Eight Months on the Road

“We lived in a 1999 Old LDV Convoy disability bus from August 2020 until April 2021. Our little girl, Florence, was 2½ when we started travelling. We had been wanting to emigrate back to Australia but weren’t able to during the pandemic so we decided we would buy a bus, as it was one way to keep isolated from others and still see the world.

We had some savings but I also sold my company before we started our journey. We felt extremely lucky that we were able to travel as a family and not worry about the financial side of things.

Our bus was semi-converted but as Sam is a design engineer he had many plans. He designed and welded Flo’s bed together and put it sideways above our bed; above our feet. That way underneath her bed we could store all of our clothes. To hide our items and keep them contained in specific spots, Sam built hidden cupboards underneath the bed that you could view from the inside of the bus.

We found helpx.net was a really good way to save some money on the road as you only work four hours a day for ‘room and board’ You also get to see places and meet people you may not have had the experience to do so when travelling around otherwise. The best app we used for van life was called, “Park4night” You can just put in your location and it gives you all the places that are nearby that cost money or are free, what services are available at those places and a rating by people who have gone to them.

The most challenging aspect of van life is not always being able to shower and managing without a proper toilet when you are having your period. But if you are OK with body showers then that is manageable. Spending time as a family was just so nice; not being on a schedule. If we wanted to stay in a place longer we could. Or alternatively if we didn’t like somewhere we could just move on. We spent nine months mainly travelling around Italy and we didn’t even scratch the surface. Doing van life with kids makes you slow down and not rush through everything. You end up finding and exploring places you may have missed altogether if you were on your own.”

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