PRACTICAL MOTORHOME'S TOP 50 EURO TOURING TIPS

Motorhoming in Europe is fascinating, fun and exciting. John Sootheran offers 50 touring nuggets that'll make it easy, too

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Mrs S likes her holiday sunshine guaranteed, making summer UK touring a bit of a hard sell.

In a spirit of harmony and diplomacy, I’ve always agreed to take the 'van to Europe, to those places where opening the curtains in the morning is almost certain to leave you temporarily blinded, so bright is the sunlight.

I love Euro touring. The driving is easy, the sunshine incessant, the beaches just sensational and the cultures fascinating.

There’s a real spirit of adventure as you board the ferry or Chunnel train, and once at your location, the standard of the campsites is excellent, too.

All that said, Euro-freedom does have its price, and that comes in the form of some additional planning and admin.

Over the next few pages, I'll be sharing 50 top tips I’ve developed from years of touring in Europe. I’ve learned some of them the hard way, so you don’t have to!

Before you set off

Love it or loathe it, Brexit has changed the rules for motorhomers heading to Europe. Here’s what you need to know.

■First up, passports. You'll want at least six months’ validity left on yours, or you could find yourself being turned away faster than a British tourist who asks for their steak tartare to be well-done in a Parisian restaurant!

■Your vehicle now needs to display a UK (not GB) sticker, plus you'll need your V5C logbook and proof of insurance. And if you are hiring a motorhome, you will also need a VE 103 certificate.

■For those of you dreaming of endless European road trips, bad news: you can’t stay longer than 90 days in any 180-day period. That means leaving the entire EU, not just your chosen country.

■Healthwise, you'll need a free UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC), allowing reciprocal free medical care in most European countries.