How to Do A Campervan Road Trip on the French Riviera

Want to know how to plan a campervan road trip on the French Riviera? Read on!

Traveling to the French Riviera has been a bougie dream of mine ever since the first time I heard someone talk about going to the Cannes Film Festival when I lived in LA. The names St. Tropez, Marseilles, Nice, and Monaco all have always formed whimsical ideas of me strolling the beachfront promenades in a big floppy hat, cat eye sunglasses, an all white ensemble, and espadrilles.

Unfortunately my bank account doesn’t share the same dreams as I do sometimes. While there are a couple budget hotels (nothing less than $50), the costs of all of them plus a rental car, or even just rideshares/cabs to and from public transport turns out to be an extremely expensive price.

Cue one of my favorite ways to travel: campervan road trip. 

There’s literally no better way to see several destinations, especially expensive ones, than by renting a campervan! Not to mention, road tripping in a campervan is one of the safest ways to travel right now post-pandemic.

So I rented a campervan from CalCampers, and set off for a week in the French Riviera! Making all of my wildest Wolf of Wallstreet dreams come true.

Here’s everything you need to know to make it happen!

SIdenote: Campervans are high in demand right now to rent, but CalCampers is offering 10% off their already affordable prices for my readers! Just fill out a booking form and mention that Alyssa sent ya!

How Much Does a Campervan Cost to Rent?

CalCampers has some of the most affordable rates I’ve seen for a campervan, and also different prices for high and low season:

(High Season is July and second half of August, Extra season is first two weeks of August, and a few holiday weeks — Click here for complete calendar).

*DISCOUNT: If you mention my name (Alyssa, hope ya know it by now) you can get 10% off a rental in any season!

TIP: If you’re planning on renting during high season, I would HIGHLY recommend booking far in advance, as they book up every year, including 2020!

What Are the Extra Costs Associated with A Campervan Road Trip?

And now the not-so-fun part of any travel trip. The “hidden” associated costs that come with any flight, car rental, hotel, etc. etc.

• Insurance: First and foremost, you should ALWAYS get insurance. Travel insurance is a basic level, but whenever you rent a vehicle, you should always get additional insurance. You can usually get it through the company you’re renting with, and some credit cards cover you as well.
• Additional Insurance can range from $100-500, click here for a list of Travel Insurance companies I recommend that you can compare prices with! (I usually use World Nomads).

• Gas/Diesel: Campervans are very large vehicles! So don’t forget that you need to feed them feul! My CalCamper van takes Deisel and it was $85-120 to fill the tank. It takes about 2.5 tanks to do the French Riviera from Bacelnoa and back.

• Groceries: Your campervan comes with a refrigerator, a small stove burner, and all the cooking/eating essentials! Therefore you should stock up on groceries to save money on eating out! You’ll probably only spend $100 or less per week on groceries. My advice is to get things that are easy to store and cook, like pasta, lentils, tacos, and veggie burgers!

• Tolls: Coincidentally tolls rhymes with “trolls” which is what tolls remind me of. Ok, Ok, they do get you places faster, and we all know you have to pay for shortcuts, but some of them are a bit ridiculous! Be prepared to pay anywhere from $100-200 if you plan on using toll roads for a roadtrip in Europe.

PROTIP THO: Whenever you use your phone maps for GPS, zoom in to see all route options and look for the one that says NO TOLLS! If it doesn’t show up, search the directions on the internet and add “No tolls”. Then you can decide if the extra time is worth the cost of the tolls.

• Parking: Always has been, always will be, a b*tch. The good news is that CalCamper’s campervan is just small enough to fit in most regular parking spots! We even were able to parallel park in major cities like Menton, Cannes, Nice, Villefranche, and Monte Carlo — which all have extremely limited parking and narrow streets. Usually you pay $1-10 for street parking.

Note about Monte Carlo and Monaco in General: There is a No-Camper rule there, but since the CalCamper looks like a regular van, it wasn’t a problem. Also note though that this was in July of 2020…AKA post-pandemic, when regular rules don’t apply much and there weren’t many tourists.

If you aren’t comfortable driving on narrow streets, there are plenty of places with free parking outside of cities. You can then walk or take local transport to the city. 

• Campgrounds: One of the biggest questions is WHERE to camp with your campervan! And there are multiple answers for this question! For people like me, and probably you, who are only looking to do a week or so in a campervan, and wanting to be as comfy as possible, proper campgrounds are your best bet. The only downside is sometimes they charge up to $50 to camp there! Kind of defeats the purpose, right?

The upside is that you get a place to shower, option to hook up to electricity, guaranteed parking and your own space, and most of them have WiFi! The downside, again, is the cost.

But you can do your research and find cheap campgounds with ammenities, or if you’re on a budget, there’s also tons of resouces for FREE, yes FRRRREEEE camping areas! See the Next Section!

How to Find Campgrounds

Unfortunately it’s very hard to find easy information about the campgrounds in the French Riviera. There are a few good lists and reviews, but not really one that straight up lists costs, amenities, and how to book them.

I actually emailed about twenty asking about reserving spots and only like three even responded, and they just said come whenever before 8pm. OH! That’s an important tip to know! Most campgrounds have gates and reception closes at 8pm or earlier! I learned that the hard way and had to sleep in a parking lot one of the nights…

As I mentioned, some campgrounds can cost up to $50 or more, and some are free (but with no amenities). Try to get to them early to claim a good spot and get a code for the gate at night!

Here are a few websites/apps for finding other ones including free parking:

• StayFree (wild AKA free camping)
• iOverlander (all types of accommodation)
• Park4Night (free overnight parking)

Or check out this mega post from a true #Vanlife gal with everything you could possibly need to know!

Essentials to Buy and Bring for Your Campervan Road Trip:

While there is a little attachable shower hose on the campervan, there is not a toilet. Thank god, because that would smell and likely make a mess!

Here is a list of essentials to buy and bring for your campervan road trip that I always use and KNOW you’ll need! Note: these items will keep you as eco-friendly as possible as well!

• Biodegradable Wipes (for going to the bathroom and cleanliness)
• Re-Usable Shopping Bags (for shopping and trash)
• Microfiber Towels (for campground showers and your van kitchen)
• Toiletries (campgrounds don’t come with ’em!)
• Rubber Sandals (for campground showers and inside the van)
• Tupperware (for food and keeping used wipes)
• Enviroment-Friendly Bug Spray (you WILL get eaten alive)
• Headlamp (for seeing at night)
• Portable Fan (it gets HOT in summer)

How to Choose Your Campervan Road Trip Route

Your French Riviera campervan road trip route will depend on how much time you have, and how much you want to see. I had 8 days/7 nights and we went all the way to the Italian border, and saw about 10 cities!

You can either drive as far as possible in one day, then slowly make your way back like we did. Or you can make some stops in one direction, skipping a few and saving them for the way back.

For example:

My French Riviera Route: Drive 7 hours to Menton from CalCampers, then stop in Monaco, Eze, VilleFranch, Nice, Cannes, St. Tropez, and Marseilles. (Click here for my full itinerary)

Spaced Out Route: Marseilles, Cannes, Monaco, then back to Villefranche, Nice, St. Topez, and Montpellier.

How to Navigate Your Route: 

You’re going to a map! While I personally think it would be somewhat do-able to travel the French Riviera guessing with road signs, you probably don’t want to chance it while driving a big van!

Regular GPS will absolutely DRAIN your data, so it’s highly advisable to program the route in while you have wifi or data, and save it to use offline. You can also use Maps.me app.

Eco-Friendly Tips: 

Vanlife/Camplife – style is extremely eco-friendly! Like you BETTER NOT leave one spec of trash OR food outside! To be a good camper and as eco friendly as possible, see my short list below! Full post on it here:

• Always bring your own shopping bags AND produce bags!
• Use biodegradable or reusable trash bags
• Stay away from plastic!
• Stay away from aerosols, toxins….and meat 😉
• Keep the noise down
• Bring shower shoes!

What It’s Really Like Camping in a Van

If people didn’t know me and took one look at me, they probably would not think I’d be up for a campervan road trip. Or probably camping at all. But I actually am pretty low maintenance so I never mind the roughing it part that comes with campervans.

I will let you know what it’s really like though, just so you know what you’re getting into! I’d say the “hardest part” is if it’s hot, because you can’t really open windows at night without mosquitos coming in. But my solution to that is bringing a portable fan!

A lot of people think you won’t be able to charge your phone or camera, but you can in the car with a voltage converter. Or take advantage of outlets at campgrounds.

Campground showers and campgrounds in general seem to have a “dirty” stereotype, but they’re really not. They all get cleaned regularly especially post-covid, and the only downside is if you have to pee in the middle of the night. But…that’s what bushes and baby wipes are for!

Overall, if you have a positive, courageous attitude about doing a campervan road trip, I promise you will love it!!

Do you have any campervan tips? Did you find this post helpful? Please comment below and share on social media!!