A gal from New Zealand taking on Europe! Ive left a beloved Toyota Hiace back in the motherland that I shared with a friend and have recently become the proud owner of a VW LT camper.
Yesterday was my first on the road travelling from southern Austria (Karnten) to Ljubljana, Slovenia. Aiming to stick around in Europe as long as I can, take all this beautiful land has to offer and hopefully catch a few if I am lucky!!
Now I know you have all been through it, the euphoric moment when you pull out of the drive for the first time and set off on your much anticipated adventure!
I’m new to this forum and reaching out for any advice to solo female travellers, and any travellers in Europe particularly. Tips, tricks, advice, must sees… I am open it it all. Been using park4night FYI!
But, also sending the call out to all #vanlifers as I am a freelance artist, who has been making a living as a jeweller, photographer and mural artist! (Busy girl I know). I would love some knowledge on how you transitioned?
Make sure you have some curtains for privacy - only you should know that you are a solo vanlifer, not anyone else.
Get pepper spray or something like that, just in case
Make sure your connected and have a way to contact emergency services at all time. There are a couple of devices which allow you to do this with the click of a button. But also make sure you let friends or family know where your headed next, just so they can somewhat know your last location.
Park in a way that you have an easy getaway. in addition, also keep your drivers seat clear and know where your keys are.
Honestly, I’ve never heard about anything going wrong with solo female travelers. Although, it’s always good to be safe then sorry
That sounds awesome and very exciting for you. I think the above advice about privacy and keys etc is very sound. Most people are nice but its always best to be a bit cautious when on your own.
Have you got the app park4night? Super handy for finding your daily parking spot.
If you don’t mind me asking which country did you buy your van in? Was it easy to register and insure even though you are from NZ? I am from Australia.
One recommendation that might be inexpensive but it would be really helpful and might help you while in the remote area and having access to cellular network. Try to do some search on ( GPSMAP 66i GPS Handheld and Satellite Communicator). There’s also some good videos on YouTube about it. This is around $600 USD but there is another small version that has less gimmicky features which is around $350 USD ( inReach Mini Lightweight and Compact Satellite Communicator). I think anyone who is traveling and sometimes going remote should consider owning one of these GPS satellite communicator.
I admire your decision and what you. Have fun and enjoy your journey!!
Hi Tam!
I’m a solo female traveller and on the road in Europe since April this year.
I was asking the same questions and facing the same fear.
But I can assure that everything is working easy and safely here in Europe - at least in France, Spain and Portugal.
I was using Park4Night as well and always met other (a lot) people around as this app is very popular! (Often too many and places have been left full of rubbish and toilet paper, so sad). So I felt save during the nights. Also I never ever got into any trouble. People and other van-travellers respect privacy and weapons or self-defense are not needed (also a pepper spray doesn’t make sense in a small van).
In all three countries you can easily buy pre paid SIM cards with data (e.g. 1 GB fpr 1 Euro).
The further you go south the less public showers on the beaches are available, especially in low-season. But also you can find some service-points on Park4Night.
Very seldom national park rangers or police are coming to let you know that parking and / or staying overnight is forbidden. Then you have to move. I never met someone who got fined.
What else do you want to know? Drop me a line and I’ll be happy to hear from you.
I’m now in South Portugal on my way to Marocco / Canary Islands.
My plan for next year. Spain and Portugal. I would love to buy a vehicle once I get there, since I can’t take my beloved and already modified SUV (Hyundai Santa Fe) But Can It? If I don’t have a fix address in Europe?
Any recommendations, suggestions, you could share?
if I am lucky!!
