One of the most common questions we get is: how much does it actually cost? The answer varies wildly depending on travel style, location and van type — but after two years of detailed tracking, we can give you real numbers.
These are our average monthly figures for two people in a converted electric van, travelling primarily in Western and Southern Europe. We'll note where an EV differs meaningfully from a diesel van.
The monthly numbers (two people, Western Europe average)
| Category | Monthly average |
|---|---|
| Accommodation (campsites, aires, wild) | €140 |
| Food & groceries | €380 |
| EV charging / fuel equivalent | €95 |
| Vehicle insurance | €110 |
| Van maintenance & repairs | €60 |
| Ferries, tolls & vignettes | €45 |
| Entertainment, activities | €80 |
| Communication (SIM, apps) | €25 |
| Miscellaneous | €65 |
| Total | ~€1,000 |
This is our blended average. Portugal and the Balkans push the total down to around €800. France, Switzerland and Scandinavia push it above €1,300.
Accommodation
Our split over two years was roughly:
- 55% wild camping or free laybys — €0
- 30% aires and official motorhome parks — €5–15/night
- 15% campsites with hookups — €20–35/night
Wild camping is free but requires more planning and is location-dependent. In popular summer destinations, free spots fill early or don't exist in a convenient location. Budget €10/night on average and you'll be close.
EV note: We actively chose hook-up campsites more often than a diesel van would, because overnight charging at a campsite is cheap and adds significant range. A €25 campsite with electricity that adds 2–3 kWh per hour overnight adds 30–40 km of range for essentially free — better economics than a fast charger.
Food
€380/month for two people works out at €6.30 each per day — entirely achievable with market shopping, cooking in the van and local eating. In practice it means:
- Groceries primarily from Lidl, Aldi or local supermarkets: ~€280
- One or two restaurant meals per week: ~€80
- Coffee, markets, bakeries: ~€20
The biggest food cost variation is alcohol. If you drink wine nightly in France, add €60–80/month. If you don't drink, you'll come in under €300 easily.
EV charging
This is where an electric van differs most clearly from diesel. Our €95/month works out at around €0.22 per kWh average across all charging methods (campsite, rapid charger, free municipal charging). A comparable diesel van doing the same mileage (roughly 2,000–2,500 km/month) would spend approximately €250–320 on diesel at 2024 prices.
The real saving is significant — but it requires active planning. Opportunistic DC fast charging at motorway services is expensive (€0.60–0.85/kWh at IONITY). The key is maximising cheap or free charging: campsite hook-ups, free municipal chargers (common in French town squares), and Lidl/supermarket chargers at €0.25–0.35/kWh.
Vehicle costs
Insurance for a self-converted van with lived-in use varies widely. We pay €110/month for comprehensive cover with European breakdown assistance. Make sure your policy explicitly covers:
- Full-time living use (many "leisure" policies exclude this)
- Belongings inside the van
- Breakdown assistance with accommodation cost cover
Maintenance: budget €60/month as an average. Some months are zero; occasionally you hit a €600 repair. An electric van's mechanical maintenance is genuinely lower than diesel — no oil changes, no clutch, no exhaust. Tyres and brakes are the recurring costs.
What surprises people
Tolls are higher than expected in France and Spain. A route from Calais to Barcelona using French and Spanish motorways costs €90–120 in tolls for a van. We learnt to use secondary roads far more, which slowed us down but improved the trip dramatically.
Country vignettes add up. Austria (€92/year), Switzerland (€44/10 days), Slovenia (€15/week) and others are unavoidable if you want to use motorways. Budget €200–250 per year if you cross central Europe.
Activity costs vary enormously by country. Portugal is cheap (surf lessons €25, museum entry €4). Switzerland is expensive (lunch €20+). Build in a country-specific daily allowance rather than a fixed global budget.
The thing the budget doesn't capture
The financial comparison to renting a flat and commuting to work is always favourable — even in high-cost months, we spent less than comparable rent + transport in most Dutch cities. But the budget figures don't capture the invisible savings: less impulse shopping, fewer subscriptions, fewer restaurant meals from boredom rather than hunger.
Vanlife simplifies expenditure in ways that matter. You buy less stuff because there's nowhere to put it. You cook more because the kitchen is always there. You walk more because the car is already parked. These habits compound.
The €1,000/month average is real. But the actual felt cost — the sense of whether money is working for you — tends to be substantially better than the number suggests.
