Europe by campervan: country guides, rules and EES

Last checked November 2026.

Europe is a vast continent with a huge range of landscapes, cultures, food and languages, and many people consider it the ultimate place to tour in a campervan or motorhome. Darren toured Belgium, France, Spain and Portugal in a campervan in 2006, spent the following winter in the Algarve, and went back to Spain, Portugal and France in 2011.

Countries and regions

France: Brittany, Normandy, Paris, South of France, South West France and West coast France
Spain: Andalucía, Asturias, Basque Country, Cantabria, Catalunya and Barcelona, Galicia, Madrid, New Castile and Extremadura, Old Castile and León, Valencia and Murcia and the Canary Islands
Portugal: the Minho, Porto, Trás-os-Montes, Coimbra and Beira Litoral, Mountain Beiras, Estremadura and Ribatejo, Lisbon, Alentejo and the Algarve
Britain:
- England: Avon, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cleveland, Cornwall, County Durham, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Devon, Dorset, East Sussex, East Yorkshire, Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, London, Norfolk, North Yorkshire, Northumberland, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Somerset, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Sussex, Wiltshire and Worcestershire
- Scotland
- Wales
- Northern Ireland
- Isle of Man (not part of the UK, but included here for convenience)
Ireland
Italy
Belgium
Greece
Turkey
Cyprus
Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia
Morocco: not in Europe, but a short ferry crossing from southern Spain

What a UK van needs in Europe

For a UK-registered campervan or motorhome:

Your driving licence, the V5C logbook and your insurance certificate. With a UK photocard licence you don’t need an International Driving Permit in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. You might with an old paper licence, and gov.uk lists the 1968 permit for Morocco and Turkey.
A UK sticker, unless your number plate shows the UK identifier with the Union flag. GB stickers are no longer valid, so cover or remove an old one. In Spain, Cyprus and Malta you need a UK sticker whatever is on your number plate; in Ireland you never need one.
Insurance. All UK motor insurance gives the minimum third-party cover in the EU, and you don’t need a green card there, but check your policy covers theft and damage abroad, every country on your route and the whole length of your stay. You may need a green card for countries outside the EU, such as Turkey, Albania and Morocco. See van insurance in Europe and campervan insurance.
Breakdown cover that covers every country, and the full length of the trip.
Equipment. Many countries require a reflective jacket and a warning triangle. You’ll also need headlamp beam deflectors, or to adjust the beam, and some cities have low-emission zones that need a sticker bought before you go, such as France’s Crit’Air. See driving in Europe and driving in France.
Guide books. With so much on offer, and so many languages, get good guide books and language books.

Borders, the 90-day rule and EES

Most of mainland Europe is in the Schengen area: 29 countries, including France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece, and since 1 January 2025 Bulgaria and Romania. Normally there are no checks at the borders between them, but in November 2026 France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Poland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway had brought back temporary checks on some or all of their borders, so carry your passport and the van’s papers at every crossing. Ireland and Cyprus aren’t in the Schengen area, and nor is the UK, so there’s passport control whenever you cross to or from Britain.

90 days in 180. UK visitors can stay in the Schengen area without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, and that’s a total for all the Schengen countries together. Days you spent in Schengen countries in the 180 days before you arrive count towards the 90. If you overstay, you can be banned from entering Schengen countries for up to 3 years. To stay longer you need a long-stay visa or a residence permit. Visitors from other countries outside the EU have the same limit; some nationalities need a Schengen visa for it and others don’t. See visas and passports.

Your passport must have been issued less than 10 years before the day you arrive in the Schengen area, and must expire at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave.

EES. The EU’s Entry/Exit System replaces passport stamps. On your first visit you register your fingerprints and a photo at the border, free of charge, and the record lasts 3 years; the system records each entry and exit, to stop visitors overstaying. If you cross from Dover or by LeShuttle from Folkestone, the checks are done before you leave the UK. On a ferry from another UK port, such as Portsmouth to Santander or Bilbao, you’re registered on arrival. ETIAS, the EU’s planned €20 travel authorisation, wasn’t yet required in November 2026; the EU will announce the start date beforehand, and until then any website selling one is a scam.

Health and travel insurance

Check with your doctor or health centre before you go that your tetanus and other jabs are up to date. UK residents should get a free Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) from the NHS, which gives you necessary state healthcare in the EU on the same terms as a local, sometimes free and sometimes at a reduced cost. Apply on the NHS website, not through an unofficial site that charges a fee. Don’t think you won’t need it: in 2006 Darren picked up an infection and needed hospital treatment in Santander, and was very glad of the free health care.

A GHIC isn’t a substitute for travel insurance. Get good, not necessarily the cheapest, travel insurance before you leave, and if you’ll be surfing, windsurfing or snowboarding, make sure the policy covers it. Many policies have a maximum trip length, or a limit on the total time you can spend outside the UK each year, so a long trip may need a long-stay policy.

Money

The euro (€) is the currency of 21 EU countries, including France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Ireland, and Bulgaria since 1 January 2026. Notes and coins issued in one country are valid in all the others. Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania still have their own currencies, and Britain uses the pound.

Camping in Europe

Europe has a wide range of campsites, and many are of excellent quality. Free camping is much harder than it used to be. In France most towns have a motorhome area (aire de camping-car), usually cheap and sometimes free, but wild camping is a different matter, especially on the coast. In Spain most regions ban wild camping, and many of the free spots on the coast that vans used to use are now banned. In Portugal, since 2021 you can’t stay overnight in a campervan or motorhome on most of the coast outside campsites and authorised motorhome areas. In Britain there’s no right to wild camp in a vehicle anywhere. See camping in Europe and the camping pages for France, Spain, Portugal and Italy.

Ferries and the Channel Tunnel

From Britain you cross by ferry, or on LeShuttle through the Channel Tunnel from Folkestone to Calais. The shortest ferry crossings are from Dover to Calais and Dunkirk, and Brittany Ferries sails from Portsmouth to France and to northern Spain. If you’re visiting Ireland, Greece or any of the smaller islands around Europe you’ll probably use a ferry too. See ferries and the Channel Tunnel.

Surfing in Europe

Europe offers excellent surfing beaches and reefs. Combined with the rich diversity of cultures and landscapes, surfing in Europe is a unique experience. Read the guide to surfing in Europe.

Darren’s trips

Sources: gov.uk guidance on driving abroad, international driving permits, number plates and UK stickers, vehicle insurance abroad, foreign travel insurance and the EU Entry/Exit System; gov.uk travel advice for Spain; NHS (UK Global Health Insurance Card); European Commission on visa policy, the temporary reintroduction of internal border controls, and the EU countries that use the euro; European Central Bank; checked November 2026. Know of a change? Tell us in the comments below.