours.77/map Click any link and it will take you to a sort of blog

 

[ChrisSue]

Hello

My name is Samantha and I'm new on here. My little girl starts school next year so before that we wanted to hire or buy an RV and travel around some of Europe for 3 months ( May June July 2025) .

We have already looked at some rental/ buying options but we really are complete beginners. So really need any advice. Specifically:

1. Any route suggestions. We will be away for just under 3 months. The kids are 3 and 4 so we don't want to much daily driving. And the main aim is to have family time , an experience and relaxation.

We would like Europe.

Any route suggestions please ?

2. Any RV configurations / layouts you would advise would be best for a family of 4 - kids will sleep around 8ish?

3. Any campsite suggestions that have facilities and fun for the kids ...pool etc ?

4. Any other points to consider for a complete beginner ?

Thankyou so much all for taking the time.

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You can put in your start point and specify up to 3 hours driving and it will give you an idea of where to search for your next stop

 

[Imala615]

Agree with the rent suggestions , and if you have dealers close to you go have a look at the set ups as there are so many,with kids possibly bunk beds ,On your first trip don't take any notice of anybody telling you to travel very far, If you are looking at France keep away from the city's Paris etc and keep to northern France or Brittany , Its so easy to look at a map and think yes i will go down France into Spain/Portugal etc but remember its 1000 mile from Calais to Bordeaux and you are on holiday not writing a blog on how many places you can visit in 3 months. I have been going to France every year for almost 20 years and not seen half of it so in your 3 months just chill and travel about 100 mile a day at most and stop wherever suits you ,Europe is motorhome and leisure friendly which is so different to this country. I did have a website which did have a links page but it got to tedious to update but there is a blog site which mainly through pictures could give you an insight of what it will be like.(note i don't or very rarely use campsites though)

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Heres a couple of campsite links and there are lots of websites and books about for first time travellers.

No. 1 campsite search directory - CampingFrance.com

100% of campsites in France : 11 000 addresses to choose your campsite. Complete campsite descriptions. FFCC Partner.

www.campingfrance.com

Your Guide to Camping in Europe - camping.info

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[Spriddler]

remember its 1000 mile from Calais to Bordeaux

Not 1000 miles but around 520 in British miles.

 

[Figaro]

I didn't know that the campsites can be limited to high season. I guess I nievely thought they were open all year long ?

Perhaps it was the way I phrased it but what I meant was the children's entertainment / animations teams on campsites are generally limited to peak season so July and August. A lot of campsites close over the winter but most will be open by May.
Still lots of them have playgrounds and pools that should be open when you travel.

 

[Imala615]

Not 1000 miles but around 520 in British miles.

should have said almost and Kilometres

 

[ChrisL]

Something to think about regarding towing a caravan is unless you have B + E license you are limited to 3500 kgs for the car and caravan, i've no idea what caravans weigh but a family saloon or estate would be close to two tonnes I would think?

 

[pelican]

Agree with the rent suggestions , and if you have dealers close to you go have a look at the set ups as there are so many,with kids possibly bunk beds ,On your first trip don't take any notice of anybody telling you to travel very far, If you are looking at France keep away from the city's Paris etc and keep to northern France or Brittany , Its so easy to look at a map and think yes i will go down France into Spain/Portugal etc but remember its 1000 mile from Calais to Bordeaux and you are on holiday not writing a blog on how many places you can visit in 3 months. I have been going to France every year for almost 20 years and not seen half of it so in your 3 months just chill and travel about 100 mile a day at most and stop wherever suits you ,Europe is motorhome and leisure friendly which is so different to this country. I did have a website which did have a links page but it got to tedious to update but there is a blog site which mainly through pictures could give you an insight of what it will be like.(note i don't or very rarely use campsites though)

Blogger

Weblog publishing tool from Google, for sharing text, photos and video.

www.blogger.com

Heres a couple of campsite links and there are lots of websites and books about for first time travellers.

No. 1 campsite search directory - CampingFrance.com

100% of campsites in France : 11 000 addresses to choose your campsite. Complete campsite descriptions. FFCC Partner.

www.campingfrance.com

Your Guide to Camping in Europe - camping.info

Made with ♥ Find your perfect campsite with camping.info! 45 countries ✓ 23017 campsites ✓ 285965 reviews ✓ 246481 pictures ✓ Discover them now!

www.camping.info

read your post with interest.
Intriqued by your mileage quote to Bordeaux though,Is that a very scenic route you quoted!

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[RM_Marine]

That's true but they aren't going to get four of them and all the items that need into a 3.5ton motorhome unless they reuse and re wear the same clothes on their back and they only eat air and don't wash

 

[lorger]

Hi Samantha, first off your kids are going to have a great time as motorhoming on mainland Europe is so family friendly.

We started taking our daughter when she was 7 (now 27 wow how did that happen) and always took her friend and they both loved the style of holidays. The first year we went we booked sites and that was the biggest mistake we made, since then we have only booked once and that was Lake Garda in July as it’s really busy. I would sit down with a map and loosely work out a circular route, or as we did sometimes was drive to your furthest point in a few days then take several weeks to plod back. We always did a mixture of sites from Aires to all singing and all dancing sites to keep everyone happy, our daughter loved some of the Aires we stayed on along with basic municipal sites.

As for the motorhome you pick take your time and go look at loads as layout is number 1, no point buying a van that doesn’t suit your lifestyle. If you say what area you’re from then members will give you names of dealers.

One bit of advice, don’t get talked into a van with side facing seats even if they have seatbelts as they’re not suitable for kids.

 

[colyboy]

Hello

My name is Samantha and I'm new on here. My little girl starts school next year so before that we wanted to hire or buy an RV and travel around some of Europe for 3 months ( May June July 2025) .

We have already looked at some rental/ buying options but we really are complete beginners. So really need any advice. Specifically:

1. Any route suggestions. We will be away for just under 3 months. The kids are 3 and 4 so we don't want to much daily driving. And the main aim is to have family time , an experience and relaxation.

We would like Europe.

Any route suggestions please ?

2. Any RV configurations / layouts you would advise would be best for a family of 4 - kids will sleep around 8ish?

3. Any campsite suggestions that have facilities and fun for the kids ...pool etc ?

4. Any other points to consider for a complete beginner ?

Thankyou so much all for taking the time.

Check the 90 day rule

 

[Spriddler]

.

 

[cyberyacht]

I would suggest giving Disney a miss until the children are about 8-10. Then they are young enough for the magic but old enough for the stamina required. Swings, a shrimp net, bucket and spade is cheaper and will keep them better amused at the age yours are.

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[Purrfecttune]

Not 1000 miles but around 520 in British miles.

And another 100 miles less if you cross Newhaven/Dieppe

 

[matt34]

when we 1st went to france our youngest of 3 was 2 years old,book campsites plan a route lots of entertainment,regular stops ,air con would be a good idea,spain is alot cheaper than France as it dear now,but take your time enjoy and make lots of memmories its a great way of life as most is spent outside as you have the weather

 

[Imala615]

read your post with interest.
Intriqued by your mileage quote to Bordeaux though,Is that a very scenic route you quoted!

could be round trip and my route would not be in a straight line Post #43 should have said Kilometres my maps are in Km's in France

 

[Grianan]

My vote is France.

I’d not worry unduly about the heat as kids will acclimatise.

I guess a lot depends on your budget per night for your stays. At 3-4 year old your kids are really going to enjoy pools with slides, slashing rather than ‘swimming’ pools. I’m thinking that lakes can be good too - often there are areas marked out for swimming. As an example my kids enjoyed https://www.massereau.com/en/
(before it was bought out) and Lec de pareloup - we had inflateable boat and small outboard so could go and find beaches for a paddle and play.

There are lots of French sites with outdoor pools. Some pools don’t open before the high season starts mid July! Worth checking. Covered pools will have a longer season.

It’s a great idea, enjoy!