Help would be greatly appreciated, plan a road trip in our cali taking in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and northern Italy should we book ahead?

[Coopsontour]

Planning a road trip in our cali taking in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and northern Italy, this will be our first big trip. We are travelling in the last 2 weeks of August holidays with our 2 boys and we would really like to do a few 1 night stays and they have a longer stay before we start our route back, should we be booking ahead? Can you stay for 1 night or is there a lot of minimum stay sites? What should we expect to pay per hook up pitch (probably too general question as level of sites and location will vary but just an idea as we are really new to this)? Many thanks

 

[kave]

There are huge amounts of experience here, search.
I can recommend one thing, dont just stay one night, make it at least two of rather 4-5 one location. Its easy making the hole holiday just a drive with packing up and down between. Nothing funny for the boys. Normally young kids like to stay in just one place and return there every year.
On the popular sites its way too late to book now, they will say they are full. Your best option is to arrive before 11am and ask.

 

[JakePeg]

We're doing pretty much the same, Holland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal with an 11 year old boy. Have only got somewhere sorted for Holland so far - winging it! We're in the UK now but live in Portugal, kids get 3 months summer holiday!

 

[SanderR72]

The same regarding kids holidays for 3 months is the case in Italy, I was told by the guy that bought my Landcruiser and we visited him in June with my Cali.

However, I don’t travel with kids, but I can imagine that moving from one place to another for just one night’s stay isn’t fun for them.

But if that happens along the trip, why not use apps like CamperContact, Park4Night etc?

Although in high season there is more checks being done regarding wild camping, there are plenty of possibilities, but no guarantees.

In northern Italy I saw prices for camping sites ranging from 30€ to even almost 60€ per night. For the latter, I would stay in an Airbnb…

 

[bigmac77]

Germany has a lot of campsites plus you can find places to stay on park4night.

Switzerland are pretty strict on wild camping and it’s pretty much a no no, if you look to book its peak season and many campsites have a minimum stay but you can often turn up and get a night you just have to be prepared to maybe visit a few which is maybe not ideal when traveling with children.

Not sure about Austria or Italy but I do know that the French alps are very easy to find either wild park up or campsites even in August. Last year we did Vosges, Black Forest, Interlaken, Morzine, Briançon, Embrun, Verdon gorge and Annecy over the last three weeks of August and didn’t book anything ahead. We did roughly a 50-50 split between campsites and park ups from park4night. Set the search criteria in park4night to ‘in nature’ and found some amazing locations.

 

[beforecolour]

We are taking in those countries as well plus France. We’re doing it for the duration of August, spending approx 4-5 nights per site. We are a family of 4 (kids 9 & 14). Were staying at campsites with pools, probably the higher end type of site. Once you factor in kids, hook up, the average cost per night is 75€. From experience, I wouldn’t recommend less than 2 nights per stay. I also rarely find there is a minimum stay.

 

[PJ500]

We are currently at Lake Como having travelled down the Romantic Road in Germany.
We pre-booked sites, mostly staying 2 / 3 nights. Sites at Rothenburg and Fussen were full but others had availability. August will be much busier.
Here at La Riva on Lake Como it’s minimum 7 nights when you book but apparently they are flexible if you want to stay fewer.
It’s a great site by the way…

 

[Christopher Thomas]

In the south of Germany at the end of August the camp sites are usually fully booked as this is the holiday period for the Bayern region. Austria on the other hand has some amazing “ski” resorts with so many amazing activities such as zip lines etc. have a look at Flachau in Austria.

 

[Robbs]

Prices will vary between €40 and €70. Like others wrote, stay a bit longer in some locations. Camping in Switzerland is surprisingly affordable, especially compared with everything else there… If by Northern Italy you mean the Instagram hotspot of the Dolomites, then yes, definitely reserve.
My tip would be: google the name of the place you want to visit + camping, go to the top site’s www and try to make a sample online reservation for your estimated timeframe. If the top site has a spot, so will the others in the area.

 

[Dom1nion]

we’ve just done a 2 week trip similar to what you want to do. All one nighters to Lake Garda. 3 there and a couple of 2 nighters with one nighters on the way back.10 European countries (not Switzerland), 2,500 miles round trip and we’re both shattered. But we never had any kids to worry about. It was more a case of see what could be done and where we want to go back to. Yes it was a bit ambitious for a first European trip but we did enjoy every minute. I’ve been running a blog for a while and the Euro-trip takes up the last half. https://woodys-wanderings.blogspot.com/2025/04/lets-go-to-ireland.html

 

[Dom1nion]

Meant to add, one nighters in high season might be different though. Some we had to email or call on the day to check.

 

[Detritus]

Planning a road trip in our cali taking in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and northern Italy, this will be our first big trip. We are travelling in the last 2 weeks of August holidays with our 2 boys and we would really like to do a few 1 night stays and they have a longer stay before we start our route back, should we be booking ahead? Can you stay for 1 night or is there a lot of minimum stay sites? What should we expect to pay per hook up pitch (probably too general question as level of sites and location will vary but just an idea as we are really new to this)? Many thanks

We’ve done that basic route several times, about 3k Miles with four of us living in the van, but over three weeks. They were my favourite holidays if I had to pick! Honestly I think just doing a night out two in each stop will mean you miss a lot of things - but it gives you a great excuse to come back again!
We booked campsites for some places that were knew would be busy, others we just started in Airs/Stellplatz. The kids impression of many of those were that we were basically living in a car park
I’m sure you’ve already got your route planned out, but some highlights imho along that route are:
Southern Germany:
- Black Forest - just lovely
- Outdoor swimming pool at Staufen-im-breisgau - its from the Germany Olympics, but it’s gorgeous and filled with water from the hills that is then solar heated - can be very cold if the sun hasn’t been out!
- Deutsche Alpen Strasse - takes a good few days, goes past a huge number of ‘castles’ - some you see from the turf, but you do have to go find most of them as there slightly off the road. Takes you up and down the mountains, so the scenery is fantastic, and really makes you appreciate being in a Cali rather than a big white!
Munich - beautiful, incredible beer, great food

Austria - Salzburg:
so much to see in this area!
Obviously all the ‘sound of music’ stuff in and around Salzburg. The cable car trip up to the Untersburg is awesome, incredible views!
Rossfeld panorama strasse - costs a very small fee, but basically a private road that runs along the spine of a few mountains with the most amazing views either side and lots of places to stop and get out. Unmissable imho, just around the corner from the eagles nest, but I enjoyed this more!
Eisreisenwelt - an incredible ice cave in the top of a mountain, you walk through it with oil lamps. One of mine and my son’s favourite things we’ve ever done! It’s very cold though inside, even if it’s hot outside, so take a coat!
Salt mines - there are two main ones I think, we’ve done both, both well worth a visit
Sommerrodelbahn „Keltenblitz“ - a ginormous toboggan ride on little sleds on rails down the side of the mountain! Goes on for miles. Kids nearly lost their minds it was so exciting!

I’ll add more when I think of them if you’re interested!

 

[calibusje]

Hi.
So you’re new but we all were at one point or another. I'm going to try to respond but rather general. Of the countries you mentioned, we have not yet visited Austria, but we have visited the others so it only applies to those countries.
We've been doing it for over 13 years now, 11 of which with children. There are four of us now (two children, 11 and 7). I hope it is of some help for your next travel experience.
I've read here several times that you shouldn’t stay just one night, but several. Let me respond to that: we almost never stay more than one night somewhere; why would we? Each to his own, but we travel around, do road trips, and besides: the kids—and we—love it! With experience and some good agreements, you can be ready for the stop in minutes and tidy up in five. It takes some practice, and it depends on how you look at it: some people see it as lugging bags around all the time but we don't see it as a big challenge, but as inherent in the fact that you travel with a compact, versatile camper. When you look around, you’ll see you are often faster ready to go than that big white one.
You also learn to pack what you have with you in your Cali: as little as possible; for example: a week's worth of clothes and then wash them (for example, at a campsite). Food? ‘Emergency food’ and not much more: there are shops everywhere.
We don't even take our cable anymore: fully charged, the batteries can easely deal with 2-3 days off grid.
You ask if you have to book, well, and this is always during our (Belgian) holiday periods, in all those years, we only book the campsites we really want, and that was only at the following locations: Île de Ré, Île d’Oléron and Île de Noirmoutier (these are highly popular and touristic places). I don't take into account school holidays of the country I visit: it's many times too different and we're travelling around so we'll see how busy it is. For the rest -if we want to stay at a campsite- we just show up and see what happens; they usually have a spot for a Cali-sized camper. However, we usually use the usual apps and rarely stay at a campsite. It's all a matter of what you make of it: rather static or dynamic. Also the ‘goal’: staying on campsites as much as possible and for as long as possible or travelling around, road tripping. Each to his own.
Anyway: our children love traveling like we do but that’s what they are used to. You choose what you make them accustomed to. And like I said: everyone chooses how they travel, each to their own liking, there's no right or wrong. This is just how we do it.
We travel around and do and see a lot: we just spent 10 days on the German Alpine Road (Lindau ~ Königssee and now returning and finished with the Edwin Hymer Museum in Bad Waldsee, next stop: don’t know yet). So, multiple days and take your time; a Cali is the perfect companion for traveling around. Take it easy, don’t rush; we always leave around noon. We sleep in long, have brunch, rest, and tidy up for the next leg of our tour. Of course there are also days when we leave earlier like if we want to visit something in the morning or have breakfast in a restaurant on a mountain like a few days ago.
We'll swim in lakes and pools, visit thermal baths, museums, and castles. Drive through beautiful regions and enjoy the views. We can enter every village with our small campervan, and in larger cities, we park in underground parking. It’s jus a marvelous way to travel.
What wonderful discoveries await you! Have fun!

Greetings
Calibusje

 

[John Rowson]

Planning a road trip in our cali taking in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and northern Italy, this will be our first big trip. We are travelling in the last 2 weeks of August holidays with our 2 boys and we would really like to do a few 1 night stays and they have a longer stay before we start our route back, should we be booking ahead? Can you stay for 1 night or is there a lot of minimum stay sites? What should we expect to pay per hook up pitch (probably too general question as level of sites and location will vary but just an idea as we are really new to this)? Many thanks

Hi, we've just returned from a trip to Bavaria, right on the border with Austria and it was our most unplanned trip ever. We had only the final destination site booked. We traveled through France and Germany. When we felt like stopping for the night we just got on line and picked a site. We didn't the have to worry about anything. The sites are numerous and great quality. Prices are a bit cheaper than the UK. In fact our first night was free (ACSI) in France. We were a bit dubious about this but it worked out perfectly. By the way, although electric hook up is generally available (not on our free one) the Cali (T6.1 Ocean) will easily cope with a night of off grid. In fact we've been becoming a bit braver these days and have camped off grid for over two days without the need for EHU. I even let my wife use her hair straighteners! Try it. It's a revelation!

 

[Dyddi]

Information on school holiday dates in each country can be found online. Germany, for example, has different dates for each Lande (region) to spread the holiday traffic load. Popular destinations next to water tend to be fully booked and crowded, especially the Italian lakes and coast. Tracking down sites further inland or in the hillier areas is a safer bet. Through routes in Switzerland, e.g. approaching the major passes and tunnels, and in especially scenic areas can be busy. In general the European sites offering 'family centres', sports and games areas, swimming pools and so on attract many people from local cities to static caravans / chalets. If you don't mind the adventure of going slightly off the main routes and to more natural sites you should have more success. Having two or three sites in your target area also gives a better chance. On a long day's drive we always started looking for a site from 4pm onwards. On Saturdays - best to start looking at noon before the lunch closure of reception offices.
From my experience the heaviest traffic loads are the Brussels Ring (B), around Paris and Lyon (F), Koln-Stuttgart-Munich (D), the A10 Tauern autobahn (A) and either side of the Gotthard tunnel (CH). Alternative routes from southern France towards Paris are labelled 'bis' and Michelin used to have a map showing these.
Have a great time.

 

[bullibuskombi]

Information on school holiday dates in each country can be found online. Germany, for example, has different dates for each Lande (region) to spread the holiday traffic load. Popular destinations next to water tend to be fully booked and crowded, especially the Italian lakes and coast. Tracking down sites further inland or in the hillier areas is a safer bet. Through routes in Switzerland, e.g. approaching the major passes and tunnels, and in especially scenic areas can be busy. In general the European sites offering 'family centres', sports and games areas, swimming pools and so on attract many people from local cities to static caravans / chalets. If you don't mind the adventure of going slightly off the main routes and to more natural sites you should have more success. Having two or three sites in your target area also gives a better chance. On a long day's drive we always started looking for a site from 4pm onwards. On Saturdays - best to start looking at noon before the lunch closure of reception offices.
From my experience the heaviest traffic loads are the Brussels Ring (B), around Paris and Lyon (F), Koln-Stuttgart-Munich (D), the A10 Tauern autobahn (A) and either side of the Gotthard tunnel (CH). Alternative routes from southern France towards Paris are labelled 'bis' and Michelin used to have a map showing these.
Have a great time.

I would. Just back from a three week trip and some sites were already full. Continental school hols start earlier than on the UK.

 

[Dyddi]

Forgot to mention Italian busy roads: Milan ring-road can clog up quite easily and the autostrada from Milan to Rimini may have clear lane markings for 3 or 4 lanes but these seem to be optional when it is really busy, e.g. holiday weekends. Motorbikes can appear from anywhere, and very quickly, meanwhile overloaded little Fiats potter along. One of life's experiences.