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Tips for vanlifers

2020-2021 Our first trip

2021-2022 Start earlier

2022-2023 Mosel valley again

2023-2024 Cold and rainy start

2024-2025 The river is flooding, we must escape

2025-2026 Celebrating 15 years as married

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2020-2021 Our first trip with blueboxvan

Our first trip with blueboxvan, was with the boat from Malmö to Travemünde.

We traveled through Germany to Mosel valley where we ended up spending some time. It was so beautiful that we couldn’t leave!

Then we continued to Luxembourg to visit some friends.

Next stop was to the border between France/Spain with a stop in Hondarribia. It was unexpected treat and we spent some time in this nice town.

In the end of October, they started to discuss closing the boarder to Portugal, because of corona, so we packed our things and drove fast to cross the border before they did. This way we ended up in the highest town in Portugal named Guarda.

From there we drove directly to Ermidas do Sado, a small village town near Sines, where we stayed for 4 months. The Portuguese countryside is lovely!

Time to travel back to Sweden.

In March we started our trip home by driving to Spain, where we ended up in Isla Cristina. There we stayed some weeks before we finally drove to Sevilla.

After Sevilla we continued exploring Spain as we drove north through the mountains. We saw among others Rhonda, Casarabonela and  Caminito del Ray.

In the beginning of April we drove to Granada and look at Alhambra. Because of the pandemic we could enjoy the palace without sharing with a crowd of tourists. This was very luxurious indeed, because normally it is very much people.

Our last stops in Spain were Cartagena followed by L'Hospitalent de I'Infant. In this small town we had to get a corona test and a paper confirming our health to show during our trip home.

We were not allowed to stop anywhere the last part of our journey, so we had a quick drive through France with one nights sleep in Saint-Alexandre and one in Luxemburg.

Last stop was Travemünde were we boarded the boat to Malmö and finally arrived to Sweden in the middle of April.

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10340 km

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2021-2022 Start earlier

This year we started our trip a little earlier because we wanted to swim in the Mediterranean Sea before it was too cold. So, in the middle of September we left Malmö with the ferry to Travemünde.

We chose to drive the Romantiche strasse passing Würsburg with a quick stop at Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

Next stop was Strasbourg where we deiced to do some sightseeing in the town.

After that we drove to the French town Agde and stayed there one week dipping our toes in the sea.

Next stop Cartagena! Here were we decided to stay for 3 weeks.

We then drove down to Almunecar and La Herradura were we stayed more than one week.

Driving further towards Portugal we came to Pizarra were we stayed a few nights, the camping is difficult to reach and you need a small and maybe a offroad van but we manage to go there and leave without problem, we visited Caminito del Ray again. Again with no luck since the caminito was closed due to strong winds!

Next we stopped in Tarifa before we once more made our stop at Isla Cristina.

In the beginning of November we arrived to Armacao de Pera in Portugal.

This year we stayed in a rented house near Vila Nova de Milfontes from the end of November to middle of January,

In end of January we moved to a house in Ermidas do Sado and stayed there to the beginning of March.

12 February Åsas’ daughter came to visit us and to see Portugal.

In middle of March we arrived in Porto at a camping site on the south side of the river. The area is named Canidelo, here we stayed for about three weeks. What a lovely place!

Time to travel back to Sweden.

In the beginning of April we had to start our trip home and drove slowly by the Douro valley (as beautiful as the Mosel valley). There is a lot of wine producers, historical places like Lamego and spring flowers to enjoy!

From Douro valley we drove to Gijòn over the mountains. For the first time in a few years we could play in the snow and Kjell made a snowman.

After a slow drive through France and the coast north of Bayonne, we found a nice place by the coast near Montalivet. Here we stayed one week to celebrate Easter and French cuisine.

Then we drove to Brygge in Belgien, which is a beautiful historical town. We didn’t stay for long since our goal was to visit the Netherlands in the end of april. We came just in time to see the flowers at Keukenhof and the flower parade. Before we left, we also went to spa in Harderwijk.

29 April this year’s trip ended as we took the ferry from Travemünde to Malmö.

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12200 km

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2022-2023 Mosel valley again

This year our trip started in the beginning of oktober when we took the ferry from Malmö to Travmünde.

On our way down to Spain we decided to drive through the Mosel valley again because it is so beautiful. We took our time exploring the surroundings as we moved ourselves slowly down by Mosel staying at different camping’s film on YouTube

In Luxemburg we stayed for a few days with friends, celebrated a birthday and made some excursions.

As the weather got colder and rainy we drove down to France vest coast to Montalivet for a couple of nights.

Next up was Biarritz for some nights but as it was rather windy and chilly, we left after a few days. Next stop was El Puente Cantabria, a very nice and well-kept place to stay in a cute village.

We stayed 4 nights at Bidaivan Camper Park and enjoyed the sceneriers and a nice ride on 4-wheel drive up to the mountain film on YouTube

In the end of October, we arrived at Portugal, first a stop at Chaves and then finally Porto.

We didn’t stay so many nights in Porto this time because we wanted to see the waves in Nazarè. We stayed for 4 nights hoping for some spectacular waves but no, however we did catch some small waves that you can see on the film on YouTube

Next time, perhaps!

Last stop before moving into a house this winter was 3 nights in our favorite village Vila Nova de Milfontes.

Even though we moved into a house, we drove to Algarve for a weekend before Christmas. Time to explore Portimão!

In the beginning of November, we took a tour to Algarve which is full of historical places and nice beaches, unfortunately there is also a lot of wind and big waves (which is why there are so many surfers in Portugal).

In December we went to Sines for Christmas market film on YouTube We also went to a Christmas concert in Portimão that presented a lot of old well known Christmas songs.

New Year’s Eve we spent in Vila Nova de Milfontes, there was a big party at the beach with a huge firework film on YouTube

Time to travel back to Sweden.

In the beginning of February we started our trip home (very slowly).
First we went to Cadiz for the carnival, a lovely carnival.

Next stop was in Estepona to meet friends from Sweden.
After Estepona we stayed for 7 week's in Torre del Mar for the Easter festival in Vélez-Málaga.
We also went on trips in the lovely mountains with our scooter.

In the middle of April we stayed at a camping in the mountains/forest in the Murcia area and had some nice walks in the beautiful nature.

On the way to Sitges we stayed in the old town Montblanc.

Next was some nights in Sitges, Åsa was hired as a keynote speaker in Barcelona and the closest camping that looked ok to us was in Sitges.

In the end of April we took some time in south of France and this was something we didn't regret. There was a lot of old beautiful village's and lovely nature to enjoy.

We went kayaking in the river Hérault and also made a visit to an old town named Saint Guilhem with the scooter.

During the last part of our way home we stopped in Strasbourg, a town we have been to before and like very much.
In the beginning of May we passed by Göttingen and Hamburg to finally reach Travemünde for the ferry to Malmö at May 11.

Throughout our travels we use Google maps to find the way. The app also keeps track of where we have been so that we can go back in its’ history and see where we have been.

As our travel continues, we will keep this site updated with more details about the new places we see on our way.

Link route down 2022 Instagram

Link route home 2023 Instagram

11530 km

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2023-2024 Cold and rainy start

This year, our trip started in the beginning of November when we took the ferry from Malmö to Travemünde.

We slept a few hours at Stellplatz in Travemünde, or beside the Stellplatz, really, since it was full.

Luckily, there is a parking place right beside it, which you can use for free during the night if you don't need electricity.

Our goal was to shop at Citti Markt in Lubeck, but it was closed because of a holiday. You might think that we knew to keep track of these holidays, but we haven't learned a thing during these 4 years on the road!

We had planned to enjoy Europe on our way down, but we were a bit delayed compared to last year, so the weather in Europe was already cold and rainy. Due to this, we traveled very quickly through Germany and then France.

When crossing the border to France from Germany, we stayed in the charming little town Wissembourg. Old buildings, water canals, and local cheese. That cheese was expensive but the most tasty cheese we've had in a very long time. NICE!

Another interesting town was the French city Mornas, partly built into the rock of the mountain. We would love to go back there in the summer when everything is open, and you can sit outside enjoying a glass of wine.

We had planned to visit farms and vineyards through the Passion de France program on our way through France, but since the weather was so cold, we decided to move more quickly towards Spain.

This was a bit disappointing since we had bought their membership card that granted us the right to stay for free at their members' farms. We used it a few nights though, and thanks to that, we tried to eat snails for the first time!

Åsa found it yummy, but Kjell was too scared to even try.

We also dropped by a wine producer with a castle ruin and bought their excellent wine. Very tasty.

When we travel back to Sweden in the upcoming spring, we will try some more farms and vineyards. It's truly interesting to see the production, taste local delicacies, and meet friendly people. All at once!

Sleeping at a farm like this is also much more secluded and quiet than the "normal" places where we stay. It is something we recommend for sure!

We spent all in all 937 SEK (around 90 euros) on road tolls in France, we also travel on toll free roads not only because it is expensive but also because we like to see the country and nice old villages.

In Spain, we felt it was time to stay a night or two where we could get a shower. That was easier said than done. The camping sites had started to close for the season.

We were lucky and found one that was open during the weekend and also had a Halloween party going.

Warm showers are the best!

When approaching Valencia, we had hoped to stay a night or two to enjoy the town. But there were so many camper vans everywhere that we had to sleep one night on "the street." After that, we went straight to our favorite camping site outside of Cartagena.

But our main goal was Torre Del Mar close to Malaga, so after two nights, we continued our journey.

Torre del Mar is a place we like and wanted to enjoy. We stayed there for 10 nights and enjoyed the surroundings, exploring the mountains on our motorbike.

Velez-Malaga has a great shop and repair center for Yamaha motorbikes, so we took the opportunity to buy some new motorcycle clothes for a good price, last year we bought new helmets and had service on the scooter there to.

From Torre del Mar, we chose to drive the straightest way possible to Algarve and stayed for two nights in Olhao.

This time we didn't have to stay and pay for the road toll because we had money left on the toll card (it is valid for one year), see info about road toll in the top of the page.

In Olhao, we discovered that one of our tires was leaking air. We got recommended a good repair shop that helped us. It took only 20 minutes to get it fixed and cost 5 euros. Excellent!

Our main purpose for visiting Olhao was to buy handcrafted salt at the place Salinas do Grelha, we love the salt with piri-piri, so when that was done, we continued towards Sagres.

A small stop at IKEA first, of course. Time to stock up on knäckebröd, pepparkakor and glögg! (Google that ;))

Sagres is the most distant part of Europe, called "the end of the world." It's filled with surfers, but what we enjoy the most is the Atlantic Ocean, the beaches, nature, and how quiet it is.

In Sagres, we decided it was time to move into our place for the winter: A nice house in the middle of a forest of cork oaks, sheep, and good friends.

Time to travel back to Sweden.

We started the road trip home in the beginning of april. with a visit to Lissabon, one of the goal was to find some material to the kaftans Kjell make, we found some nice material in some of all the nice stores in Lissabon.

The first stop was a free place in Evora, we visited the chapel of bones, aqueduct, cathedral, templo romano and some more things.

Before we cross the boarder to Spain we passing rio Guardiana an international river defining a long stretch of the Portugal-Spain border.

Next stop was Belmez, there is a place near Castillo de Belmez to park the van (not to big van) and sleep for free.

Next stop was Torre del Mar one of our favorite places in Spain, there we stayed 3 weeks in a camping place, we like the town and you have the little bigger town Velez Malaga in the north and you can take the bus to Malaga (that we did) and it is not so far to Nerja (to buy Swedish products like kaviar, knäckebröd, lakrits, ostkrokar, dillchips).

Next was Castellon de la Plana, there is a free place to park and sleep but it is often full as we have mentioned before, this time we was very lucky and got one place.

Next was a trip up in the mountains passing Montblanc, we have been there before and it is a nice old town, Montblanc was founded by the monarch Alfons I in February 1163, there is nice shops and restaurants inside and outside of the old wall.

We ended up in a camping in the mountains and we took the wrong way to it so we was little worried what to do if we meet another car because there was almost no places to meet, and with almost no internet connections for our phones we decided to stay only one night.

When we was leaving the camping the road was not so god so it twisted little in the car body but there was no problem we thought, when we have driven some time I got a feeling that something is wrong so I stooped the van and look under the van in the back and saw that the spring was broken, we decided to drive slowly to the closest Citroën workshop and it was in Tarrega and they recommend a truck workshop in the town, and we arrive there before lunch and a couple of hours later they have both found a company that could delivered a new spring and the workshop have changed the spring.

Happy that they could fix the van and that we did not need to sleep in the town over the weekend.

On the way to France we stop in Capmany with free parking/sleeping under the olive trees, a small nice village with some old houses and vineyards, in the morning we drove the last kilometers to the barder.

We chose to drive by the coastline, it take long time to go this way but it is worth it, the road is not so big and have a lot of curves, so we understand why there is so much motorcycles here, this is a dream road if you have a bike.

The road goes sometimes upp in the mountains so there is a beautiful view, on one place we stayed and cook some food and this film can you see on our Youtube channel, link to the film.

On the boarder to France there is a memorial place, small but eloquent memorial commemorating the refugees in France who fled Francoism.

A stop in Sainte Marie la Mer there is a place to park/sleep with a low cost, we stayed 3 nights, we took the motorbike to the old center and walked round and look at passage des amoureux and the paintings on the houses.

We left the place and drove by the cost passing between the lakeÉtang de Leucateand the sea, a nice road.

Next free place to sleep at was Saint Chély dÁpcher, did some shopping and get some fuel.

Now we noticed that many places was full and also that after all the rein it has been flood on many places had limited space, we finally found a free place in Montceau-les-Mines.

We also missed to check the calendar for holidays in France, we have to be better on this, now we ended up traveling when all other people was traveling so everything was fully booked, we try to get a camping before Luxemburg and in Luxemburg and even in Germany but everything was full, so we had to stay on a parking place, the only god thing was that there was a kebab place so we get some food and there was also a toilet, some younger party people stopped in the night and make some noise so we had some problem to sleep.

The plan was to visit Luxemburg but we have to do that another time, we filled up the fuel tank and also some wine because it is god price in Luxemburg.

We love the Mosel valley and have been there before so we took a drive by the Mosel but not the all way, we ended up outside Koblenz at a camping in Bad Ems, we was little lucky because there was a bicycle race and food market with nice beer and wine.

We also discovered that Bad Ems is a old health resort with termen bath and a casino, some big hotells and some historic buildings.

We arrive 2 days earlier then the plan because we had a warning in the display saying check break pads, it have been for some time in Germany so if there be some problems to drive we need time to visit a workshop, we try to break as little as possible.

A stop in Wismar was a good decision, we found a place named offroad camping Quaduxenbarg Wismar, and a link to the homepage this was a surprise because it was in the forest but everything was newly renovated so the toilet and showers was super nice and there was a fast food stand so I got a nice curry wurst, and you can order fresh breed to the morning.

We took a trip in to Wismar centrum, that is a cozy old town that use to be Swedish, here I also got a nice curry wurst, we try the local herring but Åsa ate it.

The harbor was nice with old ships.

Now the only thing left is passing Citti-Park for some shopping and found a spot on the Stellplatz in Travemünde and wait for the ship to Malmö.

We took the ferry Travemünde-Malmö because the price is ok, it is a boring journey that take long time and some ships don´t have internet, next time we maybe take another way (we say this every year).

Now we hope that we get some nice weather in Sweden.

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12790 km

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2024-2025 The river is flooding, we must escape

We started in September and this time we took the ferry from Halmstad to Grenå, stopping in a village called Bredballe where we bought some delicious sandwiches and Wieners that we enjoyed by the Vejlefjord.

The journey continued through Denmark and ended up in Husum in Germany for an overnight stay.

After spending the night at a good campsite in Husum, we took a walk around Husum and looked at the sights, it's a nice old town.

At one of the oldest restaurants in town, Husumer Krabben Brötchen, we just ate Krabben Brötchen. They tasted excellent and as a thank you we rang their bell. They happily rang their own bell in return. That way everyone could hear that they had satisfied customers. Smart!

After a lovely day in Husum we drove on through Germany to Northeim for an overnight stay. We were lucky with the passage through Hamburg. No queues! Northeim is located north of Göttingen, where we met up with friends from Sweden on our way. We had a coffee and a nice chat.

The journey then continued via Frankfurt and into France. We followed the Rhine River, a very beautiful route, but this time we did not go into Strasbourg.

Instead, we continued directly down towards Guémar and made our way to Ribeauvillé, where we spent the night at a campsite. In this area below Strasbourg is their “wine route” which is also an area full of medieval villages. So is Ribeauville which is a beautiful small town with medieval origins. We took the opportunity to wander around and also have breakfast there.

The next day we continued through France and passed Dole, where we had spent the night before. Now we continued to Lyon and a little south of Lyon we found a parking space near Vienne.

This time we drove a lot on toll roads due to bad/cold weather, totaling about 1400 SEK.

The next day we finally reached Agde on the Mediterranean Sea and spent a couple of nights at a campsite to recover for a few days.

The journey continued on to Carcassonne, it's a cozy old village where we've only been once before, very briefly. Now it was time for an overnight stay and some serious sightseeing.

The next day was a fantastic trip up into the Pyrenees and Andorra, we haven't been there before, it was an awesome experience. So beautiful. The drinking water was the best we've ever drunk, we think. So fresh! Overnight stay at a camping.

What we didn't know was that they weren't part of the EU, but we soon found out when our phone provider informed us that we were approaching the cost cap. Luckily, we didn't surf that much.

The next day we continued into Spain to Penelles which had a HUGE graffiti exhibition all over the town. (>112 pieces) We took the opportunity to wander around and admire everything we found before we set up for the night in a place that was offered for free.

The next stop was Morella, another old medieval town located on a mountaintop and definitely worth a visit. Our chosen pitch was a free camping site on a hill opposite. Completely quiet with fantastic views and next door to a medieval viaduct made it a place completely to our liking. We stayed two nights!

Then we went on to the north of Valencia and found a campsite by the sea, near Casablanca, with room for us.

It was quiet and nice, warm and three steps from the beach so it wasn't a difficult decision to stay a little longer.

After about a week at the campsite, we drove on to a campsite north of Murcia.

It took three nights to explore Murcia.

After Murcia, there was a campsite south of Murcia and four nights out in the wilderness with lovely walks in nature.

The next stop on the trip south was Torre del Mar, which is one of our favorites.

The idea was to stay there for quite a while but there was a change in plans in a way that we had not expected, as you probably know, Valencia had a flood in October which was a real disaster with over 200 deaths, then Almayate / Torre del Mar also had one which was not as serious but scary for us when the River Véles flooded on November 12th and the water and mud rushed into the fields and also the campsite we were at so the police came and told us to evacuate, it took a while before we understood what was happening because maybe the alarm at the campsite was a little too bad.

Some people started walking towards the exit but at the same time some started driving out the car and also campers so we decided to tear down the awning and other stuff so we could drive out, we left the motorcycle and awning and in a panic we left the campsite, we drove out to the main road through the water which luckily wasn't that deep.

Those who did not get their accommodation had to either sleep in the sports hall or stay in a hotel.

We had the camper van so we went to a village a little further away and stayed there overnight.

The next day we went back to the campsite but we couldn't go in because of all the mud that was in there.

We stayed overnight in the campsite's parking lot for a few nights so we could finally go in and clean the tent and all the stuff.

A little information about this here

We then decided to go over to Portugal instead while the campsite had to remove all the mud, we felt that we had a little difficulty sleeping and working with all the machines that were going around to get the area in order.

The trip to Portugal first went to Ronda then to Olhão and we stayed there for a few days.

The trip continued in Portugal to a campsite a bit inland near Sines.

We stayed there for a while, we made some excursions, for example to Lisbon with an overnight stay at the campsite for a few days to experience the Christmas market and buy some fabrics for kaftans.

We spent New Year's Eve in Vila Nova de Milfontes, which is also one of our favorites. Previously, we have stayed at campsite Campiferias, but this time we chose campsite Camping Milfontes. Vila Nova de Milfontes has a big, nice fireworks display. This year they had invested even more so there was live music for several days, both good and bad, because the volume was very high.

2025

We stayed in Vila Nova de Milfontes for about 20 days, time goes by quickly in a place you enjoy.

At the end of January we went back to Olhão and on towards Spain again.

Back in Torre del Mar again and the campsite was restored almost to the way it was before the flood.

There are a lot of Swedes in Torre del Mar and they get together two days a week to play boules and we have also gone there to play and hang out, a lovely bunch.

In Torre del Mar we have seen dolphins near the beach, watched the carnival, tried a few different tapas during the Ruta de la tapa which takes place in March, been to the Thursday market and went up into the mountains on a motorbike.

There are a lot of nice roads up in the mountains and both motorcycles and racing bikes enjoy these roads.

Wonderful nature and many nice villages in the mountains, we were also lucky enough to see some almond blossoms.

We think Torre del Mar is well located because you can take the bus to Malaga and Nerja, it's not that far from Malaga airport.

A few years ago we bought a Portuguese cataplana which we have had a lot of use from and now we have purchased a paella burner so we can make the Spanish dish as well.

At the beginning of April it was time to head towards Sweden via Madrid, this was a new route that we had not tried before, the goal was France where we would celebrate Easter.

The first stop was Puerto Lápice in Spain and a parking space which was free, there are some windmills up on the mountain that are illuminated in the evening, we visited with the help of the motorcycle.

The village is known as the place where the book Don Quixote was written.

We drove on and ended up at a free parking space in Tafalla.

The trip went via Pamplona and crossed the border to France and ended up in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France, it is a village where pilgrims start their journey towards the Pyrenees, the route is named Camino Francés and the goal is Santiago de Compostela. We were a little lazy and took the motorcycle up into the mountains. The motorcycle had to work hard with all the steep slopes, but it was worth it because there were wonderful views up there. We had a picnic at The Virgin of Orisson and had some discussions with some of the brave ones who would walk the pilgrimage route.

We spent the night at a small campsite on an old farm just outside the village.

The old part of the village is worth seeing with small streets and nice old houses.

After a few nights we moved on and ended up at campsite in Bordeaux, we did some sightseeing in the city on a motorbike.

Now it was time to head towards the sea and the campsite in Montalivet where we would celebrate Easter. We had booked a week with the hope that it would be warm and nice since Easter was so late this year, but we were wrong, it was rainy and windy. We got a day by the pool anyway, we did some sightseeing and visited Soulac Sur Mer, which is a small, cozy village.

After Easter we drove on and ended up in La Fléche with an overnight stay, then on to Arras with an overnight stay.

The journey went via Belgium and a short detour into Holland before we ended up in Kempen in Germany for an overnight stay. The journey continued to Lüneburg, which is worth seeing and has a good camping spot. There we met a Swedish couple from Ystad with whom we had a fun chat.

The last leg was to Travemünde and parking lot, from here it was a ferry over to Malmö, on the way there there was a stop at Citti-Park for a little shopping.

The trip over by boat takes a long time (about 9 hours) and is quite boring, luckily there is a sauna on the boat so you can have a little sauna and at the same time sing a little of the Swedish bara bada bastu song.

Next time we might take a different route down to southern Europe, perhaps the Öresund Bridge.

Now we will enjoy the Swedish summer with some kajaking, hopefully.

This winter we only drive 9720 km.

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2025–2026 Celebrating 15 Years of Marriage

This year we set off at the end of September, and this time we took the bridge from Malmö to Copenhagen.

Our first stop was Stevns Klint in Denmark, a historic and beautiful place by the sea, where we made our first overnight stay. From there we took the ferry from Rødby to Puttgarden.

In Germany our first stop was Hatten, close to Oldenburg, Hotel Ripken had a motorhome area that we used. The next day we drove into the Netherlands for an overnight stay in Leeuwarden at camperplaats Leeuwarden and a visit to the Oldehove, we got the opportunity to see the opening of flying drawbridge. After that came three nights at the Decemberhoeve camperplaats in Nieuw-Vennep, just outside Amsterdam, where we celebrated 15 years of marriage. The first evening we had a fantastic celebration dinner at the restaurant Plantagen 87, we chose the menu with 6 different fantastic corses and we also got 4 fantastic starters, you can read about the restaurant in the Michelin guide, followed the next day by a visit to the spa Hotel and Wellness Zuiver.

There is so much to see in the Netherlands, but the weather was not good, so we had to move on. Our route then took us into France, after a quick pass-through Belgium.

Right after the border into France, we stopped at the historic village of Rocroi for a free overnight stay at Aire de camping car Rocroi and a walk through the old town. Fresh bread for breakfast is one of the things we enjoy most when we are in France.

Driving on through France, we passed the historical memorial site Navarin Ossuary, one of many places honoring the soldiers who lost their lives during the First World War. It leaves a deep impression to stand there among plaques bearing the names of tens of thousands of fallen men — and to realize that the land opposite the monument is still considered too dangerous to walk on, because of all the unexploded ordnance left behind. For the night we found a good place to sleep in Saint-Florentin.

Moulins was next, another town we had visited before. We like the town, and we like the campsite too, where you can park the camper right by the river — and it is very affordable. This time we stayed two nights so we could ride around on the motorbike and do some shopping, picking up some fabric for the kaftans Kjell makes. The town square was a lovely place to sit with a drink and soak up the atmosphere.

From Moulins we carried on to the beautiful town of Millau, where we spent eight nights at our favourite campsite, Larribal, right by the riverbed. Trips on the motorbike took us to the dramatic canyon formed by the river Tarn, with many fantastic places to see, one place is this viewpoint, you can also do some kayaking in the river Tarn, and to the Cascade de Creissels, with its amazing natural scenery.

We had visited Millau before, but this time a lot was going on: a big market filled the town, and a rally was being held in the area, with the prize ceremony taking place in Millau itself, we ask if we could stay more nights at the camping but no because there going to be a trail running, with about 13000 participant, you can also try paragliding.

Millau is also famus for the longest viaduct. 

Perpignan was our last stop before Spain, and we spent four nights at the campsite Les Rives du Lac. On the motorbike we explored the old town, seeing the Palace of the Kings of Majorca, and one day drive out to the beach.

Crossing the border the next day, we reached Hospitalet de l'Infant for two nights at motorhome area. Time to enjoy the Mediterranean Sea!

A stretch of beach time followed at Camping Malvarrosa de Corinto for 2 nights, close to Tarragona.

Friends of ours were staying just south of Torrevieja in a house, so we spent four nights to meet them for dinner and some time at the beach, we stayed at camper park La Ribera.

Up in the mountains, El Zorro gave us five nights and some nice walking — another place we had visited before. A single night at Vera-Playa came after that; it is a fairly new area dedicated to campervans Oasis al Mar, very well arranged and calm, and we had time to visit the beach too.

On the way to our final destination, we paused at Almuñécar, one of our favourite towns, staying seven nights at the Alclub camper area. By the middle of November we had arrived at Torre del Mar.

2026

February brought a four-day trip to Cádiz to see the big Carnival again, we stayed at Taiga Puerto Santa Maria. We had also decided to visit friends in Portugal and see some nice places along the way, stopping in Seville for dinner with friends — two nights at Area Autocaravanas Sevilla.

Once across the border into Portugal, we settled into our favourite town, Olhão, again for four nights at camping Olhão, and this time discovered a nice sushi restaurant that we visited three times. Barão came next, to see our friends, and we also spent a couple of days in our favourite town by the ocean, Vila Nova de Milfontes. A return to Olhão followed — for more sushi, and to buy some salt from the local salt works, our favourite being piri-piri salt.

From there we drove back to Torre del Mar in Spain.

After around five months in Spain, we began our trip home to Sweden. In the mountains west of Valencia we found a historic area with nice roads for the motorbike — and with a small campervan, why not go for it?

A few stretches were a little exciting to drive, because the roads were not very wide, but the mountains and scenery were beautiful. We passed a big dam and an old power station, the Embalse de Benagéber, and decided to spend the night in the town of Chelva.

The following morning we was on the road again and just after 8 km we made a stop to see the Mirador de Domeño Viejo— a historic spot with a waterfall, where a town once had to be relocated because of the building of a dam, 

after that we drove to Àrea d'Autocaravanes Eau, south of Girona, for one night.

Heading for France in the morning, we filled up the diesel tank before the border, since fuel is cheaper in Spain.

Millau welcomed us again, this time for two nights only, and then came a single night south of Dijon, the monastery Abbaye Notre-Dame de Cîteaux have a parking that we could stay at for free. A detour through Luxembourg let us fill up the diesel tank once more.

Back across the border into Germany, we drove through the beautiful Moselle Valley. We had been there before, but it is always a pleasure to stay a few nights. The motorbike took us around the surrounding area, up to the views from the hilltops there we discover Annaberg Lagenliebe Aussichtpunkt and out to a Roman villa.

In Frankenberg there was free parking with electricity, so we stayed one night — it turned out to be a lovely historic town, and we took an evening stroll to enjoy it, one of the buildings is historisches rathaus.

Our last stop in Germany was Oldenburg, for one night at motorhome area. All that remained now was the ferry from Puttgarden to Rødby, the bridge to Malmö, and some driving through Sweden back to Gothenburg.

Home sweet home, at the beginning of May.

Photos from the trip is on our Instagram page.

This winter we only drive 9590 km.

Link route down 2025 Instagram

Link route home 2026 Instagram

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You find more pictures on our Instagram page