2 Weeks in Europe by Campervan: A Route That Works

Two weeks in Europe by campervan: a route that actually works

Two weeks buys you about 3,000 km of comfortable driving, three or four countries, and roughly nine places worth stopping properly. It does not buy you Paris, Barcelona, Rome and Amsterdam — the single most common mistake on a first European van trip is planning a route that is really a series of transit days with sightseeing bolted on.

This is a loop that respects that arithmetic: from the Channel ports south-east through Alsace and the Black Forest, over the Austrian Tyrol into the Dolomites, down to Lake Garda, then home through the Swiss lakes and Burgundy. Around 3,200 km over 14 days, no day longer than about four hours behind the wheel, and it crosses four countries whose van infrastructure is the best on the continent.

The route at a glance

Days 1–6: the Mosel, the Black Forest and Lake Constance

Get the transit day done first. From Calais or Dunkirk it is a straight motorway run to Luxembourg, and it is worth stopping there purely to fill up — fuel duty is lower than in the neighbouring countries, and it has been a standing refuelling stop for van travellers for decades. Sleep somewhere on the Mosel.

Then slow down. The Mosel is the gentlest introduction to German van travel there is: the river bends through vineyards for a hundred kilometres, almost every village has a Stellplatz beside the water for a modest nightly fee, and the driving is flat and unhurried. Bernkastel-Kues and Cochem are the two to stop for.

The Black Forest is the first proper driving. The Schwarzwaldhochstraße runs the ridge with views over the Rhine plain, and the roads are wide enough for a large motorhome throughout. Finish the stretch at Lake Constance, where you can stand in Germany, look at Switzerland, and cycle to Austria before lunch.

Days 7–11: Tyrol, the Dolomites and Lake Garda

Austria is where the trip changes gear. Innsbruck is a genuinely van-friendly alpine city — park on the edge, tram in — and the side valleys off the Inn give you high mountains without committing to a pass. Note that Austria needs a motorway vignette and some alpine passes charge separately; see the practical section below.

The Dolomites are the reason to do this loop in this direction. The Sella Ronda circuit links four passes in a single day of driving, each one a switchback climb to a pass-top car park with a view worth the gear changes. It is demanding driving in a heavy vehicle but not technical — the roads are engineered for coaches. Give it two days and stay in one of the valley Stellplätze rather than trying to sleep at altitude.

Come down to Lake Garda at Riva, at the northern tip, where the cliffs drop straight into the water. It is the transition point: alpine one hour, Mediterranean the next, and the first evening that feels like a different trip entirely.

Days 12–14: the Swiss lakes and the run home

Two ways back. The fast one crosses to Como and Lugano and picks up the motorway north through the Gotthard. The better one, if the weather is settled and the passes are open, climbs over the San Bernardino or the Splügen instead and turns a transit day into the best driving of the fortnight.

Either way you want Burgundy for the last night — good value, easy aires, and a final dinner that is worth planning around before the motorway run to the Channel. Build in slack here: booking the last night 200 km short of the ferry rather than 50 km is what stops a delayed crossing turning into a miserable finish.

The practical layer: vignettes, tolls and where to sleep

• Vignettes: Austria and Switzerland both require a motorway vignette, bought before you use the motorway network, and Switzerland's is sold as a full-year sticker rather than a short-term one. Vehicles over 3.5 tonnes are charged under different schemes in both countries. Check current prices and categories with ASFINAG (Austria) and the Swiss federal customs office before you travel — they change annually.
• Tolls: France and Italy charge conventional distance-based tolls, and both classify motorhomes by height and axle count, so a tall van can pay a class above what the driver expects. Germany and Austria have no car tolls beyond the vignette. Budget for this properly — it is the line most first-timers underestimate.
• Where to sleep: This route deliberately runs through the strongest Stellplatz and aire country in Europe. In Germany and Austria you can plan on finding a low-cost municipal Stellplatz in most towns of any size; in Italy the network is thinner, so book ahead around Garda in high season.
• Season: June and September are the sweet spot. High alpine passes including the Dolomite routes are typically closed by snow from roughly November to May, and dates vary year to year — check the pass status before committing to the Sella Ronda leg outside summer.
• Direction: Clockwise, as described, saves the Dolomites for when you have found your rhythm in the van. Doing it the other way puts the hardest driving on day three.

Build your own version of this route

Fourteen days is a shape, not a rule. The planner can stretch this to three weeks, cut it to ten days, swap the Dolomites for the Swiss Alps, or rebuild it entirely around your start point — and it works out the driving times, the overnight stops and the toll and vignette costs for the van you actually drive.