Our 5-Week European Campervan Route: North Devon to Croatia & Back

Five weeks, nine countries, 18 campsites and thousands of miles in our MAN TGE Offtrax campervan.

On 30th May, we packed up our Offtrax and left North Devon for what would become one of our biggest family adventures yet – driving across Europe to Croatia and back.

The slightly crazy part? When we left home, the only campsite we'd actually booked was our first night in Calais.

We had a rough idea of the countries and places we wanted to explore, and we knew we'd like to make it as far as Croatia, but that was about it. Everything else was planned as we went.

Some evenings we'd sit down, look at the map, check the weather and decide where we fancied heading next. Sometimes a campsite or destination caught our eye, other times the weather completely changed our plans.

And honestly, that became one of our favourite things about the whole trip.

There was no rigid itinerary we had to stick to. If we loved somewhere, we could stay longer. If the weather looked terrible, we could change direction. And if we spotted somewhere interesting along the way, we could stop.

We finally arrived back home on 7th July, 39 nights after leaving.

So if you're thinking about taking your own campervan around Europe but feel like you need to have every campsite, route and overnight stop planned months in advance – you really don't.

This is the route we ended up creating as we travelled, where we stayed, what we did and – most importantly – what we learnt along the way.

Our European Campervan Route at a Glance

North Devon → Calais → Dunkirk → Bruges → Belgian Ardennes → Luxembourg → Alsace → Europa-Park → Lake Titisee → Switzerland → Lake Maggiore → Lake Garda → Croatia → Soča Valley → Lake Bohinj → Lake Bled → Faaker See → Salzburg → Füssen → Rothenburg ob der Tauber → Nürburgring → Eifel National Park → Calais → North Devon

Our main travelling route was approximately 2,800–3,000 miles, although our actual mileage was higher once sightseeing, diversions and local exploring were added in.

One thing we'd say straight away: taking the bikes was one of the best decisions we made.

We used them constantly. Bruges, Lake Maggiore, Lake Bohinj, Faaker See, Salzburg and plenty of other places became much easier to explore because we could leave the campervan on its pitch and jump on the bikes instead.

North Devon to Calais, France

Stay: 1 night – Castel Camping La Bien-Assise

This was the big first push. We left Bideford and headed for the Eurotunnel, managing to get onto a crossing at around 3pm.

By approximately 7:30pm French time, we'd arrived at Castel Camping La Bien-Assise near Calais.

For us, this worked perfectly. Rather than immediately setting off across Europe after getting through the tunnel, we could settle in and start the continental part of the road trip properly the following morning.

Calais → Dunkirk → Bruges, Belgium

Approximate travel: 85 miles / 135km including our Dunkirk detour | Stay: 1 night – Camping Memling

Rather than heading directly to Bruges, we drove through Dunkirk. We got the bikes out, went for a ride and stopped for a coffee before continuing into Belgium and finding Camping Memling.

We pretty much arrived, got ourselves sorted and cycled straight back out again to explore Bruges that evening.

The pitches were quite close together and it's not necessarily the sort of campsite we'd choose for several days relaxing around the van, but for exploring Bruges it was ideal.

Would we recommend it? Yes – particularly if you're taking bikes.

Bruges → Belgian Ardennes

Approximate drive: 120 miles / 190km | Stay: 3 nights – Sandaya campsite

Our next stop took us south into Belgium for three nights at a Sandaya campsite. This was our first longer stop and gave us a chance to settle into life on the road rather than moving every day.

Belgium → Luxembourg → Schœnau, France

Approximate travel: 170 miles / 275km plus sightseeing | Stay: 1 night – Camping-Car Park Motorhome Area, Schœnau

This was a travel day, but we decided to make the journey itself part of the trip. On our way south, we used the Park & Ride to head into Luxembourg City for a look around.

That's something we really liked about travelling this way. A driving day didn't necessarily have to mean spending the entire day inside the van.

After exploring Luxembourg, we carried on to the Camping-Car Park motorhome area at Schœnau in the Bas-Rhin region of France, ready for Europa-Park the following morning.

Schœnau → Europa-Park → Lake Titisee, Germany

Approximate driving: 75 miles / 120km, split around our Europa-Park visit | Stay: 4 nights – Naturcamping Weiherhof

On the morning of 4th June, we left Schœnau and headed for Europa-Park in Rust, Germany. And we absolutely loved it.

We've visited our fair share of theme parks over the years, but Europa-Park has to be our favourite theme park we've ever been to.

The whole park was incredibly clean and so well laid out, with an amazing level of attention to detail everywhere you looked. What we particularly loved as a family was how much there was for all ages. There genuinely seemed to be something for everyone.

The rides were brilliant, the themed areas were incredibly well done and the whole place just felt really well thought out. It's somewhere we would love to return to one day, and we'd happily build another European road trip around visiting it again.

After a full day at Europa-Park, we continued to Naturcamping Weiherhof at Lake Titisee. We loved it so much that we extended our stay to four nights.

During our stay we headed into Titisee, bought a traditional cuckoo clock, visited Feldbergturm and spent plenty of time simply enjoying the lake. Having the water right next to the campsite was amazing.

Lake Titisee → Switzerland

Stay: 1 night – Camping Murg

Next up was Switzerland, and this was somewhere we'd been really excited to explore.

We visited the incredible Rhine Falls – Europe's largest waterfall – and then headed to the Lindt Home of Chocolate for a tour before travelling on to Camping Murg for the night.

Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas. We were absolutely gutted to see that several days of heavy rain were heading our way because there was so much more of Switzerland we'd wanted to see.

One of the great things about travelling in a campervan, though, is having the freedom to change your plans. Rather than sitting out days of rain, we looked at the weather further south and decided to head towards Lake Maggiore in Italy.

Switzerland is definitely somewhere we feel we have unfinished business with – we'd love to go back and explore properly another time.

Switzerland → Flumserberg → Lake Maggiore, Italy

Approximate drive: 125 miles / 200km | Stay: 3 nights – Camping Village Isolino

We still managed to squeeze in one more bit of Switzerland on the way, stopping at Flumserberg for the toboggan run before crossing into Italy.

We stayed three nights at Camping Village Isolino, enjoying the swimming pools and lake. We also got the bikes out and cycled to nearby Feriolo, where we stopped for lunch and had a dip in the lake.

Another example of why we were so glad we'd brought the bikes.

Lake Maggiore → Lake Garda

Approximate drive: 140 miles / 225km | Stay: 2 nights – Cisano San Vito, Bardolino

Next we headed across northern Italy to Lake Garda. We stayed at Cisano San Vito near Bardolino for two nights, enjoyed the pools and spent a day next to the lake near Bardolino.

Lake Garda → Portogruaro → Poreč, Croatia

Approximate travel: 220 miles / 355km | Stay: 3 nights – Valamar Camping Istra

We broke the journey with a stop in Portogruaro before continuing across the border and finally reaching Croatia.

Our first Croatian campsite was Valamar Camping Istra near Poreč. It was the most expensive campsite of our trip by quite a long way, but we decided to treat ourselves – and it didn't disappoint.

We snorkelled in the sea, paddleboarded, spent hours in the swimming pools and made full use of the entertainment around the resort.

One of the absolute highlights was hiring a private boat and heading out on a dolphin-watching trip. We paid €190 for a private 1.5-hour trip – and we saw loads of dolphins. It was incredible.

Poreč → Krk Island, Croatia

Approximate drive: 85 miles / 135km | Stay: 2 nights – Aminess Camping, Njivice

From Poreč, we continued towards Krk Island, staying for two nights in Njivice. This was a more relaxed stop. We walked into town and spent our time snorkelling and hanging out on the beaches.

Krk → Postojna Cave → Soča Valley, Slovenia

Approximate travel: 140 miles / 225km including Postojna | Stay: 3 nights – Kamp Koren

Leaving Croatia behind, we turned north and crossed into Slovenia.

On the way, we stopped at Postojna Cave. We'd read beforehand that it was one of Slovenia's more touristy attractions and, yes, it was busy when we visited – but honestly, that didn't take anything away from how cool the experience was.

Getting onto a train and travelling deep into a cave was pretty epic. The scale of everything underground was incredible and it was completely different from anything else we'd done on the trip. It's something we won't forget, and despite the crowds we'd absolutely recommend making the stop.

From Postojna, we continued to Kamp Koren in the Soča Valley.

Of all the places we visited during our five weeks travelling around Europe, the Soča Valley was without doubt the most breathtaking.

The combination of mountains, crystal-clear turquoise water, waterfalls and incredible scenery everywhere you looked was something else. It's one of those places where photographs just don't quite do it justice.

Kamp Koren was the perfect base. We spent three nights discovering waterfalls, exploring Tolmin Gorge and simply enjoying being surrounded by the Slovenian mountains.

Would we return? Absolutely. This would be right near the top of our list.

Soča Valley → Camp Danica & Lake Bohinj

Approximate drive: 45 miles / 70km | Stay: 3 nights – Camp Danica

Our next Slovenian base was Camp Danica, chosen so we could explore Lake Bohinj.

We cycled from Camp Danica to Lake Bohinj, and it was without doubt the nicest cycle we did during the entire five weeks. Beautiful scenery, an amazing destination at the end and exactly the sort of day we'd hoped for when we decided to bring the bikes.

On another day, we visited Lake Bled and, naturally, found another toboggan run!

Lake Bohinj → Faaker See, Austria

Approximate drive: 65 miles / 105km | Stay: 3 nights – Camping Gruber

From Slovenia we crossed into Austria and headed to Faaker See, staying at Camping Gruber for three nights. We cycled around the lake, played in the water and enjoyed another completely different landscape.

Faaker See → Salzburg

Approximate drive: 120 miles / 195km | Stay: 2 nights – Camping Nord-Sam

Next stop: Salzburg. We stayed at Camping Nord-Sam for two nights and cycled into Salzburg the following day.

And what a cycle! It was easy, flat and a brilliant way to get into the city.

We explored Salzburg, found some of the famous Sound of Music sights and visited Haus der Natur.

If you're visiting Salzburg with children, Haus der Natur is somewhere we'd really recommend. We all loved it. It was one of those attractions supposedly for the children where the adults ended up enjoying themselves just as much.

Salzburg was definitely one of the city stops we'd happily do again.

Salzburg → Camping Hopfensee, Füssen

Approximate drive: 135 miles / 215km | Stay: 2 nights – Camping Hopfensee

From Salzburg we travelled back into Germany and headed towards Füssen. We chose Camping Hopfensee mainly because we wanted to visit Neuschwanstein Castle – and we're really glad we did.

It rained for pretty much the entire day of our visit, but somehow it didn't take anything away from just how impressive the castle is.

Neuschwanstein is absolutely grand. Its position up in the mountains, the incredible views surrounding it and the sheer scale and detail make it feel like something straight out of a fairytale. Even approaching it in the pouring rain was an experience.

The campsite had plenty going for it, including a brilliant indoor play area for the children, but if we're being completely truthful, we probably wouldn't go back to Camping Hopfensee. It was a useful base, but it wasn't one of the campsites that really grabbed us.

Füssen → Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Approximate drive: 150 miles / 240km | Stay: 1 night – Camping Tauber-Idyll

Rothenburg itself was gorgeous and we're really glad we made it part of our route.

We cycled into town – although somehow managed to get lost on both the way in and the way back! It was worth it once we arrived.

We joined the famous Night Watchman tour, which we'd really recommend. It was such a fun way to explore Rothenburg and learn about its history.

The campsite, however, was more of a practical stop for us. We wouldn't return to Camping Tauber-Idyll. There wasn't really anything at the campsite itself to make us want to stay longer, and you also had to pay separately for the showers, which we're never particularly keen on when you've already paid for your pitch.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber? Definitely worth visiting. Camping Tauber-Idyll? Useful as a base, but probably a one-time stop for us.

Rothenburg → Nürburgring → Hellenthal

Approximate travel: 225 miles / 360km including the Nürburgring | Stay: 2 nights – Camping Wildbach

While driving towards our next campsite, we realised we were passing the Nürburgring. So naturally, we stopped.

We went in, had a look around and watched some of the action before carrying on towards Hellenthal.

Camping Wildbach turned out to be brilliant for the children. The go-karts and play area kept them entertained for hours, while the café next to the play area meant we could sit down with a drink while they played. It was also a great base for exploring Eifel National Park.

Hellenthal → Calais

Approximate drive: 250 miles / 400km | Stay: 2 nights – Castel Camping La Bien-Assise

Then came the final push north. We headed back towards Calais and returned to where the European part of our adventure had started – Castel Camping La Bien-Assise.

This time we stayed for two nights, giving us time to get organised and enjoy the final couple of days before the Eurotunnel and journey back to North Devon.

Calais → North Devon

Approximate journey: 300 miles / 480km including the Eurotunnel and UK leg

On 7th July, we finally headed home.

Thirty-nine nights after leaving Bideford, we'd driven our Offtrax through Europe, reached Croatia, crossed mountains, swum in lakes and seas, explored cities, changed plans because of the weather, cycled for miles and made a ridiculous number of memories along the way.

What Were Our Favourite Places?

It's incredibly difficult to pick favourites because every part of the road trip offered something different.

The Soča Valley was the most breathtaking place we visited. If we could transport ourselves back to one view from the trip, Slovenia would be very hard to beat.

Lake Titisee was one of the places where we properly slowed down. Having the Offtrax pitched next to the lake and being able to get straight onto the water was pretty special.

Lake Bohinj gave us our favourite bike ride of the entire trip.

Salzburg was probably one of our favourite city days. Cycling in from the campsite worked brilliantly, and Haus der Natur was a huge hit with the whole family.

Europa-Park has to be our favourite theme park we've ever visited. It was spotless, beautifully laid out, incredibly detailed and genuinely brilliant for all ages.

Croatia felt like a milestone. We'd driven all the way there from North Devon and celebrating with beaches, snorkelling, swimming and a private dolphin-watching trip made it feel like we'd properly arrived.

And then there was Switzerland. We were genuinely gutted that the weather changed our plans because there was so much more we wanted to see.

The One Thing We'd Definitely Take Again: Our Bikes

If you're planning a European campervan road trip and have the space to take bikes, take them.

We knew we'd use ours. We didn't realise quite how much.

We cycled into Bruges, around lakes, into towns and cities, along trails and from campsites that otherwise would have required us to pack everything away and drive.

The cycle from Camp Danica to Lake Bohinj was our favourite of the whole trip, while the easy cycle from Camping Nord-Sam into Salzburg completely changed how we experienced the city.

Having the bikes meant the Offtrax could stay set up on its pitch while we explored. For us, they were a huge plus.

What Would We Do Differently Next Time?

We're not really a family who tends to return to the same places.

As much as we've absolutely loved some of the destinations on this trip, there's always that feeling that there is so much more out there to see. And if anything, these five weeks travelling around Europe have made that feeling even stronger.

One of the biggest things we learnt is just how difficult it is to properly explore so many countries in one trip.

We travelled through some incredible parts of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, but in reality we barely scratched the surface of any of them. Every time we moved on, there seemed to be another lake, mountain, town or national park that we could easily have spent several more days exploring.

Switzerland in particular feels unfinished. The weather changed our plans and sent us south towards Italy much earlier than we'd expected, leaving us with a huge list of places we'd still love to see.

So perhaps our next European road trip will look a little different.

Rather than trying to cover as many countries as possible, we'd love to choose fewer countries and explore them much more slowly. Spend longer in each area, travel shorter distances between campsites and have more time to discover the places we wouldn't necessarily find on a list of the 'must-see' attractions.

Slovenia and Croatia are slightly different.

Despite already spending time in both, we'd happily go back. The Soča Valley alone left us wanting to see so much more of Slovenia, while there are huge parts of Croatia that we didn't get anywhere near.

But perhaps that's a trip for when our youngest is a little older.

Rather than spending several weeks gradually travelling across Europe to reach them, we'd love to be able to tackle the first big leg of the journey over a couple of longer driving days. Get ourselves across Europe, arrive in Slovenia or Croatia and then spend the majority of the holiday properly exploring those countries.

For this trip though, travelling slowly was absolutely the right decision for our family.

We had five weeks, three children and only our first night in Calais booked when we left North Devon. The route evolved as we travelled, and that freedom became one of our favourite parts of the whole experience.

We came home having seen an incredible amount.

But perhaps the biggest thing five weeks travelling around Europe taught us was just how much we haven't seen yet.

And that's probably the best excuse we could have for planning the next one.

Built to Roam.