WARNING! This trip is life changing and an experience you will never forget and will talk about for years to come. Only proceed if you wish to have the best European Summer Holiday of your life!

Ingredients:

●    Wicked Camper (Essential)
●    Some awesome company
●    Petrol
●    Map of Europe
●    Very rough plans
●    Alcohol
●    Music
●    GPS (AKA sat nav)

Procedure:

1.Make your way to France from Dover via Ferry.
2.Drive on the Right hand side! (remember when making turns, Tighty righty, loosey lefty).
3.Drive through the west of France making your way down to Pamplona – Famous for Running of the Bulls Festival. Attend the first day of festivities wearing your new red and white festival clothes and be prepared to be crushed to death – not by the Bulls, but rowdy tourist and locals in the main square. Drink yourself silly and have a lifetime worth of Sangria. Watch or participate in the Bull run, both in the street and the Arena.
4.Make some Wicked friends. Use the time at Pamps to meet some like-minded people and organise to meet up with them somewhere along the way.
5.Get lost. Literally lose your way and make a wrong turn. It makes for an interesting journey. You may see places you never would plan to see, or places you wish never to see again!

6.Free camp. Sometimes this may be by choice; such as when travelling from Interlaken to Paris, a transit stop at a servo is a great call. Sometimes it may not be by choice, such as running low on petrol close to midnight and there are no servos open till the next day.
7.Water! Going to the beach is a must and will not be a summer holiday without it. Some beautiful beaches not to be missed include San Sebastian in Spain and Cannes in France along the Riviera.
8.Look out for all the locals who are looking at your fabulous Wicked Camper and watch them pull out their camera to take a photo of it. Especially in Italy.
9.Eat local food and cook local food! Buy food in supermarkets and cook up a cheap and delicious meal (pasta in Italy, Bratwurst when in Germany, Crepe's when in France).
10.Stop in at Camping Tiber in Rome and enjoy a nice campsite with courtesy shuttle bus to the train station and cheap train travel into the city. Enjoy everything Rome has to offer and don't forget the Coffee!!
11.Drive down the coast to Sorrento, watching out for all the crazy scooter riders. A day visit to Pompeii is a must.
12.Go to Eastern Europe and fall in love with the food and culture. A good way to stretch your wallet too!
13.While in Paris meet up with friends and eat an antipasto dinner under the Eiffel Tower. For an entertaining night out attend the famous Moulin Rouge.
14.Fall in love with Berlin. Berlin has so much history. Visit the Berlin wall and Checkpoint Charlie while on a bike tour around the city.
15.Make the time to visit Auschwitz and Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camps and get a deeper understanding of the atrocities that occurred during and leading up to WWII.
16.If the heat is getting to you, visit Switzerland. Interlaken is beautiful and you can take a train ride to the 'top of' Europe where you can walk on snow.
17.Attend Oktoberfest and immerse yourself in Beer and Pork Knuckle and some more Beer and some more Pork Knuckle and some more Beer.  (Don't forget your instructions for getting back to camp). Make sure you visit as many beer tents as possible as each tent offers something different. While at Oktoberfest compare road maps with other Wicked Campers and be prepared to be surprised.
18.Make a beeline for Amsterdam to round off your European Summer Holiday and reminisce with some Wicked friends of the greatest unforgettable adventure that you have had in your life. Don't forget to visit a cheese factory whilst in Amsterdam.
19.After crossing the English Channel make sure you drive on the 'Left' hand side!!!!!!!

Tips:

●  Road tolls; don't be afraid to use them! Sometimes paying 12 Euros is better than sitting in the van for 3 extra hours.
●  Keep a spare bit of cash in case your credit card doesn't work or they don't accept 'Foreign Cards'.
●  Stock up on camping gas and long life food like 2 minute noodles.
●  Get the latest maps for your GPS.
●  Buy some paper maps to double check your GPS is on track.
●  When setting your GPS for a City, remember it will take you to the Centre of the City (maybe not somewhere you want to drive).
●  Pick up a camping ground book and remember to ask fellow campers where they recommend.
●  Buy a bucket! Handy for keeping yourself or your clothes clean when you are free camping (or handy when you have drunk too much).
●  Buy some pillows and blankets while in London, it will make your journey a lot more comfortable.
●  Take heaps of photos, great to use to make people jealous of what they missed out on!
●  Let someone else in the world know where you are as often as possible.
●  Be aware that some countries have a road toll that needs to be paid at (or before) the border such as Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland (depends whether you use long tunnel or not).
●  Make yourself familiar with countries road rules eg. Alcohol limits.
●  Allow plenty of time in the big cities eg. Rome, Paris, Berlin; there is so much to do in each. If you want to visit Catacombs, we would recommend Paris over Rome.
●  Plan to be flexible! This is really important. Your plans will change; you will meet new people and you'll get new ideas of where to go and what to see.


By Hamish & Violeta Young 2009