With the trolley case to the campsite
Je more storage space, the more luggage. The domiciles on four wheels are downright grab bags. It is impressive what classic camping holidaymakers take with them to get out of their caravan or mobile home on the day of arrival: chairs, tables, loungers, parasols, rubber dinghies, extra tents, bicycles, drying racks, gas grills, standing fans, washing-up bowls and several pedal bins for waste separation . And then all these utensils from the antenna cable and pot holders to the solar hanging light for the awning.
But more and more campers want to save on this packing effort. They prefer to travel light. According to Pincamp, the camping portal of the ADAC, many campsite operators in Germany have now adjusted to this. They offer caravans of different sizes on their pitches – for couples, families with children, even for holidaymakers with dogs.
These campers are fully equipped, from dishes to cleaning rags. In the awning there is an outdoor fitted kitchen with water and waste water connection, refrigerator, coffee maker, hob and microwave. There is, for example, at the Europa-Campingplatz on the Baltic Sea island of Fehmarn or in the seaside resort of Zempin on Usedom. Bring towels and bed linen at most. It also fits in the trolley case.
Having your own caravan is no longer absolutely necessary for a camping holiday. Everything bulky that you need for your free time, such as bicycles, loungers, water sports accessories and parasols, can be rented on site anyway.
Anyone who finds caravans too boring as rental accommodation can also book safari tent lodges like in Africa, with sleeping areas separated by stretched lines, bathroom and field kitchen, which is offered, for example, in the Black Forest at the Herbolzheim campsite or at the Seepark Ternschersee in North Rhine-Westphalia. Camping with comfort is particularly popular with families with children.
Pick-up service for train travellers
A big advantage for rental campers: They save themselves the journey to and from the site with the vehicle, which weighs several tons. Anyone who has ever chugged along the motorway at 80 to 90 km/h full throttle with a caravan trailer, has been warned by every left-hand driver for kilometers with a flasher not to even think about overtaking a semi-trailer, knows how annoying such a thing is trips can be.
So why not travel straight to the campsite by train or bus? Especially since this type of arrival is not only cheaper and more relaxed, but also sustainable.
On portals such as Camping.info or Pincamp.de, there is a significant increase in demand for campsites that can be easily reached by public transport. For this reason, the next bus stop is already indicated with meter accuracy in the directions. For example, some Sylt campsites, for example in Rantum or Westerland, have a bus stop in front of the door.
Many places on the Baltic Sea are also easily accessible by public transport, for example in Kühlungsborn, in Boltenhagen or in Travemünde. Some campsite operators have a shuttle service; Smaller providers in particular score points here with good service: For example, the campsite at Helenesee near Frankfurt/Oder and Sonnenkap in the Uckermark offer an electric shuttle with which guests can be picked up from the nearest train station.
Sharing as a camper Airbnb
Sharing a mobile home is also becoming more popular. The concept of private sharing is basically comparable to that of Airbnb: Motorhomes or caravans are also offered to other travelers. Because no matter how cute your own individually developed and furnished caravan, camper van or mobile home may be, a home on wheels actually just stands around between vacations for most of the year, in the barn or in a garage, but there are still ongoing fixed costs.
According to a survey by the Yescapa.de sharing platform, 84 percent of those surveyed only use their vehicle for a maximum of eight weeks a year. In addition, after the first camper euphoria, there is a certain disillusionment. Anyone who has bought a caravan for a lot of money, for example, then feels restricted in their choice of vacation. The obligation arises to have to camp for years, i.e. to live off the investment.
Private sharing is a good alternative, especially since the vehicles are fully equipped with everything you need for camping. There are now several large sharing platforms that mediate for a fee; Insurance is included. Yescapa.de has 15,000 vehicles available in Europe – mainly in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Great Britain and Switzerland. You can rent them privately directly at your holiday destination. In the sense of “fly and camp” there are already such mobile homes on the Canary and Balearic Islands.
PaulCamper.de offers a good 12,000 vehicles, for example in Germany, Austria, Great Britain and the Netherlands. Since 2023, private rental of camping vehicles has also been possible at Alpacacamping.de. These are already on farms or meadows with private hosts. At Goboony.de there are also camping buses, for example in Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain, France and Italy. And after the trip? The vehicle is simply returned.
Vacation in a holiday home instead of in a tent or mobile home
Camping in France is often different than in this country. Many campsites there are now holiday parks by the sea. Less and less people spend the night in classic mobile homes or tents.
Instead, holiday homes are built on the campsites, which, strictly speaking, have nothing to do with camping, even if you can still travel there with your own caravan. “But the proportion of holiday homes on the pitches is already around 40 percent there,” says camping expert Thomas Reimann from Pincamp. But they offer the advantage that you can rent them, so you can travel light.
Large holiday homes are particularly popular. Such ensembles with several lodges, which are grouped around a lounge terrace with a pool, are often booked by large families or patchwork families, as in La Clape Village in the Languedoc or Esterel Caravaning in Saint-Raphaël on the Côte d’Azur.
You enjoy the open-air ambience, the leisure activities and socializing on a secure campsite, but at the same time appreciate the privacy with service like in a hotel. There is also champagne as a welcome gift.
