![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/4767284_6_articleinline_Alan_2bLanders_2b-_2bthe_2bdriveaway_2bawning_2bfor_2bextra_2bliving_2bspace.jpeg\" "\\"The")
The Vango Tolga Air driveaway awning provides extra living space.\u00a0<\/p>\nWhen I had my minivan converted to a mini-campervan in 2023, one of the dreams driving such an undertaking was setting sail to European destinations, free as a bird with no fixed plans, nothing but the wind in my hair and a belly growling in anticipation of daily croissants. Well, no time like the present. <\/p>\n
My partner and I are hitting the road in my mini-camper for the month of September as I tick off this bucket-list item. Let me make the mistakes and find the hidden gems that will hopefully inspire your own dreams to pack up your life and drive off into the sunset for a few weeks. <\/p>\n
The dream may have been to sail off with no fixed agenda, but the reality is a different story. I\u2019m a planner. I like to go somewhere, having researched options, looked up local transport, and found some recommendations from trusted friends for things to see and places to eat. I have Google Maps lists for everywhere I\u2019ve ever been. Once I actually get somewhere, I\u2019m very happy to abandon the plan and wander around aimlessly \u2014 but I do like to have a plan to fall back on. So I have planned the route, calculated the driving times, and booked campsites along the way. I\u2019ll update these with full reviews of the best ones throughout September.<\/p>\n
The Vango Tolga Air driveaway awning provides extra living space.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The planned route is that we arrive in Roscoff and spend a night nearby in northern Brittany, while we get used to driving on the wrong side of the road in a right-hand drive car. Then we meander down through Nantes to La Rochelle, and across to \u00cele de R\u00e9. Next, we head towards Bordeaux, where we will be staying at a small winery that allows campervans. From there, we veer west slightly and into the central Pyren\u00e9es. Finally, we will be heading back east and staying in San Sebasti\u00e1n for a few nights before getting the ferry home from Bilbao.<\/p>\n
Anyone who has booked a ferry before will know that it pays to book ahead, and the early bird discounts can be quite good. We are travelling with Brittany Ferries in both directions \u2014 I will write a review of both trips in my next few articles, so stay tuned throughout September! We had originally planned to bring my beloved dog Perry, but an unfortunate reality is that Perry hates the car, and also hated the one boat trip I took him on \u2014 so a long ferry crossing would potentially be traumatic. Perry does have his passport, which you can get from your vet once your dog has all regular vaccines plus a rabies vaccine. Dogs can travel on ferries, but there are not many that have pet-friendly cabins. The alternative is to leave them in kennels on board the ship, and they must be muzzled when you take them out to walk them in the pet area. For a short ferry and a calm down, this isn\u2019t such a big deal, but for the 36-hour ferry back from Bilbao, it\u2019s a big consideration. Be sure to plan and research thoroughly if you plan to bring your pet.<\/p>\n
Packing for a campervan trip is a little different from packing for a weekend away. Space is finite, so every item needs to earn its keep. Our essentials are our Vango Tolga drive-away awning for additional living space; our Outdoor Revolution Rock N Roll Self Inflating Mat for a good night\u2019s sleep; our Outwell Canmore camping table as it packs away neatly; our Campingmoon X-Mini BBQ and fire pit for outdoor cooking and chilly evenings; my Eufy cordless car vacuum to keep things clean; a foldable camping toilet, privacy tent, and kitty litter (more on this next week); and as few clothes as I can manage \u2014 leggings, T-shirts, jeans, sandals, hiking gear, swimsuits, a light jacket, and one or two nicer outfits if we find a fancy restaurant. We do not have a fridge or cooler in the camper, and have never needed one as we\u2019ve only ever done short trips and have brought ice-packs and cooling bags, but we may well pick up a small 12V cooler along the way \u2014 I\u2019ll write a review if I find a good one.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/4767287_6_articleinline_Alan_2bLanders_2b-_2bcamping_2btable_2band_2bBBQ_2b1_1_.jpg\" "\\"The")
The Outwell Canmore camping table and Campingmoon X-Mini BBQ are coming on the trip. <\/p>\n
We\u2019re also bringing a small washing machine. This may sound ridiculous, but hear me out \u2014 I got this as a semi-joke Christmas gift from my dad a couple of years ago, but it has actually turned out to be super useful. It packs away to a compact size and actually allows us to pack less, as we can wash items along the way while we\u2019re driving. You don\u2019t need a portable washing machine; you can buy washer bags (the Scrubba gets great reviews) that are even more compact and do a solid job, but I have this and it\u2019s handy, so I\u2019m bringing it!<\/p>\n
We didn\u2019t quite fancy leaving the house empty while we were away. I had been looking at Home Exchange and similar platforms for a long time, and I have spoken to lots of people who have had wonderful experiences, so I finally signed up. Home Exchange allows you to either directly swap houses with someone, or to do so in exchange for guest points, which you can then use to stay at another house another time. So far, so good \u2014 Ireland is one of the most popular places on the platform, and I was flooded with requests. Every exchange I have had on the platform so far has been positive, and my home will be occupied by a lovely family while we are away, giving us plenty of guest points for our future trips. I will write a full review of this experience when we\u2019re back from our trip!<\/p>\n
Next week, I\u2019ll be sharing a full review of our ferry to France and a reflection on my first few days as a digital nomad. <\/p>\n
I recently resigned from my full-time corporate job after 14 years to follow another dream of working full-time in renovations and interiors. (With nobody expecting me in an office anymore, it feels like a good time to embark on this trip, too!). You can book a 1:1 video call with me if you need support with your project; find the link on my Instagram @workerscottage or on my website Jennysheahan.com.<\/p>\n
And for now, we\u2019re crossing our fingers for good weather, getting the house clean for our guests, and checking whether we have packed enough \u2014 or too much!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When I had my minivan converted to a mini-campervan in 2023, one of the dreams driving such an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":396046,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5309],"tags":[136826,136827,2000,299,36],"class_list":{"0":"post-396045","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-france","8":"tag-home-improvements","9":"tag-home-interiors","10":"tag-eu","11":"tag-europe","12":"tag-france"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115143542289830222","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=396045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396045\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/396046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=396045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=396045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=396045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}