7 Best Countries for Wild Camping

October 4, 2024

When it comes to planning a road trip, it helps to know which countries are camper van friendly and which ones are the most simple in which to find parking spots to call home for the night. I spent 5 years of my life living in a van in the UK, Mainland Europe, and America, experiencing the slow pace of life that comes with vanlife and immersing myself in local cultures while living off grid.

Before we go any further, I want to point out that I’ve only included countries in this list that I’ve visited personally. While The Nordics and Scotland have ‘Allemansrätten’ which is the right to roam and camp anywhere, and are without a doubt the easiest places to park up and camp, I personally haven’t visited them in my van so haven’t included them. If you want to do some more research on these places, check out my book Road Life and take inspiration from the stories of the vanlifers I have documented there.

I also want to clarify that the wild camping world has changed a lot since the Coronavirus Pandemic, with many wild camping spots now bearing camping restrictions. It’s always a good idea to check out apps like Park4Night or iOverlander for the latest advice from other campers and locals about an area before arriving, and always try to arrive in the daytime so that you can get the feel

1. Sardinia, Italy

Few places come close to the beauty of Sardinia in my eyes, and it’s yet to be beaten on all my travels. I lived here for 3 months in my van, travelling around the island and setting up home on beaches, in forests, and in cities.

The culture of this Italian Island is fascinating with so many incredible villages and customs hidden away on country roads that wind on forever. From sand dunes to jousting festivals, flamingos to hot springs, Sardinia will always be my favourite place on earth. I’ve washed clothes in the same hot spring-fed sinks that the locals have been using for generations, seen the sun twinkling off the ocean at Cala Luna, and witnessed vistas that have taken my breath away.

While Sardinia is beautiful, there are only a few camper van service facilities on the island. I often visited a church halfway between Olbia and Oristano to top up my water as it was on a main motorway across the island, and used taps in cities to fill up my water as I was travelling.

2. The Rhone Alps, France

I must admit that I was very unsure about France before I arrived. As a man of Italian descent, there were never many fond words spoken about our neighbours over the border while growing up, so much so that my uncle once warned me against going to the country full stop. I can honestly say that the Rhone Alps were a pleasure to explore and one of the quietest places I ever stayed in my van, and the French are some of the most welcoming people in Europe when it comes to helping Campers out.

I managed to find a spot on the edge of a cliff, a small lay-by for just one van to pull into with an incredible view looking straight down a valley. The enormous cliffs, forests running along far below as far as the eye could see, meandering rivers; it felt more like something from a piece of fiction than real life.

The alps have plenty of places to stay and some beautiful walks to follow. Parking never proved to be a problem; sometimes my sat-nav tried to take me up paths that led into bushes or through fields, but with a little bit of perseverance I always found somewhere to stay in the end.

3. Schwarzwald, Germany

It’s odd that when I was at school, I often had to say the phrase ‘Mein lieblingsurlaubresort ist Die Scharzwald’, and I had never been anywhere near The Black Forest at all. In fact, I wouldn’t go anywhere near it until I the age of 29, but it turns out that 11-year-old me practicing the line wasn’t wrong about how much I’d end up loving it.

I distinctly remember parking on the cusp of a forest with a lake across the other side of me. There wasn’t any phone signal so I couldn’t do any work, which wasn’t a bad thing as it meant I could go out and explore. Parking places were easy to find, even though wild camping is technically prohibited. It’s one of those situations where the locals and authorities don’t really mind so long as you’re respectful, and if you’re camping in a place owned by a private party, then you have to ask their permission first before setting up camp.

4. California, USA

I’ve been lucky enough to spend a lot of time in California over the years while working in my capacity as a travel writer with companies like Four Wheel Campers. California is so vast, and the spirit of vanlife runs through the very fibres of the state. Its routes can very much be found in SoCal in the 60s, and wild camping, or boondocking, is tolerated in many places throughout both California and America as a whole.

The main rule to look out for is that Wild Camping is not allowed in National Parks; you’ve got to pay for a campsite in these areas just like you would in the United Kingdom. National Forest and BLM (Bureau of Land Management) areas are free to camp in, but there are certain rules such as how far you must bury your waste from water sources etc.

Many supermarkets such as Walmart allow vanlifers to stay in their carparks overnight too, which means that if you’re really stuck for a place to stay, you can always get a good night’s sleep parked up against a wall after filling up with groceries for the day. And the best thing is that you’re bound to meet other vanlifers as you travel around that can give you local knowledge on places to stay – Californians are some of the friendliest people on the planet.

5. Lake Como, Italy

The drive down to the shores of Lake Como was one I will never forget. Driving through a tiny village, I ended up coming face-to-face with a huge motorhome coming the other way. I have no idea how it managed to get down there in the first place, let alone back up again, and in my haste to reverse I ended up smashing a taillight on a railing. The local priest wasn’t very happy the day after when I was still finding and picking up red pieces of plastic, but I just pretended I didn’t know anything about it and carried on tidying up the area!

Lake Como is stunning; I stayed on the shore right near a monastery and spent 10 days paddle boarding, swimming, and writing my book while looking out over the picturesque waters. The monks didn’t mind campers coming near as it meant extra income in the form of honey and wine being sold from the monastery, and it was an incredibly peaceful place to park up. I also made friends with other vanlifers here too, using my drone to photograph the BBQ we had and making some incredible memories that would last a lifetime.

Italy has always been kind to vanlifers with plenty of camper service stations spread about the country. I find the North to be a beautiful place to visit, full of wildlife and relaxing places to park up in. It’s also the first place that I saw a water snake while bathing in a forest too!

6. Lago Della Piazza, Switzerland

Coming off the main road to Lake Maggiore and driving up into the Swiss Mountains was a very strange experience. The weather changed so dramatically, going from 25 degrees to snow drifts higher than my van. I remember sledging on a body board in my shorts, going down a hill that was so think with snow a local had told me it was covering a small hut.

I found Switzerland easy to park in and camped up on the side of lakes for paddleboarding, in the mountains, and in the odd service station when I just wanted somewhere easy to find. Bearing in mind that the service stations in Switzerland are 10 times prettier than the ones here in the UK, it wasn’t a bad trade off.

7. Darnius, Spain

My final spot sits on the edge of the Boadella Reservoir at Darnius, Spain. This free to park Aire had a lot of French and Spanish locals from both sides of the border relaxing with their campervans and enjoying a well-earned break in the sun, paddleboarding on the reservoir and playing games with family.

Like France, Spain was incredibly easy to find places to park up. Parking around the coast or near beach spots was generally tolerated by the authorities and I only had to show my papers to a policeman once, who wished me a pleasant stay afterwards before carrying on with his duties. Intermarché Supermarkets had specific areas for campers to stay after doing their shopping and more often than not a place to empty waster and fill up with fresh water too. As long as you don’t get chairs and awnings out and create a ‘camp site’ then you’re fine to camp in most places. Again, use resources like Park4Night to get the most up-to-date information on a site before arriving.

About the Author

Lippert guest blogger, Sebastian Antonio Santabarbara, is a thirty-two-year-old writer from Yorkshire, UK. His first breakthrough role came as the Head of Written Content for Van Clan, an online media brand documenting the van life movement with a weekly reach of over 5 million readers. This role has led to Sebastian being head-hunted to write several inspirational non-fiction books on alternative living (to be published by Frances Lincoln 2022/23) and Van Life for Dummies (published by John Wiley & Sons Sept 2022). He is also the Editor in Chief for Retro Dodo, a media/news company with a monthly reach of 1 million people. Follow his travels on Instagram!