Planning camping with your motorhome? Do you think Google Maps will be enough as your navigation support? Think twice before saying yes. Spoiler alert – Google Maps are not suitable for motorhome camping. You will have to choose a satellite navigation (sat nav) system to keep your holiday undisrupted. There is plenty of sat navs in the market. Picking the best motorhome sat nav among all of them is a big task.
Why do you need a sat nav for a motorhome?
Driving a motorhome needs good satellite navigation support. The motorhome is very different from a regular car. But motorhome easily gets stuck in a narrow road. You will need sat nav to avoid narrow lanes and bridges.
Best motorhome sat nav list
Before jumping on a random buying, you might need a little assistance about what to buy. Here is a list of the sat navs that is worth buying.
Garmin Camper 770LMT-D 6.95 Inch Sat Nav
One of the best sat navs available in the market, Garmin Camper 770LMT-D 6.95 Inch Sat Nav, is worth buying. It comes with traffic updates, Bluetooth support, and WiFi. It has a large, easy to read Sat nav screen. It comes with a touchscreen display. You get free lifetime map updates for Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the rest of Europe. You will also get a free digital traffic report. It allows custom routing. Garmin Camper provides road warnings for speed cameras, camper speed limits, sharp curves, narrow roads, etc.
Avtex Tourer Two Motorhome and Caravan Sat Nav
Those who have used Avtex Tourer, have given fantastic reviews lately. They fit perfectly in the list of the best motorhome satnav. It comes with clear road warnings for bridge heights, sharp curves, and others. It has a good ASCI bank. About 9000 ACSI campsites are there in the directory. It comes with a protective case and a travel bag.
Snooper S6900 VENTURA Caravan and Motorhome Navigation System
Best about Snooper S6900 VENTURA is that it comes with a 12-month manufacturer warranty. It has free European map updates for a lifetime. There are over 31000 campsites in their directory. It has a seven-inch touchscreen. Snooper is famous for doing truck and heavy good vehicles sat navs. They have quite a clear idea about navigating large vehicles.
Aguri Motorhome & Caravan RV720 DVR Deluxe 7″ Sat Nav
Aguri motorhome sat nav comes with a built-in dash-cam. We are in love with the product for this. It makes good sense to have this in-built. You will have to place it carefully so that it does not block your sight. They give a lifetime update of free maps. It covers the whole of Europe and the UK. If you enter the features of your motorhome, the sat nav will choose the safest and best route for you to travel peacefully. It does not want you to register before using it. So, you can use it straight out of the box. It will also alert you upon crossing the speed limit. Overall, it has been rated as the best motorhome sat nav by many users.
TomTom Truck Sat Nav GO Professional 6250
As the name says, it is a Truck sat nav. However, it works pretty fine with a motorhome. They provide the best route for heavy vehicles. You don’t need a computer to update TomTom Go Professional. You can simply do it using the wifi. They provide stopped traffic alerts. If you wish to come on call without stopping the motorhome, you can do that with TomTom Go professional’s handsfree call feature. They also read messages for you. In a nutshell, you get a pretty good experience.
Aonerex GPS Navigation System with Sunshade
It also comes with a lifetime map update, like most other sat nav does. It has a 2D as well as a 3D viewing capability. It comes with a voice navigation system. When you aren’t driving, you can watch a movie or play music. It includes camping sites, shops, ATMs, and other such details. The sat nav comes with an optional sunshade. It allows clear viewing of the screen throughout the day. This is one of the best satnav for motorhomes, that does not hurt your pocket much.
Ventura S8100 Caravan and Motorhome Sat Nav
This is one of the lower-end models of sat navs. It has a good GPS satellite navigation system from motorhomes, campervans, and caravans. The preloaded map has about 24000 campsites across 31 countries. The LCD of the sat nav is of standard 7inch. Ventura is a smart buy if you are looking for a basic one.
Top 3 motorhome sat nav Multimedia systems
If you are looking for some multimedia system to be used as sat nav, here is a list of top three to choose from
Sony XAV-AX1000
Sony XAV-AX1000 is only compatible with Apple CarPlay. Evidently, it acts a bit pricier than the rest. Though it does not cost much for the features it has, the screen is a bit smaller than the rest. It comes with a USP port on the front side. The sound system is of really good quality.
Pioneer AVH-Z5100DAB
Pioneer has given a full 7-inch touchscreen display. It is compatible with Apple and Android both. It can also play CDs and DVDs. It has Bluetooth facility which enables hands-free calls and streaming music of your choice.
Kenwood DDX-4019DAB
It is popular for its radio system. However, many use it as a caravan sat nav. It can pair two phones at the same time. USB ports, CD-DVD drives are also available. Kenwood is compatible with both Android and Apple.
Conclusion
Travel should be hassle-free. It is a killjoy if you must constantly worry about routes and follow the maps manually. Sat Navs come as a savior to wild campers on their motorhome. Pick the best motorhome sat nav and hit the road to explore the unseen.
Wild camping, as we all know, is a cheap ticket to nature’s call. If you have a motorhome, probably you are planning to hit the road soon. Traveling becomes much easier on a motorhome. No bills to pay, to rules to follow. Most importantly you can plan you’re trip as per your wish.
Before you hit the road, here is everything that you would need to know about wild camping on a motorhome. We have also suggested a few of our favorite wild camping spots across Europe. Read on to make the best itinerary.
What is motorhome wild camping?
Motorhome wild camping means overnight parking without any cost. Many travelers opt for a motorhome or a campervan wild camping. Some travelers use a tent for overnight camping. However, when it comes to safety, motorhome camping is more secured. Park in the middle of nowhere and enjoy the beauty of nature, as long as you want. This is motorhome wild camping in a nutshell.
Where to go for wild camping in Europe?
Even though the pandemic has hit hard, our love to travel has not gone anywhere. Most of the international flights have stopped working. International travel is also a cold mess. Motorhome wild camping is the best way to explore Europe. Here are our favorite places for motorhome wild camping, check them out.
Le Clos du Lac, Provence, France
Le Clos du Lac is one of the best camping sites in France. The wild camping site is on the edge of the famous Ecrins National Park. It is a mountain campsite. You will wake up to a wonderful serene sight. There are many hiking trails nearby. You can park your motorhome at the camping site and try some of the trails at Boscodon Forest. There is a play arena with a volleyball court at the site where you will park your motorhome.
Activities: Swimming, Fishing, Butterfly Chasing, Hiking
Landgoed de Barendonk, Beers, Netherlands
This place is well equipped for camping at night. They have a special area for tents, but you can easily park your motorhome somewhere close by. It is more secluded than the tent area. They have a sitting room for you all to take shelter during bad weather. Barendonk estate’s lush green is suitable for a serene family camping holiday.
Activities: Geocaching, hiking, cycling
Zur Mühle, Black Forest, Germany
No clubhouse, no play arena, just a lush green hilly area, this is my dream campsite. Zur Mühle is a strong contender of the dream campsite list. If you are thinking of a site without any kind of distraction other than nature’s beauty, visit Zur Mühle. There are many cycling and hiking trails that you might give a try. Find a spot to park your motorhome and keep exploring.
Activities: Hiking, Cycling
Campsite Nature Ferie, Hals, Denmark
Not far from the sea, Campsite Nature Ferie is one of the best sites for wild camping in Denmark. Not all private beaches are for lavish five-star hotels. Some of them are for those you pack their van to explore the scenic beauty. If you were expecting a free motorhome parking, you are wrong. You need to pay about €10 for the night camping. Try the North Sea cycle route if you are there.
Activities: Swimming, cycling, canoeing.
Camping Val d’Or, Enscherange, Luxembourg
Camping is done best at a secluded yet serene place. Even you think so, right? Camping at Val d’Or in Luxembourg is exactly a similar one. It is not a known spot, so it is not overcrowded by the tourist. IT is located by the side of the Clerve river.
Activities: Cycling, Paddling, etc.
Where would you find free overnight stops for motorhomes for wild camping?
If you plan to go to the interior of the countryside, you will easily find a spot to park your motorhome. However, there are platforms like Park4Night, Campercontact, Searchforsite, Camperstop.com, and others to assist you. Pay a nominal fee to get better access to routes and stops.
Travel Tips to Remember
Spot the free zone
Assess the free spot for parking your motorhome for wild camping beforehand. It is always advisable to have a prior idea of where to park your motorhome. For example, there are many free overnight motorhome parking in the UK. But illegal parking can cause you the trouble here.
Beware of the thieves
There are gangs of motorhome thieves all around Europe. Make sure you have a proper security lock system. Lock your doors and windows before going to sleep. If you leave the motorhome for a trail or something, make sure you park in a designated area with proper security.
Do not park in a residential area
It is quite rude to park suddenly in a residential area, just to save money. You might block someone’s gate. You might invade someone’s privacy unknowingly. It is better to avoid such a situation.
Don’t overstay
It is okay for a campervan to be parked for three days or four, parking the van for an indefinite period is not good. Someone may want to park there. Wild camping means wandering like wild. Parking at one spot for long will kill the joy.
Have adequate food
Wild camping can take you to distant places where buying food might not be an option. You must keep the food bank in mind. Store if you need to. Buy some canned food. Remember checking on the storage situation every day and spent wisely.
Conclusion
Wild camping is fun as long as you want it to be. You need to be careful while wild camping in the middle of nowhere. Carry all the important stuff that you might need. A first aid box with basic medicines is a must carry. Enjoy your holidays amidst the greenery and mountain. It is a therapy to refresh your soul. Google ‘campsite near me’ and start short trips around your countryside to get the nag of it.
Alberta is that dreamland of prairies, the Wild West and the Rocky Mountains where you would love to ride while listening to “Country Roads Take Me Home.” Alberta makes the perfect destination for a road trip exposing you to the dreamy, country landscape of Canada and letting you have the time of your life.
Here are 5 of the best road trips you can take to Alberta in a car with your buddies. Just hit the road and treat your soul to the best of peaks, glaciers, and country landscape around. Continue Reading
Curious to find out the best travel apps in 2020 that makes your travel task easier? Then you have come to the best place; here, you can find out the best travel apps in 2020.
In this digital world, there is an app for almost everything. For travel, there are hundreds of travel apps hovering around the internet. Now, how do you find the best apps? If you are worried about that, then don’t worry. We have got you covered.
In this list of best travel apps, we have removed all the cluttering apps on both the Android and Apple Marketplaces and made you a list of useful apps that act as saviors.
Let’s check out the best travel apps in 2020:
Best Travel Apps in 2020:
We have sorted out all the useless ones and included useful apps. To build this list, we did extensive research on the top travel apps and brought this list. Let’s explore the best travel apps in 2020.
Air Help:
Air help is one of the best travel apps in 2020, that is known for its useful features. If you have ever faced the pain of delayed flights or cancelled flights? Then you’ll see the suffering of overbooking. In such cases, Air help will help you out.
This app was designed to follow both US and UK laws to provide compensation in such cancelled or overbooked cases.
To get compensation, all you have to do is enter your flight number and the problem you faced to claim it successfully. This company usually takes 25% of the payout and gives you the remaining amount.
Splittr:
Splittr is one of the incredibly useful apps while you travel abroad with a group of people. This app remains one of the best travel expense manager apps to share the expenses. Users can quickly manage all the payments in different currencies and split the amount equally among the group.
This app has a ton of features and comes with an intelligent payment algorithm that helps you in cutting down the number of transactions as well. Splittr automatically backups all the data on its cloud server for the user’s safety. These are the best travel apps in 2020 you should use to manage your group travel expenses.
Lounge Buddy:
Lounge buddy is one of the exciting travel apps you should have to access the lounge access. Usually, people don’t know about which lounge they can access. In such cases, the lounge buddy can help you out.
All you have to do is enter your credit card details, airline status and other lounge memberships this exclusive app tells you which lounge you have access too.
So, this cuts off all the guessing work, and the best part is this app lets you know about the free lounges that one can access without any paid memberships. That’s why lots of travellers love this app, and the best thing is it’s free.
Airbnb:
Airbnb is one of the best travel apps in 2020 you should have on your phone to rent the rooms. With Airbnb, you can rent individual rooms, couches or even entire apartments from the locals. Usually, lots of people love Airbnb because it connects you with local hosts so you can know more details about the local places. This app allows you to book your stay in minutes so you can stay tension free.
Skyscanner:
If you are striving to book your flight for the best and cheapest price? Then Skyscanner is a helpful travel app specially designed for you. This app searches millions of flights from different sources and then gives you the best option that’s presently available. It is a handy app for travellers who often seek for cheap flights to roam around the world.
This app also has the chart feature that lets users look at the most affordable days or months to fly for your desired location. It even sends you notifications when the price changes. So, with all these features, you can say this as the best travel apps in 2020.
Hostel world:
Are you a backpacker who often travels to lots of places on a budget? Then the best option for you is hostels to complete the trip in your budget. If you are searching for the best hostels in the travel destination? Then the hostel world can help you out with that. This app gives you information about the hostel you love to book and even has the reviews section. So, you can carefully check the reviews and book that hostel for your stay.
Uber/ Lyft:
When you are travelling to a different place, you need Uber or lyft for all your local rides. Usually, getting a ride in another city can be expensive when you negotiate with them. However, in some cases, you might not get the desired service as well.
But, with an uber or lyft app, you can easily save money and even leave the trouble of exchanging currency as you can pay the amount online. Lyft is the best choice in the US and coming to the other locations uber is best to roam around.
Google Maps:
Finding a destination at a new place is a daunting task for travelers. To simplify that, you have to make use of Google Maps. It’s one of the most useful apps for any traveller who loves to explore different places. With the help of google maps, you can visit all the areas with detailed routing maps. Although for some locations, it might be better to take the help of locals in place of Google maps. Some of the sites are the Himalayas, mountains and so on. If you’re planning to explore usual places means you can use google maps. This is undoubtedly the best travel apps in 2020.
Tripit:
Tripit is one of the useful organizer apps you have to use while travelling. This app helps you organize your upcoming travel itinerary. All you have to do is forward all your flight, hotel, restaurant, and car rental confirmation email to the Plans@tripit.com. Then you can transfer all this information to your master itinerary so that you can quickly find out all your upcoming plans at a glance.
In case, if you are using a premium version, then you can find the options when your flight gets cancelled. If you are travelling a lot, then these best travel apps in 2020 are vital.
Conclusion:
These are the best travel apps in 2020 you have on your device to simplify your trip. Apart from these, they are other travel apps such as Detour, open rise, TripAdvisor, and so on which can help you in 2020.
Potosi was founded in the 16h century after rich deposits of silver was discovered in Cerro Rico. The silver mines of Cerro Ricco have produced 60,000 tons of silver till now. At one time silver was so plentiful that mules had shoes made of silver instead of iron. Potosi is often called the first city of capitalism because the first mint and therefore the first currency was created here. List of places to see during a day trip in Potosi is given below.
1. Casa Nacional de la Moneda – The National Mint is the main attraction of Potosí and one of the most beautiful museums in South America. The first mint of Potosí was built in 1572 by order of the viceroy of Toledo on the current site of the House of Justice. The latter, his successor, is a huge and surprisingly beautiful building that occupies a whole block of houses. You do not have to be a historian to find the story of the world’s first money to be impressive. It is a must visit during a day trip in Potosi.
2. Museo & Convento de Santa Teresa – The fascinating Monastery of Santa Teresa was founded in 1685 and still houses a small community of Carmelites who have restored this imposing building and converted part of it into a museum. There are many quality art pieces, including a beautiful Madonna by the Castilian sculptor Alonso Cano, several paintings by Melchor Pérez de Holguín, the most famous painter in Bolivia. The building itself is as impressive as the works of art on display, with two beautiful courtyards that house many cacti and an apple tree. It has to be visited during a day trip in Potosi.
3. Fiesta del Espíritu – The most unusual event in Potosí takes place on the last three Saturdays of June and the first Saturday of August. It is dedicated to the Pachamama (Mother Earth), who is considered by the miners the mother of all Bolivians. The peasants bring their best Llamas to Cerro Rico to sell to the miners for a ritual sacrifice.
4. Lagunas de Kari Kari – Kari Kari lagoons are artificial lakes (between 4500 m and 5025 m altitude), built by 20,000 slaves at the end of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the seventeenth to supply water to Potosi to the smelters which operated in the city. Of the original 32 lakes, only 25 remain and all have been abandoned. An essential place to visit during a day trip in Potosi.
5. Iglesiay Museo de San Lorenzo de Carangas – The baroque architecture portal of this church, probably one of the most photographed in Bolivia, is an innate expression of the mixture between Aymara and the Catholic faith of Spain. View the reliefs of a local mermaid playing the guitar and an archangel led by the Archangel San Miguel. It was carved in stone by local craftsmen in the 16th century, but the main building was not completed until 1744 after the church towers were added. Inside, there are two paintings by Melchor Pérez de Holguín and handmade cutlery on the altar. The church has been renovated in 1987. An absolute must visit tourist site during a day trip in Potosi.
6. La Catedral – The construction of the Cathedral began in 1564 and was completed around 1600. The original building lasted until the beginning of the 19th century when it almost completely collapsed. Most of what is now visible is neoclassical construction, and the elegant lines of the building are one of the best examples of this style in Bolivia. The interior decoration represents some of the most beautiful in Potosí. You can visit the belfry for a nice view of the city.