Traveling Europe in a motorhome, van or car is on many people’s bucket lists since it’s such a budget-friendly way of exploring a lot of places at once and also allows you to explore more rural areas, be more flexible with your plans and enjoy the calmness of your own transport.
We had the opportunity to travel in Europe with a car a few years back, in 2020 when we traveled through Italy for two weeks and mostly stayed at campsites, sleeping in a tent and it was absolutely one of the most amazing experiences. Later motorhomes started to become compelling to us since we started to consider full-time traveling and noted the space and amenities as priorities. So in 2022, we bought a motorhome that we took to the Balkan countries and had remarkable experiences that are now very fond memories.
Now, when a year has passed since we bought the motorhome and traveled with it, we learned a lot and some things I wish we knew earlier. So, whether you are planning on traveling with a car, motorhome, or any kind of other transportation, these key points I consider necessary for having a great and safe journey, so let’s dive into the 13 things you should have before adventuring through Europe!
Insurance
Insurance is something that is, without doubt, a must and a mandatory necessity for driving a vehicle in Europe. Having insurance helps you in many ways such as covering any damages you can cause in the case of an accident to a property or a person, other than the driver.
Choosing the right insurance company can be tricky since the cheapest ones won’t probably offer a lot of financial help in the case of an accident but if you are on a budget, it’s necessary to find an affordable option. When choosing an insurance company, I would advise finding one that provides the Green Card for other European countries and if you plan on visiting specific countries and you find out that the insurance company doesn’t cover that automatically, make sure that you can add those countries that you want to travel to to the insurance before you leave for the travels.
Our insurance is one of the cheapest ones but it covers almost all European countries and even some that aren’t in the EU but with all that we had a problem traveling to North Macedonia because only when we arrived there we found out that our insurance doesn’t cover it and the company could help us only if we visited their office which was impossible at that moment so we had to buy Green Card at the border crossing which cost a lot more than we could have paid if we had Green Card beforehand.
Toilet and/or shower
Your own toilet and if wished, a shower, is a necessity since in Europe it’s not so convenient to find showers at gas stations and public toilets are not available everywhere.
I can’t even explain how grateful I am that we had a motorhome with a toilet and a shower traveling through Europe, specifically Balkan countries, because I can’t count times when we needed to use a restroom and there wasn’t any or it was in such a bad state that having our own was a relief.
With showers, it may differ from person to person but personally, I like to have the option to shower anytime if needed, even a quick wash can give such a refreshing feeling while traveling. We found that in most gas stations there aren’t showers and if you don’t stay at campsites, it can get hard to find one. Once a week we headed to a local gym to have a proper warm shower since we didn’t have warm water in the motorhome but at the same time, some kind of shower arrangement is something that I can’t imagine traveling without full-time in a vehicle.
Heating
Backup heater, body heater, or something portable that can provide you with heating. Even if you plan on traveling in summer, some areas in the mountains and regions can get chilly, especially during the night and the worst thing to experience is to sleep while freezing in the cold. Therefore some kind of heating system is necessary, even if it’s a small electrical heater, it can save you in case of coldness.
When we started to travel with the motorhome, we headed towards Greece and we imagined that it would be warm enough even in the wintertime. Even though it was warm most of the time we were there, at one point very cold temperatures hit Greece and surrounding countries that resulted in even minus 12 degrees Celsius at night. Of course, we weren’t prepared for that and even though we had gas heating which worked well, it would have been even better to have something more since cold temperatures in a vehicle can feel brutal.
Cooking stove
A backup portable cooking stove or also called a camping stove can be a lifesaver. In the motorhome, we had installed a gas stove which we used every day while traveling but at moments when we ran out of gas and we couldn’t immediately replace the gas bottle and we needed to wait a day or two to do that, portable cooking stove that runs from a small butane gas cartridges helped us immensely. But keep in mind that these stoves are not meant for use indoors, but rather in places where there is sufficient airflow.
Tools
Before leaving for travels, make sure to have some basic tools with you that can help you to fix some minor issues if required. A vehicle is a mechanism that over time can break down or can have some small technical aspects that need to be taken care of and if you have some basic knowledge of that to not call for help every time something happens, it is useful to have them.
This next small tip may sound unnecessary but for us, over time it became a must to have a good quality silicone sealant that can fix window leakage if there is a good amount of rain to prevent some damage to the vehicle and your belongings. Although before leaving for travels we secured the windows from any future leaks, over time the problem came back and we needed to fix that even multiple times.
Carbon monoxide detector
Carbon monoxide detectors should be installed in your vehicle even before you start living in it. The sensor helps to detect carbon monoxide since the gas has no smell, color, or odor and is dangerous in confined spaces. The hazardous gas comes when carbon fuel such as propane, heating oil, natural gas, and wood fails to burn completely. Some common sources of carbon monoxide are fuel-burning appliances like heating systems, or grills, and other consumer products or engine-driven tools such as generators. Carbon monoxide detectors can be purchased in your local hardware store or you can order them online, for example, from Amazon where we got ours for the motorhome.
The car is in a good technical condition
If you plan on traveling with a vehicle, make sure that the car itself is in good technical condition and if there’s something that needs to be fixed, don’t leave it for the future but rather prepare the vehicle as best as you can so that while traveling you don’t need to worry about the problems of the car while trying to enjoy the travels and to find a mechanic in unknown places. Of course, you can’t prepare for everything and some things can get broken or will need to be improved but it’s best to be as prepared as you can be.
On another important note, make sure to have new, good-quality tires. The quality of tires can impact your driving experience so immensely that it’s really important to invest some money in good quality ones so you can drive safely and with peace of mind.
Supply of petrol and oil for the motor
An extra supply of petrol and oil for the motor is necessary, even if the amount of them can be very little, it still can be helpful. Unfortunately, while traveling, there might be the case of gas stations being very rare along the way or you can get lost in places that are not so well known and rural therefore extra petrol can be valuable.
The same goes for oil for the motor. You can never know what could go wrong with the engine gasket or engine rubber, also when there are signals that the oil levels are low, it’s important to have extra oil for that so you can manage to get to the nearest car service and check properly what the problem is.
Electricity supply
Any kind of electrical source – a diesel or electrical generator, power station, or anything like that where you can store electricity and use it in case there is no other place to have it. When we started traveling with the motorhome, we had only one solar panel that provided the electricity that only was enough for interior lights and water pump but for computers, for instance, the electricity wasn’t enough so we every other day were searching for a cafe or restaurant to work at and it was just exhausting.
After a few months, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we bought a diesel generator in hopes of getting more electricity and spending less time and money in cafes but we overestimated the use of it – it was so loud to use in cities or other urban areas so we could use it only occasionally. And after a few more months, in Athens, Greece we bought a portable power station that saved our situation. It is very small but lasts very long and we could charge everything that we needed to with it. To charge the station, we could connect it to the solar panel while not using any lights during the day or from time to time going to a cafe for a change of working scenery. So overall, it is best to have multiple sources of electricity so you never may run out of it.
Bluetooth device for a car
Bluetooth device adapter for easy mobile phone charging or even music playing. That’s something that we use daily and would highly recommend. I can’t count how many times we were driving and using maps on the phone to easily navigate, and the phone battery started to die so the Bluetooth device, working directly from the car so you don’t need any other electricity source to use, is the best place to just plug in your phone and continue the drive without any stresses. Also, it’s a great device for playing music that you like in older vehicles, not relying on the radio although it could be fun to experience different radio stations in different countries, but sometimes it can be hard to find the right signal for that or even an enjoyable program for your taste.
Dash camera
A video recorder, mounted on the front window, is a must in case of an accident or some issues so that you have a recorded version of what happened. We used the recorder every day when driving and it gave us some peace of mind knowing that if something strange can happen, we at least will have proof. Thankfully, we didn’t need to prove anything or look back, but you never know what could happen.
First aid kit
A first aid kit is always necessary to have on you no matter what kind of transport you travel with or how far you are planning on going. You can purchase the kit online or at some local stores and gas stations where you will find some bandages, gauze pads, antibacterial lotion, pain relief, and other things. You can also plan and buy some medicine that you know you will need or may need since in other countries it might be hard to find exactly what you are looking for or prices may vary.
Rearview camera
A rearview camera is such a convenient tool to have while driving in unknown areas or parking in tight spots that are unfamiliar. Before our motorhome, we didn’t have experience driving with larger vehicles, therefore, the rearview camera was such a helpful tool to have not only at the beginning while getting used to the size of the motorhome but also later while traveling and sometimes trying to park in places that were very tight or making some maneuvers that could be much harder to realize if not for the help of the camera. The rearview camera was also helpful in instances when we drove during the dark since the camera had infrared lights thus it was much easier and quicker to navigate.
Europe is filled with amazing countries and places to visit – spectacular nature spots, memorable cultures, and city life. It can take years to travel through every country and see everything worth visiting. If you are deciding on whether to drive or backpack, you won’t be disappointed either way but don’t miss out on this beautiful adventure.
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