Before we ever set foot in Europe, I spent an enormous amount of time researching campervans.

Not because I wanted the “best” one, or the fanciest one — but because I wanted one that would work. One that would be reliable, functional, and aligned with how we actually travel.

That turned out to matter far more than square footage or luxury.

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Why the Rental Company Mattered as Much as the Van

One of the first decisions we made had nothing to do with layouts or features.

We wanted to rent from a company that felt honest, fair, and human.

After a lot of searching, I found a very small, essentially single-person operation outside Munich. The reviews were excellent, and more importantly, the communication felt personal and responsive.

That contrast became obvious once we were traveling.

Many families in our group rented from much larger companies. Those companies were easy to find online, but once contracts were signed, communication often became difficult. Emails went unanswered. Small issues turned into big frustrations.

We, on the other hand, had our guy’s WhatsApp number. If something came up, we could text him directly and get a real response.

That peace of mind was invaluable.

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What We Actually Needed From a Campervan

We were very clear about our requirements — and equally clear about what we didn’t need. That clarity came from our broader approach to frugality — focusing on what actually adds value and letting go of the rest.

Our non-negotiables were simple:

• Sleeping space for four
• Seatbelts for four
• A table where we could sit inside if the weather was bad
• A small but functional kitchen so we could cook our own food

That was it.

We knew we’d be staying in campgrounds with bathrooms, showers, and communal spaces. In an ideal world, we wouldn’t have had a bathroom in the van at all.

But vans without bathrooms that still sleep four are hard to find, so we ended up with one — including a shower we never once used. It became storage instead.

And that was perfectly fine.

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Why Smaller Made a Big Difference

Our van was about a meter shorter than many of the other campervans in the group.

That might not sound like much, but in Europe, it mattered constantly.

Driving through narrow streets in ancient towns is already challenging in a six-meter vehicle. Trying to do it in a seven-meter one would have been significantly harder.

Parking, maneuvering, and just feeling comfortable behind the wheel were all easier because the van was compact.

We didn’t want interior space for its own sake. We wanted mobility.

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Simple, Functional — and in Better Shape Than Many Larger Vans

Our campervan was small and compact, but space was used efficiently.

It wasn’t luxurious, and that was intentional.

Ironically, it was in better overall condition than many of the larger, more expensive vans rented by others in the group. Some families dealt with refrigerators failing, toilets not flushing, or engines overheating.

We had none of that.

No mechanical issues. No systems failures. No time lost dealing with repairs.

That reliability mattered far more to us than having extra features we didn’t want.

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Bells and Whistles We Didn’t Need

Our van actually had some features we never would have chosen — like a TV with a satellite dish.

We didn’t turn it on once.

Those kinds of add-ons didn’t make the experience better for us. They just took up space and added complexity.

What mattered was that the essentials worked, and worked consistently.

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Was It Perfect?

No — and that’s okay.

When the bed was pulled out for sleeping, getting out of the van in the morning could be awkward. More than once, I felt a little trapped until everyone else started moving.

But these were small inconveniences, not deal-breakers.

They didn’t meaningfully impact how we felt about the trip.

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Would We Do It the Same Way Again?

Probably.

If we do another long campervan trip, we’d look for something very similar:

• Small
• Simple
• Well-maintained
• Rented from someone we trust

This van fit squarely within how we approach travel in general: frugal and functional.

Not cheap. Not bare-bones. Just intentional — doing what it needed to do without extra complexity for the sake of it.

And for us, that turned out to be exactly right.