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Are you planning of a road trip through Europe this summer? If the answer is yes, I have the perfect itinerary for you! I recently spent 7 days travelling from Florence, Italy to Valencia, Spain in a campervan with Indie Campers and had the best experience ever.Â
This route is perfect as you get to explore 3 countries (4 if you add in a cheeky day trip to Monaco) and this trip truly has it all. Cities such as Barcelona, coastal towns like Cassis and even a trip to Cinque Terre! You will see the countryside, the coast and also the mountains. I visited in mid-April and the weather was amazing so this trip is perfect for spring and summer road trips.
In this guide, I will run through the full itinerary of my trip including where we stayed overnight in the van. Park4night was our best friend on this trip – there are so many great stays on the app!
I’ve shared my full experience from this trip in my YouTube vlog below if you want a real feel for the route:
Route Overview
The total distance was over 1,500 km. Mainly following the coast of Northern Italy, Southern France and the Mediterranean coast of Spain.Â
Day 1: Florence -> La Spezia
We arrived in Florence the day before picking up our campervan and stayed at Florence Seasons B&B. This was great as it meant we were able to do our exploring beforehand and could hit the road as soon as we picked up the van!
Some of my top picks for Florence:
- Vivoli for affogato
- Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
- Il Bufalo Trippone for sandwiches
- Via dello Studio to get some good shots of the Cathedral
- Osteria dei Leoni Firenze for dinner (the ragu and truffle fillet were delicious)
- Find the famous wine windows
- Ponte Vecchio
We had the campervan by 3.30pm and were ready to hit the road – our next stop was Cinque Terre. It’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit and we were so excited! The drive took around 1 hour 40 minutes to La Spezia which was a great length of time to get used to the van without it being a daunting multi-hour first journey.
Our plan was to stay at Area Sosta Camper ATCMP but we arrived and they said they were full despite there being so many spaces free! So we parked up for the night at a free stopover on Via delle Casermette. It wasn’t the quietest night (as its close to an industrial estate) but it did the job and it was free.
If you are looking to stay at the Area Sosta here, I would recommend trying to book in advance if possible – but if not there are free spots on the roads nearby as a fall back option.
Day 2: La Spezia -> Genoa
La Spezia is the perfect spot to explore Cinque Terre – we hopped on the bus to the central train station and bought the Cinque Terre card for unlimited train travel from La Spezia to all of the 5 villages.
We visited Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza and Riomaggiore. All 3 towns were absolutely beautiful and so colourful. I would definitely recommend Cinque Terre being on your itinerary – this was the perfect first stop of the trip!
After a full day of exploring, we didn’t hit the road until about 7pm so we decided to head towards Genoa so we were closer to the French border. The drive took just over an hour and we found a highway rest area to stay for the night just before Genoa which was free. It also had a shop open 24 hours, a fuel station, toilets/shower (mens shower only though) and a cafe inside the shop.
My top tip for the day would be to get the Cinque Terre card as it makes travelling to the towns so easy. You can easily hop back on the train to get between the towns which only takes a few minutes. The train stations are centrally located in the towns too. Vernazza especially was quite busy around lunchtime so I would visit early in the summer months to beat the crowds!
Day 3: Genoa -> Monaco
We decided to push on today to make it into France, so this day had a longer drive than the previous 2. Heading off just south of Genoa, we drove 2.5 hours to Beausoleil which is just outside of Monaco.
Our park up area for the night was Aire de la Riviera Française which was our first aire of the trip – and it was great! The parking area for cars and campervans is away from the main highway so its quiet. There is a shop open 24 hours with a cafe area. Toilets are located in the shop too and there’s also a toilet block in the car park. Park4night says showers are available but they were closed when we visited in April 2026. It’s free to stay here though so it was perfect for a budget-friendly night.
From the aire, it’s a short walk to the bus stop where you can get a bus to Monaco which costs €1.80 each way. Contactless payments are accepted on the bus. We spent the afternoon walking round and exploring Monaco. We saw the Monaco Circuit, wandered around the marina and saw the casino from the outside!
If you’re on a budget, my top tip would be to eat just outside of Monaco. Eating in restaurants is very expensive so we grabbed a much cheaper dinner at a Asian street food spot on our way to the bus stop.
Day 4: Monaco -> Cassis
In an ideal world, I would have loved to explore more of this region of France before leaving (Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is so high on my list) but we needed to hit the road. We woke up without a plan so did some research and found a town on the French coast called Cassis.
The drive took 2.5 hours and it was honestly so beautiful! While the initial stretch was on a motorway/highway, the final section of the drive was on smaller roads and through the countryside. Driving into Cassis, I already know I would love it. These were some of our favourite sections of the whole road trip!
Since our first 3 days were free park ups (without facilities), we thought it was time to stay on a campsite so we could empty our chemical toilet and top up on electricity and water in the van. Camping Les Cigales was a great find! The staff were really friendly and it has a small shop on site. It’s in a really good location with a supermarket walking distance and its also walkable into the main town. Bear in mind though it’s a bit uphill on the way back.
The beach was our first stop – Plage de la Grande Mer which is right in the town and next to the marina. It’s also very close to many restaurants and cafes. If I had more time in the area, I would definitely visit Parc national des Calanques – boat trips are also available from Cassis.
Day 5: Cassis -> Perpignan
After a slow start to the day, it was time to hit the road and we were edging closer the Spanish border! It was an incredible few days in France and honestly, we could have stayed so much longer. But we will definitely be back very soon.
It was a longer drive today, with just under 4 hours until we reached Perpignan. We stayed in a free aire just south of the city as it was only 15 minutes from the Spanish border. We were greeted with a gorgeous sunset and had a chilled night after a long day of driving. If I had more time here, I would have spent some time exploring Perpignan or maybe pushed on with the drive to stop at Girona.
Day 6: Perpignan -> Barcelona
It was time to head to Spain! But this also meant that our road trip was nearing the end so we had mixed emotions. We had a 1 hour 50 minute drive to reach our campsite.
When researching where to stay in Barcelona in a van, there are not many options. There are rules against staying in a vehicle overnight in the city so many people choose to stay outside of the centre and travel in, which we were more than happy to do. City traffic + a big tall van can definitely cause some stress if you’re not prepared ha!
I found 2 good options – Wheels Rest which is a simple park up close to the city and Camping Barcelona which is a bit further out (in nearby town Mataró) but it was a full service campsite and even had a swimming pool!
We enquired with Wheels Rest initially for quicker access to the city but they were fully booked (it was a Saturday) so we went with Camping Barcelona, and I’m so glad we did! The campsite is really like a holiday experience with a pool, supermarket and restaurant on-site. It was also right by the water so had a real coastal vibe. They organise a free bus service to nearby town Mataró (to access the beach or get the train to Barcelona) or they have a paid bus that takes you to central Barcelona but this needs booking a day in advance.
We got the train to Barcelona which took about 30-40 minutes and they were handing out free train tickets at the station, so the free return journey was a bonus! When we reached the city, our first stop was for a paella and some sangria. We then headed to the Sagrada FamÃlia to get some iconic shots. We last visited way back in 2017 so it was amazing to visit again.
Day 7: Barcelona -> Valencia
The final stretch of the trip and our last full day! The drive from Barcelona to Valencia took about 3 hours 40 minutes and we arrived in Valencia late afternoon. As it was our last night of the trip, we stayed at a motorhome site called Nomadic Experience which was amazing. It was also only a 10 minute drive to the Indie Campers depot. They had a pizza truck on site so our final van dinner was easily sorted! The site had all facilities available, free wifi and it was close to a metro station to visit central Valencia.
After dropping the van off the next morning, we headed into the city to explore!
Some of my top picks for Valencia:
- Central Market
- Coffee and brunch at Cult Coffee
- 99 Cheesecake – this was top of my list but closed when we visited!
- Focacceria Mercat
- Mercado de Colón
- Church of Santa Catalina
- Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias
Tips for Hiring a Campervan in Europe
- Driving in Europe is straightforward and we didn’t need any extra documentation apart from our standard UK driving licences
- You will likely be driving on the opposite side of the car and road (if you are from the UK) so spend some time getting comfortable before doing longer journeys
- There are multiple campervan rental companies available – we went with Indie Campers and they were amazing! Our van was brand new, we were the first to rent it
- Europe is great for campervans – there’s a lot of campsites and also free overnight options
- Park4night app will be your best friend for finding stopovers, campsites and facilities
- Some countries have toll roads which can be expensive so factor this into your budget. We paid for tolls in both Italy and France. They can be avoided but (especially in France) it adds a lot of time to the journey
- Ensure you pick a van size that you’re comfortable with. Some vans can be very long and also tall which take some getting used to if you usually drive a smaller car
Highlights of the Trip
We had so many highlights on this trip but some of my favourites were:
- Walking around the town of Cassis and spending the afternoon at the beach
- Waking up and having a coffee overlooking Monaco
- Seeing some truly beautiful views on the roads driving from Italy to France
- Visiting French supermarkets
- Bucket list destinations such as Cinque Terre
- Finishing the trip in beautiful and sunny Valencia
Tips for Planning Your Trip
- Book during the shoulder seasons so you can avoid peak summer – campsites fill up and roads are crowded. We visited mid-April and the weather was amazing already!
- Spend at least 1 week so you have enough time to explore along the way. Ideally we would have liked a few extra days so 10 days would be perfect
- Arrive at your starting city a day or two before picking up the van – so you have time to explore before picking up the van and you can hit the road straight away
- Consider adding. an additional driver if possible to share the driving
- Park outside of bigger cities and towns as they can be more difficult to manoeuvre in a bigger van. Some cities such as Barcelona have strict rules for sleeping in vehicles overnight
- Enjoy the journey and make as many spontaneous stops along the way as you’d like! This is how you find those unique hidden gems that might be your favourite moments of the trip
Final Thoughts
This trip was honestly one of my favourites yet! We loved the freedom and flexibility of being on the road and we even have another campervan trip coming up very soon so stay tuned to see where it will be
Don’t forget to follow along on socials and to check out the rest of my travel guides from around the world – more Europe destinations are coming very soon!
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