The second half of our Bulgaria trip involved more monasteries, huge concrete monuments, fortresses, the coast and a peaceful nature park.

From Velingrad we headed to the Shipka Pass and the UFO-shaped Buzludzha Monument perched high above the pass and built as a communist assembly hall. Our tip for driving to the monument is to access it from the south and not take the road by the Freedom Monument to avoid over 5 miles of potholed road! We spent a couple of nights in the car park at the base of the Buzludzha Monument, one of which was very windy to say the least.

We headed back to the Black Sea coast, starting right at the most southerly point on the border with Turkey. In the area of Resovo we were stopped a few times at police checks and also had a subtle visit from the border police whilst we were parked up – they didn’t question us but walked around the van a few times. We also stopped at Varna to find a beachside thermal pool which was an experience – definitely a meeting place for locals.

The Tsarevets Fortress in Veliko Tarnovo is worth every penny of the entrance fee (less than £5 each). It’s a large area to explore and on a good day, it would be a good place to take a picnic and enjoy the views. The unconsecrated church in the Patriarch’s Complex is home to some modern frescoes which are very different to those we had seen so far on historical monasteries. After leaving the fortress we had a wander around the picturesque old town which was full of craft and antique shops.

If you’re looking to escape everything then visit Shumen and the Rusenski Lom Nature Park. Shumen is home to the Founders of the Bulgarian State Memorial, a huge brutal concrete structure high on a hill overlooking the town of Shumen and surrounded by forests which were great for walking. Rusenski Lom is an area of rock churches and steep gorges and again great for walking.

On the whole motorhoming in Bulgaria was easy and there was plenty of parking available. Water wasn’t as easy to find as it was in Turkey as a lot of roadside springs didn’t have tap fittings or were dry so we had to resort to buying bottled water again. Fuel was still relatively cheap at around £1.30 a litre and LPG everywhere, costing just over 50p a litre.

All in all a good place to visit and even more of a reason to visit soon is because Bulgaria, whilst in the EU is still not part of the  Schengen area so a stay here helps to offset the 90 day limit and enables a longer visit to continental Europe.

Campsites used:

Burgas Camperstop: BGN30 (£13.50) for 24 hours. Price includes EHU, fresh water tap, showers, WC emptying and fast WiFi. Flat parking on the dockside inside the marina gate. Very quiet overnight.

Other overnight parking:

Troyan Monastery: Parking is BGN3 (approx £1.35) and we were allowed to stay overnight. A large hard standing car park for the monastery. No facilities.

Buzludzha Monument: several hard standing parking spots around the monument. Need to check weather (especially wind direction!) and park accordingly. No facilities but stunning views for miles. May not be accessible during heavy snow.

Veliko Tarnavo: a free P4N spot by the State Art Gallery. No real flat spots and no facilities but relatively quiet (apart from the local busker who was there in the afternoon!). We drove to a paid car park to visit the Tsarevets Fortress – it’s a hilly town strung along the steep sides of a river.

Resovo: A couple of nights parked up by a closed beach bar at the most south-eastern point of the EU. Relatively flat and quiet, overlooking the narrow river border with Turkey. No facilities.

Varna: Free parking at the northern end of the town, next to the beach. Flat with no facilities and a short walk into the main beach area with bars and a thermal pool. Parking is next to a road which is busy during the day but was quiet overnight.

Shumen: Free parking in a large car park close to the Shumen Fortress and a restaurant. Flat and no facilities but great for exploring the local area with lots of marked walks in the surrounding forest.

Rusenski Lom Nature Park: One of our quietest park-ups in the nature park close to some rock churches. Flat and no facilities although maybe some cafes during the summer. Great place to walk and then to sit and listen to birdsong.

Ruse: Free parking between a railway track and the River Danube about 20 mins walk from the city centre. The trains run back and forth to the docks but don’t run overnight so a surprisingly quiet stop. No facilities. Close to the Romanian border crossing.

Blog: www.bobandjune.com

YouTube: https://youtube.com/user/bobclewley

Polar Steps: https://www.polarsteps.com/ClewleysOnTour/5755379-the-balkans-and-beyond?s=0A28668E-486F-4DEF-80BA

Our Route: http://www.bobandjune.co.uk/the_balkans_and_turkey_route/

We spent just short of our permitted 90 days exploring Türkiye from December 2022 to February 2023, driving around the Asian side in an anti-clockwise direction. We thought it might be useful to some people to put together a few details of our experiences.

Driving

We covered 4,883 miles in total but with fuel at less than £1 a litre it didn’t make such a huge dent in the budget! We also managed to do almost the whole trip without using a toll road, only using one to go around Istanbul and where we had no choice. We didn’t have the HGS tag which allows easy access through the tolls so selected the cash lane and took a ticket but when it came to the pay station the gates were open and there was nowhere to pay. We fully expected to be charged as we left the country but nothing was outstanding against our registration so it seems we were lucky!

We did very little city driving which we know from Istanbul can be a little chaotic, and whilst we did see some adventurous manoeuvres, the pace seemed a lot slower so never dangerous. The larger roads were in reasonable condition and in the snow in the far east of the country, they were cleared regularly. Off the main roads, the surfaces were a little hit and miss and sometimes nothing more than dirt tracks.

Don’t underestimate the size of the country – it’s huge and there’s still so much for us to go back and see.

Police checkpoints are common and we were mostly waved through.  When we were stopped the officers were polite and courteous, asked us a couple of questions and sent us on our way.  Along the Syrian, Iranian and Aremian borders the checks were slightly more (and understandably) intimidating with plenty of machine guns, tanks and barbed wire on display but again we were politely asked for our passports and our destination before being allowed to move on. 

Costs – a summary of roughly what we spent on the main items

Van insurance payable at the border €140 for 3 months

Food, including eating out – £1,225

Diesel – £820

Campsites – £230 (most expensive on the SW coast which is the main tourist area)

LPG – £32

Entry fees – £167.50.  We didn’t buy any of the available museum passes as although they represent good value for visiting the museums and archeological sites, they are time limited so didn’t work for us as we travel slowly. 

Campsites – we had to occasionally venture on to a campsite to use a washing machine (no self service laundries to be found!) and empty the toilet cassette. We’re not precious about campsites – they just need to be functional rather than look good and offer facilities we won’t use! Prices ranged from free, on a municipal site in Tarsus, to tl450 (approx £20) per night in some of the more popular areas. We also stayed on a campsite for a few nights over the New Year holiday to be able to enjoy the celebrations.

Availability of essentials

We had no issues finding fuel, lpg, food and water.  We filter all our onboard water as it leaves the tank, plus a pre-tank filter if needed, so we’re happy to fill from roadside water taps along with locals. The only time we had an issue with this was during a snowstorm and we physically couldn’t get to the taps or they were frozen!

The local markets were great for fresh produce but it’s worth getting store cards for Carrefour and Migros to get cheaper prices.

Weather

Safe to say we had it all! We spent Christmas and New Year on the south-west coast and were on the beach a lot of the time, swimming and paddle boarding in temperatures of over 20°C. However, when we headed to the eastern regions we had driving snow and roadside drifts higher than the van. In one place we experienced a daytime temperature of -11°C, admittedly we were at about 8,000ft in altitude, but had regular overnight temperatures of -5°C.

Stray animals

We had seen and heard lots of stories about stray cats and dogs. Yes, there are a lot of dogs running around and we noticed cats in towns and at tourist sites, but we have to say they all looked well fed and healthy. We saw locals pulling up in their cars and leaving food out for the animals and a number of dogs were tagged to show they had been neutered. A couple of places we visited even had machines dispensing food either for cash or when you deposited items for recycling. We can only speak for what we saw and appreciate this may not be everyone’s experience.

The people

Quite simply some of the most hospitable and welcoming people we have ever met.  Turkish hospitality is renowned and we were frequently given tea wherever we went.  We even left a fuel station with a cup of tea and a bag of fresh eggs!  At no point did we feel unsafe or in any danger.  

If for any reason our plans for the rest of the year fall through then we will be heading straight back to Türkiye! 

Blog: www.bobandjune.com

YouTube: https://youtube.com/user/bobclewley

Polar Steps: https://www.polarsteps.com/ClewleysOnTour/5755379-the-balkans-and-beyond?s=0A28668E-486F-4DEF-80BA

We had a great couple of months in the UK catching up with family and friends taking us from Hertfordshire to Oxfordshire and then down to the West Country to Wiltshire, Devon and Somerset.

In addition we the van had new tyres at Costco Watford, was MOTd at Intercounty Mercedes Milton Keynes and warranty work done at Southdown Motorhomes in Portsmouth. Throw in medical and dental appointments, it was a pretty busy time!

With the sudden death of the Queen at the beginning of September we delayed our departure for a few days and like a lot of people, were glued to the TV watching all the events as they happened. We decided we would book our Channel crossing for the day after the funeral so we could watch that day’s services with uninterrupted wifi.

When home we have a couple of go to CLs we use with our favourites being Balmers near Tring and Home Farm, Iver.  Both are basic grass fields with no EHU but have clean water and dump facilities, and work out real value for money at £8 and £13 per night respectively (Home Farm also offers a weekly rate of £85).

Other sites used during this visit:

Friars Court Island CL, Radcot: £12.50 p/n, grass field, no EHU but clean water and dump facilities. Great riverside location and pub nearby.

Newbridge Campsite, near Witney: £6 p/n, grass field, no EHU but clean water and dump facilities. Close to the river and a couple of puts

Stroud Farm, Maidenhead: £6 p/n, grass field, no EHU but clean water and dump facilities. Close to Heathrow so expect aircraft noise!

Kingstones Farm, near Marlborough, Wiltshire: £12 p/n (£15 with EHU). Two hard standing pitches and large grass area. Clean water and dump facilities. Easy bus access to Marlborough and plenty of walking from the site to the Savernake Forest and the Kennet and Avon Canal.

Pitt’s Farm, near Wells, Somerset: £12 p/n. Grass pitches with EHU. Clean water and dump facilities. Wells and Glastonbury easily accessible with a vehicle.

We also overnighted at The Drove to visit Stonehenge and Port Solent car park, close to Southdown Motorhomes where the van was having some work done. Both of these are free and at Port Solent you are asked to call the port office to let them know you’re staying the night.

This is the route that we took through Norway, Sweden and Denmark

We’ve had quite a few questions from people planning to do a similar trip so we thought we’d put together a post on what worked for us and some things we wish we’d known before we went.  The points might be a bit random but we’re writing them down as we think of them and please note that this is what worked for us – it may not suit others.

Getting there

We took the tunnel from Dover to Calais and drove from there through France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and finally into Denmark where we took the ferry from Hirtshals to Kristiansand.  This was roughly 911 miles plus a ferry costing £255.

In hindsight we would have looked more into the ferry from the Netherlands to Norway which we initially dismissed due to cost but we may have saved money and time once we took into account the extra driving through Germany and Denmark.

Ferries and tolls

We had a BroBizz tag which enabled us to use ferries and pay tolls automatically with a discount and we linked our Halifax Clarity credit card to the account so there were no additional charges in the UK. However, if we’d done more research, it would have been beneficial to also have had the AutoPASS tag which would have halved the price of our Lofoten ferry, for which we paid £180. One thing to note is that both tags are delivered to your home address so need to be ordered ahead of travel and there is a cost to them – BroBizz was about £25 for a vehicle over 3.5t.

Coming home, after driving across the Oresund Bridge, we decided to take the ferry from Rodby in Denmark to Puttgarden in Germany. Although the BroBizz box gave us discount on the Oresund Bridge (still paid £108.41) we did notice a combined ticket available through the ferry company for the bridge and the ferry which may have worked out cheaper.

For most ferries you simply arrive at the terminal and drive straight on.  All charging is by number plate recognition and if you don’t have a tag then you are invoiced via mail. 

In total we paid £545.76 for ferry crossings (excluding Eurotunnel) and £248.96 for tolls and small local ferries.

Driving in Norway

Firstly don’t underestimate the size of the country and be prepared to be flexible on planning a route.  The most direct route from Kristiansand in the south to Nordkapp is almost 1,500 miles and actually takes you through Sweden – we drove approximately 5,000 miles in Norway and Sweden, plus a quick dip into Finland over 10 weeks.  Weather is also a factor to take into account as we were still finding snow restrictions in June.  We had wanted to drive Trollstigen but the road was still closed for repairs (there are lots of roadworks once the snow has melted).  

Roads are mostly single carriageway, including the main north-south E6, but we encountered few hold-ups other than for roadworks and were even able to overnight in roadside rest areas as at night traffic is minimal.  Off the main routes, the roads did feel narrow but people seem to drive slower and be patient so we had no issues. 

As a side point, alcohol limits for driving are lower in Scandinavia than in the UK and we were stopped and breathalysed one morning having been pulled over as part of a routine road check.  The police were friendly and we were waved straight on after a negative result. 

Motorhoming

One of the best regions we’ve visited for motorhomes. Norway has lots of free parking in beautiful places and easy to find sanitation points for emptying tanks and cassettes and taking on clean water. We only paid once to take on water and that was about £1.70.

We had to look a bit harder in Sweden for service points but found water in petrol stations and chemical toilet disposal places in a lot of motorway rest areas.  Again lots of free parking and often with BBQ pits with wood provided and dry toilets.

Throw the spectacular scenery in with the above and you can see why these countries are popular motorhome destinations. There are LOTS of vans on the road and the numbers were increasing daily as we headed into summer.

We used the app Park4Nights throughout the trip.

Fuel

Definitely most expensive in Norway and the price fluctuated regularly.  The most we paid in Norway was £2.31 a litre but we also paid under £2.  

LPG

Easily available in Norway, less so in Sweden and not at all in Finland. We only needed the dish adapter for our Gaslow system

Food and drink

Lots of supermarkets and prices on the whole are more expensive than the UK but not massively so.  In Norway and Sweden, most alcohol is sold though government stores – Vinmonopolet in Norway and and Systembolaget in Sweden, although you can buy some beers in the supermarkets. 

Eating out is very expensive so we didn’t do it!

Currency

Denmark, Norway and Sweden still retain their own currencies but cash is rarely needed.  Cards are taken pretty much everywhere and in a couple of places we saw signs specifically saying that cash wasn’t accepted.  

We use the Halifax Clarity Card and have Monzo Bank accounts so pay no conversion charges on the UK side of any transaction and whenever offered the choice of paying in GBP or local currency on a card managing ALWAYS take the currency option.

Wildlife

Plenty of opportunities for bird watching and whale/dolphin spotting without doing an organised trip and once north of Trondheim we regularly found reindeer munching the vegetation on the side of the road but the real point of listing wildlife is the bloody mosquitoes! If travelling in late spring and summer, invest in a mosquito head net if you want to be able to sit outside of an evening and consider buying a Thermocell anti-mosquito device as they are cheaper in the UK.

If anyone has any further questions then please ask!

Suitably refreshed after our week in the AirBnB, we left the spectacular Norwegian scenery and headed into northern Sweden passing through the mining town of Kiruna before meeting up with friends at the coast.

We tend to visit places based on personal recommendations or look for the less touristy places. We had been told about Storforsen where the rapids are one of the most voluminous in Europe and then visited nearby Laver, a deserted mining town which we found on Atlas Obscura, a great source of weird and wonderful places!

Like Norway, Sweden provides great free camping spots often with BBQ pits and firewood provided but be warned of the mosquitoes! We have never seen so many nor been bitten so much despite having visited the Amazon and Africa!

We used two campsites whilst in Sweden mainly because we needed to do laundry with the free WiFi being a bonus!  Överhörnäs Camping is a lakeside campsite just off the E4 close to the west coast.  It’s a mixture of cabins and touring pitches with a small RV car park which has three pitches.  We used the latter and it was SEK240 (just under £20) a night without EHU.  The site has a free washing machine but no drier, and is very clean and well organised by friendly, helpful staff.

Much of the region is long straight roads through forests and lakes but the High Coast area is well worth a visit and we stopped in Skuleskogen National Park for a couple of nights so we could get out for a decent hike.

Our route was taking us southwards along the coast with our original plan to spend a couple of nights in Stockholm. But, as we often do, we changed our mind and decided we’d save Stockholm for a future long weekend, taking a more inland route towards the south coast, via more forests and lakes.

We spent two nights on the island of Öland, a fascinating place to visit and just across the bridge at Kalmar. We managed to find a reasonably priced campsite, Ventlinge Ställplats, in the south of the island within the UNESCO World Heritage area which is full of hiking and cycling trails, Iron Age forts and ancient farms. The campsite is a large grass field which accommodates about 20 vans plus a small tent area. We paid SEK160 (around £13) a night without EHU and there is a washing machine for SEK40 a wash, but no drier. The owner was very helpful and provided lots of tourist information on the local area.

After a couple of nights on the very busy south coast, including a visit to the most southerly point at Smygehamn and an obligatory visit to Ikea in Malmo, we crossed via the Oresund Bridge into Denmark to truly start our journey home although we still had over 1,000km to go!

We spent one night near Gedser, at the southernmost point of Denmark (spot the theme here!) where we encountered a bit of a storm. For about half an hour the van was being shaken by the wind but the heavy rain did go some way to washing off a lot of the dust and dirt we’d acquired “off-roading” in Sweden.

In another route change we decided to take the 45 minute ferry from Rodby in Denmark to Puttgarden in Germany, rather than drive through Denmark and save a few miles on the van. The two nights in Germany were uneventful and the driving pretty boring as it was all motorway. Hamburg was a nightmare to drive round and through, as it was on the way up, so we shall do our best to avoid there in the future!

We had factored in a couple of nights in the Netherlands to break the drive but free parking was difficult to find along the coast so we ended up on a mini-campsite on a farm near Veere which was definitely more our thing than the big all-singing all-dancing sites aimed at families (and significantly cheaper). Ben Trovato camping was €27.50 per night including EHU and tourist tax and parking is on a grass field. It was a bit tight getting in and we were squeezed between two long term residents of the site but it didn’t feel overcrowded, unlike some of the Southern European sites. We were able to walk from the site into the town and it really was worth the visit.

Having a late crossing through the tunnel meant that we could get all the washing done at a couple of Revolution laundry places, using the big machines to get the winter quilt washed. It proved quite expensive in the end but worth not having the hassle when we got home. We cheekily turned up at Eurotunnel 4.5 hours early and managed to get a train almost 2 hours earlier than our booking which meant we at least got to drive the short distance to Canterbury P & R car park in the daylight.

Having been as far north and as Far East as we could go in Norway the only direction we could go in now was south and begin our long journey home.

From Grense Jakobselv we headed into Finland as we had a few days to spare before meeting friends in Norway for a week’s holiday (yes, we still need a holiday from time to time!). With the need to do laundry in mind we picked Camping Uruniemi on Lake Inari and selected a lakeside pitch, €22 p/n without EHU. The contrast with Norway could not have been more apparent as we drove long straight roads surrounded by lakes and forests – beautiful in its own way but not the mountains we’d left behind. And with all the water comes the mosquitoes!

After just two nights at the lake we decided to move on back towards Norway and with our first choice of park-up not the best, we continued on to the coast and back to one of our favourite places near Talvik. It was here that we saw orcas a couple of weeks ago and this time we were treated to a humpback whale, caught completely by chance on camera as we tried to photograph the dolphins playing in the fjord!

We continued south along the coast finding yet more stunning places to stay. We always knew Norway would be beautiful but it has surpassed all our expectations.

Before we moved into the van we always had a week away with friends and wanted to continue this. COVID ruined our plans for a couple of years but we finally managed to arrange it so Sarah and Colin could meet us in northern Norway. Our last trip together had been to this area but in February so very different conditions. We had booked a house via Airbnb on a fjord for a week of relaxation and exploration of the Lyngen area – well worth a visit and away from the main tourist route.

We did one walk to the Blue Lake a few kilometres from the house. It wasn’t a long walk but not the easiest as most of it was over a boulder field. The lake at the end certainly lived up to its name.

This was a great week spent with our closest friends and we can highly recommend the place we stayed in. We also picked one of the hottest weeks to be there but swimming in the fjord was a great way to cool off and in the evenings we sat on the deck with a glass of wine/beer watching the dolphins and again, the midnight sun.

After a week there it was back on the road and next stop, Sweden.