Dutch Vanlifers living in a campervan full-time

We travel a lot (you can find Dutch people ALL OVER THE WORLD), and you see more and more people living in a campervan or motorhome.

You see a lot of people travelling with campervans in Australia and New Zealand and travelling with a RV (recreational vehicle – as I only discovered recently 😛 ) is very common in the USA.  But I thought it’s time to put some Dutch vanlifers in the spotlight!

I wrote this initial blogpost in 2018 and have recently updated it in 2020. Just as I wrote a blog about some cool Vanlife Girls, in this blog I have listed a bunch of awesome Dutch people living in a campervan full-time. Go check out their Blogs, Instagram’s, Facebook pages and Youtube channels!

@wolftrail.travels

Bernadet (30) envisioned herself travelling the world with her dog (Nova, 4 years old) for as long as she can remember. She has been drawn to the mountains all her life, but it was a maybe someday–kinda dream for over a decade before she decided to turn it into a sustainable way of life.

For the longest time Bernadet felt like she lacked the money and resources but most importantly; the courage to actually pursue this dream. But then she lost her job and all the securities that came with in 2020. After feeling pretty sorry for herself she decided to see it as an opportunity to finally pursue a nomadic lifestyle!

Bernadet and Nova are travelling through Europe in their Fiat Ducato Campervan and hope to bring you along in a world of wonder, adventure and freedom – from the breathtaking highs to the heartfelt lows.

Bernadet runs Wolftrail Travels – an outdoor blog dedicated to produce moving and thought–provoking stories that inspire marvel and wanderlust. She has made it her mission to map Europe’s most iconic hikes on their accessibility for dogs.

@2teachersontour

Tamara (35) and Nienke (30) are 2TeachersOnTour, travelling to South East Asia together with their dog Sparta. They have been living in their Peugeot Boxer (2002) from June 2018, when they decided to leave their comfortable house.

In July 2019 Tamara and Nienke left the Netherlands, after they had lived on a campground for ten months. They spent time in many countries, such as Slovenia, Bosnia and Greece, where they volunteered in all sorts of projects. Next, they stayed in Turkey for three months and adopted Sparta. From January until July 2020 the three of them travelled through Georgia, while the pandemic started.

The ultimate plan was to drive all the way to Asia, while visiting schools in every country they passed through. Tamara and Nienke would both love to work in a school in a developing country someday. Unfortunately, this plan didn’t really take place (yet!), although they did visit some schools in Turkey during their stay.

Right now, the girls are back in The Netherlands, but they really hope to leave again soon. Living in the van gives them freedom to go wherever they want. And if they don’t like it somewhere? They just drive to the next spot.

@nomadnessinmybus

They bought their van before she even new his last name…….

It was love at first sight: for both Ronald Schuurbiers (48) and Liesbeth Uithol (43). Love for each other, but also for Oliver. That is the name of their former DHL-van. They travel through Europe with her son Leff(12) and their two dogs, Woody(1) and Obi(7). On the road, they run www.nomadnessinmybus.com

Liesbeth helps other people to create an income they can travel with as well and Ronald is a Vitality Coach; he helps people to ‘earn’ life. By making the change to a vital life.

Oliver is a huge van, which is awesome because they never have issues of space. Still, they do have the rule of five. Everyone in the van are all allowed to bring only 5 of each clothing types. Bikini’s and surfsuits are allowed limitedless!

They love to travel and help people to travel through life as well. Because that’s the main goal of life right; to live it!

@camperfamily1410

Camperfamily1410: This is Jurgen (36), Suus (35), Vin (11) and Raf (9)! For 4.5 months they have been traveling and living in their camper, a Fiat Ducato Dethleffs. They have had this camper for over 2 years now.

A while ago they decided to take up the challenge and sold their house in the Netherlands, canceled work, consciously gave things away and put them in storage and unsubscribed.

Jurgen and Suus embarked on this adventure together with their children. They drive through Europe and see beautiful nature, meet all kinds of nice people and learn a lot. They have the freedom, live by feeling, in nature, are exploring, have all kinds of challenges and are mainly living!

They want to inspire everyone who has this dream to go live your life and follow your dreams. Do it now and not later!

@reisstel

Lisa (30) and Erik (30) originally started their trip in January 2020. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic they already had to go back to Holland at the end of March. Back home they thought about the possibilities of continuing their new adventurous lifestyle.

After starting their own company (www.reisstel.nl), to help others realising their dream(trip), Eriks parents told them they wanted to sell their van: Fred. They realised this was the perfect solution: adopting Fred so they could continue their travels!

Lisa and Erik are now living in their van Fred since august 2020. At the moment they are traveling through Europe. Their dream was to make a world trip, so they quit their jobs and sold their house for this adventure.

Fred is an Iveco Daily born in 2003. After they adopted Fred, they pimped him a little on the outside. They added a roof rack and bull bar. On the the inside they did some small upgrades, so it would feel more like their home. They love to travel with Fred through Europe and they don’t have any further plans – Lisa and Erik like to go with the flow. They will probably be in Scandinavia next summer 🙂

@Whereveronwheels

Marloes (35) is Wherever On Wheels. She had a lot of things in life she thought would make her happy: an apartment in Amsterdam, a well-paid job in the music industry, an awesome group of friends and her favorite restaurant delivered at her door.

But she wasn’t happy and feeling burnt out – she decided to follow her dream: to travel for a longer period of time. She sold her apartment, quit her job and bought a 1999 Volkswagen T4 TDI California Coach she calls “Fanny”.

Marloes asked her parents to take care of her cat Loki and she took off on May 5th 2019, Liberation Day in the Netherlands and that felt fitting. She is traveling for 2 years in total – she doesn’t work and feels very fortunate to be able to fund her journey with the profit made from selling her home.

She loves to sleep next to the beach because the sound of waves is so soothing. Anywhere near water or in the woods is where you’ll usually find her parked up. Not a fan of driving steep uphill or hairpin turns but she’ll park high up in the mountains too if there’s a great view!

@Goingvanywhere

Thysa (30) and Wijnand (41) are Goingvanywhere. They travel Europe with their Mercedes van called James. Vanywhere can’t be found on any map or any sign. It is a space and time for creativity, curiosity and cooking. It can be anywhere really, but they always get there in their van James.

Thysa is an artist who makes paper cutouts and together with Wijnand, they are working on a YouTube channel with cooking/travel vlogs. They explore regional produce and traditional recipes and invite local chefs to cook inside James’ kitchen. You can read more and find links, recipes and a shop on their website www.goingvanywhere.com. Follow Thysa and Wijnand going #vanywhere: anywhere a van can go, where life is good, and food is best!

Their van looks so spacious and the fact that they have 2 beds is also amazing! I love following them to discover the best food along the route 😉

2020 update: Thysa and Wijnand are famous now!! They participated in “Het Spaanse Dorp: Polopos” and won with their B&B and Artist Residence Casa 3. Thyse has also (co-) published several children’s book with her beautiful paper cuttings.They have settled down in Polopos but still have their van 🙂

@TravelManyRoads

Meet Sietske (27) and Herman (25) , their puppy Ferry and their Volkswagen LT28D from 1997! These 2 awesome full-time vanlifers love freedom, travel and adventure. Living in a van really suits them.

They have a lot of time for each other and other nice things that are often wasted by the busy life in the Netherlands. They have  saved money to make their dream trip through Europe. They have travelled Scandinavia last summer and now made their way down south.

The amazing travel many roads-journey is still ongoing and they enjoy every day of life in their awesome van! I really love their interior and the pictures they take. They seem to enjoy all the beautiful cities and nature a lot, and they meet lots of vanlifers along the road. They are now looking for ways to make money on the road to live longer in their house on wheels.

Their campervan is one of the most photo-genic ones out there and I love following their account 😀

2020 update: Sietske, Herman and Ferry are still on the road! Together with Weareanea (see below) they run @songbirdsofpassage

@Yellowventure => @welivealittle

Meet Anniek and Mattias and their Renault Traffix 4×4 (1991) – also known as Yellowventure! They took a year to get to know their neighbours behind European borders a little better.

Although this is rather close to home, it’s part of an entirely different world. After graduation, they built a tiny 4wd campervan to travel the lands of Morocco, Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia. Somewhere in between, they will trade land for sea, and set foot on a sailboat to sail the Mediterranean and Atlantic sea alongside the European border.

It’s so cool to see how campervans can be so different. My renault trafic campervan conversion is so different, but it’s still the same brand/type of van 😀 I’m definitely jealous of the awesome yellow color and the 4×4 though! I love following these guys on Instagram and I really like their Instagram stories 😀

2020 update: Anniek and Mattias made an epic journey before settling down in the Netherlands. They have now built their own tiny house and it’s AWESOME!

@weareANAE

Arnan Natan (23 years) & Anne Elise (25 years) travel around the world in a Volkswagen LT van, born in 1980. They have been  on the road for 5 months now, currently driving through Spain. One and a half year ago they got married and were living in Zutphen, a small town in the east of The Netherlands. 

Arnan and Anne both worked as musicians, doing different projects and teaching in music and theatre. But the idea of buying a van and having the freedom to go wherever they want to go already got stuck in their head. So they decided to quit their jobs and sell all their stuff, because this life’s over before you know it.

Three months after their marriage they bought Berry, a beautiful orange VW LT van. He makes a lot of noise and doesn’t like to drive faster than 80km/hr but he has been doing a great job ever since. They didn’t have a lot of money when they left, but they’re making money on the road by playing music on the street, playing some concerts and selling their cd ‘clean your room’. They don’t have a plan, but it has been a great adventure so far!

2020 Update: Arnan and Anne are making beautiful music together with Travel Many Roads and are still on the road with their awesome van!

@Dutchvanlife => @Robinandjenn.vanlife

Robin & Jennifer are Dutchvanlife! With their awesome grey Ford campervan, they are exploring Europe! They were simply two Dutch people with a full-time job. But, add to that a campervan and the dream to travel the world. That brings two Dutch people that quit their job and are living in their campervan full-time !! 🙂

These guys are very conscious of the nature around them and try to play their part by treating it with lots of respect. They have also brought their camera to capture the best moments on their trip! They have been on the road for about 4 months and are enjoying it a lot!

Their motto: One life live it.

2020 Update: Robin and Jenn have a new awesome van and are still on the road!

@Busleven

Meet Bobby (25) and Jessica (24)! They bought a 1991 Mercedes 208D which used to be a Red Cross ambulance! In six months they converted it into their mobile house and they are now on the road.

The ability to discover and work at the most stunning and remote places made them decide to build a van. They completely changed the interior, but kept the flashing lights and sirens (which I think is awesome 😀 ). They put in a big battery so they can edit their film work while on the road. Currently they are exploring the coast of Portugal and will then move on to Morocco!

Fun fact: they were the inspiration for my curtains 😉

2020 Update: Bobby and Jessica still have their van and made some short trips in 2020 and have added a dog to their family 🙂

@hedwigwiebes

Meet Hedwig (31) and Jeroen (34), the dogs Tommie and Olaf and their home: a Volkswagen T3 from 1985. They said goodbye to their life in Amsterdam to find the freedom to discover the rest of the world. So far, they have visited Portugal, Spain and Morocco and are currently on the island of Crete, Greece. When spring comes, they will explore more of Eastern Europe.

They are living in a campervan full-time and can do this because Hedwig is a freelance journalist. She can do her work on the road just like me, which is awesome! She also writes on her blog and posts actively on her instagram. Jeroen has started publishing videos on his youtube channel. 

I completely adore their orange campervan. Basically, I think every Dutch vanlifer should have an orange van 😉

2020 update: Hedwig is still active on Instagram

@Camp.touch.this

Meet René (33) & Charlie (25) and their Fiat Ducato from 1986. They have been living in a campervan full-time since November 2017. They were tired of the weather in the Netherlands and both quit their jobs to start living a life in the sun!

I totally love the look of their campervan! The interior is original, it has two doors that open and there are two 2-person beds. They shower outside and transformed the old shower space into a wardrobe. Their van is a driving disco – they have a built-in subwoofer, amplifiers and a stroboscoop 😀

Fun fact: they brought lots of peanut butter with them from the Netherlands 🙂 They also brought their bodyboard, mountainbikes and windsuf gear. They are currently in the south of Europe and are heading to Morocco soon! They bought a surfboard and are practicing almost every day!

2020 Update: Rene and Charlie are not active on their Instagram account anymore

@De_zilvervloot

Meet Nienke and Rik (both 27) and their Nissan Trade 100. They both graduated in 2017. Nienke graduated as a behaviourial scientist and Rik is an engineer. After their studies they both had the chance to start working full-time, but they chose to travel.

Captured by their will to travel the bigger part of Europe, they have rebuilt their Nissan Trade 100. The van got turned upside down completely and was rebuilt from scratch.  Rik and Nienke are exploring this alternative way of living since August 2017, and they love living in a campervan full-time! The places they visit and the people they meet teach them what it means to be a European citizen. They drove from the Netherlands to the Czech Republic and visited Macedonia, Albania and Romania to get to Greece. They made the cross-over to Italy and are now in France and Spain.

I love the look of their van, and can’t wait to meet them in person 🙂 Together with @Busleven (see below) they also blog for the Dutch Camper Association!

2020 Update: Nienke and Rik are not active on their Instagram account anymore

@Backpacking Like A Boss

Yes, that’s me 😉 ! Sabrina (almost 30!) has been a digital nomad for about 3 years now. Early 2017, I decided to take the jump into vanlife and bought a 5 year old Renault Trafic. I converted it into a fresh, modern van in which it’s easy to work remotely. I travelled with the van by myself for about half a year and then Bas (the boyfriend) joined me for a full-time trip!

In the end I spent about 2 years living in my campervan before setting down in Spain. We run @barmucho, a cool bar and hopefully soon campervan area!