In our first article on wereldreizigers.nl, 'From world trip to motorhome trip', have you already read that we have no experience with the motorhome life. In fact, we had never even slept one night in a motorhome until that point. We therefore asked ourselves beforehand, what does traveling with a motorhome cost? We had no idea. We have now been on the road for 4 months and we can draw up an interim balance. To get ahead of things… The costs are disappointing.
Also read: How to: Buy or convert a campervan
How are the costs built up?
When asked 'how much does it cost to travel with a motorhome?' you read a lot of different messages that we no longer saw the wood for the trees. There you can read messages about the real diehard motor home owners who already get by for less than €500 a month. While you read an amount of €2.500 per month on the next blog as a lower limit, you still want to be able to enjoy it a bit.
The major difference lies in the subdivision into fixed and variable costs. On many blogs and forums you can only find the costs associated with the trip itself. Think of your groceries, fuel, overnight stays and activities. While the (possible) ongoing costs in the Netherlands also play an absolute role in our opinion.
Variable costs for traveling with a motorhome
The variable costs are the costs that you incur during the trip itself that you have direct influence on. We consider the following costs to be variable:
- Groceries
- Maintenance and miscellaneous
- Overnight stays
- Fuel
- Transport
- Restaurants and drinks
- Activities
This is also what makes travelers very different from each other. Do you travel very basic, do you sleep in the wild, do your shopping in a cheap supermarket, do you not eat out and do you not do any paid activities? Then your variable costs will be low. Do you know yourself and do you like a little more luxury or safety? Or do you choose a gift just like us city trip Venice† Then you know that your costs for groceries and overnight stays will probably be considerably higher.
The cost of groceries disappointed us a lot
For us, the groceries are also the first cost item that we had considerably underestimated. We had expected to arrive at about € 50,00 per week. Unfortunately... expensive supermarkets in Switzerland and surprisingly high prices for fresh vegetables and fruit doubled our budget. But also very simple things such as purchasing a new gas bottle or a new window after the 'camper break-in in TurinWe hadn't budgeted. The cost item maintenance and miscellaneous exceeds €200 per month. Again more than doubling our budget.
Fortunately, we were able to save enormously on the overnight stays, since after our first weeks we were able to camp almost only 'wild'.
After our first months in Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy and San Marino, we arrive at an average daily budget of € 50,00 per month for 2 people. Due to the special situation during our lockdown in Greece let's ignore these.
Part 1: What does traveling with a motorhome actually cost? €1.500 per month in variable costs.
Ongoing costs for traveling with the motorhome
Then we come to the part of the costs where you don't get much in return except for a little extra peace of mind during the trip. The ongoing costs in the Netherlands.
- Camper insurance
- Travel Insurance
- Health insurance
- Road tax
- roadside assistance
- Subscriptions
- Miscellaneous
These costs are so incredibly easy to simply forget when you think about how much it actually costs to travel by motorhome'. Because we are still registered in the Netherlands, we are obliged to maintain health insurance. There is also a mandatory motorhome insurance and with 2 left hands a membership to the roadside assistance of the ANWB is also very desirable. But don't forget the costs of, for example, debit cards, life insurance, taxes and subscriptions or memberships.
We sold our house in the run-up to our trip, so the fixed costs of rent or mortgage are no longer with us.
So that diehard motor home who doesn't spend €500 a month? Well, we have already spent more on our fixed costs in the Netherlands. Even though we are traveling for an indefinite period of time. But hey, these are costs that you incur, and should therefore also be added to the total costs in our opinion. Part 2: What does traveling with a motorhome actually cost? €500 per month in fixed costs.
Conclusion, what does traveling with a motorhome cost?
On average, our daily budget, including everything, on such a €65,00 for 2 persons† Curious about the complete cost overview, our considerations and explanations on all positions? Check out our blog about 'vanlife cost' on Reisstel.nl.
Want to know more about Reisstel.nl?
Are you curious about the continuation of our journey? Then you can follow us on our Instagram page @reisstel.nl and web site, www.reisstel.nl† In addition, we will Wereldreizigers.nl write an update every week! Until next week!
