Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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

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.

An inexpensive and unique way to see Europe, Car Camping may just be the way to see Europe for many readers. "Camping Europe: Includes Scandinavia, Central, and Eastern Europe" promotes Car Camping as the ideal way to see all the sights of Europe. Unbound by the beaten path of most travelers, one can use car camping to see all the beautiful natural sights of the continent, share experiences with the countryside locals and not just the big city tourist areas, and the ability to bring your bikes from home, saving money in the process. "Camping Europe" is a complete and total guide to the continent, leaving no region out unlike many books about Europe which only cover the western half. Highly recommended to travelers seeking a unique experience and to community library travel shelves alike.

I wanted a book about HOW to camp in Europe. This book devotes all of 20 pages out of 584 to that subject. All the rest is a guide book to countries of Europe. Typical entry: Portugal: 2 pages about the country followed by 2 pages about the city of Lisbon, followed by 8 lines about a place where one may camp near the city.

The entries about camping places may come in handy when I'm in Europe, looking for a place to spend a night. For now, I'm just very disappointed in the lack of information about finding places, renting campers (called caravans sometimes), and most important to me: staying in free spots overnight. And how much more useful this would have been if there'd been some phrases in the native languages such as "is there a place to camp near here?" or "Is it OK if I stop here for the night?"

The author has compiled a huge amount of information here. She obviously has worked very hard on this book. Unfortunately, very little of the information is actually about the subject of the book!