A great mini series 👍... really informative and appreciated the cost breakdown at the end... Cheers!

Great video, we are planning a two week trip in Sam (our van) later this year, so this has been really helpful! Cant wait to get out there and shoot the video ideas we have! Thank you for this video!!!!

Just subscribed looking forward to watching your videos of your travels and always helps if people are budgeting for there holiday xx🥰

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Jackie and welcome to our channel 🥰 We hope you find the videos useful, we take most of our inspiration from our viewers for our content 😁👍

It's only money guy's you enjoyed it and so did we! Your a lovely couple! Thanks for sharing 👍

@VantasticAdventures

Жыл бұрын

Aw thank you Paul that's very kind 🥰

You are one of the few content providers whose vlogs I always watch from start to finish. I really enjoy them. Now, Boris took over a year to do a 'Cost Benefit Analysis' on that crisis we had ... BUT you did it immediately. I vote that Iain and Caroline (and Mollie) stand for Parliament in the next election!! Great review of your holiday. I think that I agree with you .... you go on holiday, you know what to expect, and the benefits (happiness) far outweighs ANY cost. Loved Carolines' comment on the French sticks fitting in the overhead lockers. Thank Iain for the beer reviews.

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Ha ha love that Roger thank you 😂😂😂👍 Not sure our policies on free beer for all would do much to help the economy though. We are really pleased you enjoyed the videos and thanks for your support and lovely comments, entertaining as always 🥰 Planning the next big adventure already 😊👍

@rogergusty1722

2 жыл бұрын

@@VantasticAdventures One day my entertaining comments may dry up (must have more beer then!), but I doubt if your awesome, enthralling, happy and entertaining videos will ever dry up ... keep 'em coming, and keep us all guessing where you next big trip is going to be. Where ever it is, is Caroline going to be able to change the destination at the last minute?

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Ha ha yes exactly 😂 All the planning will go out the window if the sun isn’t shining, we could end up anywhere 😂

Enjoying vedios, traveling to France and comeback safely.

@VantasticAdventures

Жыл бұрын

Thank you, very pleased you are enjoying the video's 🥰

We went away a day earlier on the bank holiday weekend, going from hull to Euro port. 23 day holiday in total, travelling as far as split in croatia with stops in Germany / Austria/ Slovenia and 3 different places in croatia. Our total mileage was 2,400 and we spent £3,200. That included ferry, fuel, food etc. Everything all in. It was more expensive to do the hull ferry but when we worked out the fuel saving it was about £50 more expensive but it saved 2 days in travel. So for us it was a better option.

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Oh that's a great idea thanks Barbara, we haven't even thought of that before but Hull is easier for us to get too so would be a good alternative especially when we head into Holland and Germany - your route sounds fascinating so will check that out too thank you 🥰

@JimRYoung

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for this detail you have put up.We are planning this route as a possible September trip, if we can fit this in...!. in addition to our planning to spend long time in Portugal this winter !!..now we have the time..Jim'n'Sue

Thank you for the break down! Definitely very informative

@VantasticAdventures

Жыл бұрын

Thank you Rebecca, if you have any questions we didn't cover in the video feel free to drop us a comment 🥰

Very informative, just l seem to be missing somehow,the total duration in time of your trip to S.of France and Annecy..We have stayed at Lake Annecy cycling all the area.this in the past.We intend doing again now we have our motorhome..ASAP!!.Love it...been Algarve twice and amazing..thanks

@VantasticAdventures

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Jim, very much appreciated 🥰 The Algarve sounds amazing! We can't wait to visit Portugal, just need more time off work 😂 Our total trip was just over 2 weeks in France including 5 days at Lake Annecy (Doussard) 👍

Thanks for sharing this info. Just found your channel whilst we were researching our next French trip. OK, we're caravanners, but we obviously share a love of travelling and especially France. We're considering going to Annecy for at least part of our next trip.

@VantasticAdventures

Жыл бұрын

Thank you and welcome to our channel 🥰 We love France, everything seems much easier when camping 😁 Annecy is so lovely, plenty of Caravans on the site we stayed at too, some of it was quite hilly and tight but it seemed easier with a caravan and being able to unhitch to move into place. It took us a few attempts to park the camper van 😂👍

Really enjoyed the trip you did has given my wife and I the confidence to take the Motorhome across the channel

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Aw thanks Graham really pleased you enjoyed the videos and we can highly recommend it, the French are really set up for motorhomes and they are welcome pretty much everywhere 🥰

Interesting comment about your fridge not operating properly with the sliding door open and covering the vents. I checked my vents and found that the upper one is where the heat exits. So based on your comments I now open the door window to aid ventilation. Thanks for the tip, I wouldn’t have thought about that myself.

@VantasticAdventures

Жыл бұрын

Ah thanks Paul that's a great idea! We hadn't thought of that so will give it a try as you are right it's the top one that gets hot 👍 Good thinking 😁

Great informative vid guys good effort the whole series has been great. I enjoyed your beer review however life’s a bit short for counting croissant costs 😂😂

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Ha ha 😂😂😂 Yes croissant counting wasn't planned but it was just about the only thing we ate we could track due to the rest of the food meal times being accompanied with beer or wine 😂🍺🍷

A good summary of the trip and a great series to have watched with some inspiring and thought provoking ideas. I think fuel will always be the top cost but ultimately we choose what we do for our past times and guess we except the cost that go with it. Shame about the drone but understandable. Not sure if its for you but we have a fitting added to the van that restricts how far the hab door slides and its brilliant and may help with the fridge vents?. Great to see Mollie back in the vlogs too. Look forward to hearing about the bikes as well as future vlog. Thanks and take care.

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Ah thanks Tim that's a great idea, didn't think of it for the fridge vents, we don't open that window at the rear so haven't bothered before but will look at it again now 👍 Hopefully the fuel will drop again in the future, it didn't stop us covering the miles though you are spot on we definitely wanted to travel regardless 😊

Great series. Our first trip with our Burstner is next month but staying in the Netherlands. Our typical two week holiday which is often a cruise costs up £4K to £5k so you have a good deal.

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Aw thanks Derek that's good to know, we haven't been away on a plane for some time 👍 Bet you can't wait for your trip! We can't wait to explore Holland, so many great places and history 😊

I was looking forward to seeing your drinks bill was at more than the Diesel😂

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Ha ha 😂 the thing is it was probably very close but we lost count 😂👍

Interesting costs, we came back from France 2 weeks ago, Brittany, then to the Gironde area over 3 weeks, ,avoided tollroads, found some superb municipal sites, with pools for 16 and 17 euros including hook up. There is a website showing them .Brilliant value . I did think that our cv20 fridge did really well with such mega heat ,enjoy your next trip,Annecy one of our favourites

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

That sounds great Colin, will have to check out that site as those type of sites would be perfect! The fridges really are amazing aren't they considering the heat 😁👍 We can't wait to return to Annecy 🥰

Well done guys, I think it's easier to travel for less when you have more time, haven't been in Europe since 2019 when I had a mega year with time owed from work. 19 days in Spain in late June early July with Mrs K in our folding camper. 10 Days proper camping in early August with my Daughter in Sospel Southern France (she had a new mini cabrio and had never driven abroad). 3 Weeks in Italy in September in our New Cali, came home and it rained for 5 months then Covid. Looking forward to our new van eventually arriving and then we are off and if Mrs K won't retire early she'll have to fly out when she can. Enjoy the weekend I'm sure you will both be having at least one cheeky glass of something. Cheers K.

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Ah that's sounds brilliant!!! We would definitely travel more and for longer if it wasn't for work 🙂 maybe one day our channel will be big enough it can support our travels without work 😂 Great you had a nice mix of campers too, can't think of anything better 👍

Great video as usual from both of you.

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Paul 🥰 Have a lovely weekend

We thoughly enjoyed your van vlogs..hope you’ll be doing some more soon x

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you 🥰 hopefully lots more travels coming soon, few review videos while we are planning then hopefully more adventures too while we plan our next big adventure 😁👍

Just found your vlogs , really useful, always use toll roads and to aid things we have a toll tag , speeds things up and never have an issue

😂😂😂 Love the inclusion of the croissant cost! Mollie looks happy to have you home - we have exactly the same heat intolerance issues with our collie which rules out loads of summer van trips. Completely agree about the toll roads being worth it. We’ve very rarely come across queues or significant roadworks when using French toll roads - as soon as you come out of the tunnel on the UK side we’re normally met by roadworks and traffic jams - the French road network is so much better. 🙂

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Ha ha you are spot on! 😂 When we got off the tunnel almost immediately stuck in a jam and that was pretty much the rest of the journey home 🏠😬 Collies definitely prefer the cooler weather, good to see not just us, it's hard as you miss them so much but it's far better for them to be cooler and enjoy the attention when we get back 🥰👍

Just started watching your videos Iain and Caroline. Really good, entertaining, informative and enjoyable stuff. £333 for your site fees is great value. We paid £306 to stay at Camping Jungfrau in Switzerland for seven nights last June........although when you compare even that to the cost of a hotel or renting a villa it still works out pretty cheap. Hopped across into eastern France for our second and third week, and agree, some of the French sites are ridiculously cheap......and well appointed. Made a point of watching your video of your stop at Lake Annecy, as we are heading that way with our motorhoming friends in June, staying at Camping Sandaya La Nubliere at the most southern point of the lake......not far from where you stayed I think. Hoping to take the bus up to Annecy with our dog one day too, so your video was full of useful information, thank you.

@VantasticAdventures

4 ай бұрын

Aw thank you and welcome to our channel 🥰 we definitely find better value in campsites than hotels, you are absolutely right 👍🏼 We haven't been to Switzerland yet but it's on our list 😁 Annecy is so beautiful, hope you enjoy it as much as we did, great you are taking your dog, the lake will be perfect for cooling off if it's warm 😁

Campsites not a bad idea. Others spend their days, fuel etc driving around looking for a park for night . It's debatable what value there is in that.

@VantasticAdventures

Жыл бұрын

Very good point, we found when staying at random places without booking more stressful too in case we couldn't find a suitable place to park for the night. Guess everyone is different but you are spot on with the cost of fuel at the moment, it's best to have a plan 😁👍

Sounds like a successful trip which went very well - great to hear, sorry Iain didn’t get the opportunity to safely use his drone. We’ve enjoyed watching as it sometimes needs a nudge to go abroad with the van. £256.50 is a fair amount for tolls, had you expected that amount? - makes sense to have used the toll roads to save time and fuel. The campsites seem a really fair amount as you went to great sites, I would have expected it to be more. Things always seem to cost a bit more than you expect don’t they 😀 love the croissants 🥐 🥐 cost 😀 Thanks for sharing and again really enjoyed all your videos. Have a great weekend, all the best, David & Rachel 👍

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you both, we really enjoyed it, especially the croissants 😂 yes the tolls were more expensive than we thought.... Because the van is over 2m in height it costs more than a car which we hadn't factored in but the time saving was good so didn't mind paying really 😁 Definitely recommend it when you have time, your van will be great for exploring too 👍

Just watching this. The route you went covered some of the most expensive toll roads. We did a similar route and it is just something you have to factor in. Would love to pay the price of the tunnel you did though. With a caravan your round trip is the cost of one way for us! We did similar mileage in 2022

@VantasticAdventures

5 ай бұрын

Oh wow didn't realise they charged more for Caravans 😲 that must add a lot to your costs, can see why people try and take longer trips in Europe 👍🏼 it's a lovely route, hope you enjoyed it too 🥰

Good info, thanks

@VantasticAdventures

5 ай бұрын

Thank you 🥰

A great series! Very inspiring, we've put a couple sites on our list. Thanks for sharing. What program do you use for editing?

Hi Ian and Carolin really enjoyed your French Adventure think you'd have paid the same if not more for a package holiday in Europe shame we being ripped off with the high fuel prices👎🏻Looking forward to more of your UK adventures

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Tim and yes you are absolutely right, although it was expensive a holiday to one destination would be similar but we got to see lots more so no regrets 👍😁 Glad you enjoyed the videos, we really can’t wait for the next big adventure 🥰

Mollys back ❤

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Back for good Craig 😂 She won't let us out of her sight now, she has taken to sleeping outside our bedroom door at home so no escape without her 🥰

We have really enjoyed watching your vlogs. You come across really well, and natural. We were staying in the South of France at the same time staying in Agde. Regarding your mpg can I ask what speed you are doing? I noticed a big difference when I started travelling at 56 mph. Instead of 60. We are a 3.5T motorhome that returns 36 to the gallon. We're also from Manchester and we find it cheaper / easier to do the Newhaven to Dieppe route. All the best. Chris

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Chris, that’s very kind and we you enjoyed your trip too, it’s such a lovely part of France 🥰 We travelled generally at 70mph on the motorways, mostly cruise control on the toll roads it was a very pleasant drive 👍 Will take a look at that crossing thank you, with fuel so costly it sounds a great alternative to shorten the mileage.

Fuel and tolls depend on whether you travel or stay in one place, so it depends.

Considering how far you travelled I think you did well on costs. I did guess right but was well out on my guess. Take care Gill

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Gill and well done 🥰 we actually got it wrong before we worked out the costs 😂 The cost of fuel is scary but it was well worth it in the end, hope you’ve had a lovely weekend 👍😁

Just stumbled across your channel - really enjoying your videos. We were at Omaha beach recently - re costs: what mpg did you get with the van? Thanks Mark

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Hello Mark and welcome to our channel 🥰 Glad you are enjoying the videos, Omaha beach is an amazing place especially the cemetery, it’s so atmospheric and amazingly well kept to preserve the memories. We reset trip B on the van for this trip and it averaged 30.2 mpg over the whole trip which we were pleased with as we didn’t drive slowly. Motorway speed limits etc. all the way 👍😊

Enjoyed your trip

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Mike, glad you enjoyed the videos 🥰

🤣🤣 I did 1600 miles in 2 weeks when I went last time to florida, for an holiday

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Ha ha 😂😂😂 That's some distance! Makes it more interesting traveling round though, we completely agree 🥰

Nice one guys, great breakdown. On the calculator......diesel looks really expensive in France? atb

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you 🥰 Yes you are spot on it was, around 10p per litre more than the UK but still cheaper than unleaded over there which was even more 😬 We paid up to 2.32 euro a litre for the most expensive fill up, cheapest was 1.95 euro a litre 👍

Talking Ferries, I booked a return for Isle of Man TT for 2023 (prices not out until next year, but this is a guide price), for 2 adults and 2 dogs it will be around £550 , maybe up to £600 for 14 days. That is a Ducato L4 H2 Camper. However, this actually works out cheaper for me than going on a solo motorbike and putting the dogs in kennels for 2 weeks ( which I wasn’t keen on last time I went over there). This time, the dogs will enjoy the Isle of Man’s countryside. Of course, if you want to visit there when the racing is not running, it will be about half the price….still expensive…..

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Wow that's expensive 😬 Really want to visit for the TT so will look into it thank you 🥰 amazing the cost of kennels we found similar to you last year so good plan and justifies taking the van not the bike 👍 unless you tow the bike too of course, not sure I would get away with that though 😂

@richardsracingmad

2 жыл бұрын

@@VantasticAdventures ..as the TT races normally works every other day, there is plenty of time for exploring and long dog walks…there are beautiful glens and shoreline walks, plus a bit of hill trekking, if you plan to do the hill trekking, you had better pack the other-half’s boots, just to be sure she doesn’t “forget” them.😉 The IoM is highly recommended by me, especially if you go on the TT. To book, you have to book a year ahead, booking normally opens when Practice Week commences, and you need to book the day booking opens ( £80 deposit), to get the best Crossings and dates. I booked about 3/4 days after that, and my return is about 4 days after the last race, however we will enjoy exploring and walkies, so not a big problem. If you want to go 2024, you will find the dates of the 2023 races on internet now, so you can be an early bird on the booking for 2024😀

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Superb thanks so much that's really helpful, that's a definite must for us so will take a look at the dates 🥰 Would you recommend visiting for the classic too or better to go for the TT? The trekking sounds brilliant, Mollie will love that, she's not keen on motorbikes despite having them in the garage since she was a pup 😂 But not sure how keen Caroline is on the racing so maybe they can have a day walking / shopping together 😂

@richardsracingmad

2 жыл бұрын

@@VantasticAdventures you could go to either, the Classic is a bit quieter (that’s either an advantage or dis-advantage) and less Events on, but the choice is yours. There is plenty to see and do on days off, plus using Google you may find beautiful off grid park ups, you are better knowing where you want to go, and just ask for permission/ permit in Douglas Police Station. However Campsites are inexpensive in the Isle of Man…..tent and a bike is £7 a night with facilities, but I haven’t done Campervan, yet, but a great location camp site for the races is at Barregarrow, as a suggestion, but I am going to move around a bit, Union Mills is another site on the track too…lots of public transport, including Trams, buses trains etc, quite amazing public transport for a small island. Peel is a popular town, Castletown is a little away from the circuit but good also. Remember it is an island, so you have a variety of scenery. I am planning to take the van for a day at the Gooseneck, I reckon you may be allowed to park and view in your van quite close to the circuit, a good idea if the weather isn’t great. Lots of other stuff you will find with the encyclopaedia of google

@richardsracingmad

2 жыл бұрын

@@VantasticAdventures tons of places to view with the dog……just avoid taking her to Bray Hill, as maybe that would frighten her, ( if it frightens humans…yeah, not a good idea😅) more or less anywhere else is good, dog on a leash at all times of course. Pub Creg ne Baa is good for viewing, park up, right next to circuit, many other places too…….real ale in Laxey ( which I have always stayed at for the entirety of my visits on a bike with tent) with a brewery, I don’t normally drink bitter, but the IoM stuff is pretty ok-good. Pub right on the harbour, 5 min. walk to campsite

Hi guys, did you have additional insurance? We have CAMC Red Pennant at a cost of £225. We have estimated our campsites will cost £1,100 for 38 nights. Fuel is unknown. Did you include headlight covers, breathalyser kits, UK stickers and other items needed for Euro travel? We have set an all inclusive budget of £5,500 for our 6 week tour but it’s an estimate and we will see how close we are in October when we get back. 😃 Trev

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Trev, that sounds an amazing time to be away for! Bet you can't wait 🥰 Great questions, see answers below as follows: Insurance - we already have European cover with Comfort Insurance included in our policy plus we took out European breakdown cover with them too for an extra £68 for the full year which was great value compared to others, Fortunately we didn't need to use it though 😊 Touring items - we didn't include these as already own them from previous trips except the headlight adapters which were around £5 from Amazon, the fuel costs were similar to the UK for diesel, more expensive at the services as usual Daily spend - outside our costs we budgeted for around £100 per day and were probably close to that maybe slightly over, definitely towards the end when we stocked up on wine and beer to bring home 😂

Wow sounds great. We are looking to do something similar - except we need to rent a camper in Europe. Don’t suppose you have any trusted recommendations for a camper/RV rental company. Would be massively appreciated. Love the video 😊

@VantasticAdventures

Жыл бұрын

Hello and thank you 🥰 We didn't rent anything before in Europe before sorry, we used to always stay on static / mobile homes before our campervan when in Europe but there does seem to be quite a few companies doing it now. Campervan magazine is quite a useful reference point, they sometimes run features on the rental companies - hope you enjoy, it was great fun and we are planning this year's trip now 😊👍

Hi guys - when you applied for your crit air certificate, what did you put for “class of vehicle”? On my V5 it is blank - really helpful! I have a Autosleeper Broadway EK TB on Peugeot. I guess it must be Light Goods but after confirmation. Thank you!

@VantasticAdventures

Жыл бұрын

Hi Glyn our van is different I think, we were one of the unfortunate ones who have the luxury vehicle tax like on a passenger car with a list price over £40k so our van shows as that class although as a motorhome. Our road tax is £520 per year for 5 years... The government quickly back tracked and changed it back but we are in the 6 months loop hole period 😬

What we all want to know is what was the cost of alcohol :-) bet that was more than £1600 🙂 🙂 Making memories like that are priceless, you had a brilliant time by look of it, and next trip is ........... 🙂.

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Ha ha it was that big we lost count 😂🍺🍺🍺 Really great trip thank you, planning the next one already 😉

In April/May we went Hull/Rotterdam and up through Netherlands/Germany and Denmark, total of 2100 miles. 13 nights in campsites, Ferries and Tolls £745, Fuel £393, Campsites £353 with food, eating out and miscellaneous purchases the trip cost £2492

@VantasticAdventures

Жыл бұрын

Wow that's a great route Mike! We definitely want to head north next time we cross to Europe 😁👍 The crossing is a great idea too to avoid the southern ports and traffic etc. There was a big difference in our fuel costs though, shows how much it's increased or did you travel in a vehicle with a good MPG? I think if we had more time and taken it slowly probably could have got another 5MPG from our van. Probably a similar cost overall give or take a few boxes of wine / beer 🍻🍷😂

@mikejacobs3591

Жыл бұрын

@@VantasticAdventures Hi Iain, we have a Vline 635, consumption is just over 32 mpg, I’ve had it remapped for better performance. Hull/Rotterdam is a good route for us travelling from North Wales however not so good if taking a dog with you. we always used Eurotunnel with our dog but we lost her last year.

@VantasticAdventures

Жыл бұрын

Aw sorry to hear about your dog, they become such a big part of your travels but good to know about the alternative route thank you ❤️ That’s good MPG, considered a remap too but will do some more research first 👍

30 mpg that’s good I tow a van with a 2 litre Kuga and I get 28-29 mpg. Never mind cost of bread what did you spend on beer😂

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Bob, yes pleased with the MPG as the van was fully loaded and we travelled with water on board in the tank too 👍 Ha ha 😂 we genuinely tried to work it out but kept getting lost 🍺🍺🍺 let's just say it was probably one too many 😂

Could I get a list of campsites plzzz😂😊

Eurotunnel.........Tesco vouchers do a £3 for £1offer. £300 becomes £100.

Looks like a nice bottle of Manx gin on the shelf

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Very good spot Tony! 😂 Although did have to get Caroline to confirm as had no idea that was there so will be sampling very soon! Thank you 🙂👍

I drove from Calais to NW Spain and back and did not use no way as much fuel as you… I drive a LWB Ford Transit 2018 with 3 Adults and one Dog. Did you divert a lot while travelling to your destination?

@VantasticAdventures

9 ай бұрын

Hi that sounds a fun route, how long did it take you? Yes we diverted quite a bit and had to double back coming from Lake Annecy, van averaged early 30's MPG 👍

@everythingspain9442

9 ай бұрын

@@VantasticAdventures We travelled via Tourer and Bordeaux through too Bilbao.

Hi Do you need some great lighting for your car to help you better driving, off-road. We're the pro auto lighting manufacturer for nearly 20 year and we're looking for sponsorship!

@VantasticAdventures

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your interest in our channel, we have received your direct message too and reply soon 👍

@Auxbeam

2 жыл бұрын

@@VantasticAdventures Sure! Your content are great! I am looking forward to chat and see if we can work something out together:)

We work out at circa £100 per day for a 3week trip door to door here in UK, to anywhere in Europe

@VantasticAdventures

Жыл бұрын

That's a very good way to budget, thank you 🥰👍

great trip are you going again this year