What It’s REALLY Like to Travel Europe in a Campervan: Complete 2 Week Rome to Paris Vlog

Have you ever thought of Travel Europe in a Campervan (RV for us Americans) but don’t really know where to begin? We’re here to help! We took our very first European Campervan trip from Rome to Paris and it was the BEST trip of our lives! I spent TONS of time researching and planning our itinerary, and now I’m sharing that info with you. So you can plan less and enjoy more!

How to travel Europe in a Campervan

Whether you’re a seasoned campervan or RV traveler (or maybe you’re just getting started), I’m sure you have tons of questions about traveling Europe in a Campervan. First things first, you can own your own campervan and just start hitting the road. But if you don’t have a campervan, the best way is to rent one.

We were coming from outside of Europe, so we needed a campervan that was easily accessible when we arrived to when we were returning it. We found Anywhere Campers, one-way campervan rentals across Europe. You can literally pick up the campervan from one destination and drop it off at another. We picked ours up in Rome, Italy, and dropped it off in Paris, France. And in case you want to do a round trip, that’s fine too!

Where to go in a Campervan in Europe?

The great thing about Europe is that you can go pretty much anywhere in a campervan! Because borders are open, simply driving from one country to another makes it super simple. And there are some of the most beautiful places in the world to discover throughout Europe, so choose where you want to go, and start driving! Our trip covered northern Italy and most of France, and we stayed in some of the most INCREDIBLE places along the way!

How to find Campgrounds in Europe?

Finding campgrounds in Europe can be a bit tricky – this was my most challenging part of planning our trip. And depending on when you’ll traveling, some campgrounds aren’t open until “camping season” which usually begins end of April – beginning of May.

So to help you out, I created a guide devoted just for camping in Europe: How to Find Awesome RV Campgrounds in Europe. I’ve included everything from boondocking, free sites, paid sights, apps and websites I used, and more.

How much does it cost to rent a campervan in Europe?

Renting a campervan in Europe can range anywhere from 60 Euros to more than 100 Euros a night. It really depends on the type of camper you rent – smaller vans will be much less than a larger Camper RV. And the number of nights also plays a role. Typically, for longer trips, the cost per day goes down with the more days you rent. I recommend getting a price quote from the campervan company you are looking to rent from.

Europe Campervan trip planner

Planning a Europe Campervan trip can be A LOT of work! In fact, it IS a lot of work. I suggest you start with the 5 Ws and move forward from there.

What: What do you want to get out of your trip? Do you want to stay off the beaten path or mix cities with nature? We knew we wanted to do a little of both, so I looked for places where we could do just that.

When: When will you be taking your trip? Weather and crowds play a big part in planning, so you first need to nail down when you want to go.

Where: This might seem like a no-brainer, but decided where to go is HUGE! If you’re coming from outside Europe, you need to decide what country or countries you want to explore. If you’re taking a trip from where you live inside Europe, how far are you willing to travel?

How long: How long will your trip be? We knew we had around 2 weeks, so the time frame pretty much determined where we could go, how many stops we could make and for how long.

How much: Another how to consider is how much do you want to spend? Remember, there’s so much more that goes into prices besides the rental. The cost of food, gas, campsites, activities, souvenirs, tolls (that’s a big one in Europe) etc. Make sure you have an overall budget before just jumping in.

Why: Why might seem silly to ask – you want to take a vacation, right? But why are you taking a Europe trip? To see historical sights? Churches or castles? Big cities or beaches? All of those play a role in planning your trip.

2 week Campervan Europe Itinerary

Finally, we’ve reached the part you came for our 2 week Travel Europe in a Campervan trip itinerary, showing you what it’s really like to travel Europe in a campervan. Besides our complete guide on what the trip entails: The Ultimate Europe RV Trip: Rome to Paris, we created video vlogs SHOWING what it looked like. Each day, we made a new video vlog entry, complete with all the places we visited, where we camped, and tips along the way. So buckle up and get ready to explore Italy and France like you never have before – in a campervan.

You can find our entire series with detailed info on our MommyMoAdventures Instagram and Tiktok accounts, too.

Arriving in Rome, Italy

We flew into Rome, met our Anywhere camper rep who gave us a tour of our home on wheels for the next 15 days, and drove to our first campsite. Here’s Day 1:

Travel Europe in a Campervan: A Full Day in Rome, Italy

Day 2 we were well-slept and ready to hit the city of Rome. We left our campervan at the campground and took the train into the city (easiest way to do it). And we spent all day and walked till our legs couldn’t walk anymore. Here’s day 2:

A Super Fun Day in Pisa, Italy

After Rome, we headed up a further north in Italy to Pisa. This was our first time seeing the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, so you know we took tons of pics. We also camped right in Pisa and walked to the city. Here’s Day 3:

The Gorgeous 5 Villages of Cinque Terre, Italy

We woke up early to drive over to Cinque Terre to explore all 5 villages in one day. This is a destination you could easily spend more time, but because we only had 2 weeks and lots of miles to cover, we did a macro view of the area. Here’s how to spend a day in Cinque Terre, Day 4:

The Coast of the French Riveria

After crossing over to France and spending our first night in a French Aire, we drove along the coast of the French Riveria to see cities like Nice, Cannes, and Antibes before arriving at our camping destination of Saint Tropez. We spent 2 nights at this INCREDIBLE campground (just see for yourself). Here’s Day 5:

Feeling like Celebs in Saint Tropez

Yes, Saint Tropez is known as the playground for the rich and famous, but staying at a campground can make you feel like a celeb without costing you the bank. We fully enjoyed our campground and spent the afternoon exploring the city of Saint Tropez. Here’s Day 6:

Travel Europe in a Campervan: Back to Nature at Verdon National Park

We’re finishing up with our time on the coast and heading north into national park country. France has some gorgeous national parks in the heart of the country and we were fortunate to see one of the most beautiful ones at Verdon National Park. Here are Days 7 & 8:

The Coolest French Alps Adventure Exploring Mer de Glace and Chamonix

We now continued up north to the French Alps on the most EPIC day we had during our trip. If I had to pick one experience as my favorite from our 2 weeks, it would be this one. First time in the French Alps. First time inside a glacier. And first time playing in snow for my daughter. Here’s Day 9:

The Storybook Town of Annecy

Beauty and the Beast has nothing on the town of Annecy, France. This adorable and quaint town was the perfect spot for our next stop along our 2-week RV journey. And the campground we stayed at was super close with family-friendly amenities, too. Here’s Day 10:

The Driving Game with Stops at Lyon and Semur-en-Auxois

It was inevitable that we would have at least one full day of lots of time in the RV, and this was it. With almost 7 hours of driving ahead of us to reach Paris, we broke up our day with stops at Lyon and Semur-en-Auxois. Check out this medieval town that ended up being such a travel gem on Day 11:

2 Wonderful Days in Paris

Choosing to head up to Paris early and spending 2 days instead of just one turned out to be one of the best decisions we made on this trip. Not only is there so much to see and do in Paris, but our campground turned out to be such a wonderful place to stay as well. You don’t want to miss Day 12 & 13:

Our Final Full Day at Disneyland Paris

We really did go out with a bang – culminating our trip with a day at Disneyland Paris. It was honestly the perfect way to end our Travel Europe in a Campervan trip! And did you know you can camp at Disneyland Paris? Here’s where we camped and a look at our last day of activities on our 2 Week Travel Europe in a Campervan adventure. Here’s Day 14:

Packing up and Heading Home

Well, all trips must come to an end, and sadly we have come to ours. On our last day, we drove the RV back to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris where we were meeting our Anywhere Camper rep who was picking it up. We had the BEST 2 weeks of our lives, and as my daughter said before leaving, “I don’t want to say goodbye to our camper.” Pretty much sums it up to a tee! Here’s our last day, Day 15:

Thanks for all the memories, France and Italy!