We have now been travelling through Europe by motorhome for 10 months, which means we have 2 months left of this amazing trip. Here is a small summary of the trip so far. We thought it might be nice for those of you who might not have followed along all the way, but we promise it's good for our own memory too!
Table of contents
From Stockholm to France
We left Stockholm on 28 November 2014 and made two first stops with friends in Arboga and Gothenburg. Then we drove straight down to the French west coast, with two stops to sleep in rest areas along the motorways ...
West coast of France
On 2 December we arrived at a windy and beautiful Normandy in France. Among other things, we visited Honfleur, stayed a few days in Arromanches and learnt more about the landing in Normandy.
Next, we visited the fascinating monastery. Mont St Michel and continued travelling around the entire Brittanywhere we visited, among other things, the oyster mecca. Cancale, the beautiful Camaret sur Mer and Concarneau, with the walled city in the water. As we continued south, we visited the holiday island of Ile de Ré and Europe's largest sand dune, before driving along the beautiful French Silver Coast and into northern Spain.
Northern Spain
We arrived in Spain on 20 December and made our way to a campsite in beautiful Zarautz, where we stayed for a couple of days. We visited the mountains in Picos de Europa and, as we had problems changing the LPG tanks in Spain, we then quickly rolled into Portugal.
Portugal
On 27 December we drove into northern Portugal and the city of Caminha, where we stayed for a few days. We then visited the dramatic coastline of the Nazaré and, just in time for New Year's Eve, we went and visited blog friends in Cascais outside Lisbon. Together with them we also visited Lisbon, before rolling down to the Algarve coast and the Albufeira.
We stayed a few weeks together with nice Swedes on the the car park in Albufeira sunbathing on the beach in Galé, while at the same time we had time for excursions to Sagres and Lagos. We then proceeded to Tavira, where we met new friends who showed us around the neighbourhood. surroundings. Before leaving Portugal, we drove north and met up with blogging friends in beautiful Alentejo.
Spain's Mediterranean coast
We entered the south of Spain on 7 February and went straight to Seville, where we met another blogger friend. We continued to Puerto de Santa Maria and Europe's southernmost point, Tarifa. Then we stayed for a week in Torre del Mar, on the Sunshine Coast. We made a trip up to the Sierra Nevada, with a visit to Mt. Granada and the interesting palace area Alhambra. Back on the coast, we met up with blogging friends in Roquetas de Mar.
We also spent a week in Benidorm, where we met several Swedish overwinterers by campervan. Then it was time for the colourful festival. Las Fallas in Valencia and meeting more blogger friends. We continued to Peniscola and then to the luxurious naturist campsite. El Templo del Sol. We also visited the surprisingly interesting city of Tarragona, where we experienced the Spanish Easter. The last visit to Spain was to the exclusive waterfront city. Empuriabrava.
The Mediterranean coast of France
On 6 April we rolled into the south of France. We stayed a month in Cap d'Agde and made excursions to the Medieval City Carcassonne and the charming coastal town Seat. As we continued our journey eastwards, we visited the cosy village of Palavas les Flots, the beautiful Camargue with the white horses and the historically interesting city. Arles. I Baux des Provence we experienced a magical light show in a limestone cave.
We then proceeded to one of the highlights of the entire trip: a tour of the dramatic canyon. Gorges du Verdon. We visited the cosy old towns Moustiers Sainte Marie, Castellane and Aiguines. We also rented a pedal boat in the lake Lac de Sainte Croix.
We then continued down to the French Riviera, where we visited famous places such as Sainte Maxime, St Tropez and Canneswhere the film festival was in full swing. We also had time for a detour to the surf and nature paradise. Giens Peninsula, before we went back and took the ferry from Nice to Corsica.
Corsica
On 26 May, we arrived in Corsica, and went straight to a campsite outside the Aleria on the east coast, where we camped directly on the sand. We then drove to the somewhat luxurious and charming town of... St Florent in the north and took a boat trip to the magically beautiful beach. Saleccia. We stayed for a while in the nice holiday town. Calvi before following the west coast southwards on the incredibly dramatic mountain roads - the craziest of which was at Calanche!
We found our paradise beach, Cupabia Beach, on the southern part of the west coast. On the western side, we also visited the prehistoric remains of the Filitosa and the cosy coastal town Propriano. Then we drove eastwards, to the beautiful beaches around the Porto-Vecchio and the perhaps even more beautiful beaches at the Sperone. We finished with a few days in the dramatically situated city of ... Bonifacio in the south, before we took the ferry to Sardinia.
Sardinia
On 20 June, we arrived by ferry in Sardinia, and went directly (with another ferry) to the beautiful little island. La Maddalena, where we stayed for a few days. We took a quick look at Emerald Coast and then travelled down to the incredibly beautiful Cala Gonone, where we travelled by boat among the paradise beaches. Then we drove up to Stintino promontory and visited Alghero and made an excursion to Grotta di Nettuno.
Just north of Bosa, we found our favourite spot. S'abba Druche. Here we also met new friends and were treated to an amazing experience in the village. Scano di Montiferro. We then continued southwards along the west coast and found our way down to a beach where we could fricamp and on to the beautiful beach in Porto Pino. Then we visited the "capital" Cagliari before we left to endure the heat of the Costa del Rei. Then it was time to move on to Sicily!
Sicily
We arrived in Palermo in Sicily on 27 July, with the Ferry from Sardinia. The first meeting with Sicily was a bit shockingly because it was so messy and dirty, but we soon found the nice headland. San Vito Lo Capo and the mighty city Trapani. Despite the hysterical heat, we managed to see those Ancient temples of Agrigento and then we proceeded to Marina di Ragusa and to Pozzallo, where we found a personalised and pleasant pitch.
We visited the beautiful and historic cities Noto and Syracuse and then drove to the holiday resort Giardini Naxos. The most beautiful and charming town in Sicily, Taormina, we visited at the end and there was also a blog meeting! After that it was time to roll on and take the the ferry to Calabria, on the Italian mainland.
Southern Italy
We arrived in Calabria on 10 August and started with a visit to the cool city. Tropea which sits on top of a mountain, with stunning views of the sea. We then drove around the Italians' holiday paradise. Puglia (heel), where we made a visit to, among other things, the Cathedral of Otranto. Then we went to Brindisito take the ferry across to Greece.
Greece
We arrived in Igoumenitsa in northern Greece on 13 August, with the ferry from Italy. We drove directly to Drepanos beach and then visited Ioanninawhich is beautifully situated on a lake in north-west Greece. Then we rolled towards Albania!
Albania
We arrived in Albania, on winding roads, on 15 August. We first visited the beautiful holiday resort Ksamil and then made excursions to the archaeological site. Butrint and the beautiful blue-green spring "Blue Eye". We also visited the tourist centre Saranda and several fine beaches along the coast: the almost unspoilt Bunec beach and the campsite dense Livahdo beach in Himara.
As we continued north, we had to drive on dizzying mountain roads to get to the campsite in Radhima and continue on the inland road. The beautiful lake Ohrid was our last stop before entering Macedonia.
Macedonia
The first thing we saw of Macedonia when we arrived on 25 August was Lake Ohrid, from the Macedonian side. We visited the beautiful Museum on water, where prehistoric settlements have been built on the lake and found to be a fine family campsite in Struga. We visited both Struga and Ohrid and got to know incredibly nice local people who showed us around.
We were then invited to Kicevo, where we were surprised by fantastic hospitality and were able to try, among other things. Albanian festive clothing and lots of Albanian and Macedonian cuisine. After this fantastic visit we rolled back to Struga, where we met a young German couple who joined us. back into Albania.
Northern Albania and Montenegro
We arrived back in Albania on 5 September. This time we drove to the north, to the scenic Lake Shkodra Resort. We stayed here for a few days before, on 8 September, we rolled into Montenegro and found a campsite in . Ulcinj.
We drove northwards along the coast and visited Petrovac and the exclusive resorts Sveti Stefan and Budva. Then we drove around the incredibly beautiful Bay of Kotor and visited the charming town of Kotor. Before leaving Montenegro, we stayed a few days in a nice and personalised campsite in Morinj.
Croatia and Bosnia
On 14 September it was time to drive into Croatia. We started with a visit to the well-known city. Dubrovnik. Afterwards we took a ferry to the long, narrow Hvar Island, where we visited both Stari Grad, which is the oldest city in Croatia, and Where. Because I needed medicine that was only available in Bosnia, I then made an unscheduled visit to the beautiful Bosnian city. Mostar, which is best known for the bridge that was destroyed during the war and then rebuilt.
Back in Croatia, we drove along the Makarska Riviera, where we visited, among other things. Podaca, Makarska and the old pirate town Omis, which is beautifully situated between the mountains. Now we have rolled on to Camping Split, just outside Split...
Previous post about the 2015 motorhome trip: Starting training after a long break
C-G Alm says:
Wishing me back. Great memories, as I and my recently deceased wife did. We had similar trips. Turkey, Greece, Morocco, and all EU countries. some trips 4 - 6 months. Now, as a single person, I'm going on our last trip again, but not to Morocco because of the political situation... Hugs to you both. Carpe Diem....
03 October 2015 - 16:20
admin says:
C-G Alm, thank you very much for your comment! Really sorry to hear about your wife and very sorry. It sounds like fantastic trips you have made! I understand that you have many great memories. Hope you have a good trip after all!
03 October 2015 - 16:31
Regina says:
Fantastic to read your experience, I also dream of doing such a trip one day.
Want some practical tips
What you did before the trip to think about what is involved in such a trip, etc.
Regards
Regina
03 October 2015 - 16:54
Ama de casa says:
Yes, you have really managed to do a lot! And much remains to be seen and experienced 🙂
03 October 2015 - 16:59
BP says:
Thank you for that summary. I remember many posts and pictures, but some had fallen into oblivion, so it was a perfect post to refresh my memory.
A fantastic journey, and it's not over yet:-)
03 October 2015 - 17:06
C-G says:
<3
03 October 2015 - 18:09
Ditte says:
Thanks for a refresher! Such a great read! And what a journey you have made and are making! The ball from Corsica, the beach, is so beautiful. Maybe I was particularly drawn to it because I am also so fond of Corsica.
You have offered so many beautiful pictures from the trip and it has a bit felt like I have travelled with you. I have read extensively and experienced many new things. I realise that I won't be doing anything similar now, but I can remember trains and boat trips from my youth and continue travelling with you. There are still two months left of this particular trip.
Thank you for everything you have shared with us.
Keep up the good work.
Beautiful late summer greetings from the South.
03 October 2015 - 18:09
admin says:
Regina, what fun! Hope you get to go! I'm guessing you're also planning to travel by campervan? Yeah, it's hard to know exactly what to answer... It takes a lot of planning beforehand to get away - getting time off work, renting out accommodation, getting rid of all unnecessary costs, etc. I have written a previous post where I tried to answer a lot of questions: http://www.freedomtravel.se/2015/04/fragor-och-svar-att-ge-sig-ut-pa-husbilsresa-i-europa/
Ama de casa, yes the journey is not over yet! 😉
BP, I understand that you recognise a lot, because this was a little "reprise" and also the pictures. But I also wanted to take the opportunity to tell new readers 😉.
Ditte, thank you for your comment! It's so nice that you follow along! This post is very much a replay for you faithful readers, but some people only look in from time to time and may find it difficult to keep up... You may not be doing just such a trip, but you do (and have done!) Lots of fantastic trips!
03 October 2015 - 18:10
Mogens Jensen says:
Are you still in Croatia and when will you return to Sweden?
03 October 2015 - 22:23
admin says:
Mogens Jensen, we are in Split, Croatia. We will return to Stockholm around 30 November.
03 October 2015 - 22:29
Marina says:
Wow, what a journey you have made! And it's not over yet, even though it might be time to turn your nose up at the map again. But two months are left, and two months is a lot of time!
04 October 2015 - 9:17
Mr Steve says:
Thanks for a nice summary. 10 months! Another reminder of the passage of time, but also a reminder of how much can be accomplished in a relatively short time. And, not least, a reminder that you should realise your dreams.
Perfect with the map image that really shows what a fantastic journey you are on. And I have been able to join you on it. Thank you for that!
Wishing you all the best for your remaining two months of travelling!
04 October 2015 - 9:27
Travelling happiness says:
What a journey! Sounds fantastic to be travelling around Europe in this way. And certainly very educational. Happy travelling!
04 October 2015 - 10:36
admin says:
Marina, yes we are slowly turning upwards, but we will be spending quite a lot of time in Croatia as we don't want to get up to the cold too early 😉.
Steve, I'm so glad you're joining us on this journey! Of course you should realise your dreams, if you have the opportunity.
Reiselykke, it's really amazing and educational! Especially this last part in the Balkans has been instructive for us! 🙂
04 October 2015 - 10:47
Maria says:
wow so cool with a total of a year with a motorhome through Europe...! 🙂 I think this is the first time I hear about someone making such a long journey within Europe actually 🙂 .
04 October 2015 - 13:00
Deciree says:
But what a magical journey you are making. Absolutely incredible that it is already 10 months...I thought you just left:-)) Super wonderful to "follow" your journey:).
04 October 2015 - 14:26
admin says:
Maria, it IS an awesome trip, which we are planning for about 7 years 😉.
Deciree, time flies!!! Glad you are "keeping up"!
04 October 2015 - 21:49
Carita Liljendahl says:
Yes, now I'm getting really hungry! I do not have a motorhome, and as a single person I can not afford one. But you can travel in other ways 🙂
22 January 2017 - 16:30
Travelsis says:
So fun to read about your long trip and wow so wonderful to be away for so long and experience all that you gjort☀️??!
31 July 2017 - 7:54
Christine Stegmair says:
hello
What was the budget and what was the total cost for one year?
01 November 2017 - 17:24
Helena says:
Hi Christine and thanks for your comment! We have written about the costs here: http://www.freedomtravel.se/2015/12/vad-kostar-det-att-resa-runt-europa-under-1-ar/
And here:
http://www.freedomtravel.se/2015/12/kostnad-for-ett-ars-husbilsresa-nagra-fortydliganden/
01 November 2017 - 22:29