Moving from a house to a campervan with two toddlers is exactly as crazy as it sounds. Downsizing clothes, toys, books, kitchen accessories, and toiletries from the equivalent of a lorry container to a matchbox is part of the challenge. But organising the camping equipment, route planning, and sifting through all your belongings with two small children in tow while working full-time—now that is almost impossible.

In fact, for us, it did prove impossible because we certainly did not leave for our departing ferry with any sort of grace or peaceful sign-off. We hurtled down the road, having spent the last couple of hours still throwing random items into the back of the van in a state of mad panic. Are the bikes securely attached to the back? Sure hope so, because there’s no time to redo the frenetic tangle of bungee cords that enhances the metal bars holding the bikes in place. Once we make the ferry, we can reorganise everything else...

We were spending six months in Europe in a converted Ford Transit van. The loose itinerary was taking us through ten countries on the trip of a lifetime. Feeling disillusioned with the rat race of everyday life, as well as the fight to stay on top of the rising cost of living, we decided: we only live once. We wanted to enjoy our children while they’re young and travel while we’re still (relatively) young and healthy. So, we took the plunge and drove on into what would turn out to be the best decision we ever made.

Over the course of the trip, we learnt so much about languages, culture, nature, people, and, most importantly, about our children and ourselves. In the spirit of being concise, here are five main lessons we learnt from our van life travel experience with children:

Not so much stuff

While we made every effort to downsize prior to leaving, we soon found ourselves shedding more and more belongings. As we settled into van life, we realised the volume of ‘stuff’ we, as humans, seem to accumulate. There were several ‘must-have’ camping items which turned out to be gimmicks.

We actually need so very little to live comfortably and to enjoy life that having spent time in such a small space made us think about all of the boxes of random bits and pieces we had fretted over when leaving our home, which were really very unimportant. From country to country across Europe, we saw the sheer volume of cheap virgin plastic toys, bright and shiny and tempting our children at many major supermarkets, enticing us from such a young age to gather and possess belongings that we don’t really need. It’s almost like an addiction. We hope to carry this lesson with us and achieve a more minimalist lifestyle. Quality over quantity is key!

Keeping toddlers active

A predicament faced by parents everywhere—trying to keep your wild bundle of energy engaged, happy, and stimulated (but of course not over-stimulated!). When you’re living in a van with a three- and one-year-old, it is important to always get outside every day, or you’ll soon find yourself banging your head against the wall. While there are a huge number of attractions across Europe, we only ended up visiting one theme park in the Netherlands as a big treat. We had an amazing day, but we realised we didn’t need such a high level of entertainment for our children.

Swimming in lakes, foraging in forests, building sandcastles at beaches, and exploring parks were activities that were free, easy, and a lot of fun! We visited so many playgrounds, all the small local community ones, and they were perfect for a few hours of busy play. Even playing sports like basketball or football in a quiet car park proved to be a great source of entertainment. We also found that having a wander around a shopping centre was engaging on a rainy day, and our older child was happy as long as he had ‘somewhere flat’ to ride his bike around. Who needs expensive activities for entertaining children? Not us! Another lesson we hope to carry with us even as our children grow older.

Lock your bikes

This lesson was quite a bitter one. Because who would have thought that there are people out there prepared to steal from a three-year-old? Unfortunately, we naively didn’t think so. While trying to escape the intense heat of the Italian sun, we spent a few hours of the day in a busy shopping mall.

We parked our van in full view of a fast-food restaurant and began our wander through the cool, air-conditioned air, pottering in and out of shops. However, upon our return to our van, we noticed it had been tampered with. There is nothing like that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach when you realise something is wrong. We were lucky to find that the interior had not been broken into, but our three-year-old’s bike was missing, as well as the wheels to our now-useless bike trailer. Having to explain the grim realities of ‘the real world’ to a toddler is not a life lesson to be recommended. Always invest in proper, strong locks and security because even a battered, sticker-covered, financially worthless item is worth stealing in the eyes of a local ne'er-do-well.

Slow mornings

The amount of energy it takes to organise a toddler is staggering. Add in morning traffic and an early meeting, and you have a recipe for a pretty intense morning! Living in the van meant there were no morning deadlines. No one has to fight to put shoes on, brush teeth, or eat breakfast. The children could wake up naturally, eat breakfast at their own pace, play, or help with cooking breakfast—all without anyone’s blood pressure rising. Sitting back with a hot mug and starting your day while truly feeling refreshed is one of the best life lessons out there. Of course, it is a huge luxury to be able to do this and not something life often affords us. Even on the weekends, there are errands and swimming lessons or soccer practice to rush out the door to. But while life does not offer us slow mornings willingly, it is now a goal to carve them out because a calm, gentle start does wonders for a peaceful state of mind.

We are all humans

There are many rich cultures throughout Europe, languages, accents, architecture, history, food, and style. Yet despite the depth of diversity and individuality of every location we visited, we were struck that, fundamentally, there are no real differences. People are all the same everywhere. Everyone was going about their daily business—shopping, working, exercising. We specifically noticed this in shopping centres. We felt that once you were in a shopping centre, you could be anywhere in the world. While, of course, there are so many beautiful cultures to celebrate in the world, it is also interesting to appreciate how we are all the same. In the words of Maya Angelou, ‘We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.’

Travelling across Europe for six months in a campervan with two small children taught us a great deal. We would definitely do it again and probably have a great deal more to learn, especially setting out with older children. Starting out, we would aim to bring less baggage and cover fewer miles—to enjoy a slower, simpler pace of travel. Will that be possible with older children? We cannot wait to find out!