Campervan running costs in Europe (2026): a monthly budget
Last updated: 21 October 2026 · Kervana team
Short answer
For two people touring Europe in a motorhome, the travel costs — fuel, overnight stays, tolls and gas — come to roughly €1,000–1,200 a month in 2026. Food, insurance and maintenance come on top.
The two biggest items, overnight stays and fuel, trade off against each other. If you stay put, you pay for campsites. If you keep moving, you pay for diesel but sleep more often on cheap aires or for free. That is why a slow traveller and a fast one end up with surprisingly similar monthly bills.
The figures below use October 2026 prices. To see your own number, plan the next leg in the trip cost calculator — no sign-up needed.
Monthly cost items
| Item | 2026 price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel | €1.80–2.55 per litre (EU average €2.14); UK ~£1.98 | Cheapest in Poland, Spain and Slovenia; most expensive in Norway, Switzerland, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands |
| Campsite (pitch, 2 adults, electricity) | €25–40 off-season; ~€39 average in high season | Croatia, Switzerland, Slovenia and Italy are the most expensive (€55–78 in high season) |
| CampingCard ACSI campsite | €15–31 per night | Off-season only; the card costs about €24 a year |
| Aire (motorhome stopover) | Free–€20; usually €8–12 | Camping-Car Park network in France: €10–27 for 24 hours |
| Water and waste service point | €2–5 | Often free at municipal aires |
| LPG / autogas (refillable bottles) | €0.78–1.13 per litre | Cheapest in Italy, Portugal and the Netherlands |
| Motorway tolls | Varies by route | France: Paris–Lyon about €35–45 (class 2) |
| Vignettes | Austria 10-day ~€12; Switzerland CHF 40/year; Slovenia 7-day €16 | Over 3.5 t you pay distance-based tolls instead in Austria and Slovenia |
| Crit'Air sticker (France) | ~€5 | Needed for French low-emission zones |
| Ferry Dover–Calais | From ~€120 per crossing | Motorhome with passengers; peak season costs more |
Three monthly budgets
Assumptions: two people, a motorhome using 10 L/100 km (about 28 mpg), diesel at the EU average of €2.14/L, one 11 kg LPG refill per month. Food, insurance, maintenance and ferries are not included.
| Slow | Mixed | Roamer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How they travel | Whole month on campsites, little driving | Half campsites, half aires and free spots | Mostly aires and free spots, always moving |
| Overnight stays | 30 nights × €30 = €900 | 10 campsite nights × €30 + 15 aire nights × €10 = €450 | 5 campsite nights × €30 + 10 aire nights × €10 = €250 |
| Distance | 1,000 km | 2,000 km | 3,000 km |
| Diesel | 100 L → €214 | 200 L → €428 | 300 L → €642 |
| Tolls and vignettes | ~€30 | ~€80 | ~€150 |
| Gas | ~€25 | ~€25 | ~€25 |
| Total | ~€1,170 | ~€980 | ~€1,070 |
In high season on the Croatian or Italian coast, 30 campsite nights can cost €1,700–2,300 on their own. With CampingCard ACSI in the off-season, the slow budget drops to about €700–1,200.
One British couple who published their full-time costs spent about £1,520 a month in total (2024), including food, insurance and flights home. Roughly half their nights were free, 30% on aires and 20% on campsites.
Diesel for 1,000 km by country
At 10 L/100 km, 1,000 km uses 100 litres. Prices from the week of 12 October 2026:
| Country | Diesel per litre | 1,000 km costs |
|---|---|---|
| Poland | €1.80 | €180 |
| Spain | €1.89 | €189 |
| Croatia | €1.95 | €195 |
| Sweden | €2.05 | €205 |
| Portugal | €2.15 | €215 |
| Ireland | €2.16 | €216 |
| Austria | €2.16 | €216 |
| Italy | €2.24 | €224 |
| Germany | €2.27 | €227 |
| France | €2.33 | €233 |
| Netherlands | €2.48 | €248 |
| Denmark | €2.50 | €250 |
| Finland | €2.54 | €254 |
| Switzerland | €2.62 | €262 |
| Norway | €2.65 | €265 |
| United Kingdom | £1.98 | £198 |
Filling up before crossing a border pays: driving from Spain into France with a full 90-litre tank saves about €40.
What changes the budget most?
| Factor | Effect |
|---|---|
| How far you drive | Every 1,000 km costs €180–265 in diesel, depending on the country |
| Campsite or aire | 30 campsite nights vs 30 aire nights is a €450–600 difference |
| Season | Coastal campsites in July–August cost far more than in April–June or September–October |
| CampingCard ACSI | Off-season, it caps a campsite at €15–31 for two |
| Weight over 3.5 t | Higher toll class in France, distance-based tolls in Austria and Slovenia, a heavy-vehicle charge in Switzerland |
| Heating | In winter, gas use can rise from one bottle a month to one a week |
Fixed costs at home (UK example)
| Item | Per year |
|---|---|
| Motorhome insurance | ~£600 on average (most policies £230–980) |
| Road tax (VED) | £177–375 |
| MOT | Up to ~£55 |
| Storage when not travelling | £460–1,345 |
Spread over 12 months, insurance, tax and MOT add about £65–85 a month.
Build your own budget
- Put your next route into the trip cost calculator: distance, your vehicle, the fuel price and the nights you plan on campsites. You get the total and the daily cost instantly.
- If you don't know your consumption, start with 9–13 L/100 km for a motorhome or 7.5–10 L/100 km for a panel van conversion.
- Track what you actually spend on the road. Seeing plan and reality side by side shows where you overspend before the month is over.
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Sources
- Weekly fuel prices in Europe, 12 October 2026 — fuel-prices.eu (EC Weekly Oil Bulletin)
- Fuel prices in Europe — Tolls.eu
- UK fuel prices, October 2026 — PetrolPal (RAC data)
- LPG / autogas prices by country — Fuelwide (EC Weekly Oil Bulletin)
- ACSI: European campsite prices rise by 3.7% in 2026 — Camping Business
- CampingCard ACSI — ACSI
- Complete guide to aires in France 2026 — Roamlife
- Camping-Car Park network guide 2026 — Camperko
- Motorhome tolls over 3.5 tonnes in Europe (2026) — Rovee
- By camper through France — Autopay
- Dover–Calais ferry prices — CalaisDover
- Motorhome travel costs in Europe — The Gap Decaders
- UK campervan and motorhome statistics 2026 — CamperChamp
- CamperDays study: motorhome or hotel 2026 — CamperDays