The vanlife, the incredible sunsets by the sea, the fresh air... Who has never drooled over these perfect images, these stretches of wilderness? Who has never envied these nomads, these adventurers who dare? Does this dream seem inaccessible to you? Have you ever thought of renting a van?
Renting a van is a great way to stop drooling over other people's lives and finally get a taste of adventure. You don't need to refurbish a van, have manual skills or spend a lot of money on a new one. All you need to do is choose a destination and travel dates, pack up and get used to driving a small luxury hotel on four wheels.
Luxury? Yes, you thought that travelling in a van meant giving up on your comfort, wrapping yourself in three sleeping bags to survive the cool night air and eating liophilized noodles? No way! In this article, we share with you our experience with three models of vans rented for a few days from the company Blacksheep Van Belgium. And you'll see that the only risk you run is to get hooked!
Let's start with an overview of the three vehicles we tested during our first #evazionroadtrip in Brittany, at the beginning of March: a VW Grand California, a VW California Confort and a Mercedes Marco Pollo, all equipped for 4 people with a kitchenette and stationary heating.
The collection of the vans takes place in Leuze, not far from Namur. The Blacksheep staff will give you a complete check-up of the vehicle and brief you on everything you need to know, from emptying the water to turning the front seats, unfolding the roof and turning on the stationary heating (crucial at the beginning of March, let's not lie).
Our personal vehicles can stay in a secure car park throughout our van trip. How convenient!
The journey can finally begin. The automatic gearboxes and cruise controls make driving easy despite the impressive size of the vehicles. The Grand California, at 3 metres high, is in the motorhome category and its height prevents access to many car parks in France. The other two are less imposing and more versatile. But you can't have everything... Between reasonable height and hot water, you will have to choose.
Life in a van requires a bit of organisation: travelling light, a place for everything and everything in its place, cleaning and putting away what you use straight away. Once you've got these little habits down, you'll appreciate the ease and optimisation of space, which means you won't feel too cramped, even if you're confined to the interior in winter, even if your children are scattered around.
Resource management becomes your main concern. You learn to anticipate refilling and emptying (water, toilets, electricity, gas) and to juggle with food (limit stocks but have enough to keep stomachs warm in case of a last minute change of programme).
The other major concern is to find spots for the night but also for the day. Of course, everyone dreams of an unobstructed view 100% of the time: an ideal that is difficult to achieve and that gave birth to the EVAZION project. We'll tell you more about it in other posts.
As you can see, the best way to find out if vanlife is for you is to take the plunge. And to try the adventure in an intelligent way and without ruining yourself, we have found nothing better than renting a van for a first experience of a few days.
As far as your wallet is concerned, you should expect to pay around 300€ for a weekend and between 700€ and 900€ for a week, depending on the model chosen.
Add to this any options you might want such as a bike rack, a barbecue or a cleaning package.
If you are staying overnight in private or camping car parks, each night will also cost you a handful of euros.
And of course, roadtrip means fuel, the item that hurts the most with the current prices.
In conclusion, it's not necessarily cheaper than other tourist accommodation but it's a completely different adventure, another way of travelling, the realisation of endless dreams!
If you share the van with four people, it's obviously more affordable than if you try it solo and it's an easy way to test the vanlife and find out if you're made for this way of life without putting too much strain on the wallet.
To close the list of expenses, don't forget to bring a stock of tissues because you might be inconsolable when you return this little jewel.
So when are you starting?
When we think of van life, we immediately imagine into the wild, solo travel in the wilderness, isolated and in search of meaning or adventure. But today, nomadic travel in the broadest sense of the word is also a family affair, whether with children or teenagers.
Nomadic travel. Yes, summer is here, and with it the desire to travel and discover new places. Who doesn't dream of jumping into a car or a train and finding themselves somewhere else for a few days? So we thought it was time to help you make those dreams come true.
There are always questions that we ask ourselves before leaving, that's why planning is an important step. When to leave, with whom, in which region, how many kilometers? Who hasn't already asked this question?
