Wild Camping in Mid Europe

[Robert OB 33/48]

Hello folks,

Here is some information about Wild camping in the Mid of Europe.
Wild camping is prohibited in the following countries;

• Germany
  • However, you are allowed to SLEEP for a maximum of 24 hours on a spot, designated park spot, or at the side of the street.
  • Which means, the moment you go to sleep you have to pack away all the camping gear. so nothing is allowed outside the vehicle, trailer, camper or caravan.
  • Iam not sure how they react on Rooftents.
• Luxembourg
• Austria
• Netherlands
  • In the Netherlands, it is sometimes allowed to SLEEP in a Camper (there is no definition of the word camper) on public roads and park areas.
  • However, I never saw a sign that gave away such area. So, and this is my opinion as a Dutchy. If you are in a Camper, and you are doing it right, and you leave no camping gear outside the car, trailer, camper or caravan, I think you will get away with it. Except for the province of Zeeland. There it is absolutely not allowed. (too touristic and too crowded)
• Belgium
• France
  • However, you are not allowed to wild camping, but you are allowed to Bivouac (camping for one night) is allowed. But you have to be away from a road for at least one hour walk. So around 5km.
  • my own experience is that we did some bivouacs in France, even closer to roads (with the campervan) and had no problems at all.
  • One exception I would recommend. Stay away from the area of Calais and Dunkerque at this moment due the refugee problem there. They are a bit tensed there.
• Switzerland
  • However, a one night sleep in the mountains, above the line of trees is allowed to have a one night sleep, even with a group.
  • Stay out of sight from Mountain lodges
  • Have respect for Nature especially when the birds are breeding.
  • In national parks it is prohibited.

So far all the things I know and could retrieve from the internet.
Please check if you go first before you leap.

 

[ASNOBODY]

Good info, thank you for this.

 

[Christian]

slight amendment for germany: ONLY on designated parking spots. NOT in the wild, not even at the side of the street. most overland roads (federal roads) have deep ditches to each side, and right after the ditch is a field/acre. that's the difference to most countries: in germany firstly everything is forbidden. except it is explicitly allowed :-(

 

[Joey83]

Thank you, sounds like I need to modify my travel plans for this years roadtrip

Sent from my Samsung S7 using the OB app.

 

[Christian]

Thank you, sounds like I need to modify my travel plans for this years roadtrip

Sent from my Samsung S7 using the OB app.

well, at some opportunities, when going on a narrow gravel road (more like a trail) between acres, there might be a open plane that is not agriculturally used. but if you would set up camp there, I'd be very likely you'd been chased away by hikers or even the farmer himself, the pitchfork in his hands, or sitting on his farm tractor. I could thing of better opponents. people are damn unchilled over here :-(

 

[SIG383]

I just moved to Germany from Washington state and need to find myself a new rig. Right when I got here I picked up a 2004 Mercedes E240 wagon which is fun but just not me... also need to figure where I can hike and what's allowed and not allowed. So so confused right now and the last thing I want is to do something illegal

 

[Christian]

hiking is no big deal, as long as you respect private roads/paths and properties. country lanes and field paths are in general no problem.

MOTORIZED is a different animal though :-(


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[Robert OB 33/48]

Hello Sig,

Well first of all, welcome to Europe.
Most important, come to Bad Kissingen, which is fairly nearby for you and meet up with us.
In person we can tell you all the thing we know and!!!! the Expo there is just the right place to start your journey in Europe.
You are in the right place in Germany, because you are close to Poland, and the other former eastern block countries. Which are very interesting for Hiking and Overlanding.

Going off the beaten track in Germany is mostly a no go. But, in France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands we have a bit more possibilities.
Iam doing some laning here in the Netherlands, France, Wales and sometimes Spain.
Next year Poland is a place I like to go back to.

So, like I said, come to Bad Kissingen. See the topic in the europe section.

Welcome and greetings from Robert

 

[SIG383]

Thank you both! My village is Waldfischbach-Burgalben...down near Pirmasens and close to the French boarder.

 

[Christian]

then check out the western alps (border FR/IT) as long as they're open. would recommend to take a guided tour, there are several commercial offers around, such as abenteuer4x4 (did a tour with them, they're located in bavaria) or tc-offroad.

as robert wrote, distances are short in europe and other countries allow overland, or at least tolerate it.

 

[SIG383]

The plan is to travel as much as possible while living here

 

[GEO_Fabi.Mhlr]

Hey, there is a Chart provided by ADAC with all information we might need!

 

[DetroitDarin]

slight amendment for germany: ONLY on designated parking spots. NOT in the wild, not even at the side of the street. most overland roads (federal roads) have deep ditches to each side, and right after the ditch is a field/acre. that's the difference to most countries: in germany firstly everything is forbidden. except it is explicitly allowed :-(

I tell ya - I really don't know why the German people allow their govt to make such horrible, restrictive regulations. I love it here - but really doubt I could make this my forever-home. :(

 

[T-One]

Hey, there is a Chart provided by ADAC with all information we might need!

Hi, this reflects the law in different countries, but not the reality. For example:

Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Ukraine and Greece are all listed as "prohibited everywhere", i visited all of them over the last years and had no problem at all, except for Croatia, had a very expensive night there once....

 

[Robert OB 33/48]

I can tell you that illegal camping is possible, but I dont want to do so.
So please stick to the legal part. It would be confusing if people do thing that would cause them problems.

 

[T-One]

I can tell you that illegal camping is possible, but I dont want to do so.
So please stick to the legal part. It would be confusing if people do thing that would cause them problems.

I'm in complete agreement.

But this ADAC paper is also a bit "confusing", you can narrow overlanding in europe down to the countries i already mentioned and a handfull others but most european countries are no fun at all in terms of overlanding.

 

[family-overland]

i guess it depends on the season. for example in northern spain and portugal, there‘s no hassle to camp in the wild e.g. near the beach in the off-season (between october and may) in the highseason from june till september the guardia civile will kick you out of bed every morning. In southern europe fines for wild camping can be very high, as a result of the high risk of wildfires caused be wild camping. In corsica for example, the police use helicopters to check the area. But after the wildfire season it‘s way easier and less risky to camp in a remote/ wild place


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