Nature is their home.
In the Swiss Alps, they travel through steep mountains and past turbulent glacial rivers. In southern France, they plunge into the deep blue water on their surfboards. And in Norway they spend hours hiking to view every fjord from above. Nature is Samara’s and Samuel’s home. “We love sleeping outdoors and seeing thousands of stars or even the Northern lights above us”, explains the young Spanish couple enthusiastically. “Most tourists sleep in a hotel bed and never get to see this amazing beauty.”
To the North Cape in the yellow Vito.
When Samuel and Samara met each other in 2014, they immediately knew that this was the perfect time to discover the world together. Or at least Europe, to begin with. Things went quickly from there. After a trial run when they travelled through Asia together, the two purchased a yellow Vito and refitted it exactly the way they wanted. They quit their office jobs in Spain and then cancelled the lease on their apartment. Samuel and Samara left their old life behind and set out into the great unknown. Together with their dog, Pupi, the couple travels all over Europe. The goal: to reach North Cape with the Vito.
A van for every adventure.
They share their experiences in their blog “The Walking Travel”. The Spanish couple’s most important message: with a van, anyone can discover the world. They successfully refitted the interior without a lot of technical expertise and with a limited budget. “A camper van is a truly low-cost way to discover Europe. Without the Vito, we never would have been able to go on our journey,” explains Samara. Samuel and Samara chose the van from Mercedes-Benz primarily because of its compact dimensions. These make it ideal for all of their everyday activities. Yet, it is still large enough to serve as a home for the couple anywhere in the world. The reliability of the Vito also immediately convinced the couple: “We still have a lot of journeys ahead of us with the van.”
Our three recommendations for travelling with the van:
- Be organized: Naturally, you do not need to be an organizational genius to discover the world with the van. However, there is not much space and being disorganized will not make for an enjoyable journey.
- Take the road less travelled: Always take the back roads and never the highways. Because you miss a lot and cannot truly enjoy the landscape.
- Respect your environment: Leave the places where you stay the way they were or even cleaner.
“We live, travel and work together – and we love it.”
The couple lives together in the van and essentially in each other’s pockets: doesn’t this lead to arguments sometimes? Samara laughs: “Of course, sometimes discussions are unavoidable. But most of the time we love spending so much time together.” This lets them create shared memories and constantly learn from each other. They enjoy being together, away from other people and the noise. However, all things have their time. “Occasionally we enjoy getting together with other travelers and listening to their stories.” With their nomadic lifestyle, the couple has found exactly what they have always longed for: endless freedom.
Samuel’s and Samara’s tips for travelling together
Spending weeks or even months together in the confined space of the van means there is no place to withdraw. The following are important to avoid major arguments:
- Before you set out on the journey, ensure that you both have the same goals.
- Always share the work on the journey equally.
- Always be patient with each other and stay calm in tense situations.
- Most importantly: talk about problems before they turn into a major conflict!
Would you take the plunge, sell up and travel across the globe in a van? Why not take a look at our current stock selection?
