How the journey started:

Back in 2020, I had just graduated high school and quit my summer job. I had around 1,000 euros saved and a 20-year-old Mercedes sedan parked outside. With a month left before starting my studies in September, I decided to spend that summer a little differently than most people my age.

While many were spending their savings on festivals and nights out, my girlfriend and I wanted to do something more meaningful. So we made a bold decision: we’d take a road trip — all the way from our small hometown in Eastern Europe to Paris, France. That’s about 2,500 kilometers, one way.

It was the perfect time. With COVID keeping most tourists away, fuel and accommodation were incredibly cheap, and cities that were usually packed with visitors felt peaceful and open. Suddenly, our modest budget seemed totally possible.

Of course, I was nervous. The car was old, and we hadn't done much preparation — no full mechanical check, no backup plans. Just a tent in the trunk, a loose route, and the idea that we’d mostly stay at campsites to save money. Looking back, it probably wasn’t the smartest way to start a 5,000+ kilometer journey. Trying to fix a broken car abroad using Google Translate? Not fun.
Thankfully, we were lucky — no breakdowns, no serious issues (except for one speeding ticket in Germany on the way back!). Still, lesson learned: always get a proper vehicle check before hitting the road.

We planned the trip to last two weeks, and it turned out to be unforgettable. We stopped in Warsaw, Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels, and dozens of smaller towns and villages before reaching Paris. That trip made us fall in love with life on the road. There’s nothing like the flexibility of traveling with your own vehicle — no airports, no schedules, just complete freedom. And if you’re on a budget, your car is both transport and a place to sleep.

A few years later, we did it again — this time in a Volvo V70 estate for a three-week road trip. That car was perfect for it: super comfortable, plenty of space, and just enough room to sleep in the back. (Though as someone a bit claustrophobic, I wasn’t a fan of the low ceiling.)

That trip took us through the Austrian and Swiss Alps (still some of the most beautiful landscapes we've ever seen), down to the French Riviera, Northern Italy, and finally Croatia on our way home. Every place felt special, and those weeks only deepened our love for travel.

Around that time, we started following van life travelers and digital nomads on social media. Watching how people lived, worked, and explored full-time from their vans inspired us deeply. It looked like the perfect way to combine simplicity, freedom, and the joy of discovery. We decided: we’re doing this.

This year, we made it real. The goal? To travel across every country in mainland Europe, living in our van full-time along the way. But to do that, we needed a real home on wheels — something bigger than a car. So we bought a van and began the process of converting it ourselves from the ground up.

From the first van search to the final touches of the build, it took about six months. It wasn’t easy — we made mistakes, faced challenges, and had to figure out a lot of things ourselves. But I’m proud of what we’ve built. Doing it all on our own made it that much more rewarding.

If you’re dreaming about doing something similar, you’re in the right place. In the next blog post, I’ll show you how to choose the right size van based on your needs, your travel goals, and what you plan to bring with you.

Let’s hit the road.