🇧🇪 Belgium

Safety

No concerns, we felt super safe.

Local Attitudes Toward Campers

Belgians are a great camper nation themselves, so their attitude towards campers is very welcoming. You will easily get in touch with locals. We even had someone on a bike stop for a chat - a proper chat!

Noise & Peacefulness

We did not have any issues, however, be aware wild camping is not allowed and it will vary from place to place. As always, leave a spot cleaner than you found it!

Cultural Highlights

Well, it's obvious isn't it? Belgian waffles and double-fried French fries with any of the many outstanding local beers! I'd personally suggest a Kwak!

Language & Communication

Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French and German. You will find that most speak Dutch and French, German is a bit more rare. While generally English will get you around, you might run into issues in Wallonia.

Road Quality & Driving Conditions

Road conditions are mostly excellent until you enter Wallonia, you can find some very nasty roads there.

Toll Roads & Vignettes

There are no toll roads (at least not for <3.5t).

Border Crossings

Belgium is part of the Schengen are, meaning no border checks when you enter from another Schengen country.

Police Attitude & Checks

We did not have any experience with the police.

Free Camping Availability

We had little to no issues finding free sites to stay. We were very surprised to find many fellow campers who offered to stay on their grounds for free or at a (voluntary) donation.

Paid Campsites

You can easily find lots of paid campsites or smaller sites run by private individuals. The cost varies a lot.

Motorhome Infrastructure

It was very easy to find fresh water and dumpsites. Getting rid of trash, however, proved tricky at times.

Groceries & Dining Out

Groceries are quite expensive compared to the rest of Europe as is dining out. You will need some extra budget for Belgium.

Fuel Prices

Diesel - to our surprise - is slightly less expensive than we are used to from Germany. At the time of traveling it ranged around 1.50€/l. LPG was ~ 0.95€/l

Camping Costs

15€ and upwards

Laundry

We did not have any issues finding great laundry services. We paid €8 for one load of laundry and one load in the dryer.

Mobile Internet Quality

4G/5G signal strength is exceptional in most places. We only broke out Starlink once and that was for its unlimited bandwidth feature, not due to connectivity issues.

SIM Card Access

You can find them pretty much at every corner.

Wi-Fi Availability

We did not pay too much attention, but noticed public Wi-Fis every now and then, even city-run networks.

Water Access

Easy to find either at official camp spots or gas stations.

Dump Stations & Toilets

Since we only use environmentally friendly products and a dry composting toilet, it was very easy for us to find dump stations as we do not rely on those capable of handling chemical waste water. I wouldn't expect you to have any issues even with a chemical toilet though.

Shopping & Supplies

No issues at all here, it's Europe, you get everything everywhere any time.

Laundromats

Very easy to find good ones with plenty of machines.

Best Time to Visit

I'd say pretty much all year round, it's your typical mid-European weather: wet in Winter without any real extremes, somewhat hot yet also wet in Summer.

Weather Extremes

Nothing worth mentioning.

Bug/Mosquito Factor

When you are close to open waters you will find bugs/mosquitos, but far from Scotland levels ;)

Hidden Gems or Disappointments

Oostende and Westende host a couple of amazing events during summer time right at the beach, don't miss them!

Apps That Helped

Park4Night

Local Etiquette

No tipping in Belgium, but you would round up to the next "even" amount.