Aree di sosta, aires and Stellplätze: a night in a motorhome in Europe

Across much of Europe, towns, farms and private owners provide places where motorhomes can stay the night. Depending on the country they are called aires de service or aires de camping-car in France, Stellplätze in Germany and Austria, aree di sosta in Italy and áreas de autocaravanas in Spain and Portugal. They are usually cheaper than campsites, often right next to an old town, a harbour or a vineyard, and they make it easy to travel without booking ahead.

What to expect

Most have a service point where you can fill fresh water and empty grey water and the toilet cassette. Some are free, others charge a small fee per night, by card at a barrier or machine, through an app, or to a warden who comes round in the evening. Electricity is sometimes available for a fee. Facilities range from a simple car park with a few marked bays to landscaped areas with showers. Many are first come, first served, so arrive by mid-afternoon in high season.

Parking is not camping

Stopovers are for self-contained vehicles. In most of them, and in public places generally, you may park and sleep inside the vehicle but not “camp”: tables, chairs, awnings, levelling ramps left out, washing lines and grey water on the ground are usually not allowed. Respect the posted stay limit, often 24 to 72 hours. Rules on overnight parking outside designated areas are tightening in many countries, especially along coasts and in protected areas in Portugal, Spain and Croatia, and fines can be steep.

Farms, vineyards and networks

Some of the nicest nights are on private land. Membership networks such as France Passion in France or Landvergnügen in Germany, and similar schemes in other countries, publish guides to farms, vineyards and producers that welcome motorhomes for a night, usually without a fee. Buying some of their produce is the unwritten price, and few nights on a trip taste better.

Good manners and good planning

Keep noise down, don't run a generator, and leave the spot cleaner than you found it; the future of many free stopovers depends on how welcome motorhomes remain. Empty tanks only at service points. In the planner, CampingSpirit's overnight parking layer shows stopovers and service points from OpenStreetMap alongside campsites, so you can line up a night by a lake and a service stop the next morning. Information can be out of date, so read recent reviews and the signs on site.