When it comes to planning our travels, many people have asked us for advice. While we don’t always plan extensively and sometimes end up paying more due to this lack of planning, we see the value on get things planned ahead.
We try to balance, and plan just the enough for the week ahead. However, regardless of how far ahead you want to plan, there are some basic steps that need to be considered:
Choosing your next destinations
When deciding where to go next, we use Google Maps to identify areas that bring us closer to our “final destination.” We also consider recommendations from other travelers and popular sightseeing spots nearby.
For how long do you want to stay ?
We usually avoid camping places with RV structures as they tend to be pricey (around 25 to 30 euros per parking spot). Instead, we prefer relying on our own infrastructure. Knowing how long we can live autonomously is essential. In our van, we have the following resources:
- 80L of fresh water
- 20Kg of gas
- 200Ah lithium battery
- 240W of solar panels
In worst-case scenarios, where there’s no access to facilities and no sun, living as a couple gives us about three days of autonomy before our toilet gets full. By utilizing nearby toilets whenever possible, we can extend this autonomy to four days, which allows us to work for a full week. Fresh water lasts for about four days as well, and our 200Ah battery can power our office equipment for 3 to 4 days.
In our case our maintenance period is 4 days.
Water an toilet maintenance
The RV’s will always have two tanks for waste disposal—one for grey water (from the kitchen and shower) and one for black water (our own waste). It is crucial to dispose of them properly in designated areas to avoid fines.
Throw it in the nature, or in the street is not an option! You can get fine. Most important, it is disrespectful with nature and society, so please, always have this in mind!
To help us finding those places there is this app called park4night that is a kind of community where people will post places to stay and services available.
The app is really useful and for 2 year it has been our guide.
Having a backup plan
Shit happens, so it’s essential to have a backup plan in case the location we choose is not suitable for any reason. The “park4night” app may not always provide real-time updates, and factors such as full capacity, maintenance closures, or lack of necessary services could impact the original plans.
In addition to that, for us a reliable internet connection is a must, as we work remotely while traveling. Unfortunately, precise information about internet connectivity is not always available, so we aim to stay within reasonable distance from cities and check comments on the app for any relevant details.
