How to Plan a Budget Trip Combining Campervan Relocation + Public Transport in Europe

The idea that changes everything

Here's the thing most people don't realize about European travel: rental companies constantly need campervans moved between cities. Amsterdam to Munich. Lisbon to Barcelona. Paris to Berlin. Rather than hiring drivers, they let travellers do it for as little as €1 per day. You get a fully insured campervan, free accommodation on wheels, and an open road ahead of you.

The catch? You have a fixed drop-off city and a delivery window of 2–5 days. Once you hand back the van, you're standing in Munich with no ride home. That's where the second piece of the puzzle comes in: budget public transport.

By chaining a campervan relocation with a cheap FlixBus ticket, a Trainline deal, or a budget flight, you turn a simple A-to-B delivery into a full multi-leg European trip. Think of it as building a trip from Lego blocks: the relocation is one block, the bus is another, a train is a third. Snap them together and you've got a 10-day adventure across four countries for less than most people pay for a weekend hotel.

Example trip: Amsterdam to Rome in 10 days

Let me walk you through a real trip you could book today. This is the kind of itinerary that makes your friends think you're lying about the price.

Leg 1: Amsterdam → Munich (campervan, 3 days)

Pick up the campervan at the depot in Amsterdam. You've got three days to deliver it to Munich, which is about 900 km. No rush. Take the scenic route through the German countryside, sleep in the van at rest stops or cheap campsites (€10–15/night), and make stops wherever looks interesting. Fuel will cost roughly €80–100 depending on the van and your route. The van rental itself? Three euros.

Leg 2: Munich → Venice (FlixBus, 7 hours)

Drop off the van in Munich and spend a day exploring the city. The next morning, hop on a FlixBus to Venice for around €25. It's about 7 hours, crossing the Alps along the way. Bring a book, download a podcast, and enjoy the views. You'll roll into Venice by late afternoon with plenty of time for an evening stroll.

Leg 3: Venice → Rome (train, 3.5 hours)

After two days in Venice, take an Italo or Trenitalia high-speed train to Rome. Book through Trainline and you'll find tickets from €29–39. The train takes about 3.5 hours, which barely feels like travel when you're watching the Italian countryside scroll by at 300 km/h. Spend your remaining days in Rome before flying home (or chaining another leg).

How to find the cheapest transport between legs

Once you know your drop-off city, you need to find cheap onward transport. Here are the three platforms I use every time:

• FlixBus — The backbone of budget European travel. Routes everywhere, prices from €5. The earlier you book, the cheaper it gets. Their app shows a calendar view so you can spot the cheapest day.
• Trainline — Aggregates train tickets across European rail companies. Particularly good for finding deals on Italian, French, and Spanish high-speed trains. Set fare alerts for your route.
• Kiwi.com — Best for budget flights when the distance is too far for ground transport. Good for connecting Southern Europe back to Northern Europe at the end of a trip. Use the "Explore" feature to find the cheapest destination from any airport.

Full budget breakdown: 10-day combined trip

Here's what the Amsterdam-to-Rome example actually costs for one person. These are real prices, not fantasy numbers.

Under six hundred euros for 10 days across the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, visiting four major cities, with campervan accommodation included for the first leg. Compare that to the typical cost of just a hotel room in any of those cities.

Travelling as a couple? Split the van, fuel, and campsites and it drops to roughly €450 per person. With a group of three or four sharing the campervan, the per-person cost gets almost absurd.

7 tips for making this work smoothly

1. Build buffer days. Never book onward transport for the same day as your van drop-off. Delays happen. A buffer day also gives you time to explore the drop-off city, which is often a great destination in its own right.
2. Book transport 4–6 weeks ahead. FlixBus and Trainline prices are lowest when booked early. Once you lock in your relocation deal, immediately book the next leg.
3. Use overnight buses and trains. A night bus from Munich to Venice saves you a hostel night and covers distance while you sleep. FlixBus overnight routes are surprisingly comfortable, and you wake up in a new city.
4. Pack light. You'll be moving between a campervan, buses, and trains. A 40–50L backpack makes transitions painless. Dragging a suitcase through Venice is nobody's idea of fun.
5. Stay at hostels between legs. Between the campervan and your final destination, hostels are the obvious budget choice. Book through Hostelworld and look for ones with kitchens so you can cook a few meals.
6. Check the van's fuel policy. Most relocation deals require you to return the van with a similar fuel level to pick-up. Some even include a fuel allowance. Read the terms before you leave the depot.
7. Stack multiple relocations. Sometimes you can chain two relocation deals back to back. Deliver a van from Amsterdam to Munich, then pick up another one from Munich to Milan. Two relocations, zero bus tickets, and a full road trip through the Alps.

How Relocamp helps you plan this

The hardest part of a combined trip is finding the right relocation at the right time and figuring out how to connect it with affordable transport. That's exactly what Relocamp is built for.

Our map shows available campervan relocation deals across Europe, updated daily. But we don't stop at the van. For each relocation, we show you the cheapest onward transport options from the drop-off city — FlixBus routes, train connections, and budget flights — so you can see the full picture before you commit.

Instead of juggling five browser tabs comparing prices, you get one view of the complete trip: the campervan leg, the transport connections, estimated costs, and travel times. Pick a relocation, pick your onward transport, and you've got a trip planned in minutes.

We're building this because we believe cheap travel shouldn't require hours of research. The deals are out there. You just need a better way to find and combine them.