Camping Europe 3 Ed: Includes Scandinavia, Central and Eastern Europe (Camping Europe) (Camping Europe: Includes Scandinavia, Central & Eastern) [Paperback]

Carol Mickelsen (Author)

Book Description

Series: Camping Europe: Includes Scandinavia, Central & Eastern | Publication Date: February 28, 2008

Dreaming of going to Europe but think you can't afford it? After 25 years of car-camping in Europe Carol Mickelsen assures readers that traveling in Europe need not be expensive. By renting a car you are freed from lugging baggage and are able to bring a bike from home. You have the freedom to travel at a whim, following the festivals, and the best weather. After answering the question, "Why Not Camp?" Mickelsen goes on to detail expense expectations, offers driving and navigating tips, and explains how to get directions from locals when you don't know the local language. Besides suggestions on basic camping and cooking equipment, she gives solid advice on how to bring your bike, and good reminders on how to travel smart and safe. Includes over 300 detailed maps and written directions on how to drive to major sights in 25 countries where English is not the local language and campgrounds are plentiful.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Carol Mickelsen loves to travel. Having been introduced to the magic of the out-of-doors by her parents and grandmother, she discovered that camping offers a uniquely satisfying way to get to know any country. During the past 25 years, she has spent as much time as she can exploring the world.She finds budget travel fascinating, fun, and easy. She shares useful travel tips in her new book Camping Europe.
As a professional chef, Mickelsen ran San Benito House and Saloon for 18 years. The restaurant was created from an historic hotel which she bought and restored from a dilapidated state to a place that National Geographic Traveler called, "...the finest restaurant on the coast between San Francisco and Monterey." Caroline Bates in Gourmet magazine agreed, praising the "...wonderful homey food with Italian flavor, centered around the local plenty." The San Benito House is located in Half Moon Bay, California, a small town on the Pacific Coast, south of San Francisco. Mickelsen recently sold the business to her oldest son, giving her more time to travel and write.
Born and raised through early childhood in Montana, Carol then moved with her family to Arizona. She received a BA from Arizona State University and an MA from San Francisco State University. She has lived in Half Moon Bay for more than 30 years. Bicycling and exploring the California Coast are among her favorite pastimes when she is in between trips to other parts of the world. Her next journey is a canoeing/camping trip in the Adirondacks.

Product Details

• Paperback: 585 pages
• Publisher: Carousel Press; 3rd edition (February 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0917120205
• ISBN-13: 978-0917120206
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #802,118 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best guide to camping in Europe---it's the Holy Grail, August 12, 2010

By 

L. Mickelsen "Blue Loon" (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Camping Europe 3 Ed: Includes Scandinavia, Central and Eastern Europe (Camping Europe) (Camping Europe: Includes Scandinavia, Central & Eastern) (Paperback)

Since 2004,we've loaded up our tents, sleeping bags, pots, pan, bikes, etc. and car-camped in Europe on three separate occasions. The first two times, we took our three sons with us (they were ages 11, 14 and 16 on our first trip). In 2009, it was just my husband and myself.

We've camped in France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy, and probably a few other places that I can't remember off-hand. For all three trips, Carol Mickelsen's book was our main guide on where to camp. I used other guide-books as well--Mike and Terry Church's RVing in Europe, plus the British Auto Club guide, but Carol's was the best. We've learned to trust her. The next time we go, we'll probably just take Carol's guide.

By the way, I share the same last name as Carol, but alas, we are NOT related and have never met.

But perhaps we're soul mates. My husband and I are fairly experienced campers---and unlike an earlier reviewer, we LOVE Carol's opening pages on what to pack, how to set up and take down sites and suggestions for harmonious travel. She says it all very simply, but I'd say she hits all the essential points. Mickelsen has a lovely spirit about her and it shines through the book.

The 3rd edition is her most comprehensive guide and covers a whole bunch of countries. Carol also has a knack for picking the most rewarding regions of each country and covering those.

Unlike one of the earlier reviewers, we actually found the directions/little maps to the campgrounds to be accurate and easy to follow. Obviously, you'll still need a local map, or even better a GPS in your vehicle to be able to get around---as you would for traveling in the U.S. or anywhere else.

Carol is mostly a tent camper. So are we. I would recommend tent camping in Europe rather than trying to rent an RV because 1) you'll save a ton of money; 2) you can set up camp some place for a few days and still use your car to get around. The problem with an RV is that every time you want to go some place, you have to take the whole house with you. And it's a real hassle to try to park a RV in the narrow little streets in European towns.

Camping is how many middle-class families in Europe travel---they can't afford the hotel rates either. So there are actually far MORE campgrounds in Europe than in the U.S. They're in almost every town in areas where tourists go. I would camp in Europe if I was staying for two weeks or longer. If I was staying for less than two weeks, I'd use youth hostels, hotels or Vacation-Rental-By-Owner apartments.

My husband and I can actually afford to go the hotel route. But if we won the lottery, we'd still camp in Europe because it's such a civilized, easy, and relaxing way to travel. (Except when it rains for days, which is God's way of telling you to Get A Room and/or spend a lot more time in museums, movie theaters and eating long languid meals in restaurants, the last of which is not recommended if you're traveling with rambunctious teen-age boys who eat like horses, but is nice if it's just you and your beloved.)

Camping in Europe is more like staying in an outdoor hotel than a wilderness experience. The campsites are smaller and closer together. European campground bathhouses are almost always very clean and have some of the best hot-water pressure in Europe. Most campgrounds have enclosed or covered areas where you can wash your dishes with hotwater--something that is woefully lacking in U.S. campgrounds.

There's often a little grocery store or small restaurant right at the campground. Many campgrounds have a recreation hall, swimming pool or mini-golf course, etc. More and more now offer wi-fi. Some campgrounds are right in town--so you can walk to cafes and stores. Others are on the the outskirts, so a car is helpful. (plus you can put all your gear in the trunk.) We have never had a problem with theft or any other crime.

We always meet great people. If you don't speak the language, no worries, English is the back-up language in most campgrounds. There's always a bunch of retired Brits in the campground who only speak English and they seem to do just fine.

We avoid camping in Europe during the last ten days in July and the whole month of August because that's when Europeans take their vacations en masse. We usually don't make advance reservations(except for the first night when we land in Europe)and we've never been turned away for lack of space.

If you've never camped before, please camp a few times in the States and get used to putting a tent up, taking it down and knowing what you need and what makes you comfortable. That way, you'll make smarter packing decisions when you haul all your gear on the plane across the Atlantic.

There's a few odd/eccentric things about camping in Europe worth mentioning:

1) European campgrounds don't provide picnic tables, so you need to bring a small folding table or buy one there.

2) You should also bring a folding camp chair for each person with you because you're going to want to sit some place on your site. Or you can buy folding camp chairs there, although they're not as easy to find as in the U.S.

3) It's not easy to buy propane or white gas in Europe--the blue Gaz containers are the standard, so invest in a butane stove if you plan to cook--we bought two small, single-burner butane stoves at REI which take up almost no space and work great.

4) Europeans don't seem to sell ice. Instead, they use those blue-plastic ice-blocks. So bring four or so of those with you. You can put two blue plastic blocks in the campground freezer at night and switch them with your thawed ones in the morning. You can also buy frozen bottles of water to keep your cooler chilled. It's okay, but I really wish Europeans would sell 5 or 10 bags of ice--it's hard to keep beer cold with these wimpy blue plastic things.

5) On the other hand, the Europeans are way ahead of us in the baked goods department. French campgrounds sell fresh croissants and bread---it's delivered to the campground every morning, you just have to tell them how much you want the night before. And of course, the wine is great and affordable!!

6) If you're travelling in the summer, you won't need a lantern. It doesn't get dark until about 10 p.m. in Paris. And it stays light until midnight or later in Denmark and Sweden.

That's the practical stuff that some reviewers may be looking for. Carol covers some of it. And some of it you just learn by going there.

Sorry for this long, long review. But camping in Europe is a great way to travel and Carol Mickelsen has written the best book by far on the subject.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Takes Readers Beyond the Ordinary, July 2, 2008

By 

Robert R. Lindberg "Library Journal" (Vandenberg AFB, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Camping Europe 3 Ed: Includes Scandinavia, Central and Eastern Europe (Camping Europe) (Camping Europe: Includes Scandinavia, Central & Eastern) (Paperback)

Library Journal April 2008
What better way to see Europe than by staying where most traveling Europeans do, i.e.,not four-star hotels but at campgrounds scattered from Ankara to Zempinska! Mickelsen provides detailed information on each campground: how to get there, what amenities are offered, and what local sights should not be missed. The author has spent over 30 years "car camping" in Europe (that is, driving to a campground and using it as a base for adventures), and her enthusiasm for the "relaxed and unpretentious" Europeans she has encountered comes through. This book takes readers beyond the ordinary and opens up vistas that will enhance their visit. Her advice: bring a bike, look for out-of-the-way adventures, and rub elbows with Europeans "who enjoy laughing and talking
with you at the common cooking and washing up areas. You will share with them the experience of pouring over maps together [and] exchanging funny travel stories." Sounds like a truly memorable experience. Essential

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not truly useful, May 7, 2008

By 

T. Grant - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Camping Europe 3 Ed: Includes Scandinavia, Central and Eastern Europe (Camping Europe) (Camping Europe: Includes Scandinavia, Central & Eastern) (Paperback)

This isn't a very useful book. The book starts out with several how-to guides like: "Setup and takedown campsite routine" and "hints for harmony." These guides provide a small modicum of useful information but they just generally take up space and are of no use to anyone who has ever camped before or knows how to use the internet. The book does provide several advantageous websites, but I knew of them all before I even purchased the book. The country guides have some useful information though they are too minimalistic for my taste. The book does not give adequate directions to most campsites, though it does provide phone numbers (which may be out of date). The amount of detail provided for each campsite is woefully inadequate. Further, I am left wondering if there are other campsites in each region that the book simply leaves out (this is probably the case). The book even sometimes notes camping sites on its vague maps and does provide a written description for them in the book. In fact, actually, it doesn't provide real written descriptions of any of the campsites. It simply notes that they are there, provides a phone number, and may provide an estimate of how costly it is. This is not an adequate camping guide by any means.